Page:Viscount Hardinge and the Advance of the British Dominions into the Punjab.djvu/106

102 Christmas Day the Governor-General published a notification, which was read on every parade, congratulating the army on the complete success of their operations, and inviting them to assemble at head-quarters to return thanks to Almighty God for His late mercies. When the 62nd Regiment joined the Commander-in-Chief's camp, a General Order was issued exculpating them from the reflections contained in Sir J. Littler's despatch, and making it known that they retired by the order of their Brigadier after extremely heavy loss, and that the despatch was never intended for publication.

The following extracts from a letter of Sir H. Hardinge to Lord Ripon on December 27th sum up the results: — 'I have now closed my narrative. Our success with the defensive force has been complete. Every combination for repelling the enemy, which the suddenness of the attack required, has been successful. The celerity of the march, the rapid movement of the Ludhiána force of 5000 men on Basián, securing the supplies and adding the above numbers to the relieving force from Ambála, were dispositions as prudent as they were valuable for securing our success. The instructions to Littler to move from Firozpur and form his junction, in spite of the enemy attempting to prevent our progress with 60,000 men and 150 guns, prove the accuracy of the combinations. The battle of the 21st was fought with the greatest number that we could bring against the enemy. No delay could have augmented our force; it would only have augmented that