Battle of Saragarhi – The Forgotten Battle!

 

One of the greatest battles in history

On September 12th 1897, more than 10,000 Afghan tribesmen attacked 21 soldiers of the Sikh regiment of the British Indian Army in a small mountain fort. This almost forgotten battle of Saragarhi along the famed Khyber Pass is one of the greatest last stands in history of the world. The history of the British Empire along the Northwest Frontier on the northwest side of British India was long and frequently bloody, their interests in Afghanistan began as early as the 18th century.

Afghanistan became a centrepiece and there was a political and military battle of saragarhicontest between the British Empire and the Russian Empire for influence in Central Asia between 1849 and 1947. The British fought three wars with the Afghan’s and there were numerous other small conflicts and punitive expeditions, a lot of that had to do with the disputed lands between the frontier of British India in what is now modern-day Pakistan and Afghanistan.

After a tribal uprising in 1891, the British decided they should fortify & garrison the Khyber Pass. Two chief fortifications Fort Gulistan and Fort Lockhart were built, two forts were just three miles apart but they could not see each other because in between there was a tall mountain and so the British built a small signalling post on top of that mountain facilitating communication between the two forts and came to be known as Fort Saragarhi.

The Battle

battle of saragarhiFive companies of the 36th Sikh regiment of the British Indian Army garrisoned these fortifications. Sikhs are followers of a pantheistic religion called Sikhism, they are concentrated in the Punjab region of India. In August of 1897, there was a general uprising of the Pashtun tribes and Fort Gulistan and Fort Lockhart came under the attack of more than 10,000 Afghan tribesmen. At that time the forts in the area were garrisoned by just around 500 members of the 36th Sikhs.  Fort’s came under sporadic fire but there wasn’t an all-out attack until mid-September. Because the two forts could reinforce each other the Afghans were unable to get to the fortifications.

On September 12th, Afghans decided to focus their attention on Fort Saragarhi. Manned by just 21 soldiers, 1 sergeant and 20 troopers from the 36th Sikhs. The attack could be viewed from Fort Lockhart and they counted seven different banners among the Afghan tribes. This allowed them to estimate how many Afghans were attacking, it was somewhere between 10 and 12 thousand.battle of saragarhi

Ground between them was open. There was little that the Garrison’s in Fort Gulistan and Fort Lockhart could do to help the soldiers on Saragarhi. Any reinforcements would had to fight their way through the ten thousand Afghanis. However, there were reinforcements coming from farther down the pass. The 21 troopers decided that instead of trying to escape or surrendering they would fight and hold out as long as they could fight to the last in order to give the most time for those reinforcements to come.

Frustration of Afghans

battle of saragarhiSince it was a signalling post, they were able to use their heliograph to inform the troops at Fort Lockhart about the details of the battle. The attack commenced around 9:00 am. Fort was only stoned and mudded. It was tall and was on top of a mountain, the Afghans could not bring their numbers to bear. The defenders who could concentrate their fire were able to repulse several attacks. Casualties were slowly reducing them and they were running out of ammunition.

After two determined attempts to force the door were repulsed. Afghans finally became frustrated and set fire to the bushes in the area. They were able to move under the cover of the smoke to one of the walls. It could not be observed and undermine the wall creating a breach. They stormed in and became bloody hand fighting to the end. Last defender remaining was the one who had been running the heliograph. Since he was up on a tower he could observe what was going on down below. From fort Lockhart they could see him shooting into the Afghanis. He killed as many as 20 before the frustrated Afghan’s set fire to the tower and let him die in the flames.

Aftermath

By then it was after 3 p.m. The defenders of Saragarhi had held out for more than six hours. That gave the reinforcements much time to come. Reinforcements got to the ruins of fort Saragarhi they found more than 600 dead afghan tribesmen around the fort. They were able to drive off the attack with artillery and saved the forts.

The British responded with a huge punitive expedition that involved more than 30,000 troops known as Terra campaign. British stomped the valley burning all the villages, destroying all the fortifications until the tribes were forced to sue for peace. All twenty-one defenders of Fort Saragarhi were awarded the Indian Order of Merit. Which was the highest award for Indian troops in the British Indian Army, the equivalent of a Victoria Cross.

This battle is remembered every year on the 12th of September as Saragarhi Day among Sikh units of the Indian Army, but it is largely forgotten everywhere else. May the sacrifice of these 21 brave solders live in our hearts “jo bole so nihal sat sri akal”!!!