List of battles involving the Sikh Empire

The Sikh Empire (1799 – 1849 CE) was established by Maharaja Ranjit Singh. Throughout its history, it fought various adversaries including the Durrani Empire of Afghanistan and the British East India Company. The Sikhs very commonly fought battles in which they had much less force than their foes. However, they had an impressive success rate.

Background

The Sikhs first raised their weapons against the Mughal Empire under Guru Hargobind. Guru Hargobind was son of the 5th Guru Arjan who was executed by the Mughal ruler Jahangir. After his father's death, Guru Hargobind added the martial element to Sikhism which was until then a religion mainly focused on Spirituality. But at this point the need for self defence was felt. Hence Guru Hargobind started recruiting an army which he called "Risaldari", after training his men in cavalry and Sikh Martial Arts. He adopted Royal symbols like wearing "kalgidhari turban" and keeping bodyguards. Along with that he asked his followers to gift him horses and weaponry instead of anything else. So the 6th Guru at one point managed to command 700 cavalry and with this might his Risaldari fought several small scale battles in 1620s and 1630s against Shahjahan's forces and some other warlords in Poadh and Majha. The tenth and the last Guru, Guru Gobind Singh organized Sikhs into a military sect called Khalsa (means "pure"), in 1699, against the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb. Before his death in 1708, he sent Banda Bahadur to lead the Sikhs of Punjab. Banda Bahadur through his outstanding leadership skills weakened the Mughal grasp over India. But he was later captured and beheaded in Delhi in 1716, during the reign of Farrukhsiyar.

Thereafter, Sikhs became leaderless and were divided into Misls. Although their martial skills were enormous, their political disunity made them vulnerable to foreign attacks. In 1738, Nadir Shah of Iran, attacked India , looted Delhi and Mughals were never able to recover their power in Punjab. Later, Punjab was subject to constant invasions of Ahmad Shah Durrani of Afghanistan, who upon hearing of the persecution of Muslims of Punjab by the invading Sikhs, took it as his duty to protect the Muslims. During every invasion of Abdali, defeated the Sikhs. According to some the scene outside the holy shrine of Harmandir Sahib was the scene of one of these battles.

Abdali tried many times to recover Lahore but ultimately had to return to Pashtun territories. After his final invasion of Punjab in 1767, he left Lahore which was when it was re-captured by the Sikhs. For more than three decades, Sikhs consolidated their power in areas of Punjab. But the decisive moment came in 1790, when Ranjit Singh of Sukerchakia misl became misldar. He started uniting misls and finally took Lahore in 1799. His coronation on 12 April 1801 marked the beginning of the Sikh Empire, which went on to conquer the whole Punjab, Kangra, parts of Kashmir and briefly, the city of Peshawar.

