What's new

21 Sikhs against 10,000 Afghans ! Battle of Saragarhi Akshay Kumar's Kesari trailer IS OUT

Attacking a strong position requires those wishing to overcome the defences to be at least 3:1, and the amount of casualties is not a surprise.

Here's an account of the battle;

The enemy surrounded Saragarhi on 12 September, knowing full well that this would cut communications and troop movements between the forts of Lockhart and Gulistan, and that with the British forces spread out it would no longer be possible for Haughton to send aid. The 22 men inside were led by an experienced sergeant in Havildar Ishar Singh, who rallied his men to defend their positions.

The Pathans attacked at around 9am, but were repulsed with around 60 losses as the Sikhs fired upon the mass of men. The enemy dived behind rocks and dips in the ground for cover, but two tribesmen had also managed to get to the post and remained close under the walls of the north-west bastion where there was a dead angle [that cannot be reached directly by defenders’ fire].

Unseen by the Sikhs inside, they began digging beneath the walls. The enemy next set fire to bushes and shrubbery to create a smokescreen with which to edge forward. They concentrated their gunfire on the wooden front door, a defect of planning which presented a weakness.

A signaller, Gurmukh Singh, messaged an account of events, though he did not pick up any incoming messages from Major Des Vouex at Gulistan, who could see the diggers clearly and was trying in vain to alert Saragarhi to the danger. The smokescreen may account for why he did not pick up the flashes, although light is known to penetrate through such haze. More likely is that he was unable to do so, as he was just one man, doing the job of three. Heliography required at least three men: one to flash messages using the mirror; another to read out incoming messages; and a third to write it all down. It is not impossible that Gurmukh Singh could have done all, but the pressure of the situation made it unlikely.

The20Heliograph20-20credit20DHP-2fd4c3f.jpg


Haughton too tried several times to sally forward with a party of rifles to divert the enemy away from Saragarhi, but the sheer number of tribesmen meant he could not get far without being outflanked. The Sikhs continued to hold back the enemy but by noon, one sepoy [an infantryman in the British Indian army] had been killed and another wounded, with three rifles broken by enemy gunfire.

The battle culminated at around 3pm when a section of wall under attack from the diggers began to cave in; the enemy gave a final cry to advance and rushed through the new gap. As the enemy crowded over their own dead and injured to get into Saragarhi, the few Sikhs remaining inside put up a stubborn defence but were forced to retreat into the inner defences. Ishar Singh is believed to have covered the retreat and engaged in hand-to-hand combat. Another sepoy secured the guardroom door from the inside and carried on firing, but was burned to death in an ensuing fire. The signaller Gurmukh Singh is said to have asked permission to pack away his equipment before joining the fight.

The 21 Sikhs had made a valiant last stand, and the enemy had paid a high price for their victory, with around 180 dead.

Ft20Saragarhi202812920-20Interior20-20credit20Charles20Eve-a1ee423.jpg

The remains of the piquet at Saragarhi. (© Charles Eve)


https://www.historyextra.com/period...od-against-10000-men-the-battle-of-saragarhi/



Let's not mix faith with politics, the Sikh Gurus were great men, compassionate and had many life-long Muslim friends.
 
Ok I may have misread one off your points and I apologize for that after all we all make mistakes. Second thing is jezail were not produced in enough numbers for the 6000 Afghans to use in their attack on saragarhi however the senior leaders in the attack may have carried them. Last thing why take the piss out off my mistake in a previous post off mine seems like this is your way off defending your utter lack off knowledge on a subject and I have noted this behaviour throughout your posts on the forum.

If you can point out a mistake in fact, I will repair it instantly. I have done so in the past, and have never flinched from correcting any mistake made. Please don't sling around this loose talk; if you have an example, come out with it.

As for your condescending remark, I am forced to ask you: you read all my 19,000 posts and decided that? I'm sorry, where were you in 2009? I didn't notice you.

There is this solid contribution to this forum; please ask around among your seniors and check about my accuracy and objectivity. Should I name three who dislike Indians the most? Ask @Areesh @lastofthepatriots and @Indus Pakistan if I lie, or if my knowledge is defective; partisan, sometimes, rarely, mendacious, never.
 
Believe it or not Joe, it's true.
Sikhs were constantly rebelling against the Mughals.
What happens to rebels? They get killed.
So this martyr complex they have is completely unfounded.

Now, when Sikhs did get the power, they turned our mosques into horse stables.

Today we have many of their holiest sites in our country, and we have never taken revenge on it, to the contrary, we provide it with security and respect them.

