Battle of Chillianwala

Who: The Khalsa army under Sardar Sher Singh Attariwala against the East India Company's army under Sir Hugh Gough. World History Encyclopedia puts the Company at about 14,000 men with 66 guns, and the Sikhs at about 30,000 with 62 guns, though Gough himself thought the Sikhs numbered 40,000.

What: The Khalsa held dense thorny scrub between the Jhelum river and the village of Chillianwala, with its right flank covered by the Russool hills. Gough opened with a short artillery bombardment and then sent infantry into the Sikh centre. The charges suffered heavy losses, and the fighting broke up into confused struggles in the scrub and dust. Some Company units took Sikh batteries, while others were cut off. The 24th Foot lost 231 killed and 266 wounded, about half its strength, and 14 of its 29 officers died.

As evening came Gough fell back to Chillianwala for water. Sher Singh then drew off his own forces, and Gough did not pursue. The Company left four of its own guns on the field. World History Encyclopedia says it also lost all the Sikh guns its men had captured, while the National Army Museum says the Sikhs recovered 28 of the 40. Company losses were about 2,300 men, roughly one in six of a force of about 14,000. Both sides claimed the field.

Where: Near Chillianwala, between the Jhelum river and the village, in what is now Pakistan.

Why it mattered: The battle was a shock in Britain. The Company's directors replaced Gough as commander-in-chief with Sir Charles Napier, but Napier arrived only after Gough won the decisive battle of Gujrat on 21 February 1849. The National Army Museum says Gough's clumsy tactics caused the heavy losses, and that the casualties damaged the aura of British invincibility that had already been hurt in the First Afghan War.

It did not decide the war. Gujrat followed on 21 February, and the Punjab was annexed on 29 March 1849.