Page 57 - History of War - Issue 18-15

THE FORGOTTEN SIKH REGIMENTS OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE

7 VITAL LINK
Bhagwan Singh and Lal Singh
are the first to be wounded. The
5 BATTLE STATIONS tribesmenchangetacticasthe
The assault begins with the compound is breached by toppling a
Pashtuns launching themselves at wall in the Sikhs’ blind spot.
the outpost’s walls. Despite having
500-times fewer men, the Sikhs
fare rather well, picking off the
attackers as they attempt to rush
the compound.

8 LAST STAND
4 ALL ALONE
As the news fi lters through, the men As the attackers swarm in, the Sikhs
of the 36th Regiment turn back to fall back to the inner courtyard. The
face the oncoming attacking force. regiment’s commander, Havildar
Partly to preserve honour, partly Ishar Singh, is the only one to
because of Saragarhi’s importance, remain in the outerlayer.Itwillbe
the 21 decide to fig t to the last. his last stand. 9 THEWALLISBREACHED
Overwhelmedinwhatisnowhand-to-
handcombat,thebrave21arefinally
defeated. The last man standing is
GurmakhSingh,whokills20Afghansin
hisfinalminutes.

10 FINAL DEFEAT
Thebattlehasbeenraging
forsevenhoursand600
Pashtunslaydeadinthe
now-flaming outpost. For
theirheroiclaststand,all
21 Sikhs were awarded the
Indian Order of Merit.
6 TERMS OF SURRENDER
Noticing how many men are being lost in
the slaughter, the Pashtun commanders
offer surrender terms to the Sikhs. This is
met with a solid refusal as the battle rages
on, but ammunition is running short.

Acute Graphics

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