Battle of Chenab (1764)
| Battle of Chenab | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the Afghan–Sikh Wars | |||||||||
The River Chenab in Punjab, by William Simpson (Scottish artist) (Yale Center for British Art). | |||||||||
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| Belligerents | |||||||||
| Sikh Confederacy | Durrani Empire | ||||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
|
Charat Singh Sukerchakia Hari Singh Bhangi Jassa Singh Ramgarhia |
Ahmad Shah Durrani Jahan Khan Popalzai Wazir Shah Wali Khan Shah Pasand Khan | ||||||||
| Strength | |||||||||
| c. 100,000 | c. 40,000 | ||||||||
The Battle of Chenab was fought in early 1764 between the forces of the Durrani Empire, led by Ahmad Shah Durrani, and the combined armies of several Sikh Misls, commanded by Charat Singh Sukerchakia, Hari Singh Bhangi, and Jassa Singh Ramgarhia. The battle took place near the Chenab River in Punjab and resulted in a Sikh victory.
In the months leading up to the engagement, Ahmad Shah had made repeated attempts to secure the city of Lahore, but each success was short-lived. In 1763, he appointed his commander Jahan Khan Popalzai as governor of the city. In the same period, Zain Khan Sirhindi, the Durrani military commander (faujdar) of Sirhind, was defeated by Jassa Singh Ahluwalia, who captured large amounts of booty and significantly weakened Afghan authority. In January 1764, as Ahmad Shah crossed the Indus to aid his officials, the Sikh chiefs mustered more than one hundred thousand horsemen, organized their forces into three divisions, and took position near the Chenab.
When Ahmad Shah's force, numbering around forty thousand men, began to cross the river, the Sikhs launched an attack, resulting in a fierce battle in which many on both sides were killed or drowned. The Durrani army broke and fled in confusion despite Ahmad Shah's attempts to rally his men. Following the battle, the Sikh chiefs celebrated Holi, sent letters to Durrani governors in Kashmir and Multan demanding revenue payments, and their forces entered Lahore, where heavy exactions were imposed on the city's inhabitants.