१८५७ का स्वातन्त्र्य समर (वीर विनायक दामोदर सावरकर - अंग्रेजों द्वारा छपने से पूर्व प्रतिबन्धित महाग्रन्थ)

THE CONFLAGRATION
of July, in order to save his comrades at Lucknow. He
had a thousand and five hundred men and thirteen guns
and had written a letter of assurance to them, promising
to relieve them without fail within five or six days. But
as soon as he crossed the Ganges and stepped into Oudh,
the imaginary ease of the task began to melt away like
a cloud ! Every inch of the way through Oudh had risen
in revolt ! Every Zemindar had collected a few hundred
men under him and had begun the fight for independence.
Every village flew the national Revolutionary flag. See-
ing this terrible state of affairs, Havelock became very
much dejected in mind. He was dejected but he did not
despair. He marched on. The Revolutionaries encounter-
ed him first at Onao but flew away soon. After this skir-
mish at Onao, Havelock gave his soldiers only time for
eating and, after that, the march continued. At Bashi-
ratganj, a second skirmish took place with a similar result.
Havelock's army fought two such skirmishes on the 29th
and got the better of the Revolutionaries in both.
But, was this a real victory ? In one day, the handful
of his army lost one sixth of its number. And the Revolu-
tionaries were not in the least broken up. Nay, more ;
it is doubtful whether the Revolutionaries were really
defeated and chased away or they had hit upon the new
plan of harassing the enemy considerably without suffer-
ing any losses themselves ! And just then the news had
come that the Danapur sepoys had also joined the Revo-
lution. This threatening state of affairs compelled Have-
lock to stop his forward march on the 30th and retire
back to Mangalwar.
Hearing that Havelock's army had left Cawnpore, Nana
Sahib Peshwa again resumed operations round about
Cawnpore. While Havelock left Cawnpore and crossed
the Ganges to enter Oudh, Nana Sahib left Oudh and was
crossing the same river to re-enter Cawnpore ! Not to
be caught in this trap of Nana Sahib, Havelock had to
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