Battle of Jaithak

Overview

The Battle of Jaithak is the subsequent battle fought by the 53rd division of East India Company after the Battle of Nalapani against Nepalese forces. Nalapani had cost both sides dearly, but in Nahan and Jaithak further west, they were to suffer more. Kazi Amar Singh Thapa’s son, Ranajor Singh Thapa, was in command there. Nahan had been left undefended. Ranajor Singh had orders from his father to retire to a position north of the Nahan town, and to occupy the surrounding heights and the fort of Jaithak, situated at a point where two spurs of mountainous ridges meet, and the peak at the intersection rises to a height of 3,600 feet above the level of the plains. Major-General Martindell, who had assumed command of the forces of Major-General Robert Rollo Gillespie, who had been killed during the Nalapani Fort siege, took possession of Nahan on 24 December 1814 and immediately set about preparations for the attack on Ranajor Singh's positions.

Overview adapted from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Significance

The Battle of Jaithak formed part of the British East India Company's westward push following the costly siege of Nalapani, and placed the 53rd division in direct confrontation with Nepalese forces commanded by Ranajor Singh Thapa, son of the senior Gurkha commander Kazi Amar Singh Thapa. The fall of Nalapani had not ended resistance in the region; the Nepalese deliberately abandoned Nahan and withdrew to fortified high ground, making Jaithak the next focal point of the campaign. Major-General Martindell, who had assumed command after Gillespie's death at Nalapani, occupied Nahan on 24 December 1814 and prepared to assault positions that the overview characterizes as likely to cost both sides further heavily. The battle thus represented a continuation of attritional mountain warfare in which British advances were repeatedly contested by Nepalese forces exploiting prepared hilltop positions.

Tactics

Commanders (1)