Battle of Nowshera
The Battle of Nowshera (Pashto: د نوښار جګړه; Punjabi: ਨੌਸ਼ਹਿਰ ਦੀ ਲੜਾਈ (Gurmukhi), نوشہرہ دی لڑائی (Shahmukhi)) was fought in Nowshera in March 1823 between the Yusufzai Afghans, supported by the Peshawar sardars, alongside Azim Khan Barakzai, the Afghan governor of Peshawar, where they would face the Sikh armies led by Maharaja Ranjit Singh. Azim Khan was a half-brother of Dost Mohammad Khan, future ruler of Kabul, and later Afghanistan. The battle was a victory for the Sikhs, successfully defeating Azim Khan's armies. This victory allowed them to begin to their occupation of the Peshawar Valley.
| Battle of Nowshera | |||||||||
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| Part of Afghan-Sikh wars | |||||||||
Fresco in Jammu depicting Akali Phula Singh and his Akali-Nihang warriors giving a last stand to Afghan Ghazi warriors in the Battle of Nowshera | |||||||||
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| Belligerents | |||||||||
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Sikh Empire Peshawar Sardars Shah Shuja Durrani Levies | Azim Khan's coalition | ||||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
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Maharaja Ranjit Singh Hari Singh Nalwa Mahan Singh Mirpuri Misr Diwan Chand Akali Phula Singh † Khushal Singh Jamadar Desa Singh Majithia Kharak Singh Fateh Singh Ahluwalia Sardar Yar Muhammad Jean-Baptiste Ventura Jean-Francois Allard Balbhadra Kunwar † Goolab Singh † Garbha Singh † General Balu Bahadur † Kurram Singh † |
Azim Khan Barakzai (WIA) Muhammad Ashraf Khan Sakhi Arsallah Khan Syed Akbar Shah Rahmat Khan Shaikh Muhammad Shoaib † Shaikh Rizwan † | ||||||||
| Strength | |||||||||
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16,000 Fauj-i-Khas and Fauj-i-Ain regulars 3,000 Sikh Akali Nihangs 4,000 Ghorcharas total:23,000 | 20,000-25,000 Yusufzai Afridi Khattak Tribal levies | ||||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||||
| Unknown, some estimates range 1,800 killed and 2,000 wounded | 3,000-10,000 | ||||||||
Following their victory, the Sikhs destroyed the Afghan royal court and the fort of Bala Hissar, Peshawar. However, Hari Singh Nalwa soon commenced the reconstruction of the fort.