First Anglo - Sikh War The First Anglo - Sikh War was fought between the Sikh Empire and the East India Company between 1845 and 1846 . It resulted in partial subjugation of the Sikh kingdom . Background and causes of the war . The Sikh kingdom of Punjab was expanded and consolidated by Maharajah Ranjit Singh during the early years of the nineteenth century , about the same time as the British - controlled territories were advanced by conquest or annexation to the borders of the Punjab . Ranjit Singh maintained a policy of wary friendship with the British , ceding some territory south of the Sutlej River , while at the same time building up his military forces both to deter aggression by the British and to wage war against the Afghans . He hired American and European mercenary soldiers to train his artillery , and also incorporated contingents of Hindus and Muslims into his army . Aided by disunity among the Afghans , the Sikhs conquered the cities and provinces of Peshawar and Multan from them , and also incorporated the states of Jammu and Kashmir into their empire . Once order was restored in Afghanistan , the British became obsessed with idea that Emir Dost Mohammed Khan of Afghanistan was conspiring with Imperial Russia and launched the First Anglo - Afghan War to replace him with the compliant Shuja Shah Durrani . This move had Sikh support , in return for the formal cessation of Peshawar to the Sikhs by Shuja Shah . Initially successful , the British invasion took a disastrous turn with the Massacre of Elphinstone ' s Army , which lowered the prestige of the British , and the Bengal Army of the British East India Company in particular . The British finally withdrew from Afghanistan , and from Peshawar which they held as an advance base , in 1842 . Events in the Punjab . Ranjit Singh died in 1839 . Almost immediately , his kingdom began to fall into disorder . Ranjit ' s unpopular legitimate son , Kharak Singh , was removed from power within a few months , and later died in prison under mysterious circumstances . It was widely believed that he was poisoned . He was replaced by his able but estranged son Kanwar Nau Nihal Singh , who also died within a few months in suspicious circumstances ; he was crushed by a falling archway at the Lahore Fort while returning from his father ' s cremation . There were at the time two major factions within the Punjab contending for power and influence : the Sikh Sindhanwalias and the Hindu Dogras . The Dogras succeeded in raising Sher Singh , the eldest illegitimate son of Ranjit Singh , to the throne in January 1841 . The most prominent Sindhanwalias took refuge on British territory , but had many adherents among the Army of the Punjab . The army was expanding rapidly in the aftermath of Ranjit Singh ' s death , from 29 , 000 ( with 192 guns ) in 1839 to over 80 , 000 in 1845 as landlords and their retainers took up arms . It proclaimed itself to be the Khalsa , or embodiment of the Sikh nation . Its regimental panchayat s ( committees ) formed an alternate power source within the kingdom , declaring that Guru Gobind Singh ' s ideal of the Sikh commonwealth had been revived , with the Sarbatt Khalsa or the Sikh as a whole assuming all executive , military and civil authority in the State , which British observers decried as a " dangerous military democracy " . British representatives and visitors in the Punjab described the regiments as preserving " puritanical " order internally , but also as being in a perpetual state of mutiny or rebellion against the central Durbar ( court ) . In one notorious instance of unrest , Sikh soldiers ran riot , looking for anyone who looked as if they could speak Persian ( the language used by the clerks who administered the Khalsa ' s finances ) and putting them to the sword . Maharajah Sher Singh was unable to meet the pay demands of the Khalsa , although he reportedly lavished funds on a degenerate court . In September 1843 he was murdered by his cousin , an officer of the Khalsa , Ajit Singh Sindhanwalia . The Dogras took their revenge on those responsible , and Jind Kaur , Ranjit Singh ' s youngest widow , became Regent for her infant son Duleep Singh . After the Vizier Hira Singh was killed , while attempting to flee the capital with loot from the Royal Treasury ( Toshkana ) , by troops under Sham Singh Attariwala , Jind Kaur ' s brother Jawahar Singh became Vizier in December 1844 . In 1845 he arranged the assassination of Peshaura Singh , who presented a threat to Duleep Singh . For this , he was called to account by the Khalsa . Despite attempts to bribe the army he was butchered to death in September 1845 in the presence of Jind Kaur and Duleep Singh . The Khalsa nevertheless did not take over the kingdom at this point . Although Jind Kaur publicly vowed revenge against her brother ' s murderers , she remained Regent . Lal Singh became Vizier , and Tej Singh became commander of the army . Sikh historians have stressed that both these men were prominent in the Dogra faction . Originally high - caste Hindus from outside the Punjab , both had converted to Sikhism in 1818 . British actions . Immediately after the death of Ranjit Singh , the British East India Company had begun increasing its military strength , particularly in the regions adjacent to the Punjab , establishing a military cantonment at Ferozepur , only a few miles from the Sutlej River which marked the frontier between British - ruled India and the Punjab . In 1843 , they conquered and annexed Sindh , to the south of the Punjab , in a move which even many British regarded as cynical and ignoble . This did not gain the British any respect in the Punjab , and increased suspicions of British motives . The actions and attitudes of the British , under Governors General Lord Ellenborough and his successor , Sir Henry Hardinge , are disputed . By most British accounts , their main concern was that the Khalsa , without strong leadership to restrain them , was a serious threat to British territories along the border . Sikh and Indian historians have countered that the military preparations made by these Governors General were offensive in nature ; for example , they prepared bridging trains and siege gun batteries , which would be unlikely to be required in a purely defensive operation . The British attitudes were affected by reports from their new Political Agent in the frontier districts , Major George Broadfoot , who stressed the disorder in the Punjab and recounted every tale of corrupt behaviour at the court . For some British officials , there was a strong desire to expand British influence and control into the Punjab , as it was the only remaining formidable force that could threaten the British hold in India and the last remaining independent kingdom not under British influence . The kingdom was also renowned for being the wealthiest , the Koh - i - Noor being but one of its many treasures . Despite this , it is unlikely that the British East India Company would have deliberately attempted to annex the Punjab had the war not occurred , as they simply did not have the manpower or resources to keep a hold on the territories ( as proven by the outbreak of the Second Anglo - Sikh War ) . Nevertheless , the unconcealed and seemingly aggressive British military build - up at the borders had the effect of increasing tension within the Punjab and the Khalsa . Outbreak and course of the war . After mutual demands and accusations between the Sikh Durbar and the East India Company , diplomatic relations were broken . An East India Company army began marching towards Ferozepur , where a division was already stationed . This army was commanded by Sir Hugh Gough , the Commander in Chief of the Bengal Army , and was accompanied by Sir Henry Hardinge , the British Governor General of Bengal , who placed himself beneath Gough in the military chain of command . The British East India Company forces consisted of formations of the Bengal Army , with usually one British unit to every three or four Bengal infantry or cavalry units . Most of the artillery on the British side consisted of light guns from the elite Bengal Horse Artillery . In response to the British move , the Sikh army began crossing the Sutlej on 11 December 1845 . Although the leaders and principal units of the army were Sikhs , there were also Punjabi , Pakhtun and Kashmir i infantry units . The artillery consisted mainly of units of heavy guns , which had been organised and trained by European mercenaries . The Sikhs claimed they were only moving into Sikh possessions ( specifically the village of Moran , whose ownership was disputed ) on the east side of the river , but the move was regarded by the British as clearly hostile and they declared war . One Sikh army under Tej Singh advanced towards Ferozepur but made no effort to surround or attack the exposed British division there . Another force under Lal Singh clashed with Gough ' s and Hardinge ' s advancing forces at the Battle of Mudki on 18 December . The British won an untidy encounter battle . On the next day , the British came in sight of the large Sikh entrenchment at Ferozeshah . Gough wished to attack at once , but Hardinge used his position as Governor General to overrule him and order him to wait for the division from Ferozepur to arrive . When they appeared late on 21 December , Gough attacked in the few hours