The casualties of the 72nd on the 30th were few, considering the importance of the victory. One officer, Lieutenant Cameron, was wounded, and one private killed and eight wounded. The victory was gained by a clever flank movement, which turned the enemy’s position and rendered their defences useless. This point in tactics, the rebels never sufficiently attended to, and consequently repeatedly lost battles by allowing their flanks to be turned.
On the 18th of April the 72nd left Kotah, and on the 2nd of May the regiment reached Neemuch, having on the march from Kotah passed through the Mokundurra Pass, a long narrow valley between two ranges of hills, easily rendered formidable by a small number of men, and unfortunately known in Indian history for Colonel Monson’s disastrous retreat thence. At Neemuch, new barracks were nearly completed for the men, but no accommodation of any kind for officers. Nothing but a mass of ruins remained of this once extensive cantonment, which had been completely destroyed by the mutineers of the Bengal Army, who had been quartered here.
The force at Neemuch now consisted of a wing of the 2nd Bombay Cavalry, six guns of Bombay field artillery, one company of Royal Engineers, one company of Royal Artillery without guns, the 72nd Highlanders, one company of Her Majesty’s 95th regiment, and one wing of the Bombay Native Infantry. The remainder of the division was at Nusseerabad, with the exception of a column under Colonel Smith of the 3rd Dragoon Guards, consisting of a wing of the 8th Hussars, a wing of the 1st Bombay Lancers, one troop Bombay Horse Artillery (Lieutenant-Colonel Blake’s), Her Majesty’s 95th Regiment, and a Native Infantry Regiment, which had been detached to Goonah, to keep open the communications between Jhansee and Indore in the rear of Sir Hugh Rose’s division.
The 72nd was now once more in quarters. The conduct, discipline, and health of the men from the time of their landing in India was quite unexceptionable, the regiment remaining perfectly efficient in every sense, though considerably under the proper number of its establishment. The recruiting, however, at the dépôt quarters at Aberdeen proved most satisfactory.
The regiment continued under the command of Major Thellusson, Lieutenant-Colonel Parke having been appointed to command the station at Neemuch.
On the 6th of June, four companies of the regiment were suddenly ordered to Nusseerabad under Major Rocke, in consequence of the mutiny of the main body of the army belonging to Sindhiah of Gwalior. On the 20th of June this detachment of the regiment reached Nusseerabad, and immediately took the field with a strong column under the command of Major-General Roberts. This force consisted of one troop Bombay Horse Artillery, a wing of Her Majesty’s 8th Hussars, a wing of the 1st Bombay Cavalry, and some Belooch Horse, a detachment of Her Majesty’s 72nd Highlanders, Her Majesty’s 83rd regiment, a regiment of native infantry, four 9-pounder guns Bombay Artillery, and a small siege train.
Major-General Roberts proceeded with the column in the direction of Jeypoor to cover and protect that city, which was threatened by a large army of rebels under the Rao Sahib and Tantéa Topee. These two noted leaders, after the capture of Gwalior in June by Sir Hugh Rose, crossed the river Chumbul at the northern extremity of Kerowlee District, at the head of ten or twelve thousand men, and entered the Jeypoor territory. On the advance, however, of Major-General Roberts, the enemy turned south, marched on the city of Tonk, pillaged the suburbs, capturing four field-pieces, and in good order, on the approach of the British troops, made a rapid retreat in a south-easterly direction to Bhoondee.
Major-General Roberts now detached a small force, composed of horse-artillery, cavalry, and the four companies of 72nd Highlanders, besides some native infantry, to take up the pursuit; but owing to excessive rains, this service was one of great difficulty, and the men were exposed to unusual hardships and privations. Such was the state of the weather that, for several days consecutively, not even the rebels could move.
On the 14th of August, Major-General Roberts, after a rapid succession of forced marches, came up with the enemy near the village of Kattara on the Bunas river, a few miles north of the city of Oodeypoor, where the rebels had taken up a good position. On the advance of the hussars and horse artillery, they abandoned their guns and fled; their loss, it was calculated, having exceeded 1000 men killed.
Simultaneously with these operations, a column, including 330 rank and file of the regiment, under Lieutenant-Colonel Parke, recently appointed Brigadier of the 1st Class, moved out from Neemuch to co-operate with Major-General Roberts in the direction of Odeypoor, the head-quarters. On the 18th of this month, the column under Brigadier Parke received orders to pursue the scattered and fugitive rebel forces, and was reinforced by the head-quarters and a wing of the 13th Regiment Native Infantry, a wing of H.M. 8th Hussars, 250 Belooch horse, and a detachment of Goojerat irregular cavalry. Notwithstanding the utmost efforts on the part of the pursuing column, the enemy completely outstripped it by the extraordinary rapidity of their flight. They took a direct easterly course between the rivers Bunas and Bairas, retreating into the mountains and rocky fastnesses to the north of Chittoor, proceeding as far as the Chumbul river, which they crossed on the 23rd of August, without being intercepted by the pursuing column. This, probably, would not have happened had not the information supplied by the political authorities been incorrect. On the evening of the 23rd, Brigadier Parke reached the Chumbul; but he was unable to cross on account of the rapid swelling of the stream and the completely worn-out condition of the cavalry that had been detached from Major-General Roberts’s column for the pursuit. The force accordingly returned, reaching Neemuch on the 28th, the infantry having marched upwards of 220 miles between the 11th and 23rd of August.