From the coigns of vantage thus gained the British
artillery and infantry poured a hail of shot and shell into the doomed
defences, while the cavalry hovered outside ready to pounce on those who
broke cover. Placed in these desperate straits, and without hope of
succour, Diwan Mulraj and the whole of his force surrendered
unconditionally on the 22nd of January, 1849, after a siege which had
lasted nearly seven months.
This timely success released at a critical moment, for service
elsewhere, the British forces engaged in the siege. For meanwhile great
events had been happening in the upper Punjab, and great were yet to
come. On January 13th had been fought the bloody battle of
Chillianwalla, where the casualties on both sides were very severe, and
where the gallant 24th Foot had thirteen officers and the sergeant-major
laid out dead on their mess-table. Lord Gough required nearly three
thousand men to fill the gaps in his ranks before again closing with the
redoubtable Sikhs. On every count, therefore, the news of the fall of
Mooltan was received with considerable satisfaction, and the troops
recently engaged in it with keen alacrity turned their faces northwards
to Lord Gough's assistance, in the hope of arriving in time to throw
their weight into the balance in the closing scenes of a campaign
destined to add a kingdom to the British Empire.
Ahead of the troops from Mooltan went Lumsden and the Guides' cavalry,
followed by Hodson with the Guides' infantry.
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