Goaded by the tone and matter[1] of the letters he received, General Anson prepared to march. For the task before him his force was singularly inadequate. It consisted of the 9th Lancers, the 75th Foot, the 1st and 2d European Regiments, two troops of horse-artillery, and a native regiment, the 60th N. I. These troops were at Ambálah. At Bághpat, one march from Dehlí, they would be joined, if the General's orders were carried out, by the Mírath brigade, composed of two squadrons of the Carabineers, a wing of the 60th Rifles, one light field-battery, one troop of H. A., and some sappers. At the same place, where he expected to arrive on the 5th of June, General Anson hoped to be joined by a small siege-train from Lodiáná. It was a great advantage to him that at this critical period the Cis-Satlaj chiefs and the Nuwáb of Karnál decided to cast in their lot with the British. The assistance they afforded in keeping open the communications and in influencing the populations of the several districts cannot be over-estimated.
Providence did not permit General Anson to witness the triumph of the measures he had organised with so much diligence, so much forethought, and so much ability.
- ↑ For instance, such words as these from Sir John Lawrence: 'Pray only reflect on the whole history of India. Where have we failed when we have acted vigorously? Where have we succeeded when guided by timid counsels?' Lord Canning wrote him that everything depended 'upon speedily disposing of Dehlí, and making a terrible example.' To the letter from which I have quoted he added a paragraph which showed how incompletely he and his advisers had, at this period, grasped the situation: 'Your force of artillery will enable you to dispose of Dehlí with certainty, I therefore beg that you will detach one European infantry regiment and a small force of European cavalry to the south of Dehlí, without keeping them for operations there, so that Alígarh may be recovered and Kánhpur relieved immediately.' This request to a Commander-in-Chief whose troops were already too few, and who had before him the hardest task ever allotted to a British commander in India!
