Battle of Gujrat The Battle of Gujrat was a decisive battle in the Second Anglo - Sikh War , fought on 21 February 1849 , between the forces of the East India Company , and a Sikh army in rebellion against the Company ' s control of the Sikh Empire , represented by the child Maharaja Duleep Singh who was in British custody in Lahore . The Sikh army was defeated by the British regular and Bengal Army forces of the British East India Company . After it capitulated a few days later , the Punjab was annexed to the East India Company ' s territories and Duleep Singh was deposed . Outbreak and course of the war . After the British victory in the First Anglo - Sikh War , the Punjab was indirectly governed by a British representative at the Durbar ( court ) in Lahore and Agents in several of the regions . The Sikh Army , the Khalsa , was kept in being and used to keep order in the Punjab and North West Frontier Region . The Khalsa regarded itself as betrayed rather than defeated in the first war , and several of its Sardars ( Generals ) plotted rebellion . However , the first outbreak came at Multan on 18 April 1848 , where rebellious troops murdered a British agent ( Lieutenant Patrick Vans Agnew ) and expelled a Sirdar imposed as ruler by the British Resident at Lahore . The former ruler , Dewan Mulraj , resumed his authority and prepared for a siege . Rather than use large forces from the British and Bengal Armies during the hot weather and monsoon seasons , the Governor General of Bengal , Lord Dalhousie , deployed part of the Khalsa and other irregular contingents against Mulraj . On 14 September , the troops from the Khalsa besieging Multan under Sardar Sher Singh Attariwalla also rebelled . They did not join Mulraj however , but moved north along the Chenab River into the main Sikh - populated area of the Punjab to gather recruits and obtain supplies . Late in 1848 , a large British and Bengal army took the field during the cold weather season under the Commander in Chief of the Bengal Army , General Sir Hugh Gough . Gough already had a reputation , whether deserved or not , for unimaginative head - on tactics . On 22 November at Ramnagar , his cavalry were repulsed attacking a Sikh bridgehead on the east bank of the Chenab . Then on 13 January 1849 , he launched a hasty frontal attack against Sher Singh ' s army at Chillianwala near the Jhelum River and was driven back with heavy casualties . Several days ' heavy rain followed , preventing either army from renewing the battle . After they had faced each other for three days , both withdrew . Prelude to the Battle . Rather than launch a counter - attack against Gough , Sher Singh ' s aim was to join forces with the troops under his father , Sardar Chattar Singh Attariwalla . Chattar Singh ' s army had been confined to the Hazara region for several months by Muslim irregulars under British officers . At the start of 1849 , Amir Dost Mohammed Khan of Afghanistan had sided with the rebellious Sikhs . His aim was to recover the area around Peshawar , which had been conquered by Ranjit Singh early in the nineteenth century , but his support was half - hearted . Nevertheless , when 3 , 500 Afghan horsemen approached the vital fort of Attock on the Indus River , its garrison of Muslim troops defected . This allowed Chattar Singh to move out of Hazara and link up with Sher Singh near Rawalpindi . On the British side , once news of Chillianwala reached Britain , Gough was almost immediately superseded . His replacement was General Charles James Napier , who would require several weeks to travel from England . In the meantime , the Siege of Multan had resumed , and Mulraj was forced to surrender on 22 January . This allowed the bulk of the besieging force to reinforce Gough ' s army . In particular , they brought large numbers of heavy guns with them . Gough , who had now received word of his dismissal but who remained in command until formally relieved , advanced against the Sikh army . He had three infantry divisions and a large cavalry force , with 100 guns of various weights and calibres . In spite of his successes , Sher Singh , who commanded the combined Sikh forces , was running out of strategic options . His large army was unable to find enough food . Any move north or west to obtain supplies would involve abandoning the main Sikh - populated area of the Punjab and moving into potentially hostile Muslim areas . He therefore attempted a bold outflanking move against Gough . His army moved east , intending to cross the Chenab and then move south before crossing the river again to attack Gough from the rear . When they reached the river , they found it swollen by heavy rains , and the few fords were defended by irregular Muslim cavalry under British officers , later reinforced by some of the troops marching up from Multan . Battle . Sher Singh withdrew to Gujrat , where his army hastily prepared a defensive position . The Sikhs constructed a double entrenchment , which was also protected by a ravine . Most of the artillery was grouped in a central battery , screened by hastily planted bushes . The cavalry was deployed on the flanks . Several small villages in advance of the central battery were occupied by infantry , and the houses and buildings were prepared with " loopholes " for defence . Although the position was strong , it was exposed to British artillery fire , and the hastily erected screen of brush was not as effective as the belts of scrub and jungle which had hidden the Sikh artillery from view at Chillianwala . Early on 21 February , Gough advanced against this position . When the Sikh artillery opened fire and disclosed their position , Gough deployed his large numbers of heavy guns against them . In a three - hour artillery duel , the Sikhs were forced to abandon their guns . Sikh and Indian sources were later to refer to the battle as the " Battle of the Guns " . Once the Sikh artillery was largely silenced , the British infantry advanced . There was desperate hand - to - hand fighting for the small fortified villages of Burra Kalra and Chota Kalra . However , the British guns were being advanced in successive " bounds " , and the Sikhs broke . Gough reported after the battle : The heavy artillery continued to advance with extraordinary celerity , taking up successive forward positions , driving the enemy from those [ positions ] they had retired to , whilst the rapid advance and beautiful fire of the Horse Artillery and light field - batteries . . . broke the ranks of the enemy at all points . The whole infantry line now rapidly advanced and drove the enemy before it ; the " nulla " [ ravine ] was cleared , several villages stormed , the guns that were in position carried , the camp captured and the enemy routed in every direction The Bengal Horse Artillery and British and Indian cavalry took up a ruthless and merciless pursuit , which turned the Sikh retreat into a rout over . Aftermath . The next day , a division under Major General Sir Walter Gilbert took up the pursuit . The remnants of Sher Singh ' s forces retreated across the Jhelum and into progressively rougher country for eleven days , but Sher Singh was finally forced to agree to British terms for surrender . His army , reduced to 20 , 000 men ( mainly irregular cavalry ) and 10 guns , handed over its arms at a two - day ceremony on 12 March and disbanded . The small Afghan contingent also hastily retreated , destroying the pontoon bridge at Attock behind them . Dost Mohammed later concluded a peace with the East India Company , acknowledging their possession of the Peshawar region . The Punjab was formally annexed to British territory at Lahore on 2 April . At the end of his career , Gough had finally fought a model battle , using his vast superiority in heavy guns to drive Sher Singh ' s troops from their position without resorting to the bayonet as he usually did , and turning their retreat into a rout with his cavalry and horse artillery . He had also been able to operate for the first time without receiving contradictory instructions from Dalhousie . Throughout the war , Dalhousie had alternately goaded on and restrained Gough , usually at the most inconvenient moments . After the British had withdrawn at Chillianwala , Sikh and other irregulars showed no mercy to abandoned British combatant wounded and the British at Gujrat showed no mercy to surrendered or fleeing enemies . However , both sides ' documented war records show a deep level of respect and admiration for each other fighting prowess .