Raja Lal Singh, Sikh commander at the Battle of Moodkee on 18th December 1845 during the First Sikh War: picture by Henry Martens Battle: Moodkee War: First Sikh War. Date of the Battle of Moodkee: 18th December 1845. Place of the Battle of Moodkee: On the south bank of the Sutlej River in Punjab in northwest India. Combatants at the Battle of Moodkee. British troops and Indian troops of the Bengal Presidency against Sikhs of the Khalsa, the army of Punjab. Major General Sir Hugh Gough in his white ‘Battle Coat’: Battle of Moodkee on 18th December 1845 during the First Sikh War Commanders at the Battle of Moodkee: Major General Sir Hugh Gough and General Sir Henry Hardinge, the Governor-General of Bengal, against Lal Singh, the Sikh leader. Size of the armies at the Battle of Moodkee: A British and Bengal army of 12,000 troops and 42 guns against a Sikh army of 10,000 cavalry, 4,000 infantry, and 22 guns.