Tempo:
242
Punjab Monarchy and Imperialism
their western front. It was rumoured that Fateh Khan Barakzai had been injured in an engagement fought at Khorasan. A force of twenty thousand men under Misr Dewan Chand immediately set out for Multan. Artillery, which had to play a major role in reducing the fort, was under the command of General Elahi Baksh. The Zam Zama was again ordered south; so also were platoons of nihangs. Preparations were made on an elaborate scale. To ensure a regular supply of provisions to the army, all boats on the Sutlej and Ravi were commandeered. Depots were opened along the route. On his way to Multan, Misr Dewan Chand took the fons of Khangarh and Muzaffargarh. Nawab Muzaffar Khan was not unaware of these large-scale preparations and guessed that this time he would not be able to buy off the Durbar. Once again he tried to rouse the Muslim peasants with the cry of a holy war against the infidel and he prepared the city and fort for a long siege. He planned to defend himself in three stages: in the countryside, in the city, and in the fort. The first engagement was in the open, where he let his ghazis, armed only with swords and spears, gain the manyrdom they sought at the hands of well-disciplined troops equipped with cannon and musket. This battle lasted only one day, and Muzaffar fil~an withdrew the remnant of his forces behind the city walls. The second round began with the Lahore troops surrounding the city and bombarding its walls. The defenders held them at bay for a few weeks. When the city walls crumbled, the defenders retreated into the fort to fight the third and last round. The fort was surrounded by a large, deep moat. Although at that time of the year (March) there was no water in the moat, it was broad enough to keep cannon at a safe distance from the battlements; it was also deep enough to make the task of miners very hazardous. For a whole month Elahi Baksh's batteries pounded the massive walls without making any impression. March turned to April and the heat became unbearable. The monsoon was not far off. If the fort was not carried before the moat was filled with water, it would never capitulate.
Punjab Monarchy and Imperialism
their western front. It was rumoured that Fateh Khan Barakzai had been injured in an engagement fought at Khorasan. A force of twenty thousand men under Misr Dewan Chand immediately set out for Multan. Artillery, which had to play a major role in reducing the fort, was under the command of General Elahi Baksh. The Zam Zama was again ordered south; so also were platoons of nihangs. Preparations were made on an elaborate scale. To ensure a regular supply of provisions to the army, all boats on the Sutlej and Ravi were commandeered. Depots were opened along the route. On his way to Multan, Misr Dewan Chand took the fons of Khangarh and Muzaffargarh. Nawab Muzaffar Khan was not unaware of these large-scale preparations and guessed that this time he would not be able to buy off the Durbar. Once again he tried to rouse the Muslim peasants with the cry of a holy war against the infidel and he prepared the city and fort for a long siege. He planned to defend himself in three stages: in the countryside, in the city, and in the fort. The first engagement was in the open, where he let his ghazis, armed only with swords and spears, gain the manyrdom they sought at the hands of well-disciplined troops equipped with cannon and musket. This battle lasted only one day, and Muzaffar fil~an withdrew the remnant of his forces behind the city walls. The second round began with the Lahore troops surrounding the city and bombarding its walls. The defenders held them at bay for a few weeks. When the city walls crumbled, the defenders retreated into the fort to fight the third and last round. The fort was surrounded by a large, deep moat. Although at that time of the year (March) there was no water in the moat, it was broad enough to keep cannon at a safe distance from the battlements; it was also deep enough to make the task of miners very hazardous. For a whole month Elahi Baksh's batteries pounded the massive walls without making any impression. March turned to April and the heat became unbearable. The monsoon was not far off. If the fort was not carried before the moat was filled with water, it would never capitulate.
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