Bhagwan Singh is the first to be killed in the fighting and his body is taken to the courtyard. Another warrior named Lal Singh is wounded and out of the fight.
One thing to note - this is all known not only from secondhand accounts but also from the signalman Gurmukh Singh. While all of this was happening he continued to send reports to the British at Fort Lockhart.
Now the sikhs are down to 18 fighters, the battle continues.
The Afghan army offers terms of surrender. They offered wealth, safety, power and whatever else the sikhs could want if they just lay down their arms. But sikhs boldly refused their offer.
The Afghans light fires to the hillside clouding everything in smoke. The signalman soon gets word that a formation of Afghan warriors is approaching the fort from the side, hidden by the smoke.
It's too late - the Afghan warriors are in the compound.
Ishar Singh along with a few of his men charge the Afghans and another round of brutal hand to hand fighting breaks out inside the compound. The sikhs are relentless and skilled, killed hundreds of attackers and holding their own despite being overwhelmed.
The Afghan warriors keep coming, though the sikhs are being worn down. Pretty soon the outer walls crumble and the Afghans capture that portion of the compound.
Ishar Singh knows things are desperate. He orders his men back to the inner compound to mount a defense. He knows that if they turn their backs and run they will be cut down.
In a moment of utter bravery, Ishar Singh orders his men back and then single handedly charges the approaching Afghan army. He cuts down warrior after warrior with his sword and pistol, cutting through the ranks of the surprised Afghan army.
After a few seconds, Ishar Singh is overwhelmed and killed - but he has bought his men the time they needed to fall back.
The Sikhs are now defending their fallback point, but the situation is hopeless. The Afghans start chopping at the wooden gate with axes and swords. Before too long they break through and thousands of them come pouring into what remains of the compound.
The Sikhs continue to fight bravely but hopelessly.
At this point, the signalman Gurmukh Singh signals the British to ask permission to abandon his post and take up his rifle. The order is approved and he calmly puts away his signal gear, take up his rifle, and fixes the bayonet.
By now, he is the last living Sikh in the compound. The British look on as he moves to defend the door to the small building he was stationed in.
The door breaks and enemy charges in. The British watch in awe as Gurmukh Singh cuts down one, then two, three and then finally eighteen Afghan warriors. The men retreat and Gurmukh Singh continues to hold the building.
More charge in and he kills anothe twenty Afghans as the British cheer him on, watching his final battle from the fort using telescopes.
Alone and cut off, Gurmukh Singh killed 40 enemy warriors in only a few minutes. What a total and complete you know what.
The Afghans are terrified by this. Unwilling to try and take the building again they set it on fire.
As the building burns, Gurmukh Singh shouts his battle cry over and over again.
"Bole so nihal sat sri akal" ......................
The battle was over - the compound was taken and the Sikhs had lost.
Yet like Thermopylae and other hopeless battles, the deeds of these heroics and ferocious warriors live on in history as one of the great moments of bravery and valor.
The 21 Sikhs had sold their lives at ahigh cost. While all 21 died, they took 1,400 enemy soldiers with them while injuring thousands more. Estimates from most sources list 600 - 1400 fatalities, with many more wounded. Either way, these 21 men took a heavy toll on their enemy.
On that day, Every Sikh there killed 28-50 enemies. This is an insane feat and only shows how skilled and dedicated these men were.
Instead of a paragraph about some thoughts, I think it is to record the names as well as their timeless deeds.
- Ishar Singh
- Lal Singh
- Chanda Singh
- Sundar Singh
- Ram Singh
- Uttar Singh
- Sahib Singh
- Hira Singh
- Daya Singh
- Jivan Singh
- Bhola Singh
- Narayan Singh
- Gurmukh Singh
- Jivan Singh
- Gurmukh Singh
- Jivan Singh
- Ram Singh
- Bhagwan Singh
- Buta Singh
- Bhagwan Singh
- Nand Singh