The verified answer to “Important Battles question: In the Battle of Mudki (1845) who commanded the British forces?” is Sir Hugh Gough, option B. The source-backed, question-specific record explains: The Battle of Mudki fought on December 18 1845 was the first engagement of the First Anglo-Sikh War. Sir Hugh Gough commanded the British forces and defeated the Sikh Khalsa Army though with significant British casualties. This evidence establishes the historical relationship required in this Important Battles item. A correct solution must preserve the exact battle, date, participants, commander, location, outcome or significance requested by the stem. Similar periods, genres or national traditions do not make two battle facts interchangeable. Option B gives Sir Hugh Gough and satisfies every condition stated in the question. The remaining choices—Lord Napier, Sir Charles Napier and Lord Lake—do not satisfy the complete requirement. The reliable checking method is to identify the named battle first, recall or verify its verified participant or outcome, and then read qualifiers such as “both works,” “original language,” “first published,” “correctly matched” or “incorrectly matched.” These qualifiers determine what counts as the answer. Replaying that method for this Important Battles question confirms Sir Hugh Gough without relying on option position.