Battle of Chillianwala The Battle of Chillianwala was fought during the Second Anglo - Sikh War in the Chillianwala region of Punjab ( Mandi Bahauddin ) , now part of modern - day Pakistan . The battle was one of the bloodiest fought by the British East India Company . Both armies held their positions at the end of the battle and both sides claimed victory . The battle was a strategic check to immediate British ambitions in India and a shock to British military prestige . Prelude . The Second Anglo - Sikh war broke out in the Punjab , which had recently lost much of its independence to the British East India Company following the First Anglo - Sikh War , in April 1848 , when the city of Multan rebelled under Dewan Mulraj . The East India Company ' s Commissioner for the Punjab , Frederick Currie , sent several forces of locally raised troops to help quell the revolt . One of these forces consisted largely of Sikhs , formerly from the Khalsa , the army of the Sikh Empire , under Sher Singh Attariwalla . Some junior British Political Officers viewed this development with alarm as Sher Singh ' s father , Chattar Singh Attariwalla , was known to be plotting sedition in Hazara , north of the Punjab . On 14 September , Sher Singh ' s army also rebelled . Other than opposition to the British , Mulraj and Sher Singh had no aims in common . Sher Singh decided to move his army north , to join that of Chattar Singh , who had also rebelled . However , some British officers had taken steps to secure vital fortresses . For the time being , Chattar Singh was unable to leave Hazara , as the British held Attock on the Indus River , and the passes over the Margalla Hills separating Hazara from the Punjab . Instead , Sher Singh moved a few miles north and fortified the crossings over the Chenab River , while awaiting events . The East India Company responded by announcing their intention to depose the young Maharajah , Duleep Singh , annexe the Punjab and confiscate the lands of any landholders who joined the revolt . While an army under Major General Whish resumed the Siege of Multan , the company ordered the formation of an Army of the Punjab under the veteran Commander in Chief , Sir Hugh Gough . However , both Gough and the Governor General , the 37 - year old Lord Dalhousie , delayed operations until after the end of the monsoon season , allowing Sher Singh to gather reinforcements and establish strong positions . Gough took charge of the Army on 21 November . The next day , he attacked Sher Singh ' s bridgehead on the left bank of the Chenab at Ramnagar but was repulsed , raising Sikh morale . On 1 December , a cavalry division under Major General Joseph Thackwell crossed the Chenab upstream from Ramnagar . Sher Singh advanced against him , resulting in a day - long artillery duel at Sadullapur . Gough meanwhile bombarded the empty Sikh positions at Ramnagar , and postponed a general attack until the next day . During the night , Sher Singh withdrew to the north . Gough then halted , awaiting further instructions from Dalhousie . Early in January 1849 , news came that the British had recaptured the city of Multan ( although Mulraj still defended the citadel ) , but also that the Muslim garrison of Attock had defected to Amir Dost Mohammad Khan of Afghanistan , who was half - heartedly supporting Chattar Singh . The fall of Attock nevertheless allowed Chattar Singh ' s army to leave Hazara and move south . Dalhousie ordered Gough to seek out and destroy Sher Singh ' s main army before the Sikh armies could combine , without waiting for reinforcements from the army at Multan . First contact . On 13 January , Gough ' s army was marching towards the reported Sikh position at Rasul , on the left bank of the Jhelum River , about north - west of Lahore . At noon , they drove a Sikh outpost out of the village of Chillianwala . At this point , Gough intended to march round to the north of the Sikh position and attack its left flank on the following day , but from the vantage point of a mound near Chillianwala , it was apparent that the Sikhs had advanced from their original positions along ridges close to the Jhelum . Sher Singh ' s army had originally occupied a position six miles long , too extended for their numbers and vulnerable to a flank attack such as Gough proposed . By advancing , Sher Singh made a British flank march too risky and forced the British to make a frontal attack . It was estimated by Frederick Mackeson , Gough ' s attached political officer , that Sher Singh ' s army numbered 23 , 000 ( although most later British historians put it at 30 , 000 or more ) , including 5 , 000 irregular cavalry , with some 60 guns . However after the First Anglo - Sikh War , the Sikh army was reduced to 12 , 000 infantry and 60 guns in total , so many historians have stated the Sikh army could not have been more than 10 , 000 on the day . The Sikh army consisted of three main bodies of troops . On the left under Sher Singh himself were one cavalry regiment , nine infantry battalions , some irregulars and 20 guns , occupying some low hills and ridges . In the centre under Lal Singh were two cavalry regiments , ten infantry battalions and 17 guns , mostly concealed in or behind belts of scrub and jungle . On the right was a brigade which formerly had garrisoned Bannu , consisting of one cavalry regiment , four infantry battalions and eleven guns , anchored on two villages . Other irregulars extended Sher Singh ' s left flank . Gough intended to delay the attack until the following day , but as his army prepared to pitch camp , hitherto concealed Sikh artillery opened fire from positions much closer than had been anticipated . Gough later wrote that he feared the Sikhs might bombard his encampments overnight , though some of his officers believed he had merely been stung into hasty action . Gough ' s army was composed of two infantry divisions , each of two brigades , each in turn of one British and two Bengal Native infantry battalions , with a total of 66 guns from the Bengal Artillery and Bengal Horse Artillery . The 3rd Division under Sir Colin Campbell , with two field artillery batteries and three horse artillery troops , was deployed on the left , while the 2nd Division commanded by Major General Sir Walter Gilbert was deployed on the right with a field artillery battery and three horse artillery troops . Gough also had