Facing an unexpected attack on their forces and also on families and supplies, misl chiefs Jassa Singh Ahluwalia and Charhat Singh Sukerchakia, both present at Kup, instructed their soldiers to form circles around the families and retreat but also fight, even as Abdali ordered his army to cut off the Sikh soldiers from their families and baggage. It was a hopeless task for the Sikhs, yet many in Abdali’s army were slain. A much greater number of Sikhs were killed in what has entered Sikh history as the Wadda Ghallughara (Great Carnage). Figures vary from 8,000 to 30,000 Sikh dead.
