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

THE CONFLAGRATION
But in that half an hour, the splendid plan of the Moulvie
was shattered to pieces by the impetuosity of the cavalry
men. They had already occupied a very convenient place
on the flank of the British forces and had been holding
themselves ready to pounce upon the foe. But their
leader, while lying in ambush, saw some guns unprotected
in front of them and, forgetting the strict orders of the
Moulvie, made for them with the intention of capturing
them, and even captured and obtained possession of them
for a while ; but soon, the English woke to their danger,
the guns were recaptured, and the whole plan of the
Moulvie was shattered. For, this fighting at the rear
opened the languid eyes of the English commander and he
saw the danger in his rear as well as in his front. Seeing
his plan thus nullified by the rashness of his cavalry, the
Moulvie who was holding the village left it after a skir-
mish and marched off—to find another opportunity and
to mature another design.
While Hope Grant was pressing the Revolutionaries up-
wards and upwards, from Bari to Bitaoli, with a view to
drive them out of Oudh, there on the other side, on the
15th of April, was being fought a hotly contested battle,
near the fort of Ruiya. We have seen how, sometime
before this, in the province of the Doab, the English army,
being divided into separate divisions and marching by
separate routes, pressed on the Revolutionaries simulta-
neously and systematically, sweeping off the whole pro-
vince, till they drove them all into the town of Fatehgarh.
In the same manner, a campaign had been organised and
put into execution to sweep the Revolutionaries off the
whole province of Oudh, by different British forces, from
all possible quarters, pressing them onwards and upwards
towards the northern frontier of Oudh. About the 1st of
April, 1858, the total number of the white forces in India
had risen to ninety-six thousand soldiers, besides which
there were the loyal armies of the Sikhs. The brigades
consisting of the Pathans, Pariahs, and other raw recruits,
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