Battles fought by Sikhs
  1. Battle of Rohilla (1621)
  2. Battle of Kartarpur (1635)
  3. Battle of Amritsar (1634)
  4. Battle of Lahira (1634)
  5. Battle of Bhangani (1688)
  6. Battle of Nadaun (1691)
  7. Battle of Guler (1696)
  8. Battle of Basoli (1702)
  9. Battle of Anandpur (1700)
  10. Battle of Nirmohgarh (1702)
  11. Battle of Anandpur (1701)
  12. First Battle of Chamkaur (1702)
  13. First Battle of Anandpur (1704)
  14. Second Battle of Anandpur (1704)
  15. Battle of Sarsa (1704)
  16. Second Battle of Chamkaur (1704)
  17. Battle of Muktsar[1][2][3][4][5](1705)
  18. Battle of Sonepat (1709)
  19. Battle of Ambala
  20. Battle of Kapuri (1709)
  21. Battle of Samana (1709)
  22. Battle of Chappar Chiri[3] (1710)
  23. Battle of Sadhaura (1710)
  24. Battle of Rahon (1710)
  25. Battle of Lohgarh (1710)
  26. Battle of Jalalabad (1710)
  27. Battle of Jammu (1712)
  28. Siege of Gurdaspur or Battle of Gurdas Nangal (1715)
  29. Attack on Nadir Shah (1739)[6]
  30. Killing Massa Ranghar
  31. Killing Jaspat Rai[7][8]
  32. Siege of Amritsar (1748)
  33. Killing Salabat Khan[9]
  34. Siege of Ram Rauni
  35. Battle of Amritsar (1757)
  36. Battle of Lahore (1759)
  37. Battle of Sialkot (1761)
  38. Battle of Gujranwala (1761)
  39. Sikh Occupation of Lahore[10] (1761)
  40. Vadda Ghalughara or Battle of Kup
  41. Battle of Harnaulgarh (1762)
  42. Skirmish of Amritsar (1762)
  43. Battle of Sialkot (1763)
  44. Battle of Sirhind (1764)
  45. Rescue of Brahmin Girl
  46. Capture of Delhi and Red Fort (1783)[8]
  47. Battle of Amritsar (1797)
  48. Battle of Gujrat (1797)
  49. Battle of Amritsar (1798)
  50. Battle of Kasur
  51. Battle of Jammu (1808)
  52. Gurkha-Sikh War(1809)
  53. Battle of Attock (1813)
  54. Battle of Multan (1818)
  55. Battle of Shopian (1819)
  56. Battle of Balakot (1831)
  57. Battle of Peshawar (1834)
  58. Battle of Jamrud (1837)
  59. Sino-Sikh War (1841-1842)
  60. Battle of Mudki (1845)
  61. Battle of Ferozeshah (1845)
  62. Battle of Baddowal (1846)
  63. Battle of Aliwal (1846)
  64. Battle of Sobraon (1846)
  65. Battle of Chillianwala (1849)
  66. Battle of Ramnagar (1848)
  67. Siege of Multan (1848-1849)
  68. Battle of Gujrat (1849)

Gurkha-Sikh War
Main article: Gurkha-Sikh War

The Gurkha-Sikh War was fought between the forces of the Sikh Empire and the Nepalese Army.[11]

Katoch-Sikh War

Sikh-Katoch War was fought between the Sikh Empire and the Katoch Dynasty[11]

Afghan-Sikh Wars
Main article: Afghan-Sikh Wars

Afghan-Sikh Wars were fought between the Sikh Empire and the Durrani Empire.

Battle of Attock
Main article: Battle of Attock

The battle took place on 13 July 1813, in which Sikhs utterly dominated the Durranis. It was the first major victory of Sikhs against the Afghan adversary.

Battle of Multan
Main article: Battle of Multan

Battle of Multan started in March, 1818 and ended three months later on 2 June 1818. Sikhs utterly dominated Durranis and captured Multan. The Afghan governor Muzaffar Khan Sadozai was killed. As a result, the Afghan power collapsed in Punjab and the regions to the east of Indus virtually came under Sikh influence.[12]

Battle of Shopian
Main article: Battle of Shopian

The battle took place on 3 July 1819 during the Sikh expedition to Kashmir. The domination that came from the Sikhs led to the end the five centuries old Muslim rule in Kashmir. The Afghan governor Jabbar Khan fled and Kashmir became a province of the Sikh Empire.[13]

Battle of Nowshera
Main article: Battle of Nowshera

The battle was fought on 14 March 1823 in which the Sikhs captured the city of Peshawar.

Battle of Peshawar
Main article: Battle of Peshawar (1834)

The battle was fought on 6 May 1834. Under the command of Hari Singh Nalwa, Sikhs finally captured the city of Peshawar.

Battle of Jamrud
Main article: Battle of Jamrud

Sino-Sikh War
Main article: Sino-Sikh War

Sikhs invaded and captured Ladakh in 1834. In 1841. At Leh, the Qing army successfully captured Leh and then successfully captured Ladakh from the Sikhs.[14] But was re captured by the Sikhs.

First Anglo-Sikh War
Main article: First Anglo-Sikh War

Battle of Mudki
Main article: Battle of Mudki

The battle was fought on 18 December 1845 during night. The British won with heavy casualties on the higher ranks.

Battle of Ferozeshah
Main article: Battle of Ferozeshah

The battle was fought on 21–22 December 1845, in which the British forces under Sir Hugh Gough won a Pyrrhic victory over the Sikh army under Lal Singh.

