Parshuram Bhau's Carnatic Campaign: Difference between revisions

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The siege of Darwar was a twenty-nine-week [[siege]] of the fort at [[Dharwad]] in 1790 and 1791, then near the frontier, between the [[Kingdom of Mysore]] and the [[Maratha Empire]].  The Marathas, assisted by forces of the [[British East India Company]], began the siege on 18 September 1790 and resulted with the surrender of Mysore garrison on 3 April 1791.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Moor |first=Edward |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tEoOAAAAQAAJ |title=A Narrative of the Operations of Captain Little's Detachment, and of the Mahratta Army, Commanded by Purseram Bhow: During the Late Confederacy in India, Againt the Nawab Tippoo Sultan Bahadur |date=1794 |publisher=author |language=en}}</ref>. The allied forces then marched towards Hooly. The Capture of Hooly Honore, a town and fortress held by forces of the [[Kingdom of Mysore]], occurred on 21 December 1791, after two days of siege by combined forces of the [[British East India Company]] and the [[Maratha Confederacy]].  The battle was part of a campaign during the [[Third Anglo-Mysore War]] by Maratha leader Purseram to recover Maratha territories taken by [[Hyder Ali]] in an earlier conflict between Mysore and the Marathas.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Duff |first=James Grant |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=e_Pc4ZQMoy0C&dq=hurry+punt&pg=PA199 |title=A History of the Mahrattas |date=1921 |publisher=H. Milford, Oxford University Press |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Mill |first=James |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hlQIAAAAQAAJ&dq=Darwar+siege+1790&pg=PA275 |title=The History of British India |date=1858 |publisher=James Madden; Piper, Stephenson and Spence |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Moor |first=Edward |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tEoOAAAAQAAJ&q=hooly+honore&pg=PA143 |title=A Narrative of the Operations of Captain Little's Detachment, and of the Mahratta Army, Commanded by Purseram Bhow: During the Late Confederacy in India, Againt the Nawab Tippoo Sultan Bahadur |date=1794 |publisher=author |language=en}}</ref>. The Capture of Shimoga, a town and fortress held by forces of the [[Kingdom of Mysore]], occurred on 3 January 1792, after a preliminary battle with the attacking forces of the [[British East India Company]] and the [[Maratha Empire|Marathas]], not far from the town on 29 December, had scattered much of its defending army. The defenders surrendered after the fort's walls were breached. The battle was part of a campaign during the [[Third Anglo-Mysore War]] by Maratha leader Purseram Bhow to recover Maratha territories taken by [[Hyder Ali]] in an earlier conflict between Mysore and the Marathas. By the end of the siege, Reza Sahib a leading [[Mysore]] commander, was among the captured.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Jaques |first=Tony |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EbLOEAAAQBAJ |title=Dictionary of Battles and Sieges: A Guide to 8,500 Battles from Antiquity through the Twenty-first Century [3 volumes] |date=2006-11-30 |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing USA |isbn=978-0-313-02799-4 |pages=936 |language=en}}</ref>
The siege of Darwar was a twenty-nine-week [[siege]] of the fort at [[Dharwad]] in 1790 and 1791, then near the frontier, between the [[Kingdom of Mysore]] and the [[Maratha Empire]].  The Marathas, assisted by forces of the [[British East India Company]], began the siege on 18 September 1790 and resulted with the surrender of Mysore garrison on 3 April 1791.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Moor |first=Edward |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tEoOAAAAQAAJ |title=A Narrative of the Operations of Captain Little's Detachment, and of the Mahratta Army, Commanded by Purseram Bhow: During the Late Confederacy in India, Againt the Nawab Tippoo Sultan Bahadur |date=1794 |publisher=author |language=en}}</ref>. The allied forces then marched towards Hooly. The Capture of Hooly Honore, a town and fortress held by forces of the [[Kingdom of Mysore]], occurred on 21 December 1791, after two days of siege by combined forces of the [[British East India Company]] and the [[Maratha Confederacy]].  The battle was part of a campaign during the [[Third Anglo-Mysore War]] by Maratha leader Purseram to recover Maratha territories taken by [[Hyder Ali]] in an earlier conflict between Mysore and the Marathas.