Fall of the Mughal Empire v4.c56.s24: § 12. Laswari—midday lull in the battle
Fall of the Mughal Empire v4.c56.s24
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§ 12. Laswari—midday lull in the battle
v4.c56.s24.1
The repulse of the British cavalry gave Sarwar Khan a respite for three hours (10 A.M. to 1 A.M.) which he put to the best use. The report of the morning’s fight had recalled his other nine battalions and cavalry force from the way to Mewat, and he set up a formidable row of double defences round Mālpur, where all the baggage stores and munitions of this army were deposited.
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Lake’s infantry had started from their camp near Katumbar at 3 o’clock in the morning, and in eagerness to share the glory of their mounted brethren they had made a forced march of 25 miles in nine hours, arriving near Laswari at noon on the 1st of November. Two hours’ respite had to be given to them for rest and refreshment, before they could be hurled upon the enemy. During this interval Ambāji sent a proposal for surrendering his guns if he was allowed to go away on certain conditions. Lake granted him an hour to carry out his promise. But Ambājī could not induce his men to part with their beloved guns without a struggle; the hour lapsed, and at 2 o'clock in the afternoon Lake launched his second attack, this time with his full force.
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During the lull in the combat the British commander-in-chief and his staff had worked out their plan of operations in the second stage. The infantry was formed into a long narrow column, the 76th British Regiment leading and the sepoy battalions following. The 29th Light Dragoons accompanied the column and was followed by a battery of six guns. The attack was to proceed along the north bank of the Baraki *nālā* and turn the enemy's right.
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§ 13. *Laswari*—second battle, British victory
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The English attack advanced along the north bank of the *nālā*, being concealed from the enemy's eyes for a time by the sand-hills and tall jungle-grass. But the track was so narrow and rugged that the column was greatly lengthened and took a long time to debouch and expand into line at the end of the march. As soon as Sarwar Khan detected his enemy's line of approach, he with incredible rapidity and skill, threw his right wings back to face the south, and thus enveloped the village of Mālpur on three sides. The cavalry—about 1,250 Deccani irregulars under Gulāb Rai Kadam, was posted beyond the new right wing as a cover. The infantry lines now looked like two capital L's with their legs turned to the *left* and enclosing the village between them.
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As soon as Lake's column came into range, it was subjected to a fierce bombardment from the guns along the Marātha front. Though Macan's battery opened fire in reply, yet the enemy's artillery was so greatly superior in number and weight of metal that the head of the British column began to suffer heavy losses, while compelled to stand still in that exposed position in order to allow the rest of the column time to come up and deploy into line.
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At last the situation became so intolerable that Lake could not wait any longer but decided to send his cavalry on to break the enemy's double lines (at their right extreme) and follow up this charge by personally leading an attack with the only infantry that had come up to the front as yet, namely the 76th British and one battalion and a half of the Bengal infantry.* There was nearly a mile of plain to be crossed from Lake's present position on the river bank to his point of attack in the Maratha line (right extreme). The 76th British infantry on coming within range was subjected to a murderous fire of canister from the Sindhian artillery and checked. At the same time the Deccani cavalry from their right flank advanced threatening the 76th; but the charge was feeble, and the Maratha horsemen fled away before the British musketry fire, to form far away behind their second line.
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The position of the small head of the British column was extremely critical, and Lake chose the heroic remedy of launching the 29th Light Dragoons to break the enemy's infantry lines. These horsemen quickly moved to the left of the 76th, formed into line and amidst deafening cheers from all their horse and foot, charged into the valley of death. Nothing could resist them, the two parallel lines of the enemy's right wing, before and behind the village, were pierced "with the impetuosity of lightning, in the face of a most tremendous fire of grape shot and a general volley of musketry."
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By this time the two Native Infantry battalions had come up to the front, and Lake led them personally to reinforce the 76th Regiment, advance upon the enemy's right wing, and secure the guns which his cavalry had ridden through. The ground to be crossed was wide, "the Marathas standing valiantly to their guns, poured a concentrated artillery and infantry fire on the two battalions and faced their charge bayonet to bayonet. . . . The British wing hurled themselves against the Marathas, burst through the gaps in their lines made by the charge of the Dragoons, and attacked the village of Mālpur with a fury that none could resist.” Meanwhile the 29th L. Dragoons, after piercing through both lines of the enemy’s right wing, had wheeled to the left and scattered like chaff Gulāb Rai Kadam’s cavalry who were watching the scene from the west of Laswari. These Deccani soldiers abandoned their northern brethren and saved themselves by galloping away into the northern hills.
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∗ In the C-in-C's order of thanks the six companies of the 16th Native Infantry and the second battalion of the 12th were the corps of Native Infantry specially noticed for their timely and gallant advance to the support of H.M.'s 76th. (Williams, p. 291. Thorn, 228.)
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The hand to hand struggle between infantry on both sides, in and around the village of Mālpur raged with fury till 4 o’clock in the evening, by which time all the Maratha guns had been taken and their right wing and centre destroyed. Their left wing, still keeping the disciplined formation, tried to retreat in good order. But a new danger now beset them. The 29th Dragoons swung round from the pursuit of Gulāb Rai to the rear or north-western end of the village of Mālpur and closed that route of escape. The two other brigades of Lake’s cavalry, kept in reserve during the afternoon’s fighting, were now let loose upon the Sindhian infantry from the east and the north. Thus enveloped on all sides, the unbroken remnant of the campoo was huddled together beyond the north end of the village of Mālpur and forced to surrender.* General Lake mercifully released all the common sepoys (about 2,000) and detained only their officers, forty-eight in number, as prisoners.
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When the fighting at last ended, the victors had no strength left for pursuit. The overworked men and horses of the British army tramped wearily to their camp in the plain between the villages of Sahajpur and Singraka, a mile north-east of Laswari. But even here nature seemed bent on denying them peace and rest. The setting sun revealed an extensive plain covered with the bodies of the dead and the dying to the number of many thousands. On all sides arose the groans of the wounded, for whom the medical and transport arrangements were very scanty. "This terrible picture was heightened by successive explosions of powder magazines and tumbrils of ammunition (from the burning village of Mālpur), which shook the atmosphere, and obscured the horizon with tremendous clouds of sulphurous smoke. The murky night brought a hurricane which came on with furious rapidity, till it spread an indescribable degree of horror over the bloodstained field." [Thorn, 227.]
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∗ “Soon after the firing had ceased, many men of the enemy’s corps . . . sought refuge from the cavalry pursuit by gathering about the Native Battalions left on the field of battle to collect the wounded men and the captured ordnance, and throwing down their arms, they were screened with the mantle of generosity, . . . a great portion of the troops in the two armies having been natives of the same provinces.” Williams, 292.