a cavalry division under Major General Joseph Thackwell , but this was split , with one brigade on each flank ; Brigadier White ' s on the left , Brigadier Pope ' s on the right . Gough deployed two heavy artillery batteries with eight 18 - pounder guns and four 8 - inch howitzers in the centre . A brigade of Bengal Native troops under Brigadier Penney was in reserve . The battle . Gough ordered the advance to commence at about 3 : 00 pm . From the outset , the right - hand brigade of Campbell ' s division , commanded by Brigadier Pennycuick , was in difficulties . Because the jungle made it difficult for Campbell to coordinate his two brigades , he assumed personal command of the left hand brigade under Brigadier Hoggan , while ordering Pennycuick to attack with the bayonet . The British regiment of Pennycuick ' s brigade was the 24th Foot , which had only recently arrived in India . They advanced very rapidly , but lost cohesion and also lost touch with the rest of the brigade in the thick scrub . Trying to attack Sikh guns head - on , they suffered heavily from grapeshot . When they reached the main Sikh positions , Sikh resistance was desperate and the 24th were driven back . The Queen ' s colours were lost , although the Sikhs never claimed to have captured them and they were either destroyed or conceivably buried with the officer who had carried them . Pennycuick ' s brigade eventually became completely disorganised and had to make its way back to the start line in small parties . Pennycuick himself was killed . Campbell ' s left hand brigade ( under Brigadier Hoggan and Campbell himself ) had greater success . The 61st Foot captured several guns and even an elephant , and Brigadier White ' s cavalry followed up with an effective charge . Hoggan ' s troops eventually met the left - hand brigade of Gilbert ' s division , commanded by Brigadier Mountain , behind the Sikhs ' centre positions . On Gough ' s right however , his troops had met with disaster . While Gilbert ' s two brigades had at first successfully driven the Sikhs before them , capturing or spiking several guns , on their right flank , Brigadier Pope ( who was almost an invalid ) first ordered an ineffective cavalry charge through thorn scrub which threw his brigade into confusion , and then panicked and ordered a retreat . One of his British cavalry regiments , the 14th Light Dragoons , routed . The Sikhs followed up the fleeing cavalry and captured four guns . They then attacked Gilbert ' s right - hand infantry brigade , commanded by Brigadier Godby , from the rear , forcing him to withdraw under heavy pressure until Penney ' s reserve brigade came to his aid . By now , darkness was approaching . The Sikhs had been driven from many of their positions with heavy casualties , but were still fighting strongly . With some of his formations rendered ineffective , or having to fight their way out of encirclement , Gough ordered a withdrawal to the start line . Although his units brought back as many wounded as they could , many of them could not be found in the scrub . Many of the abandoned wounded were killed during the night by roving Sikh irregulars . Gough ' s retreat also allowed the Sikhs to recapture all but twelve of the guns the British had taken earlier in the day . Casualties . The final losses to Gough ' s army were 757 killed , 1 , 651 wounded and 104 missing for a total of 2 , 512 . A comparatively high proportion of the casualties ( almost 1 , 000 ) were British rather than Indian . This was mainly a result of the disaster which befell the 24th Foot , which suffered 590 casualties , over 50 percent . Sikh casualties have been estimated at 3 , 600 dead and wounded . An obelisk later erected at Chillianwalla by the British government preserves the names of those who fell in the battle . Result . Both armies held their positions at the end of the battle and Sher Singh withdrew to the north . Both sides claimed a victory . The Sikhs claimed that they forced the British to retreat but the British forces actually withdrew three days after the battle ended ; however , this was due to the rains which separated the two armies for that duration . Since the Sikhs disengaged first , the British claimed the victory , although they admitted that the Sikhs missed an opportunity to gain a victory . However , the repulse of the British , together with the loss of several guns and the colours of the 24th and two other regiments , and the rout of the 14th Light Dragoons , dealt a blow to British morale and is testament to the tenacity and martial skill of the Sikh army . A testimony left by a British observer says : The Sikhs fought like devils , fierce and untamed . . . Such a mass of men I never set eyes on and a plucky as lions : they ran right on the bayonets and struck their assailants when they were transfixed . Two later editorials by the military historian Major A . H . Amin stated : At Chillianwala a British Army which had a high European troop component large number Sepoy ( regiments ) , sufficient artillery , two heavy cavalry brigades to ensure that no one could surprise the British army , excellent logistics , little campaign exhaustion having fought no major battle since assumption of hostilities . . . failed to defeat the Sikhs . The Battle of Chillianwala fought on 13 January 1849 is , however , one odd exception and stands out as a battle in which the British failed to defeat their opponents despite having the advantages of weight of numbers ( sic ) , ideal weather and terrain , superior logistics etc Gough was criticised for his handling of the battle , and was relieved of command and was superseded by General Charles James Napier . Before Napier could arrive from England to take over command , Gough had fought the decisive Battle of Goojerat ( or Gujrat , Gujerat ) . The loss of British prestige at Chillianwala was one of the factors which contributed to the Indian rebellion of 1857 some nine years later . However the Sikh soldiers serving in the British army remained loyal to Britain and helped crush the rebellion . Within the British Army , such was the consternation over the events at Chillianwala that , after the disastrous Charge of the Light Brigade , when Lord Lucan remarked " " This is a most serious matter " " , General Airey replied , " " These sort of things will happen in war . It is nothing to Chillianwala . " "