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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> | |||
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