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Duff |first=James Grant |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=e_Pc4ZQMoy0C&dq=hurry+punt&pg=PA199 |title=A History of the Mahrattas |date=1921 |publisher=H. Milford, Oxford University Press |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Mill |first=James |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hlQIAAAAQAAJ&dq=Darwar+siege+1790&pg=PA275 |title=The History of British India |date=1858 |publisher=James Madden; Piper, Stephenson and Spence |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Moor |first=Edward |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tEoOAAAAQAAJ&q=hooly+honore&pg=PA143 |title=A Narrative of the Operations of Captain Little's Detachment, and of the Mahratta Army, Commanded by Purseram Bhow: During the Late Confederacy in India, Againt the Nawab Tippoo Sultan Bahadur |date=1794 |publisher=author |language=en}}</ref>. The Capture of Shimoga, a town and fortress held by forces of the [[Kingdom of Mysore]], occurred on 3 January 1792, after a preliminary battle with the attacking forces of the [[British East India Company]] and the [[Maratha Empire|Marathas]], not far from the town on 29 December, had scattered much of its defending army. The defenders surrendered after the fort's walls were breached. The battle was part of a campaign during the [[Third Anglo-Mysore War]] by Maratha leader Purseram Bhow to recover Maratha territories taken by [[Hyder Ali]] in an earlier conflict between Mysore and the Marathas. By the end of the siege, Reza Sahib a leading [[Mysore]] commander, was among the captured.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Jaques |first=Tony |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EbLOEAAAQBAJ |title=Dictionary of Battles and Sieges: A Guide to 8,500 Battles from Antiquity through the Twenty-first Century [3 volumes] |date=2006-11-30 |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing USA |isbn=978-0-313-02799-4 |pages=936 |language=en}}</ref>
=== Fall of Seringapatam ===
=== Fall of Seringapatam ===
Cornwallis did not divulge details of the plan<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=177}}</ref> until one hour before the attack.  At around 9 pm the three divisions left camp.  In the center, Cornwallis advanced to the hedge, which his force reached around 11.  By then gunfire from his left indicated that Maxwell's men had already begun their attack on Karigaut Hill, and the sounds had thrown the Mysorean troops in the center into some disorder.  Cornwallis ordered his men through the hedge; the British troops closed with the bayonet on the Mysoreans, who fled in near-panic, leaving artillery, tents, and provisions behind.<ref name=W166/>  One redoubt gave resistance and was stormed.<ref name=W167>Wickwire, p. 167</ref>  Maxwell's and Cornwallis' men chased the fleeing Mysoreans as they crossed the bridges onto the island and sought the shelter of the fort.  Tipu, from his position in the fort, observed the disaster and then raised the drawbridge to prevent British troops, which were by then intermingled with the Mysoreans, from gaining entry to the fort.  While this secured his own position, it left many of his troops at the mercy of the British.
The division of General Medows did not fare quite as well as the other two.  Medows strayed too far to the west in the dark, and although he successfully took the westernmost redoubt of the Mysorean line, he was prevented from approaching the island by a series of ravines and swampy ground.  This created a gap in the British lines between the center and right, exposing Cornwallis, who had held back from the lines with a single battalion, to personal danger.  Tipu sought to exploit this gap in order to recover the camp, and organized an infantry attack against the gap.  Cornwallis was able to rally his men and repulse the counterattack, but his hand was grazed by a bullet during the action.<ref name=W167/>
When daylight arrived the field of battle was more clearly visible to all, and Tipu ordered his artillery to begin firing on the British positions.  Significantly exposed, Cornwallis withdrew his command to Karigaut Hill, abandoning part of his camp in the process, and leaving a detachment of men in the captured redoubt.  This enabled the Mysorean cavalry to roam freely through the area while Tipu's artillery continued to play on exposed British positions.  Unable to support the men in the redoubt, Cornwallis had to watch as the Mysoreans made five attempts to storm the redoubt, all of which were repulsed.  When night fell, Cornwallis was able to advance and relieve the beleaguered men in the redoubt.  Tipu also used the night to withdraw his men entirely from the north shore of the Kaveri, enabling Cornwallis to completely surround the fort.<ref name=W168>Wickwire, p. 168</ref>


