If he felt a sense of urgency to relieve the Residency, Sir Colin Campbell was certainly not showing it. As far as he could see, holding Lucknow was not on the cards; his intention was to rescue the garrison and retreat. As such, he made his advance towards the city with this in mind. With the Alambagh secure, he would advance over two days; on the first, he would take the Dilkusha and the Martiniere College, both of which would serve as valuable positions for his baggage, his wounded and for his line of retreat.
Then, he would advance on the Residency itself, but instead of taking the direct route that Havelock and Outram had taken, and having been warned to “give the city a wide berth”, Campbell would then move methodically through the outskirts before turning towards the Residency. His objective was to take several buildings into his possession on the line of march, thus securing, once again, his line of retreat.
On the 15th of November, Sir Colin Campbell called a halt. The next day
would commence.
Mutiny Reflections 