Battle of Ladakh

The Battle of Ladakh was one of the major engagements between the Dogra dynasty against the Tibetans under the Qing dynasty. The battle was fought on September 6, 1842, and ended as a Dogra victory, resulting in the Dogras taking control of Ladakh.^[5][6][7]

Battle of Ladakh (1842)
Part of Dogra–Tibetan war
Location Ladakh, India Result Dogra Victory[1] Tibetan attack on Ladakh repulsed. Dogra dynasty annexes Ladakh[2][3] Territorial changes Dogra dynasty regains control over all of Ladakh[2]
Belligerents
Dogra dynasty	Qing dynasty Tibet
Commanders and leaders
Gulab Singh Jawahar Singh Wazir Lakhpat Diwan Hari Chand	Tibetan(Qing) General Ragasha  †[4]
Strength
Unknown	Unknown, but larger.[4]
Casualties and losses
Unknown	Unknown

Background

The Dogras had invaded Tibet in the Dogra–Tibetan war under the suizerenity of the Sikh Empire, however lost their general, Zorawar Singh in a battle. Encouraged by the victory, the Tibetans would go on to invade Ladakh. The leader of the Dogra dynasty, Gulab Singh immediately sent relief forces and reinforcements, which included Sikh^[7] and Dogra troops.^[8][9][10]

Battle

The Battle took place on September 6, 1842. The Tibetans invaded Ladakh under the command of General Ragasha. The Tibetans decided upon a night attack, however were found out and could not do any major damage, instead they were pushed back.^[5][10] The Tibetans took shelter in a fortification, which was later attacked by the Dogras but had to withdraw. After four days, there was no clear victor. The Dogras decided to flood the Tibetan camp which was situated in a low level valley, after three days, the Tibetan camps were successfully flooded and had to be abandoned. When the Tibetans fled, the Dogras led several attacks and Wazir Mustaddi were sent to negotiate a truce, the Tibetan men came to the Dogra camped but were made prisoners.^[5][11] Among the seized, Tibetan General Ragasha was killed as an act of vengeance for Zorawar Singh.^[5] Another battle took place where the Dogras repulsed the Tibetans, many of the Tibetans being killed.^[12][5]

"all old boundaries of Ladakh...repossessed by the Dogra Rajputs."

— Court of Lahore to British agent in Ludhiana, ^[2]

Aftermath

Upon hearing of this struggle, Raja Gulab Singh had sent 4,000 reinforcements, however, upon hearing of the victory at Ladakh, they had halted their march. Raja Gulab Singh himself arrived in Leh shortly after, building a new fort in Leh, replacing the old one.^[5] Gulab Singh also sent Vakils (agents) to negotiate peace treaties with the Tibetan chiefs.^[5][13]

References

1. Francke, August Hermann (1998). A History of Western Tibet: One of the Unknown Empires (illustrated, revised ed.). Motilal Banarsidass Publ. p. 161. ISBN 9788120813946.
2. "General Zorawar Singh".
3. Buddhist Western Himalaya: A politico-religious history. Indus. 2001. ISBN 978-81-7387-124-5.
4. "General Zorawar Singh".
5. SUKHDEV SINGH CHARAK. GENERAL ZORAWAR SINGH.
6. Nath, Rajendra (2016-09-01). Strategic Ladakh: A Historical Narrative 1951-53 and a Military Perspective. Vij Books India Pvt Ltd. ISBN 978-93-85563-50-8.
7. Shakabpa, Tsepon Wangchuk Deden (2010). One Hundred Thousand Moons: An Advanced Political History of Tibet. BRILL. ISBN 978-90-04-17732-1.
8. https://web.archive.org/web/20181123065805/http://pahar.in/mountains/Books%20and%20Articles/Indian%20Subcontinent/1961%20Gulab%20Singh%20and%20Creation%20of%20Dogra%20State%20of%20Jammu%20Kashmir%20and%20Ladakh%20by%20Huttenback%20from%20J%20Asian%20Studies%20v20%20s.pdf. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2018-11-23. Retrieved 2024-04-24. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
9. Francke, August Hermann (1995). A history of Western Tibet : one of the unknown empires. Public Resource. New Delhi : Asian Educational Services. ISBN 978-81-206-1043-9.
10. Bhasin, Sanjeev Kumar (2006). Amazing Land Ladakh: Places, People, and Culture. Indus Publishing. ISBN 978-81-7387-186-3.
11. Gangdrug, Dhokham Chushi (2022-01-14). The Warriors of the Snowland - A History of Chushi Gangdrug - Volume One. Blue Rose Publishers.
12. Duggal, Kartar Singh (2001). Maharaja Ranjit Singh, the last to lay arms. Internet Archive. New Delhi : Abhinav Publications. ISBN 978-81-7017-410-3.
13. Social Regulation: Case Studies from Tibetan History. BRILL. 2016-09-27. ISBN 978-90-04-33125-9.