Page:Viscount Hardinge and the Advance of the British Dominions into the Punjab.djvu/84

80 that the Ambála force should be moved up immediately. With regard to Firozpur he observes: 'My views have always been expressed and recorded that the force there should be increased, and I am therefore very glad to have my opinions supported by the Commander-in-Chief.' On the 10th December, H.M.'s 80th Foot was ordered to march on Firozpur, and two Native regiments were moved up from the rear. On the 7th the Commander-in-Chief writes: 'The force shall be all closed up as you wish, giving the Darbár full time for decision.' It appears from this that the Commander-in-Chief was well aware that the Governor-General was only waiting for the final answer to his letter of the 3rd December, when the Vakil was dismissed. On the 9th the Governor-General ordered H.M.'s 29th Foot and the 1st Bengal Europeans from the Hills to be in readiness to march. Sir J. Littler was now perfectly satisfied with the strength of this force, and wrote that if the Sikhs attacked him he was quite prepared to receive them.

On the 12th December the Commander-in-Chief moved from Ambála, whilst the Governor-General rode over to inspect Ludhiána. Deeming it secure, he gave orders for the withdrawal of its garrison to Basián, the great grain depôt on which the army depended for its supplies. This movement was one of the most important in the whole campaign. Had Basián been destroyed by any sudden inroad of plunderers, the army would have been delayed by at least ten days,