Chapter 613 The war is over
The Sikh shelling caused obvious chaos to the British army, but fortunately Henry Harding had seen worse situations before.
Although the morale of the British Indian army was low and military discipline was lax, there was still no big problem if they were just defending the city.
Of course, this is also inseparable from the fact that Sir Henry Harding has been boosting morale on the front line and the black muzzles in the hands of the supervising team.
Four hours after the war started, the Sikh army took the lead in ceasefire. This was certainly not because it was lunch break.
But the special envoy (supervisor) of Queen Jindal felt that such a fight was a waste of money. Degar Singh and Lal Singh brought nearly 400 artillery pieces, and the fight was all money.
Since the death of Kirant Singh, the Sikh Empire's financial revenue has plummeted.
This is not because the master favored the late emperor, but because they, the younger generation, were really unworthy of human beings. In less than five years, they ruined the foundation built by their predecessors over fifty years.
(Guru is God in the Sikh system.)
By 1845, the Sikh Empire's financial revenue had dropped to less than 10 million rupees, and the national treasury could not even raise 300,000 rupees.
However, compared to stopping the shelling, the Sikh army's next operation was wise.
Deja Singh and Lal Singh's understanding of war can be described in three words as "frame A".
In fact, the scene that followed the battle was quite grand. Sikh troops all over the mountains and plains rushed towards the British fortress, which had mostly collapsed.
Especially the loud war drums and deafening roars frightened the Indians who were repairing the fortress.
The Sikh charge formation is in the traditional inverted "pin" shape. This tactic is also called the horn formation and looks equally impressive.
It's just that I couldn't take a closer look, because the formation soon disappeared, replaced by chaotic footsteps and noisy sounds.
The most outrageous thing is that the cavalry actually launched a charge together with the infantry and militiamen. Even if the former held back their strength, they quickly separated from the charging team.
Then these cavalry became the targets of the defenders. In fact, the temporary city wall built by Henry Harding was not high, only about 1.5 meters high and 0.4 meters wide, and it was mostly made of mud and bricks.
The shelling just now has caused the collapse of a large area of the city wall. Theoretically, it is possible for the cavalry to break through the defense with a single charge.
Or at least occupy some gaps to clear the way for subsequent troops.
However, under the continuous firing of the British siege guns and Brunswick rifles, this group of Sikh cavalry made an astonishing move, that is, they dismounted and fired at the British troops on the spot, while still hiding behind their horses.
This tactic of deceiving others is Lal Singh’s favorite work. It looks unique and theoretically feasible, but why hasn’t it been used by anyone before? He didn't think about it.
This was the first time that the Sikh cavalry carried out this tactic on the battlefield. As you can imagine, the result was that the British troops, who had been somewhat complacent, suddenly turned into brave men and began to use the city wall to "stand up".
Finally, after losing dozens of cavalry, this cavalry regiment of thousands of people collapsed. The fleeing cavalry dispersed the infantry team behind them. Even if the French instructors broke their whips, they could not control the formation.
The French knew this messy formation very well, and even Napoleon could only shake his head when he came. But it is not impossible to save, that is, the column charge tactic.
During the French Revolution, the most common tactic used by the French army was to break through quickly in columns and then form a local firepower advantage.
"Column tactics!"
"Column tactics!"
Almost all the French officers shouted at the same time.
However, due to the previous continuous turmoil and purges, not all Sikh soldiers could understand the French officers' tactical orders.
However, under the continuous bombardment and the continuous efforts of the officers, several columns were still reluctantly formed.
Sir Henry Harding in the fortress was extremely familiar with this tactic. He knew what the opponent was going to do and how to restrain it.
"Change to solid bullets! Quick! Adjust the muzzle and kill their vanguard! Let Major General Osborne come over! I want him to block 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 bunch of blood gourds.
In addition, column tactics are extremely impactful, and it is obviously difficult for Indian soldiers to stop the progress of this torrent.
Sir Henry Harding immediately chose to let his most elite troops go forward. The four regiments led by Major General Usborne totaled 7,000 people, all from the British mainland, with excellent weapons and well-trained training.
If it hadn't come to a critical moment, the former would not want to use this force at all. But he knew very well that if he could not block this wave of attacks now, then the entire defense would most likely be torn apart, causing a huge rout.
By that time, Major General Usborne's troops will be intact and unable to recover.
The war seems to have reached a critical moment, but the French have ignored one issue. If the Sikh army had been led by Gillant Singh, they might have been able to replicate the victory during the French Revolution.
However, after continuous turmoil and several years of purges, the Sikh army's combat effectiveness and fighting will have plummeted.
In the end, it only took a few rounds of artillery shells to defeat the legion that was like a torrent before. Osborne's troops had just deployed and the two sides had not yet contacted... This made the latter very depressed and could only look at his old superior from a distance. .
Sir Henry Harding was even more depressed. He originally thought that there was going to be a battle like sparks hitting the earth, but it ended just as fireworks were set off.
The most depressing thing was that the enemy retreated too early, and he did not dare to pursue them because the distance between the two sides was not enough, 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 Jinda.
Then the two of them started a desperate run in perfect agreement. Seeing the coaches running away, the officers were naturally not far behind.
At this time, I have to say that the French still have a spirit of contract. Even though the employers have given up, they still led the Sikh soldiers to retreat in an orderly manner, destroying the materials and facilities that could not be taken away.
Sir Henry Harding looked at what was happening in front of him with a depressed face. He felt that there was no logic in it all. Sir Henry Harding had just hid in the basement of the fortress because he was sure that the Sikhs would definitely start a second round of bombardment.
As a result, after waiting for a long time, Henry Harding did not wait for the bombardment as he imagined. When he came to the fortress again, the Sikh camp was already in flames, and only a pile of 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 deal with the most difficult enemy on the Indian subcontinent "without a single blow."
In fact, Queen Jindal not only sent war supervisors to Degar Singh and Lal Singh, but also sent a letter of surrender to the British, stating that she was willing to downgrade the empire to a kingdom and become a vassal of the British.
She cares more about the stability of her power than the interests of the Sikh Kingdom.