Sikh Wars: Battle of Ferozeshah December 21-22, 1845 - A scenario for Volley and Bayonet

Following Ranjit Singh's death in 1839, a struggle for power erupted that saw a succession of weak rulers replacing each other by increasingly nefarious means. The Sikh army – the Khalsa – moved into the leadership vacumn created by the lack of strong civil leadership. The recent British disaster of the 1st Afghan war, had seriously eroded the Sikh's fear of the Company's army, while the annexation of Scinde by Charles Napier increased Sikh fears of British annexation. Amongst those individuals competing for power in the Punjab, a plan emerged to have the Khalsa cross the Sutlej River and force the British to guarantee Sikh sovereignty. Exactly how the Khalsa was to accomplish this goal was left unsaid, and few concrete objectives were set for the campaign. Some historians view this as a deliberate attempt by the Sikh politicians and nobility to weaken the Khalsa at the hands of the British. Whatever the motivation, December 1845 saw a large Sikh army cross into British India, and then…stop, apparently awaiting the British response.

As the British Army advanced from Ambala to relieve the troops at Ferozepore, they first encountered a Sikh division near the village of Mudki. Sir Hugh Gough - commanding the British Army in India – attacked the Sikh’s under Lall Singh late in the day. The battle raged into the night, but was a clear victory for the British

Following the Sikh defeat at Moodkee, Lal Singh retreated to Ferozeshah, rejoining the main body of the army. The British spent the 20th resting and treating the wounded from the battle, but set out a 0400 on the 21st to unite with General Littler's division from Ferzorepore. Gough's column arrived near Ferozeshah from Moodkee about 1030 on the morning of the 21st.

Spotting the Sikh army, Gough's immediate reaction was to deploy for an immediate assault against the eastern side of the Sikh position. Several officers were critical of Gough's decision to attack, including his second in command Brigadier Hardinge-who happened to be the Governor General of the Colony! Hardinge overruled Gough's attack and ordered him to keep moving towards Littler's approaching division. The junction was effected at the village of Misreewala, southwest of Ferozeshah around 1330 in the afternoon.

      At this point the army started to deploy, an event that took the next two and a half hours to complete. The battle opened around 1600 hours. Littler's division launched a premature attack on the left flank and was bloodily repulsed. Meanwhile, Gilbert and Smith's divisions advanced. The British regiments bore the brunt of the fighting and they succeeded in fighting their way into the center of the Sikh position, where Harry Smith's troops seized Ferozeshah.

      Night fell, and the battle became even more confused. Sniping and sporadic artillery fire occurred all night long, with both sides attempting to regroup or reform. Littler's troops fell back to Misreewala, as did the survivors of Smith's division. A panicked British junior officer -saying he was passing along General Gough's commands, attempted to order a withdrawal to Ferozepore, but was overruled by General Smith. 

      The dawn of the 22nd brought a renewal of the battle. The regrouped British force (minus many of their native troops) renewed the offensive, attacking the entrenchments they had captured once already. As they advanced, the Sikh army's morale collapsed, and the troops fled north. The British appeared to have ended the battle with a resounding victory. The battle, however, was not yet over.

      Tel Singh, arrived from the west, bringing with him the troops that had been loosely besieging Ferozpore. Gough reformed his troops to meet this new threat, occupying the entrenchments they had so recently attacked. The Sikh's stopped, unlimbered their artillery and threatened to charge with the large bodies of cavalry on each flank.

      This threatened attack failed to materialize. On the British right, White's cavalry again charged the Sikh cavalry, throwing the Sikh flank into disarray. On the British left, the cavalry and artillery mysteriously withdrew toward Ferzepore - the work of a panicked junior officer, successful this time. This withdrawal apparently had a negative effect of Tel Singh, who worried that the British were attempting to flank him.  To the amazement of the exhausted British, the Sikh army ceased fire, and then withdrew. The only blemish on the victory was that the exhaustion of the British prevented a proper exploitation of the victory.

The Battlefield

      Ferozeshah was a village located at the junction of three roads leading to the major cities in the Sutlej region- Ludhiana-the main British "base" for the campaign, nearby Ferozepore, which was held by the British, but threatened by the Sikh Army, and the road to Moodkee, which General Gough's troops were advancing along. The surrounding terain is covered by open scrub "jungle" -consisting of low thorny scrub and scattered trees. The Sikh position at Ferozeshah was a strong one. The army was drawn up in a horseshoe shaped formation around the village of Ferozeshah, with the open end of the "shoe" to the north. Light works protected the perimeter of the Sikh position.

