| Battle of Chappar Chiri | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part ofMughal-Sikh Wars | |||||||
.png) Illustrated folio of ‘Tawarikh-i Jahandar Shah’, Awadh or Lucknow, ca.1770, showing the climax of the Battle of Sirhind fought in 1710 | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
|  Mughal Empire | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| Units involved | |||||||
| 25,000-30,000[3][a] | 5,000–6,000cavalry 7,000–8,000 musketeers and archers 100elephants 24 cannons 5,000–8,000Ghazis Total 20,000–25,000[5][6] | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| Unknown |
| ||||||
TheBattle of Chappar Chiri, also calledBattle of Sirhind,[9] was fought between Mughal Empire and the Sikhs on 12 May 1710 atChappar Chiri, located 20 kilometers fromSirhind.[citation needed]
The Sikhs were planning to wagedharamyudh against the city ofSirhind, itsgovernorWazir Khan anddewan Sucha Nand, to avenge Mughal oppression and the execution of the two young children ofGuru Gobind Singh.[10] Some prominent towns on the way to Sirhind were captured and plundered includingSonepat,Kaithal,Samana,Shahabad,Mustafabad andSadhaura by Baba Banda Singh Bahadur's troops as they could provide military assistance to the Mughal government of Sirhind.[11][12] The number of plunderers also amassed, who were looking forward to prey upon the riches within the walls of Sirhind and followed Baba Banda Singh and his troops on the march to Sirhind.[13] Both the troops of Baba Banda Singh and Wazir Khan faced each other at a village calledChappar Chiri.[citation needed]
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Before the battle began, Wazir Khan and Sucha Nand sent Sucha Nand's nephew with 1000 men to Baba Banda Singh Bahadur in a plot to deceive the Sikhs, by falsely claiming to have deserted the Mughals and to join the Sikhs for their cause.[13] Wazir Khan had a large well-armed army, which included theGhazis, along with a number of artillery, musketeers, andwar elephants.[citation needed] Khan's army was larger than 20,000.[citation needed] On the other hand, Banda Singh's army was ill-equipped with long spears, arrows, swords, without artillery and elephants and insufficient amount of horses.[14] According toGanda Singh, Banda's army consisted of three classes of men where the first class were the devoted Sikhs imbued to wage just war against the enemies of their country and religion, the second being the paid recruited soldiers sent by the chieftains of the Phul family, who sympathized with Banda Singh's cause. The third were theirregulars who were professional robbers andbandits, eager to seize the opportunity to plunder the city. They were also the most unreliable allies as they would desert when fearing a sign of defeat.[15]Hari Ram Gupta writes that Banda's army consisted of three groups, the first being Sikhs fighting purely to punish Wazir Khan, the second being Sikhs intent on plundering and punishing enemies of their faith. The third being HinduJats,Gujars andRajputs intent on plunder alone.[citation needed]
Upon the firing of artillery by theMughal army, the third class of Banda's army, consisting of bandits and irregulars fled, and soon after Sucha Nand's nephew along with his 1000 men took to flight as well.[citation needed] Banda Singh Bahadur was waiting for the right time with 1/3 of his army. When the information came that the bandits had fled. To encourage his army, Banda Singh himself rushed into the battle, severely attacking the imperial army, leading to many Mughal soldiers being killed, including Sher Muhammad Khan and Khwaja Ali ofMalerkotla.[16] Wazir Khan was also killed which led to the defeat and retreat of his army to Sirhind, where many were killed during Banda's pursuit of them.[16]
After the defeat of the Mughal army at the battle of Chappar Chiri, theSiege of Sirhind took place where the Sikhs besieged, stormed, plundered and razed the city ofSirhind.[2][17][18]
After destroying a number of neighbouring towns and villages, he rushed to Sirhind. By this time, his position had become formidable, as 70,000 people gathered under him.
