Key Facts
- Duration
- 8 days (27 July – 3 August 1857)
- Defenders
- 18 civilians + 50 Bengal Military Police
- Attacking force
- ~2,500–3,000 sepoys + ~8,000 irregular troops
- First relief party casualties
- ~290 of ~415 men
- Second relief party casualties
- 2
- Defenders killed or wounded
- 1 injured
Strategic Narrative Overview
On 27 July 1857, mutinous sepoys and Kunwar Singh's irregulars surrounded a fortified outbuilding in Arrah held by 18 civilians and 50 Bengal Military Police. A relief column of roughly 415 men attempted to break the siege but was repulsed with approximately 290 casualties. Days later, a second relief force of only 225 men with three artillery guns—dispatched against explicit orders—advanced on the besiegers, dispersing them and ending the siege.
01 / The Origins
The siege occurred during the Indian Rebellion of 1857, when widespread mutiny among Bengal Native Infantry sepoys against British East India Company rule engulfed much of northern India. At Arrah in Bihar, Kunwar Singh—the zamindar of the Jagdishpur estate—allied with mutinying sepoys from three Bengal Native Infantry regiments, raising a combined force of approximately 10,000–11,000 men to challenge British authority in the region.
03 / The Outcome
The second relief force succeeded with just two casualties on 3 August 1857, and the besieged party escaped largely unharmed, with only one member having been injured during the entire siege. The successful defence and unauthorized relief became notable episodes of the 1857 rebellion, illustrating the vulnerability of British positions as well as the effectiveness of improvised responses under determined leadership.
Belligerents & Mobilization Analysis
Side A
1 belligerent
Kunwar Singh.
Side B
2 belligerents
Kinetic Engagement Axis
Scroll horizontally to view full axis. Events plotted relatively.