OTD in 1857 Captain John Nicholson, the Lion of Punjab, was given command of a moveable column with the aim of reaching the besiged city of Delhi from Peshwar and delivering justice to as many mutineers as possible. Over 900 miles his column would kill thousands of rebels

'When his word is said death surley follows', this description perfectly encapsulates Nicholsons approach to justice, executing mutineers with great zeal. His column initally comprised HM 52nd a troop of horse artilley, a detachment of the 9th cavalry and sikh volunteers

A vital contingent of the column was Nicholson personal bodyguard of 260 Mooltani Horseman. These tribal warriors were devoted to their master and took no pay, but plenty of loot, and were loyal to only him. Unique to John Nicholson a group of cultist were attached to the column.

The cultist who worshipped Nicholson as Nikal Seyen, were mainly comprised of former Hindus and Sikhs. It was said that if John converted to sikhism he would have been revered as a Prophet. But, he was a devout Ulster protestant so had the cultist flogged if they worshipped him

The first action of his colum was at the river Ravi. With 225 soldiers he defeated a force over 1500 men strong killing 400 of them in a matter of minutes with Nicholson personally killing 3. All this fighting took place during the blistering summer when temperatures reached 50°c

When he reached Delhi on the 7th of August, his column had grown to 4000 strong and his arrival fortified the will of the British to carry on the fight. Nicholson represented the very best the military had to offer, young, brave energetic and ruthless in contrast to the old

Generals who had dithered and let the mutiny spiral out of control with William Hodson describing him 'a host in himself'. He had been given the rank of Brigadier-General and assumed control of the siege.

On the 24th August while awaiting the arrival of the artilley train, Nicholson was informed that 7000 mutineers had left the city to seeking to intercept it. He immediately reformed the moveable column and set of in pursuit during a monsoon. They caught the rebels at Najafgarh.

He led the charge across a swollen river into the heart of enemy camp with a volley from the British being fired from point blank range into the rebels line. This unexpected and ferocious attack broke the mutineers and the fight was over quickly with over 800 of them being killed

Nicholson lost only 25 men dead and 70 wounded. Archdale Wilson wished he could knight him on the spot as he had surley saved them from disaster. However, Nicholson disliked Wilson as a result of his unwillingness to attack. He even threatened to have him arrested when a rumor

spread that Wilson was going to abandon the siege and wait for reinforcments. Nicholson knew that battle for Delhi would be the decisive action of the war as taking it would decapitate the mutiny as the city was the heart of the rebellion and was home to the last Mughal Emperor