Casualties at the Battle of Sobraon.
| Regiments. | Officers. | Men. | ||
| K. | W. | K. | W. | |
| Genl. and Divl. Staff | 4 | 8 | - | - |
| 3rd Hussars | - | 4 | 5 | 22 |
| 9th Lancers | - | - | 1 | 1 |
| 16th Lancers | - | - | - | - |
| Royal Artillery | 1 | 1 | 6 | 46 |
| 9th Norfolks | - | 1 | 5 | 28 |
| Lincoln | 1 | 2 | 30 | 100 |
| 29th Worcesters | - | 12 | 32 | 129 |
| 31st E. Surrey | - | 7 | 35 | 112 |
| 50th West Kent | 1 | 11 | 41 | 186 |
| 53rd Shropshire L.I. | 1 | 8 | 7 | 105 |
| 62nd Wiltshire | 1 | 1 | 3 | 43 |
| 80th S. Staffs | - | 4 | 13 | 74 |
| Royal Munster Fusiliers | 3 | 9 | 33 | 152 |
| Gov.-General's Bodyguard | - | 4 | 6 | 38 |
| 2nd Gardner's Horse | - | - | 1 | 5 |
| 6th K.E.O. Cavalry | - | - | - | - |
| 4th Rajputs (British) | 1 | 1 | - | - |
| Do. (Natives) | 1 | 4 | 4 | 55 |
| 5th Light Inf. (British) | - | 2 | - | - |
| Do. (Natives) | - | 3 | 8 | 53 |
| 6th Jat L.I. (British) | - | 2 | - | - |
| Do. (Natives) | - | 4 | 7 | 90 |
| 7th Rajputs (British) | - | 4 | - | - |
| Do. (Natives) | 1 | 4 | 8 | 64 |
| 8th Rajputs (British) | - | 1 | - | - |
| Do. (Natives) | - | 1 | 4 | 59 |
| 1st Gurkhas (British) | - | 1 | - | - |
| Do. (Natives) | - | 2 | 6 | 74 |
| 2nd Gurkhas (British) | 1 | - | - | - |
| Do. (Natives) | - | 4 | 13 | 126 |
| 9th Gurkhas (British) | - | 3 | - | - |
| Do. (Natives) | - | 1 | 3 | 30 |
By noon the day was ours, but our loss had been enormous. It is true that the Sikh army was in full retreat, and that sixty-seven guns, chiefly of large calibre, were in our hands, but our casualties amounted to close on 2,400 killed and wounded. The little graveyard at Ferozepore bears testimony to the severity of the fighting in the Sutlej Campaign. In no war in which Great Britain has been engaged have the Staff suffered so severely, and in none has the proportion of General Officers been so high, Generals Sir Robert Sale, Sir Robert Dick, and Sir John McCaskill, with Brigadier-Generals Taylor, Bolton, and Wallace, being killed, and no less than eight Brigadiers wounded, in the short campaign. The casualties amongst the British regiments were appalling. The Governor-General had spared neither himself nor his Staff, every single member of which was either killed or wounded.
Punjaub.
All regiments employed in the operations in the Punjab against the Sikhs in the year 1848-49 were awarded this distinction. Some bear it in addition to one of the three battle honours "Chillianwalla," "Mooltan," and "Goojerat," granted for this campaign. Others, which were not present at any of these general actions, but which were actually under fire, bear only the word "Punjaub." The following regiments carry this word on their colours and appointments:
3rd Hussars.
9th Lancers.
14th Hussars.
Lincolns.
South Wales Borderers.
Gloucester.
Worcester.
Cornwall Light Infantry.
Shropshire Light Infantry.
King's Royal Rifles.
North Staffords.
Royal Munster Fusiliers.
Royal Dublin Fusiliers.
2nd Gardner's Horse.
5th Cavalry.
31st Lancers.
35th Scinde Horse.
36th Jacob's Horse.
Q.O. Corps of Guides.
1st P.W.O. Sap and Min.
2nd Sappers and Miners.
2nd Q.O. Light Infantry.
11th Rajputs.
51st Sikhs.
52nd Sikhs.
103rd Light Infantry.
104th Wellesley's Rifles.
109th Infantry.
119th Multan Regiment.
121st Pioneers.
The victory over the Sikhs at Sobraon had been complete. That battle had been fought on February 10; on the 20th of the month our troops entered Lahore, the capital of the Sikh kingdom. The conditions of peace were galling enough to a high-spirited and warlike race like the Sikhs, but they were indispensable for our security in India. Their army was reduced to reasonable dimensions, all the artillery was handed over to us, the whole of the territories on the left bank of the Sutlej were annexed by Great Britain, and a war indemnity of £1,500,000 was exacted. The conduct of the administration was placed in the hands of a Council of Regency, which was supposed to be favourable to our cause, and a British Resident was appointed at the Court of Lahore, in which city a strong British garrison was retained until all the terms had been complied with.
It was soon evident that the Council of Regency was unable to govern the country. Spasmodic outbursts of anti-British fanaticism culminated in the murder of two English officers at Multan, and in the early summer of 1848 it was clear that we must be prepared to conquer and to administer the Punjab. Multan was in the hands of men opposed, not only to the British, but also to the nominal rulers of the kingdom (the Council of Regency), and a British force, under General Whish, was despatched to retake the fortress. This was composed of two troops of horse artillery and a siege-train manned by four companies of English gunners. Five companies of sappers, under Major Robert Napier, later known as Field-Marshal Lord Napier of Magdala, the 10th (Lincoln) and 32nd (Cornwall Light Infantry), with four sepoy battalions, made up the regular forces. To these must be added some 15,000 native levies, who had flocked to the call of a subaltern—Lieutenant Herbert Edwardes—and some loyal Sikhs. A column was under orders from Bombay to assist Whish. This comprised the King's Royal Rifles, the 1st Bombay European Regiment (now the 2nd Royal Dublin Fusiliers), and four sepoy battalions. The task before Whish was more than his force, without the aid of the Bombay troops, could encompass, and the check to his operations had a disastrous effect throughout the Punjab. All the malcontents threw in their lot against us, and on December 16 Lord Gough crossed the Ravi River, and commenced the final conquest of the Land of the Five Rivers. His army was composed as under:
Distribution of the Army of the Punjab, 1849.
Commander-in-Chief: General Lord Gough, G.C.B.