==Reference==
==Reference==
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Revision as of 23:27, 22 June 2025

Parshuram Bhau's Carnatic Campaign
Part of Maratha–Mysore Wars
Date1790–1792
Location
Karnataka, (modern day India)
Result Maratha victory
Territorial
changes
  • Territories till Tungabhadra river captured by Parshuram Bhau
  • Kingdom of Mysore becames Maratha tributary
  • Mysore cedes roughly half of its territories to Allies
Belligerents
Flag of the Maratha Empire.svg Maratha Empire
East India Company
Nizam of Hyderabad
Flag of Mysore Hyder Ali & TipuSultan.png Kingdom of Mysore
Commanders and leaders
Flag of the Maratha Empire.svg Parshuram Bhau
Flag of the Maratha Empire.svg Hari Pant
John Little
Charles Frederick
John Sartorius
Mahabat Jung
Flag of Mysore Hyder Ali & TipuSultan.png Tipu Sultan
Flag of Mysore Hyder Ali & TipuSultan.png Badr ul-Zaman Khan Sahib
Flag of Mysore Hyder Ali & TipuSultan.png Reza Sahib (POW)

Background

The Maratha-Mysore War ended after the final conflict during Mysore's successful siege of Bahadur Benda in January 1787, and the Marathas settled for peace with the kingdom of Mysore, to which Tipu Sultan obliged with the signing of the treaty of Gajendragad in April 1787. Tipu who was desperate to focus on defending Mysore from the British agreed to pay an annual tribute of 12 lakhs per year to the Marathas, to end hostilities with them, which would allow him to focus on his rivalry with the British.[1][2] In addition to this Tipu agreed to return all territories captured by Hyder Ali from the Marathas.[3][4][5]

Tipu Sultan would release Kalopant and return Adoni, Kittur, and Nargund to their previous rulers. Badami would be ceded to the Marathas. In return, Tipu would get all the places he had captured in the war, including Gajendragarh and Dharwar. Tipu would also be addressed by the Marathas by an honorary title of "Nabob Tipu Sultan, Fateh Ali Khan".[6][7]. However the tribute from Tipu Sultan never came hence Madhavrao II ordered Parshuram Bhau to carry out a Carnatic campgain and help the British against Tipu Sultan.

Battles

March towards Seringapatam

The siege of Darwar was a twenty-nine-week siege of the fort at Dharwad in 1790 and 1791, then near the frontier, between the Kingdom of Mysore and the Maratha Empire. The Marathas, assisted by forces of the British East India Company, began the siege on 18 September 1790 and resulted with the surrender of Mysore garrison on 3 April 1791.[8]. The allied forces then marched towards Hooly. The Capture of Hooly Honore, a town and fortress held by forces of the Kingdom of Mysore, occurred on 21 December 1791, after two days of siege by combined forces of the British East India Company and the Maratha Confederacy. The battle was part of a campaign during the Third Anglo-Mysore War by Maratha leader Purseram to recover Maratha territories taken by Hyder Ali in an earlier conflict between Mysore and the Marathas.[9][10][11]. The Capture of Shimoga, a town and fortress held by forces of the Kingdom of Mysore, occurred on 3 January 1792, after a preliminary battle with the attacking forces of the British East India Company and the Marathas, not far from the town on 29 December, had scattered much of its defending army. The defenders surrendered after the fort's walls were breached. The battle was part of a campaign during the Third Anglo-Mysore War by Maratha leader Purseram Bhow to recover Maratha territories taken by Hyder Ali in an earlier conflict between Mysore and the Marathas. By the end of the siege, Reza Sahib a leading Mysore commander, was among the captured.[12]

Fall of Seringapatam

Cornwallis did not divulge details of the plan[2] until one hour before the attack. At around 9 pm the three divisions left camp. In the center, Cornwallis advanced to the hedge, which his force reached around 11. By then gunfire from his left indicated that Maxwell's men had already begun their attack on Karigaut Hill, and the sounds had thrown the Mysorean troops in the center into some disorder. Cornwallis ordered his men through the hedge; the British troops closed with the bayonet on the Mysoreans, who fled in near-panic, leaving artillery, tents, and provisions behind.[13] One redoubt gave resistance and was stormed.[14] Maxwell's and Cornwallis' men chased the fleeing Mysoreans as they crossed the bridges onto the island and sought the shelter of the fort. Tipu, from his position in the fort, observed the disaster and then raised the drawbridge to prevent British troops, which were by then intermingled with the Mysoreans, from gaining entry to the fort. While this secured his own position, it left many of his troops at the mercy of the British.

