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<div>{{EngvarB|date=August 2019}}<br />
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2019}}<br />
{{one source|date=October 2015}}<br />
{{Campaignbox Second Anglo-Maratha War}}<br />
The '''Capture of Gawilgad''' fort in western [[India]] by [[British East India Company]] forces under the command of Sir [[Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington|Arthur Wellesley]] on 15 December 1803 during the [[Second Anglo-Maratha War]] was the culminating act in the defeat of the forces of [[Raghoji II Bhonsle]], Rajah of [[Berar Province|Berar]]. [[Gawilghur]]'s garrison of 3000 was commanded by brave [[Jamadar]] Beni Singh Rajput, assisted by Manoo Bapu who was the cousin of Raje Bhosale of Nagpur and Killedar Thakur Shivsingh Rana, a [[Rajput]] [[Killedar]] of [[Narnala]], the Governer of Gawilgad and surrounding forts & also the relatives of Beni Singh Rajput.{{efn|In [[Dictionary of National Biography]] '''Gawilghur''' is spelt '''Guzzulgaum''' {{harv|Stephens|1886|p=350}}.}}<ref name=Naravane/><br />
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==Prelude==<br />
At the time, Gawilghur was considered unassailable and the defenders believed they could hold the mountain fortress regardless of whatever the British Army threw at it. The defensive works consisted of two fortresses, one outer and one inner. The Outer Fort was considered more of a decoy, and behind that lay a ravine, across which lay the gate to the Inner Fort. An army could theoretically capture the Outer Fort before realizing that the greater task lay in assaulting the inner. The Inner Fort was protected by several gates, the first of which was the least defensible. After breaking through that first gate, however, an assaulting army would turn sharply to the left and follow a narrow passage up to a second gate, all the while being attacked by the defenders from above.<br />
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==Assault==<br />
This was largely the case when Arthur Wellesley's army attacked Gawilghur. Lieutenant Colonel Kenny, of the [[11th Regiment of Foot]] succeeded in taking the Outer Fort, and led the assault on the Inner Fort, supported by [[flank companies]] of the [[94th Regiment of Foot]], and [[sepoy]]s from [[James Stevenson (East India Company officer)|Major General James Stevenson]]'s division. At the same time, the [[74th (Highland) Regiment of Foot|74th]] and [[78th (Highlanders) Regiment of Foot|78th Highlanders]] diverted the attention of the defenders by false attacks from the south.<br />
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After the bombardment commenced on 12 December, the assault on the 14th might have been doomed to failure in the narrow passageways of the Inner Fort had it not been for the bravery of an officer of the 94th. Captain Campbell and his [[Light infantry|Light Company]] made a "daring ascent ...on the seemingly impossible southern face." They were then able to open the gates of the inner fort for the main force. The British had 132 casualties, while the Maratha's casualties amounted to 1200, including the deaths of Thakurrao Killedar, Sardar Beni Singh and Manoo Bapu.<ref name=Naravane>{{Cite book |last=Naravane |first=M.S. |title=Battles of the Honorourable East India Company |publisher=A.P.H. Publishing Corporation |year=2014 |isbn=9788131300343 |pages=72–73}}</ref><br />
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==Aftermath==<br />
When the [[Second Anglo-Maratha War|Second Anglo-Maratha war]] ended, Gawilghur was returned to the Maratha Empire, although it was never again used as a stronghold.<br />
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==Popular culture==<br />
[[Lady Elizabeth Longford]], in her book ''Wellington, the Years of the Sword'', quotes [[Jac Weller]] whose opinion of Gawilghur was that 'three reasonably effective troops of Boy Scouts armed with rocks could have kept out several times their number of professional soldiers'.<br />
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The battle of Gawilghur was dramatized in ''[[Sharpe's Fortress]]'' by [[Bernard Cornwell]].<br />
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==Notes==<br />
{{notelist}}<br />
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==References==<br />
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==Bibliography==<br />
*{{cite DNB |last=Stephens |first=Henry Morse |wstitle=Campbell, Colin (1776-1847) |volume=8 |pages=350–351 }}<br />
<br />
[[Category:Battles involving British India|Gawilghur 1803]]<br />
[[Category:Battles involving the Maratha Empire|Gawilghur 1803]]<br />
[[Category:Battles involving the United Kingdom|Gawilghur 1803]]<br />
[[Category:Battles of the Second Anglo-Maratha War|Gawilghur 1803]]<br />
[[Category:Conflicts in 1803]]<br />
[[Category:History of the Corps of Engineers (Indian Army)]]<br />
[[Category:History of the Madras Sappers]]<br />
[[Category:December 1803 events]]</div>2402:3A80:C9D:54D0:D2C3:AE1B:E9A3:404