Battle of Najafgarh

Who: The Punjab Movable Column under Brigadier John Nicholson against a rebel force from Delhi under Bakht Khan. Nicholson led roughly 2,000 to 2,500 men and 16 horse artillery guns: HM 61st Foot, the 1st Bengal Fusiliers, the 1st and 2nd Punjab Infantry, the Guides cavalry and the Mooltanee Horse. The rebels, drawn from the Neemuch and Rohilkhand brigades, are counted at between 6,000 and 9,000 with 13 to 18 guns.

What: The rebels left Delhi on 24 August in heavy rain, aiming to intercept the siege train on its way to Delhi. Nicholson marched out on 25 August through flooded ground and found the Neemuch troops just after 4 p.m. They held a walled serai with four guns, with nine more posted between the serai and a bridge. The column crossed a ford, advanced in line, held its fire until close range, then charged and took the serai. The 2nd Punjab Infantry attacked Najafgarh village and lost its commanding officer. Bakht Khan did not bring up his own Rohilkhand brigade, and the rebels broke and fled.

The rebels lost about 800 killed and 13 guns. The British lost 25 killed and 70 wounded. Nicholson destroyed the Najafgarh bridge and was back at Delhi on 26 August.

Where: Najafgarh, about 18 miles (29 km) west of Delhi.

Why it mattered: Wikipedia, drawing on William Dalrymple's The Last Mughal and Michael Edwardes, calls it the British army's first definite success against a rebel field force in more than two months. It cleared the threat to the siege train, which reached the British camp on 4 September, and the assault on Delhi began on 14 September. Nicholson was mortally wounded in that assault and died on 23 September.

The battle also shows what the siege rested on. Nicholson's column came from the Punjab, and by early September about 6,000 of the roughly 9,000 men besieging Delhi were Sikh, Punjabi and Gurkha troops.