Page:Viscount Hardinge and the Advance of the British Dominions into the Punjab.djvu/125

Rh it by the front taking the enemy's batteries by assault. Thus, when the attacking column was repulsed, I was obliged to order Gilbert forward at once, who after a gallant advance was for the moment driven back; but the attacking column having been thus relieved, in its turn rushed forward, and from that moment had no check. In like manner Smith's Division had to carry very strong batteries. The leading brigade was repulsed; the brigade in reserve carried the works. Thus the three Divisions engaged were each in their turn checked, rallied, and carried everything before them. As regards the military view of our recent operations, there can be no doubt that, if the enemy had avoided a general action and had retired with its army to Lahore, Govindgarh, and Amritsar, our operations at this advanced season, with three sieges in hand, must have been carried on at great disadvantage, as shown by the unanimous opinion of the engineer and artillery officers. The exploit of the army is one of the most daring in the annals of our military history. The guns captured were sixty-seven. On the evening of the battle six regiments near Firozpur crossed into the enemy's territory, and on the 16th the whole army, with the exception of three brigades, was concentrated at Kasúr. We have now taken in battle 220 pieces of artillery, of which 80 pieces exceed in calibre anything known in European warfare. The weight of the Sikh gun in proportion to its calibre is much heavier than ours, and the range of the six-pounder is longer.