The Military Workshop
1st Lieutenant
- Joined
- Jul 31, 2005
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Met an Australian Sikh today and discussed various aspects of their history. He mentioned a last stand that I had not heard of and thought some other forum members may be interested. Details below.
The Battle of Saragarhi was fought before the Tirah campaign on 12 September 1897 between twenty-one Sikhs of the 36th Sikhs of British India,
defending an army post, and 10,000 tribesmen. The battle occurred in the North West Frontier, now part of Pakistan.
Details of the Battle of Saragarhi are considered fairly accurate, due to Gurmukh Singh signalling events to Fort Lockhart as they occurred.
Around 9:00am, around 10,000 Afghans reach the signaling post at Saragarhi.
Sardar Gurmukh Singh signals to Col. Haughton, situated in Fort Lockhart, that they are under attack.
Colonel Haughton states he cannot send immediate help to Saragarhi.
The soldiers decide to fight to the last to prevent the enemy from reaching the forts.
Bhagwan Singh becomes the first injured and Lal Singh is seriously wounded.
Soldiers Lal Singh and Jiwa Singh reportedly carry the dead body of Bhagwan Singh back to the inner layer of the post.
The enemy breaks a portion of the wall of the picket.
Colonel Haughton signals that he has estimated between 10,000 and 14,000 Pashtuns attacking Saragarhi.
The leaders of the Afghan forces reportedly make promises to the soldiers to entice them to surrender.
Reportedly two determined attempts are made to rush open the gate, but are unsuccessful.
Later, the wall is breached.
Thereafter, some of the fiercest hand-to-hand fighting occurs.
In an act of outstanding bravery, Ishar Singh orders his men to fall back into the inner layer, whilst he remains to fight. However, this is breached and all but one of the defending soldiers are killed, along with many of the Pashtuns.
Gurmukh Singh, who communicated the battle with Col. Haughton, was the last Sikh defender. He is stated to have killed 20 Afghans, the Pashtuns having to set fire to the post to kill him. As he was dying he was said to have yelled repeatedly the Sikh battle-cry "Bole So Nihal, Sat Sri Akal" (Shout Aloud in Ecstasy! True is the Great Timeless One). "Akal," meaning Immortal, beyond death, the Supreme Creator God unbound by time and non-temporal.
Having destroyed Saragarhi, the Afghans turned their attention to Fort Gulistan, but they had been delayed too long, and reinforcements arrived there in the night of 13–14 September, before the fort could be conquered. The Pashtuns later admitted that they had lost about 180 killed and many more wounded during the engagement against the 21 Sikh soldiers, but some 600 bodies are said to have been seen around the ruined post when the relief party arrived (however, the fort had been retaken, on 14 September, by the use of intensive artillery fire, which may have caused many casualties). The total casualties in the entire campaign, including the Battle of Saragarhi, numbered at around 4,800.
Commemorative tablet
The tablet reads;
"The Government of India have caused this tablet to be erected to the memory of the twenty one non-commissioned officers and men of the 36 Sikh Regiment of the Bengal Infantry whose names are engraved below as a perpetual record of the heroism shown by these gallant soldiers who died at their posts in the defence of the fort of Saragarhi, on the 12 September 1897, fighting against overwhelming numbers, thus proving their loyalty and devotion to their sovereign, The Queen Empress of India, and gloriously maintaining the reputation of the Sikhs for unflinching courage on the field of battle."
All the 21 Sikh non-commissioned officers and soldiers of other ranks who laid down their lives in the Battle of Saragarhi were posthumously awarded the Indian Order of Merit, the highest gallantry award of that time, which an Indian soldier could receive by the hands of the British Crown, the corresponding gallantry award being Victoria Cross.
Saragarhi Day, is a Sikh military commemoration day celebrated on 12 September every year to commemorate The Battle of Saragarhi. Sikh military personnel and Sikh non-military people commemorate the battle around the world every year on 12 September. All units of the Sikh Regiment celebrate Saragarhi Day every year as the Regimental Battle Honours Day.
