Battle of Gujrat

Who: The Khalsa army under Sardar Sher Singh Attariwala, joined by his father Chattar Singh's force and Afghan cavalry, against the East India Company's army under Sir Hugh Gough, reinforced by General Whish's troops freed from Multan.

What: Sher Singh entrenched his army in a horseshoe between the town of Gujrat and the Chenab. The British advanced at about 7.30 in the morning and halted within range. Khushwant Singh writes that the Sikh gunners fired too soon, betraying their positions and wasting scarce ammunition. A long artillery duel followed, lasting from ninety minutes to about three hours depending on the account, and the Company's guns silenced the Sikh batteries. Infantry and cavalry then advanced. The Afghan horse withdrew, exposing a flank, and by about noon the Sikh line gave way. The Encyclopaedia of Sikhism puts the Sikh losses at 3,000 to 5,000 men and 53 guns, and the British losses at 96 killed and about 700 wounded; Khushwant Singh records General Thackwell's praise for the Sikh and Muslim gunners who stayed at their guns under fire. Estimates of the Sikh army range from about 20,000 men to at least 60,000.

The British pressed home a relentless pursuit. Khushwant Singh says Gulab Singh Dogra helped the British officer Abbott cut off Sher Singh's retreat towards the frontier. The Attariwala sardars gave up their swords to General Gilbert near Rawalpindi, and the whole army laid down its arms on 14 March 1849, the date the National Army Museum and Khushwant Singh give for the surrender. One veteran, putting down his gun, said that Ranjit Singh had died that day.

Where: Gujrat, between the Chenab and the Jhelum in the Punjab, now in Pakistan; and the British camp at Hurmel.

Why it mattered: The National Army Museum calls Gujrat the decisive engagement of the Second Anglo-Sikh War. After it the Afghan allies withdrew from the Punjab, Peshawar and Attock, and the last organised army of the Khalsa was gone. Dalhousie proclaimed the annexation of the Punjab on 29 March 1849, and Duleep Singh was deposed.