and such a fight ensued as has seldom been known or told of in the records of war. These wild warriors continually advanced, sword and shield in hand, striving, in all the fierceness of their valour, to break into the opposing ranks; no fire of small arms, no thrust of bayonets, no sweeping discharges of grape from the guns, which were planted in one fearful mass on the right, could drive the gallant soldiers back. They gave their breasts to the shot, they leaped upon the guns by twenties at a time; their dead went down the steep slope by hundreds; but the gaps in their masses were continually filled up from the rear; the survivors of the front rank still pressed forward with unabated fury, and the bayonet and the sword clashed in full and frequent conflict."
The nature of the ground almost entirely precluded the ordinary manœuvres of a disciplined force; and from the vast superiority of the enemy in point of numbers, it appeared for a time impossible that the British could hold their ground. Fast as one wild band of desperate assailants fell before their cool and resolute defence, another band, equally numerous and fearless, sprang into their place. On seeing the perilous state of his main body in front, after maintaining their ground for above three hours against a foe that seemed to spring up anew as fast as they were struck down or driven back. Sir Charles ordered his reserve cavalry to force the right wing of the enemy – a movement which was most gallantly executed. In the first charge the 9th Light Cavalry took a standard and several pieces of artillery, and another body of native cavalry obtained possession of the enemy's camp, from which a large body of their horse were slowly driven, fighting every inch of ground as they withdrew. They were pursued for upwards of two miles, till they were effectually broken and scattered in hopeless disorder.
This gallant charge decided the fortune of the day; for though the main body of the enemy did not immediately give way, their resistance slackened as soon as they saw their wing turned and the chief body of their cavalry
