After Ranjit Singh's death the kingdom fell into chaos, and the Khalsa army, the most powerful force in the Punjab, became its real master. In December 1845, with the British massing troops on the Sutlej, the army crossed the river. The court, led by Lal Singh and Tej Singh, hoped to see it destroyed.
On 18 December 1845 the Sikh army under Lal Singh met the British under Sir Hugh Gough at Mudki, near Ferozepur. The battle was fought at dusk in thick dust and scrub. The Sikh infantry and artillery fought well, but Lal Singh withdrew his cavalry early, and the Sikhs fell back.
The British lost some 870 men. It was the first battle of the First Anglo-Sikh War.
The Sikh army had crossed the Sutlej on 11 December 1845. Ranjit Singh's arsenal by 1839 numbered more than five hundred guns, including siege pieces as good as the British, and the Sikh gunners were the best in India.
The two Anglo-Sikh Wars
1845 – 1849- 1
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After Sobraon the Treaty of Lahore (March 1846) took the Jalandhar Doab and the hills, and Kashmir went to Gulab Singh. After Gujrat the Kingdom of Lahore was annexed, on 29 March 1849.
Same era
The British conquest: the Anglo-Sikh Wars
So close that Hardinge prepared to burn his papers. Tej Singh withdrew when the exhausted British were at his mercy.
A British victory on the Sutlej near Ludhiana.
The Sikhs fought with their backs to the Sutlej, and the bridge of boats behind them broke. Sham Singh Attariwala died with his men.
A British cavalry charge on the Chenab ran into the Sikh guns and was repulsed.
The revolt at Multan that began the Second Anglo-Sikh War. A British shell blew up the fort's main magazine in December, and Mulraj surrendered in January 1849.
One of the bloodiest battles the British fought in India. The losses led to calls in London for Gough's dismissal.
Overwhelming British artillery broke the Sikh army. On 29 March 1849 Punjab was annexed and the boy Maharaja Duleep Singh deposed.