The British round off their "property" in India ...


The year is 1848. All of India is occupied by the British. All of India?

No! There are still independent states on the subcontinent ruled by indigenous rulers!

The militarily most dangerous state for the British is the empire of the warlike Sikhs in the Punjab!



Here the flag of the Sikh Empire ...:



The Sikhs are a special religious community, male members can be recognized at first glance by their turbans (which must be worn always and everywhere!) and their flowing beards ...:



Her long hair is hidden under the turbans ...



... because a male and genuinely religious Sikh should never cut his hair and beard!

Besides - that is what religion commands! - A Sikh must never be unarmed outside his own home - razor-sharp scimitar is part of the national costume ...:



And - another specialty: as a sign of their brotherly bond with one another, all male Sikhs still wear! - the same last name "Singh" (= "lion") - and the women "Kaur" (= (princess ")!

The British - in the guise of British Governor Sir Henry Lawrence ...



... have treated these dangerous and self-confident neighbors in an unusually diplomatic manner.
But as true colonialists, this situation understandably annoys them ...

Under a pretext, the murder of the British East India Company employees Robert Vans Agnew...



... and William Anderson...



... by Sikhs the British started two wars against the Sikh Empire - the first one is poorly prepared and ends - narrowly for the British - with a stalemate.

The British are preparing their second campaign of conquest more carefully!

On July 26, 1847 two brigades of infantry and one brigade of cavalry, as well as engineers and siege artillery, marched under the command of General William Whish ...



... coming from the Lahore garrison, in the Punjab.

Already during the first serious fight with Sikh troops, the attempt to take the border fortress Multan...



... without exception all Sikh soldiers in the British ranks desert, their commander in front, to the opposite side and thus to their country people!

These well trained and disciplined soldiers will be the toughest opponents of the British in the clashes to come!

In the next pictures you can see Sikhs in British red coats fighting the British everywhere!

The British have to stand still - sometimes even withdraw.

But then marched - on November 9, 1848, the main British forces with 21 battalions of infantry, 12 regiments of cavalry and 11 batteries under the command of General Hugh Gough ...



... from Lahore.

On November 22nd, near Ramnagar, they encounter the defected Sikh contingent, reinforced by troops of the Sikh Empire under Maharadja Shere Singh ...



... but again only reach a draw ...



... where Brigadier C. R. Cureton ...



... falls in combat ...:



The Sikhs march out undefeated, the British pursue them.

Then the next battle, this time at Chilianwala (January 13th). Bloody losses on both sides, but again no clear result ...:





Both armies then bivouack undefeated within sight of each other!

When General Gough learns that a Sikh reinforcement army is approaching, he decides to attack - the main battle near Gujarat ...:







The battle begins on February 20th, on February 21st, 1849 Shere Singh is dead, his army defeated and the survivors on the run!

The remnants of the Sikh army surrender on March 14, 1849.

The British then annex the Sikh Kingdom - or as they would have said: they add it to the jewel of the Crown of the Empire.

End of the story.

Proud and industrious people, turned over by Vicky's greed for Empire. Not just the Sikhs though was it.
Good post with the usual quality pictures - thanks Martin!