Battle of Mudki War Memorial

The Battle of Mudki was fought on 18 December 1845 at this site. The obelisk was erected by the British in 1870, 25 years after the battle. The Sikh army decided to cross the Sutlej, gathered its forces and did so, which the British considered a violation of the Treaty of Amritsar (1809). Under this treaty, the Lahore Durbar was forbidden to cross to this side (cis-Sutlej), even in the Malwa territories, apart from some revenue collection. The Sikh forces were under Lal Singh, while the Commander-in-Chief on the British side was General Hugh Gough. The battle opened with artillery fire and heavy gunning from the Sikhs. Morale was initially high, but the battle was indecisive, as both sides suffered heavy casualties. The Sikhs fired heavily with guns and cannon from within undergrowth and shrubbery, and the infantry guarded the gunners. Ghorcharras (irregular horsemen) stood on either side of the guns. They attacked first but lacked coordination and suffered heavily. They then retreated and fled the ground, leaving the gunners and infantry alone. It was just two days short of the shortest day of the year, and the last light was around 5:30 PM. Visibility was poor due to the dust thrown up during the battle, and it was hard to see anything. The fighting carried on into the darkness, causing mass confusion and several cases of "friendly fire". The Sikh forces retreated to their camp and entrenchments at Ferozeshah (the site of the next battle, on 21-22 December), while the British fell back to the village of Mudki. Notably, Lal Singh, the commander of the Sikh army, left the battlefield early. It was later revealed that he had been secretly providing intelligence to the British. The First Anglo-Sikh War was fought largely because the Lahore Durbar wished to cut down the army and reduce its influence in the Durbar.