of daylight left . The well served Sikh artillery caused heavy casualties among the British , and their infantry fought desperately . On the other hand , the elite of the Sikh army , the irregular cavalry or ghodachadas ( alt . gorracharra , horse - mounted ) s , were comparatively ineffective against Gough ' s infantry and cavalry as they had been kept from the battlefield by Lal Singh . By nightfall , some of Gough ' s army had fought their way into the Sikh positions , but other units had been driven back in disorder . Hardinge expected a defeat on the following day and ordered the state papers at Mudki to be burned in this event . However , on the following morning , the British and Bengal Army units rallied and drove the Sikhs from the rest of their fortifications . Lal Singh had made no effort to rally or reorganise his army . At this point , Tej Singh ' s army appeared . Once again , Gough ' s exhausted army faced defeat and disaster , but Tej Singh inexplicably withdrew , claiming that British cavalry and artillery which were withdrawing to replenish ammunition were actually making an outflanking move . Operations temporarily halted , mainly because Gough ' s army was exhausted and required rest and reinforcements . The Sikhs were temporarily dismayed by their defeats and by their commanders ' actions , but rallied when fresh units and leaders joined them , and Maharani Jind Kaur exhorted 500 selected officers to make renewed efforts . When hostilities resumed , a Sikh detachment crossed the Sutlej near Aliwal , threatening Gough ' s lines of supply and communications . A division under Sir Harry Smith was sent to deal with them . Sikh cavalry attacked Smith continually on his march and captured his baggage , but Smith received reinforcements and at the Battle of Aliwal on 28 January 1846 , he won a model victory , eliminating the Sikh bridgehead . Gough ' s main army had now been reinforced , and rejoined by Smith ' s division , they attacked the main Sikh bridgehead at Sobraon on 10 February . Tej Singh is said to have deserted the Sikh army early in the battle . Although the Sikh army resisted as stubbornly as at Ferozeshah , Gough ' s troops eventually broke into their position . The bridges behind the Sikhs broke under British artillery fire , or were ordered to be destroyed behind him by Tej Singh ( ostensibly to prevent British pursuit ) . The Sikh army was trapped . None of them surrendered , and the British troops showed little mercy . This defeat effectively broke the Sikh army . Aftermath . In the Treaty of Lahore on 9 March 1846 , the Sikhs were made to surrender the valuable region ( the Jullundur Doab ) between the Beas River and Sutlej River . The Lahore Durbar was also required to pay an indemnity of 15 million rupees ( 1 . 5 crore ) . Because it could not readily raise this sum , it ceded Kashmir , Hazarah and all the forts , territories , rights and interests in the hill countries situated between the Rivers Beas and Indus to the East India Company , as equivalent for one crore of rupees . In a later separate arrangement ( the Treaty of Amritsar ) , the Raja of Jammu , Gulab Singh , purchased Kashmir from the East India Company for a payment of 7 , 500 , 000 rupees ( 75 lakh ) and was granted the title Maharaja of Jammu and Kashmir . Maharaja Duleep Singh remained ruler of the Punjab and at first his mother , Maharani Jindan Kaur , remained as Regent . However , the Durbar later requested that the British presence remain until the Maharaja attained the age of 16 . The British consented to this and on 16 December 1846 , the Treaty of Bhyroval provided for the Maharani to be awarded a pension of 150 , 000 rupees ( 1 . 5 lakh ) and be replaced by a British resident in Lahore supported by a Council of Regency , with agents in other cities and regions . This effectively gave the East India Company control of the government . Sikh historians have always maintained that , in order to retain their hold on power and maintain the figurehead rule of Duleep Singh , Lal Singh and Tej Singh embarked on the war with the deliberate intent of breaking their own army . In particular , Lal Singh was corresponding with a British political officer and betraying state and military secrets throughout the war . Lal Singh ' s and Tej Singh ' s desertion of their armies and refusal to attack when opportunity offered seem inexplicable otherwise . The Sikh empire was until then one of the few remaining kingdoms in India after the rise of the company and the fall of the Mughal empire . Although the Khalsa was weakened by the war , resentment at British interference in the government led to the Second Anglo - Sikh War within three years .