Page 120 - Lohgarh

120 w Lohgarh : The World’s Largest Fort

of the Sikh army.
In the guerrilla warfare, the Sikh army was very expert. They were
always first to attack the enemy. Their attack was sudden and speedy.
They attacked like a leopard and ran too, like a leopard. They never
passed through the straight ways. They moved on the arduous wild
routes by concealing themselves like leopards. When the enemy came
under their blow they pounced upon them. The author of Asrar-I-
Samadi, a contemporary writer, describes the movement of Banda Singh
Bahadur and his Khalsa colleagues like that of lions and leopards.
According to him, “Lion-like they sprang upon the backs of the elephants,
and flung on the ground those who were seated in the hawdas. Like
leopards they would reach such places, where even the fastest horses
would be reluctant to proceed.” The Mughal army made attacks in the
day light and the Sikh forces defended the attack. The attack of the
Mughal forces was of poor quality, since the natural terrain advantage
was on the side of Sikhs. The Sikhs were fully trained to fight in dense
jungle and on undulated land. And on the other hand Mughals were
new to the conditions and therefore, suffered heavy casualties. The
Sikh soldiers used to attack the Mughal army in the dark, due to which
there were heavy losses on the side of the Imperial troops. The Sikhs
never allowed the enemy to settle down and secure their position even
in the nights. At the hillocks, light towers were established at various
points. On these light towers a pool was established in which cotton
seeds could be filled and these emitted light gradually resulting in
sufficient light to guide the Sikh soldiers, who were making guerrilla
attacks on the Mughal camps. After plundering the Mughal camps in
the night, these light towers guided the Sikhs Soldiers to retreat back
to their respective defense post. According to Muhammed Qasim
Aurangabadi, “Khan Khanan and the Mughal prince were of the opinion
that the occupation of the Fort will not be possible in less than one
year. 41

Supplies to Sikh Army

Guru Har Rai Sahib, (1645-58 for 13 years), during his stay at Thapal, in