 

Terrain

The battlefield has some unusual terrain which should be treated as follows;

      Ferozeshah: Ferozeshah is represented by a single town block as described in the rules.

      Misreewala: Misreewala is represented by two town blocks as descibed in the rules.

      Abatis: Abatis (a barricade made from felled trees) is treated as hasty works for any stand that begins the turn adjacent to the abatis.

      Jungle: Jungle is treated as open woods as described in the rules.

Game Length

      Ferozeshah models the events of the first day of battle. The game begins with the 11:00 am turn and continues through the 5:00 pm turn.

Victory

      The main British objective is to defeat the Sikh force and secure the camp near Misreewala. The Sikh's are defending the approach to Fezeropore and the Sikh army under Tel Singh, and attempting to defeat and delay the British force approaching from Moodkee.

      The British win by destroying or crippling the Sikh Army. The Sikh Army has 4 derahs or divisions. Each division exhausted at the end of the game counts as one point for the British, while each division in morale collapse or completely destroyed counts as two points. The British win a tactical victory with 5 points and a strategic victory with 8 points.

      The Sikh’s win by keeping the British from meeting their victory conditions and retaining control of the village of Ferozeshah.

Optional Victory Conditions

Okay, the only way to explain the British success at Ferozeshah is to factor in the inexplicable behavior of the Sikh commanders. Lal Singh has near parity in troops, but lets his command sit while the British outflank and overrun him. Then, Tej Singh – with victory in his grasp! – disengages from an opponent that he could crush. Obviously, the goals of the senior officers in the campaign were not to defeat the British.  To that end, I offer a set of victory conditions that better reflect the goals of the Sikh leadership.

Lal Singh – defeat the British, but have at least one Khalsa division in morale collapse. Taking the fire out of your army will make it easier to seize power back home.

Metab Singh – At least two Khalsa divisions exhausted AND Khalsa must suffer twice the casualties of your Ghochurra cavalry. The Ghochurra division must not be exhausted at the end of the battle.

Tej Singh – Let Lal Singh take the blame and conspire with your British allies. You must engage the British, but if all of Lal Singh’s divisions are collapsed, you can withdraw a happy man. If none of Lall Singh’s divisions are in morale collapse when you join the battle, then you must defeat the British by making all their divisions go into morale collapse.

THE BRITISH ARMY

      General Hugh Gough (army commander)

Corps Troops

      Field Artillery Battalion..........(2-6) qq

      Field Artillery Battalion..........(2-6) qq

      Heavy (siege) battalion...........(2-6) qq

      Siege mortar battalion…….…(2-5) qq

White’s Cavalry Division (exhaustion = 3)

      Brigadier White

      Horse artillery battalion….........(2-6) qq

      White's Cavalry Brigade...........(3-6) qqq battalion gun

      3^rd Light Dragoons…………….(1-6) q

      6th Light Dragoons……………(1-6) q

McCaskill's Division (exhaustion = 6)

      Brigadier Wallace (commanding)

      9th Foot...................................(3-6) qqq

      2nd Native Infantry...................(2-5) qq

      26th Native Infantry..................(2-5) qq

      73rd Native Infantry..................(2-5) qq

Gilbert's Division (exhaustion =9)

      Major General Sir Walter Gilbert (commanding)

Taylor's Brigade

      29th Foot.................................(3-6) qqq

      80th Foot.................................(2-5) qq

      41st Native Infantry..................(2-5) qq

McLaren's Brigade

      1st European Light Infantry......(3-5) qqq

      16th Native Infantry..................(2-5) qq

      45th Native Infantry..................(2-5) qq

In reserve;

Smith's Division (exhaustion = 7)

      Sir Harry Smith (commanding)

Hicks Brigade

      31st Foot.........….......................(2-6) qq

      24th Native Infantry...................(2-5) qq

      47th Native Infantry...................(2-5) qq

Ryan's Brigade

      50th Foot..............................…..(2-6) qqq

      42nd Native Infantry..................(2-5) qq

      48th Native Infantry...................(2-5) qq

Littler's Division (exhaustion = 7) Arrives as reinforcements in road column from Ferozepore to the west.

