This battle was fought on 28 January 1846 during the First Sikh War (1845-46). A British-Indian force took on the Sikh army of the Punjab, known as the Khalsa (literally ‘the pure’). It ended in a decisive British victory and is seen by some as a ‘near perfect battle’.
During the early 19th century the Sikh kingdom of the Punjab was built and expanded under the rule of Maharaja Ranjit Singh. During the same period British India was also growing, so that by the 1830s its territory was adjacent to the Punjab.
Ranjit Singh was a skilled politician who maintained an uneasy alliance with the British, while increasing the strength of his army to deter any aggression.
When he died in 1839, the Punjab fell into disorder. There was a succession of weak and short-lived rulers and increasing tension between the army and court.
The British started to build up their forces on the borders of the Punjab. Some British officials hoped for war, believing the Sikhs were the only remaining power that could threaten their hold over India
The British deployed a force of 12,000 British and Indian troops and 32 guns under the command of General Sir Harry Smith (1787-1860), a veteran of the Napoleonic Wars and deputy adjutant general to the army in India. Having skillfully commanded a division at Mudki and Ferozeshah, Smith was a natural choice to command the army at Aliwal.
Smith faced a 20,000-strong Sikh army led by General Ranjodh (or Ranjur) Singh Majithia. The Sikh army, the Khalsa, was probably the most formidable opponent the British faced on the sub-continent.
It was composed of traditional Indian irregular cavalry and infantry alongside European-trained regulars. The latter even wore redcoats like the British. The Sikh artillery was of a particularly high standard. At Aliwal, Ranjodh Singh’s force was equipped with 67 guns.
Unlike most of the battles of both Anglo-Sikh Wars, when the Sikhs at Aliwal began to retreat, the retreat quickly turned into a disorderly rout. When the Sikh soldiers fled across the fords, they abandoned most of their guns, either on the river bank or in the fords, along with all baggage, tents and supplies. They lost 2,000 men and 67 guns.
All of the Sikhs' guns were either captured or lost in the river. Much of their baggage and supplies was also captured. Smith lost 141 men killed, 413 wounded and 25 missing. During their charges the 16th Lancers suffered 140 casualties out of 300 men. Around 3,000 Sikhs were killed.
The victory at Aliwal removed the threat to the British rear. Smith, awarded a baronetcy for his generalship, soon moved to rejoin Gough. The reinforced British army then successfully attacked the main Sikh force at Sobraon on 10 February 1846. This victory led to the Treaty of Lahore that brought an end to the First Sikh War. —-History
