Overview

Detailed state/region-wise breakdown of 1857 revolt fighting, and the full Delhi timeline: how rebels captured Delhi, how British recaptured it, and Bahadur Shah Zafar's trial & exile
Companion page to: Revolts & Resistance Against British Rule (pre-1857 to 1857)

State/Region-wise Fighting in 1857

11 May 1857: Meerut sepoys marched to Delhi overnight, crossed Yamuna, entered Red Fort
Rebels declared Bahadur Shah Zafar Emperor of Hindustan — gave the revolt an all-India symbolic center
British forces (mostly killed or fled) lost control of the city almost immediately
Delhi became the political/military nerve center of the revolt for ~4 months

Where the revolt began (10 May 1857)
85 sepoys of 3rd Bengal Cavalry court-martialed & imprisoned for refusing greased cartridges → triggered mass mutiny
Sepoys freed the imprisoned soldiers, killed British officers, marched to Delhi

Led by Nana Sahib (adopted heir of last Peshwa, denied pension by British — personal grievance)
British garrison under General Wheeler besieged; agreed to safe passage, but ambushed at Satichaura Ghat
Bibighar Massacre: British women & children killed — became major British propaganda point, used to justify brutal reprisals
Recaptured by British under General Henry Havelock and Colin Campbell (July–Dec 1857)
Tantia Tope (Nana Sahib's general) continued guerrilla resistance into 1858, later captured and hanged