Major General Sir John Littler…..leader stand

Corps Troops

Marriot's Cavalry Brigade.........(3-6) qqq battalion gun

horse artillery battalion….........(2-6) qq

Ashburnham's Brigade

      33rd Native Infantry..................(2-5) qq

      46th Native Infantry...................(2-5) qq

      54th Native Infantry...................(2-5) qq

Reed's Brigade

      62nd Foot................................(3-6) qqq

      12th Native Infantry..................(2-5) qq

      14th Native Infantry..................(2-5) qq

British Deployment

      The British troops are deployed anywhere within 12” of the southern village of Misreewala.

Khalsa Army

      General Lall Singh (army commander)……command stand

     

Army Troops

      artillery battalion # 1...............(2-5) qq

      artillery battalion # 2...............(2-5) qq

      artillery battalion # 3...............(2-5) qq

      artillery battalion # 4...............(2-5) qq

      artillery battalion # 5...............(2-5) qq

      artillery battalion # 6...............(2-5) qq

  zamburak battery # 7………...(6-3)    qqqqqq

      zamburak battery # 8………...(6-3)    qqqqqq

Akali Irregulars (religious fanatics)

      Akali...…..(1-3 skimisher)

      Bakali….. (1-3 skimisher)

      Dakali….. (1-3 skimisher)

      Brakali.….(1-3 skimisher)

      Makali…...(1-3 skimisher)

1^st Infantry Division (exhaustion = 11)

      1^st Brigade....................(6-4) qqqqqq

      2^nd Brigade...................(6-4)    qqqqqq

      3^rd Brigade....................(6-4) qqqqqq

      4thBrigade………........(6-4) qqqqqq

2^nd Infantry Division (exhaustion = 8)

      5^th Brigade….................(6-4) qqqqqq

      6^th Brigade….................(6-4) qqqqqq

      7^th Brigade….................(6-4) qqqqqq

Sikh Cavalry Division (exhaustion = 3)

Cavalry Regiment # 2..................(2-4)  qq Poorly Trained Regulars

Cavalry Regiment # 3..................(2-4)  qq Poorly Trained Regulars

Cavalry Regiment # 1..................(2-4)  qq Poorly Trained Regulars

Sikh Ghocurra Horse (Nobility and retainers of the Sikh tribes)

Exhaustion = 6

Mehtab Singh  (‘division commander’)

Ghochurra cavalry # 1….........(3-3)  qqq         Poorly Trained Regulars

Ghochurra cavalry # 2.............(3-3)  qqq         Poorly Trained Regulars

Ghochurra cavalry # 3.............(3-3)  qqq         Poorly Trained Regulars

Ghochurra cavalry # 4.............(3-3)  qqq         Poorly Trained Regulars

Ghochurra cavalry # 5.............(2-3)  qq            Poorly Trained Regulars

Entering at some point on December 22, 1845 in road column from Ferozepore. No earlier than the 1100 hours turn.

Tej Singh’s ‘Wing’ (exhaustion=11)

Tej Singh (Corps Commander)

Corps Troops

Heavy artillery battalion # 8………(2-5)  qq

Heavy artillery battalion # 9………(2-5)  qq

Zamburak camel battery..…………(6-3) qqqqqq

Infantry Division (exhaustion = 8)

Infantry Brigade....................(6-4) qqqqqq

Infantry Brigade....................(6-4) qqqqqq

Infantry Brigade....................(6-4) qqqqqq

Ghochurra Left Wing  (exhaustion=7)

Ghochurra cavalry # 6…..............(3-3) PTR   qqq

Ghochurra cavalry # 7..................(3-3) PTR      qqq

Ghochurra cavalry # 8..................(3-3) PTR   qqq

Ghochurra cavalry # 9..................(3-3) PTR   qqq

Ghochurra cavalry # 9..................(3-3) PTR   qqq

Ghochurra cavalry # 10..................(3-3) PTR    qqq

Gochurra Right Wing  (exhaustion=7)

Ghochurra cavalry # 11..................(3-3) PTR qqq

Ghochurra cavalry # 12..................(3-3) PTR qqq

Ghochurra cavalry # 13..................(3-3) PTR qqq

Ghochurra cavalry # 14..................(3-3) PTR qqq

Ghochurra cavalry # 15..................(3-3) PTR qqq

Ghochurra cavalry # 16..................(3-3) PTR qqq

Ghocurra Cavalry Skirmisher…..(1-5)     q

Ghocurra Cavalry Skirmisher…..(1-5)     q

Sikh Deployment

The Sikh troops under Lall Singh are placed inside the perimeter formed by the works around the village of Ferozeshah. Artillery is placed on the perimeter of the line, with the infantry and cavalry deployed anywhere on or within the perimeter.