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In 1857, Lucknow, the capital of the former state of Oudh (now spelt Awadh), India, was the scene of a historic defence by the British during the Sepoy Mutiny (Indian Mutiny/First War of Indian Independence) against British rule, known as the Siege of Lucknow, one of the key episodes in the unsuccessful rebellion. Awadh is now a region in the state of Uttar Pradesh.
The siege, with significant differences, was fictionalised in J.G. Farrell's The Siege of Krishnapur.
Background to the siege
The state of Oudh had been annexed by the British East India Company the year before the rebellion broke out. Although Oudh had been misgoverned for some time before its annexation, the high-handed actions of the East India Company were resented. The first Commissioner (in effect, Governor) appointed to the newly acquired territory behaved tactlessly, and Sir Henry Lawrence, a very experienced administrator, took up the appointment only six weeks before the Mutiny broke out.
The sepoys (Indian soldiers) of the Bengal Army had become increasingly troubled over the preceding years, feeling that their religion and customs were under threat from the evangelising activities of the Company. Lawrence was well aware of the mutinous state of the Indian troops under his command (which included the former army of the state of Oudh). On 18 April he warned the Governor General (Lord Canning) of some manifestations of discontent, and asked permission to transfer certain mutinous corps to another province.
The flashpoint of the rebellion was the introduction of a new Enfield Rifle. There were widespread rumours that the cartridges for this weapon were greased with a mixture of beef and pork fat, which would defile Indian soldiers. On May 1 the 7th Oudh Irregular Infantry refused to bite the cartridge, but on May 3 they were disarmed by other regiments.
On May 10, the Indian soldiers at Meerut broke into open rebellion, and marched on Delhi. When news of this reached Lucknow, Lawrence recognized the gravity of the crisis and summoned from their homes two bodies of pensioners, one of sepoys and one of artillerymen, to whose loyalty, and to that of the Sikh sepoys, the successful defence of the residency was largely due.
Mutiny begins
Beginning on May 23, Lawrence began fortifying the Residency and laying in supplies for a siege. Large numbers of British civilians made their way to the Residency from outlying districts. On May 30, (the Moslem festival of Eid ul-Fitr), the Oudh and Bengal troops at Lucknow broke into open mutiny. In addition to his locally recruited pensioners, Lawrence also had the bulk of the British 32nd Regiment available, and they were able to drive the mutineers away from the city.
On June 4 there was a mutiny at Sitapur, a large and important station 51 miles (82 km) from Lucknow. This was followed by another at Faizabad, one of the most important cities in the province, and outbreaks at Daryabad, Sultanpur and Salon. Thus in the course of ten days English authority in Oudh practically vanished.
On June 30 Lawrence ordered a reconnaissance in force from Lucknow. The expedition was not very well organised. At Chinhat, the force met a well-organised rebel force, with dug-in artillery. Lawrence's sepoys and Indian artillerymen defected to the rebels, and his exhausted British soldiers retreated in disorder. Lawrence fell back into the Residency, where the siege now began.
Initial attacks
The Residency was the centre of the defences. The actual defended line was based on six detached smaller buildings and four entrenched batteries. The position covered some 60 acres (243,000 m²) of ground, and the garrison (855 British officers and soldiers, 712 Indians, 153 civilian volunteers, with 1280 non-combatants) was too small to defend it effectively against a properly prepared and supported attack.
Also, the Residency lay in the middle of several palaces, mosques and administrative buildings. (Lucknow had been the royal capital of Oudh for many years). Lawrence initially refused permission for these to be demolished, and during the siege they provided good vantage points and cover for rebel sharpshooters and artillery.
The first attack was repulsed on July 1, when the separate position of the Machchhi Bhawan palace to the east of the Residency was evacuated, and blown up. (Large amounts of powder and ammunition had been stored in it). The next day, Sir Henry Lawrence was fatally wounded by a shell, and died on July 4. Colonel Inglis of the 32nd took military command of the garrison. Major Banks was appointed the acting Civil Commissioner by the dying Lawrence.
About 8,000 mutineers, with several hundred retainers of local landowners, surrounded the Residency. They had some modern guns with them, and also some older pieces which fired all sorts of improvised missiles. There were several determined attempts to storm the defences during the first weeks of the siege, but the rebels lacked a single leader able to coordinate all the besieging forces.
