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31st
Regiment. Company Officer, Sergeant Light Company and Private
Battalion Company.
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The
Sikhs had extended their fortifications at Sobraon to second and
third lines as more of their troops assembled there. By the time
the final and decisive battle of Sobraon began on 10th February
1846 there were more than 20,000 of them there. They had fortified
a bend in the river overlooked by high ground on the north side.
The fortifications mainly consisted of strongly constructed breastworks
loop-holed for musketry and deep ditches. The British needed to
wait for the return of Sir Harry Smith and his 1st Division. The
Commander-in-Chief then had three divisions at his disposal, a
total force of about 15,000 men.
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Colours
of the 31st Regiment,
Canterbury Cathedral. |
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Reports
indicated that the defences on the Sikh right were not continuous
and did not extend to the river bank. The Commander-in-Chief therefore
decided to concentrate his attack on that flank using the 3rd
Division reinforced by an additional brigade. The 2nd Division
in the centre and the 1st Division on the right were to mount
diversionary attacks. An independent brigade was sent to distract
the Sikh commanders by threatening to cross the river higher up.
The army moved quietly to forming up positions during the night
and waited in silence for daylight which was delayed by dense
fog. An artillery duel then began which lasted for two hours by
which time the British were running out of ammunition and the
infantry were ordered to advance. The 3rd Division managed to
penetrate the outer line of the Sikh defences but was forced to
halt and consolidate. The 1st and 2nd Divisions then converted
their demonstration into serious attacks. The 2nd Division found
the earthworks at the centre too high to tackle without scaling
ladders but remarkably the cavalry discovered a place where it
was possible to get through in file at a walk and infiltrated
six squadrons. They, with successive charges, forced the mass
of Sikh infantry back to the bridge, killing great numbers of
them. Meanwhile the 1st Division, with the 31st Regiment on its
right, had managed to penetrate the Sikh positions and slowly
forced the enemy back until the whole position was taken.
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The
31st Regiment had begun the battle with a bayonet strength reduced
to 450 and sustained yet more casualties. A reinforcement draft
from Ambala joined from escorting the ammunition train which arrived
belatedly the next day. The Regiment’s officers, eleven
in all, were either lieutenants or ensigns. At a critical moment
during the battle the two officers carrying the colours, Lieutenant
Tritton and Ensign Jones, were cut down. The royal colour was
immediately raised again by Lieutenant Noel. Sergeant Bernard
McCabe grasped the regimental colour. He gallantly rushed forward
and planted it on the ramparts of the Sikh position. The following
day, while the troops rested, Captain Longworth settled down to
write his report on his regiment’s action. It is currently
reproduced in the regimental history of the East Surrey Regiment,
and on Sobraon Day the regimental colour is ceremoniously transferred
from the Officers’ Mess to the custody of the Sergeants’
Mess for the day.
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By nightfall on 12th February the bridge over the Sutlej was ready
for use. Sir Harry Smith’s next day in high spirits at the
prospect of invading the Punjab. A halt of some days was made
while the army closed up. The advance on Lahore then began, in
battle formation straight across country, each regiment keeping
its own place in line. On 20th February the army camped about
two miles from the city across an open plain. On 22nd February
the British standard was hoisted on the citadel of Lahore.
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