Battle of Ferozeshah The Battle of Ferozeshah was fought on 21 December and 22 December 1845 between the British and the Sikhs , at the village of Ferozeshah in Punjab . The British were led by Sir Hugh Gough and Governor - General Sir Henry Hardinge , while the Sikhs were led by Lal Singh . The British emerged victorious , but the battle was one of the hardest - fought in the history of the British Army . Background . The First Anglo - Sikh War broke out as a result of the Sikh Empire of the Punjab falling into disorder after the death of the Maharajah Ranjit Singh in 1839 , and British desire to secure the Punjab . The Sikh army , the Khalsa , was goaded by some of the contenders for power in the Punjab and its own ambitions for plunder and glory into crossing the Sutlej River into British territory . Moves prior to the battle . A British division was already stationed at Ferozepur , and a large army under the Commander - in - Chief of the Bengal Army , Sir Hugh Gough , accompanied by the Governor General , was already marching from the various stations around Delhi towards the frontier . While a detachment of the Sikh army under its commander in chief , Tej Singh , advanced on Ferozepur , the main force under Vizier Lal Singh advanced to confront Gough . On 18 December , Lal Singh ' s advance guard was defeated at the untidy encounter Battle of Mudki . Gough ' s army itself was hard - hit and tired by the battle , and made no move on the next day , or the day after . This allowed Lal Singh ' s army to concentrate at Ferozeshah and fortify its encampment . Early on 21 December , Gough ' s army advanced , and came into sight of the Sikh encampment late in the morning . Gough wished to attack immediately . Hardinge thought the odds against the British were too great , and wished to wait for the division from Ferozepur , under Major General Littler , to join the attack . Eventually , Hardinge used his civil appointment as Governor General to overrule Gough . The battle . First Day . Littler ' s division appeared in the late afternoon , and deployed on the left of the British line . ( The right division was under Major General Sir Walter Gilbert , and a smaller division under Sir Harry Smith was in reserve . ) Gough attacked at about 3 : 30 pm , on the shortest day of the year . The battle was opened by the British guns moving forward to open a preparatory bombardment . This proved ineffectual . Not only were the Sikh guns more numerous and protected by parapets and entrenchments , they were also far heavier than the British guns , many of which were light guns of the Bengal Horse Artillery . Gough ' s heavy 18 - pounder guns had been left behind at Mudki . As the artillery duelled , the British and Bengal infantry advanced . General Littler came under heavy fire , and believed only a rush with the bayonet would save his division from annihilation by the Sikh guns . Three of his Bengal regiments held back ( being short of water and ammunition ) , while one of his British regiments ( the 62nd Foot ) lost almost half its men and was driven back . Part of General Gilbert ' s division broke into the Sikh encampment , but his own right flank was threatened by large numbers of Sikh irregular cavalry . The Sikh horsemen were driven back by a British cavalry regiment , the 3rd Light Dragoons . As darkness fell , Sir Harry Smith ' s division launched a renewed attack , which overran several Sikh batteries and penetrated into the midst of the Sikh camp , around the village of Ferozeshah itself , before being driven back by counter - attacks . Fierce fighting continued until midnight . Many casualties were caused on both sides as a Sikh magazine exploded . Second Day . Both the British and Sikhs were mixed up in disorder . Gough and Hardinge tried to reform their troops , while keeping up encouraging banter . In fact , Hardinge expected defeat the next day . He sent word to the camp at Mudki that the state papers in his baggage were to be burned in this event , and gave his sword ( a spoil of war which had once belonged to Napoleon Bonaparte ) to his aide - de - camp . When dawn broke , it became clear that the British held most of the camp , and had captured seventy - one guns . Reforming their line , Gough and Hardinge advanced north - west and by noon they had driven Lal Singh ' s army from the field , in spite of heavy losses from the remaining Sikh artillery . Even as the British were congratulating themselves , they became aware that Tej Singh ' s army was approaching from the west . Gough ' s troops were already exhausted and almost out of ammunition . As they formed up again , and came under fire from Tej Singh ' s guns , a capitulation was seriously considered , to spare the wounded from massacre . Gough ' s army was saved when , ironically , some of his horse artillery ran out of ammunition . A staff officer ordered them to withdraw to Ferozepur to replenish , and also ordered much of the British cavalry to escort them . Tej Singh claimed that the movement was an outflanking manoeuvre , and ordered a withdrawal to the north . Aftermath . While the Sikhs temporarily withdrew over the Sutlej , Gough ' s army camped immediately north of the battlefield . They suffered from the stench of the many dead , and many men became ill through drinking from polluted wells . One seventh of the army had been casualties . Hardinge privately criticised Gough ' s head - on tactics and sought to have him replaced , but no formal change of command could take place for several weeks , by which time events made it unnecessary . The staff officer whose apparent blunder in sending the guns and cavalry away on the second day had actually saved Gough , a Captain Lumley who was the son of a General , was judged to have been driven temporarily insane by exhaustion and heatstroke and allowed to resign his commission , rather than face a court - martial . On the Sikh side , there was temporary dismay and much recrimination . It was evident that both Lal Singh and Tej Singh were ineffective and treacherous commanders . Both were Dogras rather than Sikhs , and were prominent in the faction which was seeking to curtail the power of the Khalsa to intervene in the Durbar ( court and government ) of the Punjab . Lal Singh was alleged to have sheltered in a ditch throughout the battle , and although this cannot be proved , it is clear that he took little active part . Tej Singh had used the thinnest pretext to order a retreat when most of his officers and troops were eager to fall on the exhausted British and Bengal armies .