Wellington and the British Army's Indian Campaigns, 1798-1805

by Martin R. Howard

Overview

The Peninsular War and the Napoleonic Wars across Europe are subjects of such enduring interest that they have prompted extensive research and writing. Yet other campaigns, in what was a global war, have been largely ignored. Such is the case for the war in India which persisted for much of the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic periods and peaked in the years 1798−1805 with the campaigns of Arthur Wellesley – later the Duke of Wellington – and General Lake in the Deccan and Hindustan. That is why this new study by Martin Howard is so timely and important.

While it fully acknowledges Wellington’s vital role, it also addresses the nature of the warring armies, the significance of the campaigns of Lake in North India, and leaves the reader with an understanding of the human experience of war in the region. For this was a brutal conflict in which British armies clashed with the formidable forces of the Sultan of Mysore and the Maratha princes. There were dramatic pitched battles at Assaye, Argaum, Delhi and Laswari, and epic sieges at Seringapatam, Gawilghur and Bhurtpore. The British success was not universal.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781473894488
Publisher:	Pen & Sword Books Limited
Publication date:	07/01/2021
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	313
File size:	11 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.

About the Author

Martin Howard is a hospital consultant and an honorary visiting professor at the University of York. He has a longstanding interest in the Napoleonic Wars with a particular focus on the human dimension of the conflict and the lesser known campaigns. His most recent books in the field are Walcheren 1809: The Scandalous Destruction of a British Army and Death Before Glory! The British Soldier in the West Indies in the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars 1793−1815.

Table of Contents

List of Illustrations vii

List of Maps viii

Preface ix

I Armies

Chapter 1 The Most Successful Army in the World? The British Forces in India 1798-1805 3

Chapter 2 A House of Cards: Britain's Enemies in India 1798-1805 23

II Campaigns

Chapter 3 Dangerous Consequences: Mysore 1799 43

Chapter 4 Little Wars: Dhoondiah Waugh, the Polygar Uprisings and the Restoration of the Peshwa 1799-1803 66

Chapter 5 The Greatest Gamble: War in the Deccan 1803; Ahmednuggar and Assaye 84

Chapter 6 Marching to Victory: War in the Deccan 1803; Argaum and Gawilghur 108

Chapter 7 A River of Blood: War in Hindustan 1803; Delhi and Laswari 122

Chapter 8 An Elusive Enemy: The War against Holkar 1804-1805 145

III Soldiers

Chapter 9 We dread not the Mahrattas but the Sun: Voyage and Arrival 171

Chapter 10 In Slow and Quick Time: Life in the Garrison 188

Chapter 11 Hand to Hand: In Action 206

Chapter 12 Sometimes Bliss and Sometimes Woe: Sepoys 225

Chapter 13 Scarcely a Good Tempered Man: Doctors, Hospitals and Disease 241

Epilogue More of the Oak than the Willow 256

Appendix I General Lake's Army at Secundra, 26 August 1803 259

Appendix II Effective Strength of his Majesty's Regiments serving in India, taken from the latest returns, 1 April 1805 260

Appendix III Ordnance to accompany the Troops in the Field according to a Letter from Lieutenant-General Stuart of 26 November [1803] and Bullocks required to draw them 261

Appendix IV Return of Tippoo Sultaun's Army at the Commencement of the Campaign of 1799 262

Appendix V State of the Force composing the Grand Army under the Command of Lieutenant General Harris, February 1799 263

Appendix VI Abstract Statement showing the Strength in Non Commissioned Rank and File and distribution of Forces in the Field under Lieutenant-General Stuart; Detachment with the Honourable Major-General Wellesley; The Subsidiary Force under Colonel Stevenson; the Detachment at Hyderabad commanded by Major Irton and the Troops stationed under Colonel Montresor in Malabar and Canara [August/September 1803] 265

Appendix VII Review of Perron's Force [1803] 267

Appendix VIII Strength, in round Numbers, of the effective fighting men present with the Army [of Lake] at the above period [April 1805] 268

Glossary 269

Notes 272

Bibliography 298

Index 303