Battle of Sobraon War Memorial

The Battle of Sobraon happened on 10 February 1846. It was the last and biggest battle of the First Anglo-Sikh War, fought right here on the banks of the River Sutlej. The Khalsa Fauj, was strong and brave. But it was let down by its own leaders. Two of its commanders, Tej Singh and Lal Singh, secretly passed information to the British and held back their troops instead of fighting and supporting the Khalsa Fauj. Tej Singh even left the battlefield early and ordered the boat bridge over the river to be broken, cutting off his own soldiers' escape route. Because of this betrayal, the Sikh soldiers were left fighting with their backs to the river, with no way to retreat. Even so, they fought hard. But British and Indian troops broke through their defenses, and thousands of Sikh soldiers died, many while trying to cross the river. This defeat broke the power of the Sikh army and forced the Sikh Empire to sign the Treaty of Lahore, giving up land and paying heavy war costs to the British. In 1868, the British put up this stone monument on the actual battle site to mark where it happened.