First Relief Attempt
On July 16, a force under Major General Henry Havelock had recaptured Cawnpore, 48 miles from Lucknow. On July 20, he decided to attempt to relieve Lucknow, but it took six days to ferry his force of 1500 men across the Ganges River. On July 29, Havelock won a battle at Unao, but casualties, disease and heatstroke reduced his force to 850 effectives, and he fell back.
There followed a sharp exchange of letters between Havelock and the insolent Brigadier Neill, left in charge at Cawnpore. Havelock eventually received 257 reinforcements and tried again to advance. He won another victory near Unao on August 4, but was once again too weak to continue the advance, and retired.
Havelock intended to remain on the north bank of the Ganges, inside Oudh and thereby prevent a large force of rebels joining the siege of the Residency, but on August 11, Neill reported that Cawnpore was threatened. To allow himself to retreat without being attacked from behind, Havelock marched again to Unao and won a third victory there. He then fell back across the Ganges, and destroyed the newly completed bridge. On August 16, he defeated a rebel force at Bithur, disposing of the threat to Cawnpore.
Havelock's retreat was tactically necessary, but caused the rebellion in Oudh to become a national revolt, as previously undecided landowners now joined the rebels.
First relief of Lucknow
Havelock had been superseded in command by Major General Sir James Outram. Before Outram arrived at Cawnpore, Havelock made preparations for another relief attempt. He had earlier sent a letter to Inglis in the Residency, suggesting he cut his way out and make for Cawnpore. Inglis replied that he had too few effective troops and too many sick, wounded and non-combatants to make such an attempt.
Meanwhile, the rebels had continued to shell the garrison in the Residency, and had also dug mines beneath the defences, which had destroyed several posts. Although the garrison had kept the rebels at a distance with sorties and counter-attacks, they were becoming weaker and food was running short.
Outram arrived at Cawnpore on September 15. He allowed Havelock to command the relief force, accompanying it as a volunteer until Lucknow was reached. Neill commanded one of the two brigades. The force numbered 3,179 (six British and one Sikh infantry battalions, with three artillery batteries, but only 168 volunteer cavalry).
The advance resumed on September 18. This time, the rebels did not make any serious stand in the open country, even failing to destroy some vital bridges. On September 23, Havelock's force drove the rebels from the Alambagh, a walled park four miles south of the Residency. Leaving the baggage with a small force in the Alambagh, he began the final advance on September 25.
The force met heavy resistance trying to cross the Charbagh canal, but succeeded after nine out of ten men of a forlorn hope were killed storming a bridge. After further heavy fighting, by nightfall they had reached the Machchhi Bhawan. Outram proposed to halt, and gain touch with the defenders of the Residency by tunneling and mining through the intervening buildings, but Havelock insisted on an immediate advance. The advance was made through heavy fire, which killed Neill. In all, the relief force lost 535 men out of 2000, incurred mainly in this last rush.
By the time of the relief, the defenders of the Residency had endured a siege of 87 days, and were reduced to 982 fighting personnel. During the whole time the British flag flew defiantly on the roof of the residency.
Second Siege
Originally, Outram had intended to evacuate the original defenders, but the heavy casualties incurred during the final advance had made it impossible to remove all the invalids and non-combatants. Instead, the defended area was enlarged. Under Outram, Inglis took charge of the original Residency area, and Havelock took command of the palaces (the Farhat Baksh and Chuttur Munzil) and other buildings east of it.
Another factor which influenced Outram's decision to remain was the discovery of a large stock of supplies beneath the Residency, sufficient to maintain the garrison for two months. Lawrence had laid in the stores but died before he had informed any of his subordinates. (Inglis had feared that starvation was imminent).
Outram had hoped that the relief would also demoralise the rebels, but was disappointed. For the next six weeks, the rebels continued to bombard the defenders with musket and artillery fire, and dig a series of mines beneath them. The defenders replied with sorties, as before, and dug counter-mines.
The defenders were able to send messengers to and from the Alambagh, from where in turn messengers could reach Cawnpore. (Later, a semaphore system made the risky business of sending messengers unnecessary). A volunteer civil servant, Thomas Henry Kavanagh, was also able to reach the Alambagh to act as a guide to the next relief attempt.
