Page:Viscount Hardinge and the Advance of the British Dominions into the Punjab.djvu/95

Rh picion. Quietly at 8 a.m. he moved off without Tej Singh being aware of his departure. Broadfoot and his Sawárs met him, and conducted him to the Commander-in-Chief. His force arrived about 1 p.m. His route and his orders had been carefully laid down, with the entire concurrence of Sir H. Gough, so that it was with no small surprise that the Governor-General found himself confronted with such extraordinary proposals. It is almost impossible to realise what would have been the result of an attack without the substantial reinforcement of 5000 men and twenty-four guns, in addition to the strength of the Ambála force. As it turned out, the fate of India trembled in the balance during the eventful night of the 21st December.

Major W. Broadfoot, in the biography of his brother, mentions that some were of opinion that the attack on the Sikh camp was commenced at too late an hour of the afternoon. It will be seen from a subsequent letter that a most unaccountable delay did take place in getting the troops into position; but it was absolutely necessary to attack that day, as may be learned from the following extract from a letter of the Governor-General's to Lord Ripon, dated December 27th: 'I then informed the Commander-in-Chief that there was daylight for an action, and he made his