Second Battle of Lahore (1759)

Second Battle of Lahore
Part of Afghan-Sikh Wars
DateNovember 1759
Location
Near Lahore
Result Both armies retreat[1]
Belligerents
Dal Khalsa Durrani Empire
Commanders and leaders
Jassa Singh Ahluwalia
Charat Singh
Jai Singh Kanhaiya
Gujjar Singh Bhangi
Lehna Singh Bhangi		 Jahan Khan (WIA)
Strength
Unknown Unknown
Casualties and losses
Unknown 2,000 killed[2][3]
This article is about the second battle in 1759 for the earlier battle see First Battle of Lahore (1759). For other uses, see Battle of Lahore (disambiguation).

The Second Battle of Lahore was fought in November 1759 by the Sikh forces led by Jassa Singh Ahluwalia and the Afghan forces led by Jahan Khan.

Background

Ahmad Shah Abdali invaded India for the fifth time during 1759 with the main goal to recapture all the territories taken by his enemies.[4] The Maratha Empire had left Punjab without any resistance, leaving the Sikhs alone against the Afghan Empire.[5] The Afghan army marched for Lahore. When the Sikhs got intel, they attacked the army, scaring away the Durranis during the night.[1]

Battle

When the Shah learnt about this, he sent a 40,000 strong army towards Lahore in order to teach the Sikhs a lesson.[6] Jassa Singh was already prepared. When the battle began, Jassa Singh and Jai Singh attacked the Afghans from the right while the remaining Sikhs attacked from the left. If the Afghans attacked the Sikhs in the right, they would be attacked by the Sikhs in the left and vice versa. The battle concluded at night with both armies retreating, with the Afghans facing 2,000 slain, and Jahan Khan was wounded.[1][7][5]

Aftermath

After this fierce engagement, the Afghans had fought the Marathas in the Battle of Taraori (1759) and defeated them.[8]

References

  1. ^ a b c Singh, Ganda (1990). Sardar Jassa Singh Ahluwalia. pp. 101–102.
  2. ^ Jagadish Narayan Sarkar (1976). A Study of Eighteenth Century India: Political history, 1707-1761. Saraswat Library. p. 343.
  3. ^ Singh, Khushwant (2004). A History Of The Sikhs, Vol. 1, 1469-1839. Oxford University Press. p. 150. ISBN 9780195673081.
  4. ^ Jaswant Lal Mehta (2005). Advanced Study in the History of Modern India 1707-1813. Sterling Publishers Pvt. p. 263. ISBN 9781932705546.
  5. ^ a b Harbans Singh (1995). The Encyclopedia Of Sikhism. p. 12. ISBN 9788173801006.
  6. ^ D.S Saggu VSM (2018). Battle Tactics And War Manoeuvres of the Sikhs. Notion Press. ISBN 9781642490060.
  7. ^ Hari Ram Gupta (1978). History Of The Sikhs Vol. II Evolution Of Sikh Confederacies (1707-69). p. 154.
  8. ^ Alexander Mikaberidze (2011). Conflict and Conquest in the Islamic World. Abc-Clio. p. 43. ISBN 9781598843361.

See also