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The battle
Sikh soldier in ceremonial turban, Indian Army
Sikh soldier in ceremonial turban, Indian Army
Details of the Battle of Saraghari are considered fairly accurate, due to Gurmukh Singh signalling events to Fort Lockhart as they occurred.[5]
* Around 9.00am, around 10,000 Afghans reach the signaling post at Saragarhi.
* Sardar Gurmukh Singh signals to Col. Haughton, situated in Fort Lockhart, that they are under attack.
* Colonel Haughton states he cannot send immediate help to Saragarhi.
* The soldiers decide to fight to the last to prevent the enemy reaching the forts.
* Bhagwan Singh becomes the first injured and Lal Singh was seriously wounded.
* Soldiers Lal Singh and Jiwa Singh reportedly carry the dead body of Bhagwan Singh back to the inner layer of the post.
* The enemy break a portion of the wall of the picket.
* Colonel Haughton signals that he has estimated between 10,000 and 14,000 Pashtuns attacking Saraghari.
* The leaders of the Afghan forces reportedly make promises to the soldiers to entice them to surrender.
* Reportedly two determined attempts are made to rush the open gate, but are unsuccessful.
* Later, Fort Lockhart is breached.
* Thereafter, some of the fiercest hand-to-hand fighting occurs.
* In an act of outstanding bravery, Ishar Singh orders his men to fall back into the inner layer, whilst he remains to fight. However, this is breached and all but one of the defending soldiers are killed, along with many of the Pashtuns.
* Gurmukh Singh, who communicated the battle with Col. Haughton, was the last Sikh defender. He is stated to have killed 20 Afghans, the Pashtuns having to set fire to the post to kill him. As he was dying he was said to have yelled repeatedly the regimental battle-cry "Bole So Nihal, Sat Sri Akal (He who cries God is Truth, is ever victorious).
Having destroyed Saragarhi, the Afghans turned their attention to Fort Gulistan, but they had been delayed too long, and reinforcements arrived there in the night of 13-14 September, before the fort could be conquered.[1] The Afghans later stated that they had lost about 180 killed[6] and many more wounded[4] during the engagement against the 21 Sikh soldiers, but some 600 bodies[7] are said to have been seen around the ruined post when the relief party arrived. The total casualties in the entire campaign, including the Battle of Saragarhi, numbered at around 4,800.
Legacy
Haripur city, tehsil and district, in Hazara, North-West Frontier Province, Pakistan, is named after him.[1] If Nalwa had lived, many feel that the British would never have been able to hold or enter the Punjab. He beat the Afghans at Attock Fort and held Afghanistan, something which the British failed to do. As Sir Lepel Griffen states:
“ "Hari Singh Nalwa, the man with the terror of whose name Afghan mothers used to quiet their fretful children..." ”
There is a famous saying about Hari Singh in Afghanistan that "Afghani mothers use to make their children sleep,horrifying them by taking Hari Singh Nalwa's name,saying "Nalwa ranglay"[meaning, Nalwa will come].
Nalwa was the consummate example of the Sikh saint-soldier, and India owes much to his strategic genius.
It seems bizarre and unbelievable that 10,000 Pathan attacked a small post.
Books are full of the details of pathan warfare in colonial times. They were ambush attackers.
Their skills were honed for ambush using daggers and fast attacks using muskets/rifles. They did a kind of guerrilla warfare and only on some occasions would they come in large formations. Such large formations were seen in Kashmir war against the army of Raja and then against Indian Army.
Why dont you mention the details of Hari Singh's army, who was utterly defeated by Pathans in Kashmir.
Pathans used to operate in small groups. Its highly unlikely that for a small outpost, a lashkar of ten thousand men would come.
If you want to easily understand the tribal warfare in the colonial period, I can suggest you a book called "Shamsheer say Zanjeer Tak".
Not sure why the battle of SARAGARHI is not mentioned!
Battle of Saragarhi - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
his Shows The Story Of The Battle Of Saragarhi. And How 21 Singhs Killed 4800 Afghans.
stzlv97cwY4[/media] - Battle Of Saragarhi