determine the war. The Sikhs occupied such
strong positions on both sides of the river at Sobraon, that they were
willing to believe their post impregnable, that an attempt to storm it
would be fruitless, and that in fact there a barrier existed, against
which the surging wave of British power would be broken. This was the
only point of occupation then held by the Khalsa army on the left bank
of the Sutlej. All fears for Loodiana having now subsided, the mission
of Sir Harry Smith at the head of a separate _corps d'armee_ was over,
and he marched to join the grand army under the command of the intrepid
veteran Sir Hugh Gough, one of the noblest soldiers that ever served in
the British army. General Sir Charles Napier, in his own eccentric way,
said of him that he was "as brave as ten lions, each with two tails
and two sets of teeth." Sir Charles rivalled Mr. Roebuck, the radical
English commoner, in the scantiness of his commendations; his droll
eulogy of Sir Hugh Gough will therefore be appreciated. On the 8th of
February, Sir Harry Smith made his junction with the army of his chief,
and was received in terms not more flattering than just from a general
who never refused to merit its just meed.

The first duty of the English commander-in-chief was now to capture the
stronghold of the enemy, which was extensively fortified, mounted more
than seventy heavy pieces of cannon, and was garrisoned by 30,000 men,
the select troops of the grand Khalsa army. Even with the addition of
Sir Harry Smith's division, the brave old chief was hardly strong enough
for the task imposed upon him; but happily his artillery, which very
much needed it, was reinforced from Delhi by several howitzers and
mortars.

On the morning of the 10th, General Gough considered himself in a
condition to proceed against the works of Sobraon; these had been well
reconnoitred previously, and never was an army more confident in its
chief, its resources, and its own will than the British army of the
Sutlej. The enemy had been ceaselessly employed since the battle of
Aliwal in throwing up fieldworks on the right bank of the river, so as
to command the flanks of the works on the left bank. Easy communications
between the two camps were preserved by an excellently constructed
bridge. As this is a general History of England, and not a History of
India, or of the War in India, the space allotted to our task will not
allow of more minute particularisation of the de