Nepalese-Tibetan War

Date	April 1855 - March 1856
Location	Tibet
Result	Nepalese Victory, Treaty of Thapathali

Belligerents

Tibet

Kingdom of Nepal

Commanders and leaders

Sethya Kaji

Jang Bahadur Rana
Bam Bahadur Kunwar
Dhir Shumsher Kunwar
Krishna Dhoj Kunwar
Prithvi Dhoj Kunwar

Strength

98,000

34,906

Casualties and losses

Unknown

The Nepalese–Tibetan War (Nepali: नेपाल-तिब्बत युध्द) was fought from 1855 to 1856 in Tibet between the forces of the Tibetan government (Ganden Phodrang, then under administrative rule of the Qing dynasty) and the invading Nepalese army.

Since the Sino-Nepalese War of 1792, the Nepalese government had renounced all claims of influence in Tibet and maintained a policy of non-intervention in its affairs. With their victory in the war, the Qing Empire made Nepal a tributary state, but the wave of rebellions that afflicted China in the 1850s such as the Taiping Rebellion had crippled her capacity to enforce Imperial authority so far from Beijing and the Nepalese Prime Minister, Jang Bahadur Rana, saw an excellent opportunity to press for Nepalese objectives in Tibet without the threat of Chinese interference.

Jang Bahadur used the alleged ill-treatment to the 1852 embassy, abuses to Nepalese traders in Lhassa, a boundary dispute in the Kuti area, among other grievances to justify the Nepalese demands to the Tibetan government, which included territorial concessions and the payment of an indemnity. He declared war in March 1855 and gave 17 April 1855 as the date limit for his conditions to be met.

In early April 1855 Nepalese troops attacked across the major passes between Tibet and Nepal, from Walungchung to Jara, with the center of their advance in the Kuti and Kerong districts and were joined shortly later by reinforcements completing a total of 27000 men, with thirty-six guns and eight mortars.

The Kerung Axis was commanded by General Bom Bahadur Kunwar, with approximately 25,728 troops. The Kuti Axis was commanded by General Dhir Sumsher with 4,678 troops. Humla and Mustang was commanded by General Krishna Dhoj Kunwar with 2,500 troops. And Olangchunggola Axis was commanded by Colonel Prithvi Dhoj Kunwar with a force of 2,000 men. Sethya Kaji was the main Tibetan commander with about 50,000 troops under his command. There were 8000 Tibetan troops stationed on Dirgacha front, whereas 40,000 troops were concentrated in the Tingri area.

On April 3 general Dhir Shamsher defeated a small Tibetan detachment at Chusan and captured Kuti and advanced to Suna Gompa. Kerong was occupied by Bam Bahadur without opposition and a Tibetan force at Kukurghat, north of Kerong, after which the Nepalese pushed on to Dzongka, the Tibetan main point of resistance in the area. The battle for Dzongka lasted 9 days after which the Tibetans retreated to Tingri. The capture of Dzongka was the last action of the campaign after which negotiations for a cease fire began. The campaign had proven more costly for Jang Bahadur than what he expected.

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Wikipedia