The division of General Medows did not fare quite as well as the other two. Medows strayed too far to the west in the dark, and although he successfully took the westernmost redoubt of the Mysorean line, he was prevented from approaching the island by a series of ravines and swampy ground. This created a gap in the British lines between the center and right, exposing Cornwallis, who had held back from the lines with a single battalion, to personal danger. Tipu sought to exploit this gap in order to recover the camp, and organized an infantry attack against the gap. Cornwallis was able to rally his men and repulse the counterattack, but his hand was grazed by a bullet during the action.[14]

When daylight arrived the field of battle was more clearly visible to all, and Tipu ordered his artillery to begin firing on the British positions. Significantly exposed, Cornwallis withdrew his command to Karigaut Hill, abandoning part of his camp in the process, and leaving a detachment of men in the captured redoubt. This enabled the Mysorean cavalry to roam freely through the area while Tipu's artillery continued to play on exposed British positions. Unable to support the men in the redoubt, Cornwallis had to watch as the Mysoreans made five attempts to storm the redoubt, all of which were repulsed. When night fell, Cornwallis was able to advance and relieve the beleaguered men in the redoubt. Tipu also used the night to withdraw his men entirely from the north shore of the Kaveri, enabling Cornwallis to completely surround the fort.[15]

Reference

  1. Hasan, Mohibbul (2005). History of Tipu Sultan (Reprint ed.). Delhi: Aakar Books. ISBN 9788187879572.
  2. 2.0 2.1 Naravane, M.S. (2014). Battles of the Honorourable East India Company. A.P.H. Publishing Corporation. p. 175. ISBN 9788131300343. Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; name "Naravane" defined multiple times with different content
  3. Naravane, Wing Commander (Retired) M. S. (1 January 2006). Battles of the Honourable East India Company: Making of the Raj. New Delhi: APH Publishing Corporation. ISBN 978-81-313-0034-3.
  4. Anglo-Maratha relations, 1785-96
  5. Sailendra Nath Sen (1994). Anglo-Maratha Relations, 1785-96, Volume 2 (Reprint ed.). Bombay: Popular Prakashan. ISBN 9788171547890.
  6. Hasan, Mohibbul (2005). History of Tipu Sultan. Aakar Books. ISBN 978-81-87879-57-2.
  7. Sen, Sailendra Nath (1994). Anglo-Maratha Relations, 1785-96. Popular Prakashan. ISBN 978-81-7154-789-0.
  8. Moor, Edward (1794). A Narrative of the Operations of Captain Little's Detachment, and of the Mahratta Army, Commanded by Purseram Bhow: During the Late Confederacy in India, Againt the Nawab Tippoo Sultan Bahadur. author.
  9. Duff, James Grant (1921). A History of the Mahrattas. H. Milford, Oxford University Press.
  10. Mill, James (1858). The History of British India. James Madden; Piper, Stephenson and Spence.
  11. Moor, Edward (1794). A Narrative of the Operations of Captain Little's Detachment, and of the Mahratta Army, Commanded by Purseram Bhow: During the Late Confederacy in India, Againt the Nawab Tippoo Sultan Bahadur. author.
  12. Jaques, Tony (2006-11-30). Dictionary of Battles and Sieges: A Guide to 8,500 Battles from Antiquity through the Twenty-first Century [3 volumes]. Bloomsbury Publishing USA. p. 936. ISBN 978-0-313-02799-4.
  13. Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named W166
  14. 14.0 14.1 Wickwire, p. 167
  15. Wickwire, p. 168