The Second Anglo-Sikh War fell out between the Sikh Empire and the British Empire. The war led to the subjugation of the Sikh kingdom and the annexation of Punjab and what subsequently became the North-West Frontier Province by the British East India Company.

On 19th April 1848, at the reception of a new Sikh governor replacing the Hindu Mulraj in Multan, the local Sikhs had wrecked havoc on the oppressors by severe attack. They gravely injured English lives and the following day murdered Patrick A. Vans Agnew (1822-1848) of the Bengal Civil Service and Lieutenant William Anderson. In consequence, Multan passed into a state of rebellion under the leadership of the Mulraj of Multan.

On 13th May, General Gough proposed awaiting the heat of the summer than taking the field with a force of 24,000 troops. Lord Dalhousie agreed to the proposal in November.

On 20th May, the British victory at the battle of Dera Ghazi Khan resulted in the loss of all Trans-Indus dependencies for the Mulraj. The Second Sikh War was gradually gaining momentum in its own right.

On 18th June, Lieutenant Herbert B. Edwardes (1819-1868) led a mixed force of Pathans, Daudpatras and regulars commanded by Major-General General Henry C. Van Cortland (1814-1888) against the main body of Multani forces at Kinyree. The British successfully cleared the Sindh Sagur Doab of immediate threat by the Mulraj. Edwardes` force lost 58 killed and 89 wounded. Multani troops lost approximately 1000 and 8 guns.

On 1st July, Lieutenant Edwardes successfully drove the Mulraj`s troops from Suddoosam, approximately four miles from Multan. Edwardes took possession of most of the Mulraj`s guns. The British suffered 281 casualties in this gun battle. This overwhelming British victory dampened the ardour of the Sikhs elsewhere in Punjab for an immediate broad-based rebellion. It also immobilised the Mulraj in his fort at Multan.

Owing to Edwardes` success, Frederick Currie (1799-1875) a British Resident in Lahore committed a task on his own authority. On 10th July, Currie ordered Major-General William S. Whish (1787-1853) to take a force of 7000 men and 32 guns to Multan and assume command of the Multan Field Force.

Within the period of 18th August to 13th October, Lieutenant Edwardes, Major-General Whish and Major-General Cortland engaged various bodies of Multani troops in a number of small actions as siege operations at Multan developed.

In August, Major George S. Lawrence (1804-1884) ordered Captain John Nicholson (1821-1857) in Peshawar, to occupy the fort at Attock on the Indus River. Later the fort was turned over to Lieutenant Herbert, who held it until January 3, 1849. His action commanded the Indus and held significant forces led by Chuttar Singh out of action from participating for a time in operations in Punjab.

In September, Lord Dalhousie reinforced the British troops in Lahore, placed a Royal regiment at Amritsar and generally pushed Bengal forces toward the north-west. In the process, he built a body of approximately 20,000 troops, wcich were ordered to north of the Sutlej River. Additionally, Dalhousie asked the Company`s Court of Directors for three European regiments and permission to expand from 800 to 1000 men in each of the Company`s Native regiments.

In the days of 13th and 14th October, during the night-time hours, Sher Singh and his force of 7000, seemingly associated with the Sikh Durbar and thus pro-British, defected to the Mulraj of Multan. In consequence the 1" Siege of Multan ended as Whish withdrew his forces to Sooruj Khoond to cover his lines of communication. On the other hand, Whish awaited the arrival of reinforcements from the Bombay Army.

On 23rd October, when the Sikhs at Peshawar rebelled, Major George S. Lawrence and his wife and three other Europeans fled to the asylum of Sultan Mahomed Khan of Kohat. On November 3rd, Chuttar Singh took control of Peshawar and received custody of the Lawrences and other British prisoners.

On 22nd November, under Gough`s command, the British fought a small, inconclusive action at Ramnagar on the banks of the Chenab River. However, the regiment lost its cavalry commander, Brigadier-General Charles R. Cureton (1789-1848). The operation cleared the Sikh forces from the south bank of the Chenab.

On 3rd December, at Sadulapur, the British engaged in hostilities with the Sikh forces of Shere Singh. Lieutenant-General Sir Joseph Thackwell (1781-1859) with a force of 7000 repulsed the Sikhs, but declined their pursuit. Within the days of 10th to 12th December, the Bombay Column arrived at Multan with three Native Cavalry regiments, six infantry regiments and several siege guns. On 27th December, the British attacked and cleared the outer works held by the Sikhs at Multan. This success led to a tactical change of attacking the city first and then the fort. The Second Sikh War had already advanced to a sufficient stage, where the British acquired upper hand over the Sikhs in Multan.

On 2nd January 1849, at one-thirty in the afternoon, British forces assaulted the city walls of Multan at the Khoonee Bur. In the course of the night, the Sikh magazine near the Lahore Gate blew up. By mid-day of January 3rd, the city was under British control.

On 13th January, British troops numbering 12,000 led by General Gough, engaged a Sikh force of 30,000 and 62 guns commanded by Sher Singh at Chilianwala. In the course of battle, certain British cavalry units on the right wing withdrew abruptly. Ultimately both the British and Sikh armies withdrew to their original positions. The British took 2331 casualties, four guns and three regimental colours. In England, authorities issued orders for the appointment of General Sir Charles Napier (1782-1853) to replace General Gough.

On 22nd January, after the British had breached the walls of the fort at Multan and prepared for an assault, the Mulraj surrendered.

On 21st February, in Gujarat, amplified by Whish`s forces from Multan, General Gough led an army of approximately 30,000 men against Shere Singh. Singh, on the other hand, had been reinforced by Chuttar Singh from Attock. Massive British artillery support assisted a frontal attack, which drove the Sikhs from the field. British casualties numbered 766. This success essentially ended any further serious Sikh resistance.

Between the period of 22nd February to 21st March, General Sir Walter Gilbert (1785-1853 commanded the pursuit of Sikh and Afghan troops, following the British victory at Gujarat. On March 14th, the Sikhs surrendered to Gilbert at Rawalpindi. Gilbert continued his chase of the Afghans recapturing Attock on March 18, Peshawar on March 21 and then terminated the operation at Jamrud in the mouth of the Khyber Pass.

On 29th March, Lord Dalhousie proclaimed the annexation of Punjab to British India. Other terms of Dalhousie included the provision of a payment of 50,000 pounds per year to Dhuleep Singh, heir to the throne, the rendering up of the Koh-i-noor diamond to the Queen of England, all property of the Sikh State to be confiscated by the British. The Lord`s cruelties further incorporated that the Maharajah, Dhuleep Singh, be treated with respect. However, the Maharajah was required to reside outside Punjab.

With the extensive period of 1848 to 1856, Lord Dalhousie annexed the following Indian states to the administration of the Company: Satara (1848), Mandaui (1848), Nagpur (1853), Jhansi (1854) and Oudh (1856). He essentially exercised his "doctrine of lapse", when no legitimate heir to the throne was available, except for Oudh which was a direct annexation due to mal-administration. In retrospect, these annexations and particularly that of Oudh weighed heavily as a cause of the Indian Sepoy Mutiny of 1857.