Battle of Aliwal The Battle of Aliwal was fought on 28 January 1846 between the British and the Sikhs . The British were led by Sir Harry Smith , while the Sikhs were led by Ranjodh Singh Majithia . The British won a victory which is sometimes regarded as the turning point of the First Anglo - Sikh War . Background . The First Anglo - Sikh War began six years after the death of Ranjit Singh , who had established the Sikh Empire in the Punjab . The Punjab became increasingly disordered , while the British increased their military forces on their border with the Punjab . Eventually , the increasingly turbulent Khalsa , the army of the Sikh empire , was goaded into crossing the Sutlej River and invading British territory , under leaders who were distrustful of their own troops . On 21 December and 22 December 1845 , the army of the British East India Company commanded by Sir Hugh Gough and the Governor - General of Bengal , Sir Henry Hardinge , fought the bloody Battle of Ferozeshah . The Sikh armies under Vizier Lal Singh and Commander in Chief Tej Singh eventually retreated , but the British army was shaken by its heavy losses . They did not renew hostilities for some weeks , and Hardinge sought to relieve Gough of his command , blaming his tactics for the heavy casualties . The Sikhs too were temporarily disheartened by the retreats ordered by their commanders . However , they were reinforced by troops who had not yet seen action , and moved back across the Sutlej to occupy a bridgehead at Sobraon , while , a detachment under Ranjodh Singh Majithia ( sometimes transcribed as Runjoor Singh ) , with 7 , 000 men and 20 guns , crossed higher up the Sutlej to besiege the British - held fortress of Ludhiana and menace Gough ' s and Hardinge ' s supply lines . The British commanders detached a division under Sir Harry Smith to clear this threat to their rear . Campaign . On 16 January 1846 , Smith recovered two outposts which the Sikhs had seized at Fategarh and Dharmkot . Although Runjodh Singh ' s irregular cavalry had raided over a wide area and set fire to part of the British cantonments at Ludhiana , his main body was advancing only slowly on Ludhiana . Harry Smith first intended to attack Runjodh Singh ' s army at Buddowal . However , on learning of the Sikh strength , and receiving further orders from Gough , he instead force - marched his troops via Jagraon , collecting a British regiment there , to reach Ludhiana ahead of the Sikh main body . On 21 January , as he left Buddowal , the Sikh irregular cavalry ( the " Gorchurras " ) continually attacked his rearguards . They captured most of Smith ' s baggage animals ( mules , bullocks and elephants ) , and cut down any straggling troops . Nevertheless , Smith succeeded in reaching Ludhiana , with his troops exhausted . A brigade of troops from Delhi , including two Gurkha battalions , reinforced him . After resting his troops , Smith once again advanced to Buddowal . The Sikhs had withdrawn to Aliwal on the Sutlej , awaiting reinforcements . On 28 January , Smith advanced against them , cautiously at first . Battle . The Sikhs had occupied a position long , which ran along a ridge between the villages of Aliwal , on the Sutlej , and Bhundri . The Sutlej ran close to their rear for the entire length of their line , making it difficult for them to manoeuvre and also potentially disastrous if they were forced to retreat . After the initial artillery salvoes , Smith determined that Aliwal was the Sikh weak point . He sent two of his four infantry brigades to capture the village , from where they could enfilade the Sikh centre . They seized the village , and began pressing forwards to threaten the fords across the Sutlej . As the Sikhs tried to swing back their left , pivoting on Bhundri , some of their cavalry tried to threaten the open British left flank . A British and Indian cavalry brigade , led by the 16th Lancers , charged and dispersed them . The 16th Lancers then attacked a large body of Sikh infantry . These were battalions organised and trained in contemporary European fashion by Neapolitan mercenary , Paolo Di Avitabile . They formed square to receive cavalry , as most European armies did . Nevertheless , the 16th Lancers broke them , with heavy casualties . The infantry in the Sikh centre tried to defend a " nullah " ( dry stream bed ) , but were enfiladed and forced into the open by a Bengal infantry regiment , and then cut down by fire from Smith ' s batteries of Bengal Horse Artillery . Unlike most of the battles of both Anglo - Sikh Wars , when the Sikhs at Aliwal began to retreat , the retreat quickly turned into a disorderly rout across the fords . Most of the Sikh guns were abandoned , either on the river bank or in the fords , along with all baggage , tents and supplies . They lost 2 , 000 men and 67 guns . Aftermath . Smith wrote afterwards : Many commentators referred to Smith ' s victory as the " Battle without a mistake " . Except for the 16th Lancers , who lost 144 men out of about 300 , few of Smith ' s units had heavy casualties .