Anxious to prevent a union of the two Sikh armies, Gough engaged Sher Singh’s force in Chillianwala, on the Jhelum’s eastern bank, on 14 January 1849. The result was the Company’s worst defeat in its long history in India. After losing nearly 3,000 officers and men, the Bengal army withdrew. The Sikh forces of father and son were able to come together, move east, and cross the Chenab.
