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by their clamour, the companions of Hujjat raised simultaneously the cry of “Yá Sáhibu’z-Zamán!” then poured out of the gates and flung themselves upon them. That encounter was the fiercest and most desperate engagement that had yet been experienced. The flower of Hujjat’s supporters fell on that day, victims to a ruthless carnage. Many a son was butchered in circumstances of unbridled cruelty under the eyes of his mother, while sisters gazed with horror and anguish upon the heads of their brothers raised on spears and brutally disfigured by the weapons of their foes. … No less than three hundred companions quaffed, that day, the cup of martyrdom. 61_ACT14
But even with these losses, the Bábís would not surrender, and the siege dragged on.
The siege drags on
Historical analyses of why the attacks on the Bábís in Zanjan dragged on for so long point to several different factors.
One factor is believed to be the terrain of the Bábí fort and its surrounding encampments:
The government attacks achieved so little because the … town was a warren of narrow streets and houses, all interconnected and prepared for defense, and could hardly be taken by infantry without heavy losses. Though the government troops had artillery, the guns were mostly light field pieces more suitable for use against troops in the open. When a ball hit the mud brick walls and dirt barricades of the Bábí defenses, there would be a puff of dust and the surface of the wall would crumble, but it would be easy enough for the Bábí to reinforce the walls from behind … Eventually, heavier guns were brought in, and these did gradually drive back the Bábís.62_ACT14
Another factor is believed to be that often the soldiers themselves were half-hearted and some even sympathized with the Bábís. Many of the officers knew that the Bábís were really not a rebellion against the government. Further, they resented killing civilians, including women and children, in a battle that they blamed on the ‘ulamá.63_ACT14 One historical account says:
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