On 8 June-21 September 1857, the Siege of Delhi was fought between the British under John Nicholson and Colin Campbell against the Indians under Bahadur Shah II during the Indian Mutiny.
Why did it happen?
Following Robert Clive’s victory at the Battle of Plassey in 1757, the British East India Company went on to defeat Mysore (1799), the Marathas (1818) and the Sikhs (1849) to gain control of the entire Indian subcontinent. The British East India Company’s victories were primarily won due to the employment of Indian soldiers known as sepoys. In May 1857, however, rumours that the British inserted pig and cow fat into sepoys' cartridges, which offended Muslim and Hindu beliefs, caused Indian troops to mutiny in Meerut. The revolt then spread to Delhi and Cawnpore, with the British unable to launch a counterattack due to their armies being dispersed over vast distances. By early June, the British had concentrated their forces into two columns and marched to relieve Delhi and Cawnpore, captured by Indian sepoys in May.
Who was involved?
The British forces at Delhi numbered 9,000 infantry and 32 artillery. Of this number, 3,000 were British regulars, while the remaining 6,000 were Sikhs, Punjabis, and Ghurkhas. The British force was not large enough to launch a direct assault on Delhi, and the large number of mutineers made the British feel like they were the ones under siege. To make matters worse, cholera outbreaks and dysentery lowered British morale even further. The Indian army at Delhi numbered 30,000 infantry. The Indian mutineers had coalesced around the aged Mughal Emperor, Bahadur Shah II, who had come to the throne in 1837. However, the Mughal Emperors had long been bereft of their power and only held a ceremonial role in the Royal Palace of Delhi. Hence, the Indian mutineers sought to overthrow British control of their country by reinstating the Mughal Emperor as their sovereign ruler.
What happened?
On 8 June, after being defeated in battle outside Delhi, the Indian army retreated into the city while the British encamped to the north. After attempting to assault the city on 13 June, the British settled for a siege and awaited reinforcements. As the siege dragged on, successive British generals died or were forced to step down due to excessive heat and disease. On 3 September, John Nicholson and Colin Campbell arrived with 2,000 infantry and 32 artillery. Between 7-14 September, the British artillery battered Delhi’s walls before the British infantry deployed siege ladders to scale breaches in the walls. Despite some initial setbacks, the British swarmed up the ladders and gained possession of the walls. At the same time, the British blew open the Kashmir Gate with explosive charges, allowing the British troops into the city. Hard street-to-street fighting occurred over the following two days, during which the British suffered heavy losses. Finally, on 21 September, the British blew open the Palace Gate with explosive charges and killed the Indian garrison, taking control of the city. The remaining Indian troops fled while the Mughal Emperor, Bahadur Shah II, was captured outside Humayun’s tomb. Throughout the siege, the British lost 1,200 killed and 4,600 wounded, while Indian casualties numbered 5,000.
What changed as a result?
The Siege of Delhi was a British victory. In the aftermath of the siege, Bahadur Shah II was arrested and exiled to Rangoon, where he died in 1862, while Colin Campbell led a relief force towards Lucknow on 16 November. Upon learning of the massacre of British civilians at Cawnpore, Campbell showed little mercy to the Indian sepoys stationed at Lucknow. Nevertheless, further military action was required to suppress the mutiny until the capture of Gwalior on 21 June 1858 brought the conflict to an end. As stated by Jeremy Black, “The revolt failed because of its lack of a coordinated command structure and British superiority in military intelligence, organization, and logistics” (Black, 2005, p.249). At the same time, the East India Company was abolished, and India came under the direct rule of the British Crown. India would remain a part of the British Empire until 1947 when it achieved independence.
Bibliography
Black, Jeremy. World History Atlas: Mapping the Human Journey. London, Dorling Kindersley, 2005.
David, Saul. War: The Definitive Visual History. New York, Dorling Kindersley, 2009.
Grant, R.G. 1001 Battles That Changed the Course of History. London, Cassell Illustrated, 2011.
Regan, Geoffrey. Famous British Battles. London, Carlton, 2004.
Wood, Evelyn. “Plan of the Siege of Delhi.” Wikimedia Commons. Last revised April 27, 2010. www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Plan_of_the_Siege_of_Delhi_-Our_fighting_services_-_Evelyn_Wood_pg492.jpg