page_title: Siege of Delhi
section_title: The siege: June through July
hierarchical_section_title: Siege of Delhi / Company moves / The siege: June through July
caption_attribution_description: Photograph entitled, [Ruins of the] Observatory, Delhi, from the 'Murray Collection: Views in Delhi, Cawnpore, Allahabad and Benares' taken by Dr. John Murray in 1858. The ruins are of the Jantar Mantar observatory which was damaged in the fighting. Downloaded by Fowler&amp;fowler«Talk» 01:59, 5 March 2008 (UTC) from the British Library Website
context_page_description: The Siege of Delhi was one of the decisive conflicts of the Indian rebellion of 1857.
  The rebellion against the authority of the East India Company was widespread through much of Northern India, but essentially it was sparked by the mass uprising by the sepoys of the units of the Army which the company had itself raised in its Bengal Presidency. Seeking a symbol around which to rally, the first sepoys to rebel sought to reinstate the power of the Mughal Empire, which had ruled the entire Indian subcontinent during the previous centuries. Lacking overall direction, many who subsequently rebelled also flocked to Delhi.
  This made the siege decisive for two reasons. Firstly, large numbers of rebels were committed to the defence of a single fixed point, perhaps to the detriment of their prospects elsewhere, and their defeat at Delhi was thus a very major military setback. Secondly, the British recapture of Delhi and the refusal of the aged Mughal Emperor Bahadur Shah II to continue the struggle, deprived the rebellion of much of its national character.
context_section_description: It was quickly apparent that Delhi was too well-fortified and strongly held to fall to a coup de main. Barnard ordered a dawn assault on 13 June, but the orders were confused and failed to reach most of his subordinates in time. The attack had to be called off, amidst much recrimination. After this, it was accepted that the odds were too great for any assault to be successful until the besiegers were reinforced.
  Large contingents of rebellious sepoys and volunteers continued to arrive in Delhi. The majority of no less than ten regiments of cavalry and fifteen of infantry of the Bengal army rebelled and made their way to Delhi during June and July, along with large numbers of irregulars, mainly Muslim mujahaddin. As each new contingent arrived, the rebels made attacks on Hindu Rao's house and other outposts on several successive days. A major attack was mounted from three directions on 19 June, and nearly forced the exhausted besiegers to retreat, but the rebels did not know how close they came to success. Another major attack was made on 23 June, the centenary of the Battle of Plassey. (It was believed that British presence in India would end one hundred years after this famous battle).
  Although all these attacks were beaten off, the besiegers were ground down through exhaustion and disease. Conditions on the ridge and in the encampment were extremely unhealthy and unpleasant. General Barnard died of cholera on 5 July. His successor (Reed) was also stricken with cholera and forced to hand over command to Archdale Wilson, who was promoted to Major General. Although Wilson made efforts to clear the unburied corpses and other refuse from the ridge and encampment and reorganise the outposts and reliefs, he himself was scarcely capable of exercising command, and in every letter he wrote, he complained of his exhaustion and prostration. Brigadier Neville Chamberlain, a much younger officer who might have provided better leadership, was severely wounded repelling a sortie on 14 July.
  Meanwhile, in Delhi, there had been some loss of morale due to the failures of Mirza Moghul and Bahadur Shah's equally unmilitary grandson, Mirza Abu Bakr. A large party of reinforcements arrived from Bareilly under Bakht Khan, a veteran artillery officer of the Company's army. Pleased with the loot they brought with them, Bahadur Shah made Bakht Khan the new commander in chief. Bakht Khan was able to replenish the city's finances and inspire the rebel soldiers to renewed efforts. Bahadur Shah however, was growing discouraged, and turned away offers of assistance from other rebel leaders.
caption: The Jantar Mantar observatory in Delhi in 1858, damaged in the fighting.
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