No, @Rusty, I know; I've read all the Histories of the Sikhs that I could get my hands on. Tegh Bahadur onwards, the Gurus were anything but politic, and took great pride in 'cheeking' both the Emperor and the far less accommodating Provincial chieftains. But like all mediaeval or early modern rebellions, this was bloody. It is very difficult to disentangle who did what to whom.

On the other side, the worst excesses of the period after the Abdalis were knocked out of the Punjab were corrected after the first flush of outrageous behaviour.

I am not here to condone the behaviour of either side; if you were to meet (or mail) my friend Gorki, you would not be writing what you have written in this forum, but would be sitting back perfectly at ease, and confident about the essential decency of human beings.
 
It might be granted that the British Indian Army might have been a little more organized than the tribals. Maybe slight better rifles.

But seeing the crowd of 10,000 people screaming to over-power 21 men would have been terrifying. I understand even the tribals had guns.

So flighting till the last man was very brave of these fine men. I only see a few cases like Germany and Japan during world war2, gurkhas... probably a few I might not know.

What these people found for was "principle" - they signed up for something. the gave a word not to surrender and they did not surrender.

"Cowards die many times before their deaths,
The valiant never taste of death but once."

Julius Caesar (II, ii, 32-37)


Sidenote:
Many today seem to be getting medals, sitting behind monitors and pressing buttons and joysticks :)
 
It might be granted that the British Indian Army might have been a little more organized than the tribals. Maybe slight better rifles.

But seeing the crowd of 10,000 people screaming to over-power 21 men would have been terrifying. I understand even the tribals had guns.

So flighting till the last man was very brave of these fine men. I only see a few cases like Germany and Japan during world war2, gurkhas... probably a few I might not know.

What these people found for was "principle" - they signed up for something. the gave a word not to surrender and they did not surrender.

"Cowards die many times before their deaths,
The valiant never taste of death but once."

Julius Caesar (II, ii, 32-37)


Sidenote:
Many today seem to be getting medals, sitting behind monitors and pressing buttons and joysticks :)

forts are powerful things in mountain and hilly terrain they are very potent in defense. A fort placed in the right place can be used as wall, unlike plain areas where you can outmaneuver a fort while in hilly areas ignoring forts is either stupid or impossible,


here is a good video documentary about the event
 
No one wants to get prase from Indians.
The question was why we deny any links to you people. And the answer is that you people are just a hateful mob.

As for the terrorist thing... yeah that's getting old now. India should stop oppressing ALL thier minorities, be they racial, relgious, or ethnic and they will find that magically almost all of their terrorist issues will go away.

of course no one ever lost money betting on Inian stupidity.

And we Paksitanis have no need to associate with you lot. We have 1400 years of glorious history, that is more than enough for us.

What do you mean old news? is it like ya i killed your father 10 years back now let's forget it? or like the gadafi said ya we bombed some planes but we're all reformed now...
 
Indeed but still it's an act of bravery nonetheless.

Interestingly while So called Martial races such as Sikhs, Rajputs, Muslim punjabis, Pathans, baloch fought and died for Brits all they received for their blood is death and destruction from their colonial masters.

On Other hand i am very happy that my family used Brits as a ladder and claimed on top of the world, We used british against their own.


Man Japanese are something else. My neighbors family members have fought in ww2 and they still tell us tales of how Japanese fought war in Asia and Pacific ocean.


no such thing as martial race
those who believe such a thing are idiots
 
They died for a imperialist power region foreign land. The Afghan died fighting for foreign ideology. Both fools.

What foreign ideology?

Its amazing how pakistan has shedded all pre 1947 identity and treats itself as a nation with no history prior to that. Anyways, cheers.

We do have a history and it’s clear. But Hindus try and bring fake Hindu facts. No matter how you cut it. Hindustan was ruled with the utmost respect and dignity. The Muslims give you civilization and honor. We gave you good food and cleanliness. It wasn’t enough and you guys sided with the whites and they took billions out of the country and created modern day Britain. All they left was cow piss and a forgein language for you guys. You are so proud of speaking English and eating veg biryani. It’s actually the Hindus that have forgotten the true history. Don’t worry the 70 years of freedom is getting to your piss brain and soon you will realize your mistakes. Hopefully modi gets elected and then India will be brought back to its senses.
 
The British tendency to glorify those who fight for them as valiant and martial warriors is well known. Any account provided by the British of such things should be taken with a grain of salt.

No one can match British historians when it comes to inventing fairy tales, who can forget the claims of Welsh Princes claiming descent from Roman Emperors, or the Anglo-Saxons being one of the many Israelite tribes.
 

Latest posts

Pakistan Defence Latest Posts

Pakistan Affairs Latest Posts

Back
Top Bottom