File:Plan of the Siege of Delhi.png

English: Military map of the Siege of Delhi which began on May 11, 1857 following the mutiny of the Bengal Army 3rd Light Cavalry, who, while stationed at Meerut about 65 kilometers away, had revolted the previous day. The Indian rebels, referred to as sepoys, moved straightaway to seize the city of Delhi, proclaiming Bahadur Shah II as Emperor of all India. The mutiny spread rapidly through northern central India, and, by the end of June, Cawnpore [now Kanpur] had fallen to the Indian troops of the rebel leader Nana Sahib, and Lucknow was besieged. In repressing the rebellion the British were aided by the loyalty of the Punjab for the Sikhs did not wish to see the restoration of Mughal rule, and the passivity of south India. Troops, mainly British, under generals Colin Campbell and Henry Havelock accomplished the reconquest of Delhi, which was recaptured in Sept., 1857, and later Lucknow, previously abandoned in Nov. 1857, was retaken in March 1858. The Siege marked the first impetus in what was to become the Indian independence movement. Relief is shown by hachures.