Battle of Jaithak facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Battle of Jaithak
Part of the Anglo-Nepalese War
Jaithak Fort c. 1820
Date 25 September 1815 Location Jaithak, India 30°35′45.35″N 77°20′13.93″E / 30.5959306°N 77.3372028°E / 30.5959306; 77.3372028 Result Kingdom of Nepal victory Major-General Martindell retired back
Belligerents
East India Company	Kingdom of Nepal
Commanders and leaders
Major-General Martindell Major Richards	Colonel Ranajor Singh Thapa Jaspao Thapa

The Battle of Jaithak was a major fight during the Anglo-Nepalese War. It happened after the difficult Battle of Nalapani, where both sides lost many soldiers. This time, the battle took place near Nahan and Jaithak, further west.

The Nepalese forces were led by Colonel Ranajor Singh Thapa, who was the son of Kazi Amar Singh Thapa. Ranajor Singh had orders to move his troops to a strong position north of Nahan town. He was to take control of the hills and the fort of Jaithak. This fort was located at a high point where two mountain ridges met, about 3,600 feet above the plains.

Major-General Martindell took over command of the British East India Company forces. He captured Nahan on December 24, 1814. Martindell quickly began planning his attack on Ranajor Singh's positions at Jaithak.

British Attack Plan

The British army split into two groups to attack the ridges. One group, with 738 men, was led by Major Richards. They would attack from the north. The second group had 1,000 men and was led by Major Ludlow. They would attack from the southern ridge, which was closer to Nahan.

The first day of fighting at Jaithak was very similar to the first day at Nalapani for the British. Many of the soldiers were the same ones who had fought at Nalapani, including British grenadiers.

On the night of December 25, Major Richards' group started their march an hour earlier. They had a long, sixteen-mile detour to the north. Their goal was to be in position to attack Ranajor Singh's ridge early the next morning.

Fighting on the Southern Side

Major Ludlow's group, attacking the southern slope, left their camp at midnight. They soon met the first Nepalese guards, called a picquet, around three in the morning. These guards slowly fell back, and Ludlow's advance group chased them up the hill.

At the top of the hill, they found a village and a small ruined temple called Jumpta. Here, they met another group of Nepalese soldiers, who also retreated. This was the spot where Ludlow's men were supposed to wait for Major Richards' attack from the north. Ludlow stopped his troops here to let the rest of his soldiers catch up.

However, a small, lightly defended Nepalese stockade (a fence of strong posts) was seen nearby. The British grenadiers in Ludlow's force had won easily earlier that day. They wanted to attack the stockade to get revenge for their defeat at Nalapani. This was a risky decision because it meant changing the original battle plan.

Ludlow saw that the stockade didn't look very strong. He thought they could capture it quickly before the Nepalese could send more soldiers. But the events at Nalapani should have made him more careful.

Jaspao Thapa, one of Ranajor Singh's best officers, was in charge of the stockade. Most of the Nepalese soldiers at Jaithak were hidden inside or behind the stockade, out of sight. Jaspao let the British soldiers come very close to the stockade. Then, he sent small groups of soldiers around both sides of the British troops.

These flanking groups opened fire from all directions at once. The British were surprised and confused, and they started to pull back. The Nepalese then charged out of the stockade with swords. They drove the British soldiers back from all the ground they had gained. Major Ludlow tried three times to get his men to fight back, but it was no use.

The Indian soldiers, called sepoys, who were waiting at the Jumpta temple, were not ready for a fight. They were caught in the rush of the retreat, which quickly turned into a panicked escape. Ludlow and his defeated and tired men arrived back at their camp before 10 o'clock that morning. This was even before the attack was supposed to begin. The British lost 31 European soldiers and about 120 native sepoys who were killed or wounded.

Fighting on the Northern Side

Meanwhile, Major Richards and his men on the northern side managed to secure a spot on top of the ridge. Their defenses were ready by noon. But the troops were surprised because they heard no fighting from Major Ludlow's side. In fact, Ludlow's battle was already over by the time Richards reached his position.

Around one o'clock, Ranajor Singh gathered his men outside the walls of Jaithak. He was preparing to attack. The fighting began with scattered shots and small charges whenever it seemed helpful. This continued for most of the day.

At 4 o'clock, Major Richards worried that his ammunition would run out. The animals carrying extra ammunition had not arrived. He wrote to Major-General Martindell asking for more soldiers. At the same time, the Gurkhas (Nepalese soldiers) were becoming bolder. Richards moved his troops closer together and gave up his earlier position near the watering hole.

By sunset, the Nepalese had charged nine times. Each time, the British pushed them back with a volley of shots. But as they needed to save ammunition, the soldiers started collecting stones. Their new position was steep enough that stones could be thrown effectively as weapons.

The British held their position until half-past seven, two hours after sunset. Then, a clear order arrived from Martindell to retreat. He was afraid of another disaster like Nalapani. Richards had no hope of getting more soldiers or fresh ammunition, so he had to obey. The British lost many men during the confused retreat that night. Some were killed by enemy fire, and others fell on the steep and narrow mountain paths.

Aftermath of the Battle

This first day of fighting at Jaithak cost the British over three hundred men killed and wounded. It made Martindell much less eager to fight. For more than a month and a half, he refused to make any more attacks against the Nepalese army.

By mid-February, the situation for the British commanders was not good. Of the four British commanders the Nepalese army had faced, Gillespie was dead, Marley had run away, Wood was too troubled to act, and Martindell was too cautious to fight. This set the stage for another British commander, Octorloney, to soon show his skill and change how the war was going.