Siege of Lucknow, (25 May–27 November 1857), sustained assault and eventual relief of the British “Residency” (British governmental headquarters) in India’s northern city of Lucknow, part of 1857–58 Indian Mutiny against British rule. The relief of Lucknow consisted of two attempts by the British to rescue Sir Henry Lawrence and a contingent of British and Indian troops, along with several hundred civilians, from the center of Lucknow where they held out under siege conditions for six months.
With widespread mutinies underway, Commander Lawrence ordered all women and children of Lucknow to take cover in the Residency, the city’s chief fortress, on May 25, and Lawrence himself retreated there on June 30. The Residency was protected by battery positions but was vulnerable because a number of buildings surrounding it were occupied by rebel snipers and artillery. Despite this precarious position, and the death of Lawrence early in the siege, the troops and civilians managed to hold out thanks to the actions of a number of soldiers who were later awarded the Victoria Cross.
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