Siege of Arcot: Difference between revisions

Siege of Arcot (edit)

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 When apprised of the loss of Arcot, Chanda Sahib immediately dispatched 4,000 of his best troops with 150 of the French, under the command of his son, [[Raza Sahib]], to recapture it. On 23 September Raza Sahib entered the town and invested the fort with an army of 2,000 native regular troops, 5,000 irregulars, 120 Europeans, and 300 cavalry.
+As the Maratha commander, [[Murari Rao|Morari Rao]], was collecting his pay, Raza Sahib learned of the threat. He quickly offered Clive honorable conditions and a gift if he would surrender. Knowing the Marathas were at hand and that another force was coming from Madras, Clive refused. Then Raza Sahib sent word that he would immediately storm the fort, and put every one of its defenders to the sword. Clive coldly replied that his father was a usurper, his army a rabble, and that he should think twice before he sent such cravens into a breach defended by English soldiers.
+==Preliminary stories==
+{{Unreferenced section|date=October 2023}}
+Arcot, a city of 100,000 at the time, quickly came under Clive's control, since he ordered that there be no looting and he returned property Chanda Sahib had confiscated to its rightful owners. He immediately began gathering supplies and fresh water, and reinforcing the city's defenses. There were only sixty days' provisions, but an ample supply of water. The Arcot fort was about a mile in circuit, with a low, unsubstantial parapet; some of its towers were in dilapidated condition and virtually useless as artillery positions. The moat was in several places fordable, and in other places completely dry. Clive's force was also reduced by disease and casualties to a mere 120 Europeans and 200 sepoys.
+Chanda Sahib's garrison was encamped a few miles away, blocking the arrival of any resupply or reinforcements. Two sallies against them failed, so Clive decided on a night attack on 14 September. It was so successful the entire force scattered in fear, while Clive's men incurred no casualties. Two days later word came that Governor Saunders had sent two large cannon. Clive sent almost his entire force to escort the guns to the city, and the handful that remained drove off two night attacks, taking advantage of the darkness to disguise their low numbers.
+===Siege===
+Clive occupied the fort in the city centre, allowing Raza's troops to man taller buildings overlooking the walls. Clive attempted a sortie to drive the newcomers away, but ran into intense fire from newly occupied buildings. His attack managed to kill most of the French artillerymen, but he suffered the loss of fifteen of his British troops.
+Completely surrounded, the defenders soon began to suffer. Cut off from outside water, the fort's reservoir was brackish. Food, thankfully, was not a problem. The besieging force, manning the nearest houses, shot at anyone who moved. The small defending force exhausted itself trying to maintain a patrol of the fort's wall. <blockquote>"The native troops, it should be said, showed no less zeal and energy in the defence than their European comrades; and, with a fine generosity of feeling, they proposed to give that all the grain in store should be reserved for the use of the latter, who required more nourishment than Asiatics; for themselves, the liquor in which the rice was steeped would be sufficient."<ref>pp.37–38, W.H. Davenport Adams (1894), ''The Makers of British India''. Edinburgh: Ballantyne, Hanson & Co. [https://www.indianculture.gov.in/makers-british-india ref1] [[iarchive:makersofbritishi00adamuoft/page/36/mode/2up|ref2]]</ref></blockquote>
+===Negotiations===
+Back in Madras Governor Saunders scraped together a few more soldiers and received some new recruits from England. In the third week in October a force of but 130 British and 100 sepoys finally got on the way. Unfortunately for the defenders, the relief force was intercepted and forced to retreat. Late in October a battery of artillery arrived from the French base at Pondicherry and was positioned northwest of Clive's position. It soon knocked out one of Clive's large cannon and damaged another. For six days the French pounded the walls, destroying a section of wall between two dilapidated towers. The British tried to plug the gap with trenches, wooden palisades, and piled-up rubble. Another battery was set up to the southwest and created another breach.
+The siege dragged its slow length along. Provisions and ammunition were on the point of exhaustion, and when the fiftieth day was reached, Clive's only hope lay in the assistance promised by Morari Rao, a [[Maratha]] chief, who had hitherto remained neutral, but, impressed by the British will, promised to come to their aid.
 As the Maratha commander, [[Murari Rao|Morari Rao]], was collecting his pay, Raza Sahib learned of the threat. He quickly offered Clive honorable conditions and a gift if he would surrender. Knowing the Marathas were at hand and that another force was coming from Madras, Clive refused. Then Raza Sahib sent word that he would immediately storm the fort, and put every one of its defenders to the sword. Clive coldly replied that his father was a usurper, his army a rabble, and that he should think twice before he sent such cravens into a breach defended by English soldiers.