Battle of Baddowal
Main article: Battle of Baddowal

In this battle, a large number of Sikh soldiers crossed Satluj after being defeated at Mudki and Ferozeshah. When General Harry Smith marched to Dharmkot to relieve Ludhiana, their rear was attacked by Sikhs under Ranjodh Singh Majithia. Hence, Sikhs gave a defeat to British in the battle of Baddowal.[15][16]

Battle of Aliwal
Main article: Battle of Aliwal

The battle was fought on 28 January 1846, in which the company troops decisively defeated the Sikh army. It proved as the turning point in the war.

Battle of Sobraon
Main article: Battle of Sobraon

The decisive Sikh Victory by the East India Company at the battle of Sobraon fought on 10 February 1846 ended the war.

Second Anglo-Sikh War
Main article: Second Anglo-Sikh War

Battle of Ramnagar
Main article: Battle of Ramnagar

In the battle of Ramnagar fought on 22 November 1848, Sikhs under Sher Singh Attariwalla defeated the company forces under Sir Hugh Gough

Battle of Chillianwala
Main article: Battle of Chillianwala

In the battle on 13 January 1849, the Sikh army under Sher Singh Attariwalla defeated the British army under Sir Hugh Gough.

Siege of Multan
Main article: Siege of Multan

The prolonged siege of Multan by the British army lasted from 19 April 1848 till 22 January 1849, when the fort was breached and Dewan Mulraj surrendered.

Battle of Gujrat
Main article: Battle of Gujrat

This was the last battle of the war and the Anglo-Sikh battle. Sir Hugh Gough's army decisively defeated the Sikh army, finally. Sher Singh Attariwalla killed ths killer hid and shot him and soon afterwards, the Sikh Empire was officially ended. The young emperor Duleep Singh was kidnapped and Punjab was annexed as a province of the British Indian Empire.

See also

References
  1. McLeod, W. H. (2009). The A to Z of Sikhism. Scarecrow Press. p. 134. ISBN 978-0-81086-344-6.
  2. Dhillon, Dr Dalbir Singh (1988). Sikhism – Origin and Development. Atlantic Publishers and Distributors. p. 151.
  3. Sagoo, Harbans (2001). Banda Singh Bahadur and Sikh Sovereignty. Deep & Deep Publications. ISBN 9788176293006.
  4. Jacques, Tony (2007). Dictionary of Battles and Sieges: F-O. p. 695. ISBN 978-0-313-33536-5.
  5. Fenech, E. Louis; Mcleod, H. W. (11 June 2014). Historical Dictionary of Sikhism. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 64. ISBN 978-1-4422-3601-1.
  6. Chhabra, G.S. (2005). Advance Study in the History of Modern India (Volume-1: 1707-1803). Lotus Press. ISBN 9788189093068.
  7. Grewal, J. S. (1998). The Sikhs of the Punjab, Volumes 2-3. Cambridge University Press. p. 90. ISBN 9780521637640.
  8. Singha, H. S (2000). The encyclopedia of Sikhism (over 1000 entries). Hemkunt Press. p. 110. ISBN 978-81-7010-301-1. Retrieved December 22, 2011.
  9. Singha, Dr H. S. (2005). Sikh Studies. Hemkunt Press. ISBN 9788170102588.
  10. Mehta, J. L. (2005). Advanced study in the history of modern India 1707–1813. Sterling Publishers Pvt. Ltd. p. 303. ISBN 978-1-932705-54-6. Retrieved 2010-09-23.
  11. Raj Pal Singh (2004). The Sikhs : Their Journey Of Five Hundred Years. Pentagon Press. p. 139 & 140. ISBN 9788186505465.
  12. Dictionary of Battles and Sieges F-O p.696
  13. Kashmir:History and people p.145
  14. The Troubled Land: Arunachal Dispute, Chinese forces dragged the Sikh army from Ladakh and capturing it alongside Leh
  15. Jacques, Tony (2007). Dictionary of Battles and Sieges. Greenwood Press. p. 92. ISBN 978-0-313-33536-5.
  16. Jacques, p. 93
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