Siege of Delhi (1857)
1857 · Delhi (the old city of New Delhi, India's capital today) · World · Modern
From June the British army camped on the ridge north of Delhi and besieged the city; in mid-September it stormed the Kashmiri Gate and, after a week of street fighting, recaptured Delhi, and Bahadur Shah II was captured.
Belligerents
British and their Indian allies
- Commanders
- Archdale Wilson, John Nicholson
- Strength
- About 9,000 at the final assault, including Sikh and Gorkha units
Rebels
- Commanders
- Bahadur Shah II (nominal leader), Bakht Khan
- Strength
- More than about 30,000 (estimated; numbers fluctuated constantly)
Background
In May 1857 Indian soldiers mutinied at Meerut, then marched into Delhi and proclaimed the aged Mughal emperor Bahadur Shah II their leader; the uprising spread rapidly across northern India.
Course of the battle
- Rebels enter DelhiThe mutinous soldiers from Meerut entered Delhi and proclaimed the Mughal emperor their leader.
- Standoff on the RidgeThe British army camped on the ridge north of the city and faced the rebels inside for more than three months.
- Storming the Kashmiri GateAfter the siege train arrived, the British blew open the city gates on September 14 and launched a general assault; Nicholson was mortally wounded in the street fighting.
- Delhi fallsBy late September the British controlled the whole city; Bahadur Shah II was captured at Humayun's Tomb and later exiled to Rangoon (present-day Yangon).
Outcome at a glance
| Date | 1857 |
|---|---|
| Place | Delhi (the old city of New Delhi, present-day capital of India) |
| Result | From June the British army camped on the ridge north of Delhi and besieged the city; in mid-September it stormed the Kashmiri Gate and, after a week of street fighting, recaptured Delhi, and Bahadur Shah II was captured. |
| Winner | British and their Indian allies |
| Casualties | The British suffered several thousand casualties; there are no exact figures for deaths among the rebels and the city's residents, and large-scale reprisals took place in the city after the fighting. |
| Territorial change | The fall of Delhi deprived the rebellion of its political center; in 1858 the British Parliament passed an act ending East India Company rule, and the Mughal dynasty formally came to an end. |
Impact
The Siege of Delhi was the decisive battle of the Indian Rebellion of 1857; its outcome brought both the Mughal dynasty and East India Company rule to an end, and India passed under direct rule by the British Crown.
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