The Battle of Saragarhi was fought before the Tirah campaign on 12 September 1897 between twenty-one Sikhs of the 36th Sikhs of British India,
defending an army post, and 10,000 tribesmen. The battle occurred in the North West Frontier, now part of Pakistan.
Details of the Battle of Saragarhi are considered fairly accurate, due to Gurmukh Singh signalling events to Fort Lockhart as they occurred.
Around 9:00am, around 10,000 Afghans reach the signaling post at Saragarhi.
Sardar Gurmukh Singh signals to Col. Haughton, situated in Fort Lockhart, that they are under attack.
Colonel Haughton states he cannot send immediate help to Saragarhi.
The soldiers decide to fight to the last to prevent the enemy from reaching the forts.
Bhagwan Singh becomes the first injured and Lal Singh is seriously wounded.
Soldiers Lal Singh and Jiwa Singh reportedly carry the dead body of Bhagwan Singh back to the inner layer of the post.
The enemy breaks a portion of the wall of the picket.
Colonel Haughton signals that he has estimated between 10,000 and 14,000 Pashtuns attacking Saragarhi.
The leaders of the Afghan forces reportedly make promises to the soldiers to entice them to surrender.
Reportedly two determined attempts are made to rush open the gate, but are unsuccessful.
Later, the wall is breached.
Thereafter, some of the fiercest hand-to-hand fighting occurs.
In an act of outstanding bravery, Ishar Singh orders his men to fall back into the inner layer, whilst he remains to fight. However, this is breached and all but one of the defending soldiers are killed, along with many of the Pashtuns.
Gurmukh Singh, who communicated the battle with Col. Haughton, was the last Sikh defender. He is stated to have killed 20 Afghans, the Pashtuns having to set fire to the post to kill him. As he was dying he was said to have yelled repeatedly the Sikh battle-cry "Bole So Nihal, Sat Sri Akal" (Shout Aloud in Ecstasy! True is the Great Timeless One). "Akal," meaning Immortal, beyond death, the Supreme Creator God unbound by time and non-temporal.
Having destroyed Saragarhi, the Afghans turned their attention to Fort Gulistan, but they had been delayed too long, and reinforcements arrived there in the night of 13–14 September, before the fort could be conquered. The Pashtuns later admitted that they had lost about 180 killed and many more wounded during the engagement against the 21 Sikh soldiers, but some 600 bodies are said to have been seen around the ruined post when the relief party arrived (however, the fort had been retaken, on 14 September, by the use of intensive artillery fire, which may have caused many casualties). The total casualties in the entire campaign, including the Battle of Saragarhi, numbered at around 4,800.
Commemorative tablet
The tablet reads;
"The Government of India have caused this tablet to be erected to the memory of the twenty one non-commissioned officers and men of the 36 Sikh Regiment of the Bengal Infantry whose names are engraved below as a perpetual record of the heroism shown by these gallant soldiers who died at their posts in the defence of the fort of Saragarhi, on the 12 September 1897, fighting against overwhelming numbers, thus proving their loyalty and devotion to their sovereign, The Queen Empress of India, and gloriously maintaining the reputation of the Sikhs for unflinching courage on the field of battle."
All the 21 Sikh non-commissioned officers and soldiers of other ranks who laid down their lives in the Battle of Saragarhi were posthumously awarded the Indian Order of Merit, the highest gallantry award of that time, which an Indian soldier could receive by the hands of the British Crown, the corresponding gallantry award being Victoria Cross.
Saragarhi Day, is a Sikh military commemoration day celebrated on 12 September every year to commemorate The Battle of Saragarhi. Sikh military personnel and Sikh non-military people commemorate the battle around the world every year on 12 September. All units of the Sikh Regiment celebrate Saragarhi Day every year as the Regimental Battle Honours Day.