Second Relief
On September 22, a British force had recaptured Delhi. From there a column under Brigadier General James Hope Grant relieved the garrison at Agra, and then moved to Cawnpore, which they reached on October 26. Some of them were despatched north to reinforce the Alambagh. Other reinforcements, including the 93rd Highlanders, who had fought in the Crimea, were arriving up the Ganges. On November 3, the new Commander in Chief, Sir Colin Campbell arrived at Cawnpore to take personal command of the second relief attempt.
Campbell's force numbered 3,400. Leaving a detachment under Brigadier Windham to hold Cawnpore, Campbell marched north with little opposition and relieved the Alambagh on November 12. Taking its garrison under command, Campbell now had 5,000 men, organised as three infantry, one cavalry and one artillery brigades (with 49 guns).
By now the total rebel force numbered over 30,000. They were still uncoordinated, and most of them occupied the city, which Campbell was determined to avoid, rather than the palaces and Charbagh canal.
Although Havelock had recommended relieving the Residency by crossing the Gumti River east of Lucknow, circling to the north on the far bank and then recrossing by an iron bridge opposite the British position, Campbell instead adopted Outram's advice, to move east to the Dilkusha Park, cross the Charbagh canal near the Martiniere (a school for British and Anglo-Indian boys) and then move via another palace known as the Secundrabagh, and its extensive gardens.
On November 14, Campbell's force captured the Dilkusha Park and Martiniere as planned, and broke up an attempted counter-attack with artillery fire. The next day was spent drawing up the supply and baggage columns to the new positions. On November 16, Campbell crossed the canal easily (as it was almost dry), and advanced on the Secundrabagh. After its walls were breached by covering artillery fire, it was stormed by the 93rd Highlanders, part of the 53rd, the 4th Punjab Infantry and various other detachments. The result was a horrific defeat for the rebels. According to Campbell, 2,000 rebels died in the Secundrabagh. (Another observer counted 1,857.)
Late in the day, Campbell's force also stormed a mosque, the Shah Najaf, only a few hundred yards from the defenders of the Chuttur Munzil. Large numbers of rebels still threatened counter-attacks on Campbell's troops, and Campbell halted to wait for daylight.
On November 17, Campbell's guns (including heavy guns from the Naval Brigade, who distinguished themselves throughout the second relief) made a breach in the walls of the Mess House, a short distance west of the Secundrabagh, allowing his infantry to occupy it. A detachment then captured another small building, the Moti Mahal, without orders. Between the Moti Mahal and the defences of the garrison, there was now only an open space of a few hundred yards, but the rebels still held the King of Oudh's palace, the Kaisarbagh, which dominated this space.
Outram, Havelock, Kavanagh and five other officers dashed across the open space under fire, to meet Campbell. After they had conferred with him, they made their way back. Havelock was ill and unable to run, and made the perilous journey at a walk.
The Evacuation
Although Outram and Havelock recommended storming the Kaisarbagh to secure the British lodgement, Campbell ordered Lucknow to be abandoned. The evacuation began on November 19. While Campbell's artillery bombarded the Kaisarbagh to deceive the rebels that an assault on it was imminent, canvas screens were erected to shield the open space from the rebels' view. The women, children and sick and wounded made their way to the Dilkusha Park, some in a variety of carriages or on litters, others on foot. Over the next two days, Outram spiked his guns and withdrew after them.
At the Dilkusha Park, Havelock died (of a sudden attack of dysentery) on November 23. The entire army and convoy now moved to the Alambagh. Campbell had heard that Cawnpore was threatened once again, and left Outram with 4,000 men to defend the Alambagh while he himself moved with 3,000 men and most of the civilians to Cawnpore on November 27.
The first siege had lasted 87 days, the second siege a further 61. The largest number of Victoria Crosses awarded in a single day was 24 on November 16, 1857 at the second relief of Lucknow.
The rebels were left in control of Lucknow over the following cold weather season, but were prevented from undertaking any other operations by their own disunity and by Outram's hold on the easily defended Alambagh. Lucknow was retaken by Campbell on March 21, 1858.
References
- Battles of the Indian Mutiny, Michael Edwardes, Pan, 1963, ISBN 0330025244
- The Great Mutiny, Christopher Hibbert, Penguin, 1978, ISBN 0140047522
External links
British rule in India | Military of British India | Rebellions in Asia | Battles of the Indian Mutiny
"Siege of Lucknow"