The Last Stand of the 21 Sikhs — The Battle of SaragarhiEveryone knows the story of the 300 Sp

The Last Stand of the 21 Sikhs — The Battle of SaragarhiEveryone knows the story of the 300 Spartan’s, where a small force of Spartan warriors (and allies) stand against a massive Persian Army at the narrows of Thermopylae.  Less famous than the Spartans, though every bit as equally badass were the 21 Sikhs of Saragarhi whose last stand is still legendary among Sikhs today.In 1897 the 36th Sikh Regiment of the Indian Army was tasked with guarding the border district of Kohat along the border between Afghanistan and Pakistan.  At the time India and Pakistan was part of the British Empire, and due to earlier British invasions of Afghanistan Pashtun and Afridi tribes threatened India (Pakistan) with raids and invasion.  Near the border situated between two forts was a small communications outpost manned by 21 Sikh soldiers of the 36th Sikh Regiment under the command of Havildar (post sergeant) Ishar Singh.  On the morning of Sept. 12th Signalman Gurmurkh Singh looked out onto the horizon to find it blotted with hundreds of Afghan battle standards.  Altogether a force of 10,000-20,000 Afghan tribesmen, armed with several heavy artillery pieces were slowly marching toward the outpost.  Havildar Singh gathered his men together to decide what to do. He put the matter to a vote, they could retreat and fall back or defend their outpost.  Without hesitation all 21 men agreed that they would not retreat, but rather hold their ground in order to give the other two forts time to prepare for the Afghan assault.At. 9:00 AM the Afghans began bombardment of the outpost.  After a fierce shelling the Afghan army attempted twice to storm the small post with ladders, and each time they were held back by a fierce Sikh defense.  By the fifth hour of the fighting Afghan forces had managed to breech the walls with their artillery, and had burned down the main gate to the garrison.  As Afghan warriors charged into the main courtyard Havildar Singh ordered his men to fall back into the inner keep and create new defensive positions.  To cover his men, Havildar Singh drew a dagger and a pistol, and charged headlong into the Afghans, buying enough time for his men to fortify their new positions.By the 7th hour of the battle the Sikhs had run out of ammo and fixed bayonets for hand to hand combat.  An hour later the Sikhs had been killed to the man, and Signalman Gurmurkh Singh communicated that the outpost had fallen.  The last holdout of the Sikh force, Gurmurkh was reported to have yelled repeatedly the Sikh battle cry “Bole So Nihal, Sat Sri Akal”  (Victory belongs to those who recite the name of God with a true heart), before he personally slayed 20 Afghans.After the Afghans had taken the outpost at Saragarhi, they quickly moved on to capture the two other forts.  However the 21 Sikh’s sacrifice had bought enough time for Indian and British reinforcements to be marshaled.  The Afghan force was quickly routed and chased back to Afghanistan.  At Saragarhi the corpses of 21 Sikh soldiers and 800 Afghans surrounded a torn and battered outpost.  Upon inspection it was found that the Sikhs had fired all of their ammo, about 400 rounds per person.  All of the 21 Sikhs posthumously received the Indian Order of Merit.  The 21 Sikhs are listed as follows; Havildar Ishar SinghNaik Lal SinghSepoy Narayan SinghLance Naik Chanda SinghSepoy Gurmukh SinghSepoy Sundar SinghSepoy Jivan SinghSepoy Ram SinghSepoy Gurmukh SinghSepoy Uttar SinghSepoy Ram SinghSepoy Sahib SinghSepoy Bhagwan SinghSepoy Hira SinghSepoy Bhagwan SinghSepoy Daya SinghSepoy Buta SinghSepoy Jivan SinghSepoy Jivan SinghSepoy Bhola SinghSepoy Nand Singh -- source link

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