Later Mughals v1.c9.s18.10

v1.c9.s18.10

Abdus-samad Khan and Zain-ud-din Ahmad Khan followed them at once to Lohgarh. Before a shot had been fired, or a sword drawn, a panic seems to have seized on Banda and his men; they evacuated their fort and fled into the hills. While a camping ground was being selected by the imperialists, water sought for, and preparations in progress for beginning to dig a ditch and throw up earthworks, a party of horsemen, in the most reckless fashion, rode off towards some high ground, from which they expected to obtain a better view of the Sikh position. As soon as they appeared on the high ground, the Sikhs streamed down the further side of the hill and disappeared. This panic and flight became the more inexplicable when the imperialists saw the elaborate preparations for resistance. From the first ridge up to the wall of Lohgarh itself, they had built fifty-two defensive posts, arranged in such a manner that each protected the other, thus exposing an assailant to a deadly fire throughout his advance. Some insisted that food supplies must have failed; others argued that their ammunition must have given out. But the prisoners, when questioned, swore in the most solemn way that it was due to a sudden panic on seeing the horsemen appear at the top of the hill and, as they thought, about to charge them. If the advantage had been followed up at once, it is probable that Banda would have been defeated effectually, but pursuit was delayed for several days, and by that time, in spite of much searching through the hill country, not a trace of the Guru could be found. The capture of Sadhaura and the flight of Banda were reported at Dihli on the 20th Ramzan 1125 (9th Oct. 1713).†