Chapter 613 The War Ends

The Sikh Army's bombardment caused obvious chaos to the British Army. Fortunately, Henry Harding had seen worse situations than now.

Although the morale of the British Indian Army was low and the military discipline was lax, it was not a big problem if it was just to defend the city.

Of course, this was also inseparable from Sir Henry Harding's constant morale boosting on the front line and the black muzzles of the supervisors.

Four hours after the start of the war, the Sikh Army took the lead in stopping fire. This was certainly not because it was time for lunch.

Rather, Queen Jinda's envoy (supervisor) felt that it was a waste of money to fight like this. The armies of Dega Singh and Lal Singh brought nearly 400 artillery pieces, and that was all money.

Since the death of Gilant Singh, the fiscal revenue of the Sikh Empire has plummeted.

This was not because the master favored the late emperor, but because these descendants were really not human beings. In less than five years, they ruined the foundation laid by their predecessors for fifty years.

(The guru is the god in the Sikh system.)

By 1845, the fiscal revenue of the Sikh Empire had fallen to less than 10 million rupees, and the treasury could not even raise 300,000 rupees.

However, compared with stopping the bombardment, the Sikh army's subsequent actions were wiser.

Degar Singh and Lal Singh's understanding of war can be described in three words: "frame A".

In fact, the subsequent battle was still very grand in terms of the scene. The Sikh army rushed towards the British fortress, most of which had collapsed.

Especially the deafening drums and deafening roars, which frightened the Indians who were repairing the fortress.

The Sikh charge formation was a traditional inverted "pin" shape, and this tactic was also called the ox horn formation, which looked equally impressive.

It's just that it's impossible to see it in detail, because the formation soon disappeared, replaced by chaotic footsteps and noisy sounds.

The most outrageous thing is that the cavalry actually charged together with the infantry and militia, and even the former quickly left the charging team when they held back.

Then these cavalry became the target of the defenders. In fact, the temporary wall built by Henry Harding was not high, only about 1.5 meters high and 0.4 meters wide, and most of it was made of mud and bricks.

The bombardment just now had caused a large area of ​​the wall to collapse. In theory, a cavalry charge could break through the defense.

Or at least it could occupy some gaps to open the way for follow-up troops.

However, under the continuous shooting of the British siege guns and Brunswick rifles, this group of Sikh cavalry made an amazing move, that is, dismounting and shooting at the British army on the spot, and hiding behind the horses.

This tactic of covering one's ears and stealing the bell is Lal Singh's proud work. It looks unique and seems feasible in theory, but why didn't his predecessors use it? He didn't think about it.

This was the first time that the Sikh cavalry used this tactic on the battlefield. The result was predictable. The British army, which had been somewhat willing to fight, suddenly turned into brave men and began to "stand and fight" using the city walls.

Finally, after losing dozens of cavalrymen, this cavalry regiment of thousands of people collapsed. The fleeing cavalrymen also broke up the infantry team behind them, and the French instructors could not control the formation even if they broke their whips.

The French were very clear about this messy formation, and even Napoleon could only shake his head. But it was not impossible to save it, that is, the column charge tactic.

During the French Revolution, the most commonly used tactic of the French army was to break through quickly with columns, and then form a firepower advantage locally.

"Column tactics!"

"Column tactics!"

Almost all French officers shouted at the same time.

However, due to the previous continuous turmoil and purges, not all Sikh soldiers could understand the tactical orders of French officers.

But under the continuous bombardment and the continuous efforts of the officers, several columns were barely formed.

Sir Henry Harding in the fortress was so familiar with this tactic that he knew what the other side was going to do and how to restrain it.

"Switch to solid bullets! Quick! Adjust the muzzle and shoot down their vanguard! Let Major General Usborne come over! I want him to plug the gap in front of him no matter what!"

Solid bullets are very suitable for dealing with column tactics, because as long as they hit, they can bring up a string of blood gourds.

In addition, column tactics have extremely strong impact, and Indian soldiers obviously cannot stop the advance of this torrent.

Sir Henry Harding chose to let his most elite troops go up at the first time. The four regiments led by Major General Usborne, a total of 7,000 people, all came from the British mainland, with sophisticated weapons and well-trained.

If it weren't for the critical moment, the former didn't want to use this force at all. But he knew very well that if he couldn't stop this wave of attack now, the entire defense would most likely be torn apart, and then a big defeat would occur.

By that time, even if Major General Usborne's troops were intact, they would be powerless to save the situation.

The war seemed to have reached a critical moment, but the French overlooked a problem. If the Sikh army was once led by Gilant Singh, it might really be able to reproduce the victory during the French Revolution.

However, after continuous turmoil and several years of purges, the combat effectiveness and fighting will of the Sikh army at this time plummeted.

In the end, it took only a few shells to defeat the army that was like a torrent before. Usborne's troops had just deployed, and the two sides had not yet come into contact. This made the latter very depressed, and he could only look at his old superior from a distance.

Sir Henry Harding was even more depressed. He thought that a battle like Mars hitting the Earth was about to begin, but it ended just after the fireworks were set off.

The most depressing thing was that the enemy retreated too early. The distance between the two sides was not enough, so he did not dare to pursue them because the Sikhs had too many artillery.

Deja Singh and Lal Singh looked at the retreating army. Their first action was to kill the eunuch sent by Senjinda.

Then the two of them started a desperate run in tacit understanding. Seeing that the commanders had escaped, the officers naturally did not want to fall behind.

At this time, it must be said that the French were still quite contractual. Even though the employers had given up, they still led the Sikh soldiers to retreat in an orderly manner and destroyed the supplies and facilities that could not be taken away.

Sir Henry Harding looked at everything that happened in front of him with a depressed face. He felt that it was illogical. Just now, Sir Henry Harding hid in the basement of the fort because he was sure that the Sikhs would start a second round of artillery fire.

As a result, after waiting for a long time, Henry Harding did not see the bombardment he imagined. When he came to the fortress again, the Sikh camp was already on fire, and only corpses were left on the battlefield.

Although this was a battle without any honor, it was a good thing for Britain, because it meant that it could solve the most difficult enemy on the Indian subcontinent "without bloodshed".

In fact, Queen Jinda not only sent supervisors to Dega Singh and Lal Singh, but also surrendered to the British, saying that she was willing to downgrade the empire to a kingdom and become a vassal of Britain.

Compared with the interests of the Sikh Kingdom, she cared more about whether the power in her hands was stable.