Page 180 - Lohgarh

180 w Lohgarh : The World’s Largest Fort

but as per the description, the number must be very high). 23
The Mughal army had surrounded the Fort from three sides, only
one side was open, and the Sikhs used to come out from this side. There,
they would graze their horses, buffaloes and oxen. They would even
carry grass, etc. into the Fort. When the Mughal soldiers saw them,
they would turn their eyes away; they did not have enough courage to
challenge the Sikhs. On the other hand, the Sikhs would often challenge
and attack the Mughal soldiers. Thus, every day 5-7 soldiers were being
killed. In the beginning of August, new units of the army, under the
command of Isa Khan, reached there and they blocked the fourth side
of the Fort. They were posted so near the Fort that because of this the
Sikhs got confined within the Fort. Now, the Mughal soldiers began
marching around the Fort, on all the sides. 24
The siege of Sadhaura continued for another two months; finally,
the Sikhs decided to vacate the Fort. One night they came out of the
Fort and fled towards Lohgarh. The Sikhs were given a hot chase by the
Mughal army; during these skirmishes several Sikhs lost their lives.
According to Muhammed Qasim Aurangabadi the siege of Sadhaura
Fort continued for seven months and a half, but this is not true. The
Mughal army reached Sadhaura on 22 June and they occupied it in the
third week of September; hence the siege continued for about three
months.
How Many Sikhs were Killed in This Battle: In March 1713, there
were only 1000 Sikhs in the Fort. According to Muhammed Qasim
Aurangabadi, 691 Sikhs were killed in one day, 152 on another day and
25
200 in the third battle . So, according to this account 1043 Sikhs were
killed in these three days alone. On 31 July 1713, when it was raining
very heavily, 500 Sikhs on horses and 500 on feet, entered the Fort.
Fighting continued still another 2 months. During these battles too
several Sikhs were killed. If these figures are correct, then, out of a
force of 2000, only 2-3 hundred Sikhs could escape by breaking a portion
of any wall of the Fort. But, according to a report, Abdus Samad Khan
got severed the heads of the 600 dead Sikhs killed in the battle of
Sadhura and dispatched them to the Emperor to win his appreciations. 26
th
On the 27 of September the Emperor inspected these heads and sent