Wellington in India 1787 - 1805

Wellington in India

by Dick Palframan

In February 1797 Colonel Arthur Wesley arrived in Calcutta in command of the 33rd Regiment of Foot, having left Southampton in June 1796.

In March 1805 Major General Sir Arthur Wellesley KCB left India to return to England.  For simplicity's sake, we shall refer to him as Wellington for the rest of this blog post.

In May 1798, Wellington's eldest brother, the Earl of Mornington, who had been appointed Governor General of India, arrived in Calcutta.  Mornington also returned to England in 1805.  He had previously been a member of the India Board of Control in London.  Mornington was later Foreign Secretary and Governor General of Ireland.


At this time, the British possessions in India were governed by the East India Company, rather than the British government.  The East India company had its own private armies, exercised military power and assumed administrative functions.  Company rue in India effectively began in 1757 after the Battle of Plassey.

As part of the campaign to extend the rule of the British East India Company, the Fourth Anglo-Mysore War broke out in 1798 against the Sultan of Mysore, Tipu Sultan. Wellington's brother Mornington ordered that an armed force be sent to capture Seringapatam and defeat Tipu. Under the command of General Harris, some 24,000 troops were dispatched to Madras (to join an equal force being sent from Bombay in the west). Wellington and the 33rd sailed to join them in August.

After extensive and careful logistic preparation (which would become one of Wellington's main attributes) the 33rd left with the main force in December and travelled across 250 miles (402 km) of jungle from Madras to Mysore.  Some 120,00 bullocks were assembled and used as pack and draught animals on this campaign.  During the Battle of  Mallavelly, Wellington led his men against the enemy. After an extensive repetition of volleys, followed by a bayonet charge, the 33rd, in conjunction with the rest of Harris's force, forced Tipu's infantry to retreat. 

Seringapatam

 On 5 April 1799, the Battle of Seringapatam began and Wellington was ordered to lead a night attack on the village of Sultanpettah, adjacent to the fortress to clear the way for the artillery. Because of the enemy's strong defensive preparations, and the darkness, with the resulting confusion, the attack failed with 25 casualties. Wellington suffered a minor injury to his knee from a spent musket-ball. Although they would re-attack successfully the next day, after time to scout ahead the enemy's positions, the affair affected Wellington. He resolved "never to attack an enemy who is preparing and strongly posted, and whose posts have not been reconnoitred by daylight".

A few weeks later,  a breach was opened in the main walls of the fortress of Seringapatam. An attack led by Major-General Baird secured the fortress. Wellington secured the rear of the advance and then stationed his regiment at the main palace. After hearing news of the death of the Tipu Sultan, Wellesley was the first to confirm his death. Over the coming day, Wellington grew concerned over the lack of discipline among his men, who drank and pillaged the fortress and city. To restore order, several soldiers were flogged and four hanged.

After battle and the resulting end of the war, the main force under General Harris left Seringapatam and Wellington, stayed behind to command the area as the new Governor of Seringapatam and Mysore. He was promoted to brigadier-general on 17 July 1801. He took residence within the Sultan's summer palace and reformed the tax and justice systems in his province to maintain order and prevent bribery. He also hunted down the mercenary and self-proclaimed 'King' Dhoondiah Waugh, who had escaped from prison in Seringapatam during the battle. Wellington, with command of four regiments, defeated Dhoondiah's larger rebel force, along with Dhoondiah himself who was killed in the battle. He paid for the future upkeep of Dhoondiah's orphaned son.  In 1802 he was promoted to the rank of major-general.

Second Anglo-Maratha War

In November 1802 Wellington was sent to command an army in the Second Anglo-Maratha War. When he determined that a long defensive war would ruin his army, Wellington decided to act boldly to defeat the numerically larger force of the Maratha Empire. With the logistic assembly of his army complete (24,000 men in total) he gave the order to break camp and attack the nearest Maratha fort on 8 August 1803. The fort surrendered on 12 August after an infantry attack had exploited an artillery-made breach in the wall. With the fort now in British control Wellington was able to extend control southwards to the river Godavari.

Splitting his army into two forces, to pursue and locate the main Marathas army, (the second force, commanded by Colonel Stevenson was far smaller) Wellington  was preparing to rejoin his forces on 24 September. His intelligence, however, reported the location of the Marathas' main army, between two rivers near Assaye. If he waited for the arrival of his second force, the Marathas would be able to mount a retreat, so Wellington decided to launch an attack immediately.

Assaye

On 23 September, Wellington led his forces over a ford in the river Kaitna and the Battle of Assaye commenced. After crossing the ford the infantry was reorganised into several lines and advanced against the Maratha infantry. Wellington ordered his cavalry to exploit the flank of the Maratha army just near the village. During the battle Wellington himself came under fire; two of his horses were shot from under him and he had to mount a third. At a crucial moment, Wellington regrouped his forces and ordered Colonel Maxwell (later killed in the attack) to attack the eastern end of the Maratha position while Wellington himself directed a renewed infantry attack against the centre.

With some 6,000 Marathas killed or wounded, the enemy was routed, though Wellington's force was in no condition to pursue. British casualties were heavy: the British losses were counted as 409 soldiers being killed out of which 164 were Europeans and the remaining 245 were Indian; a further 1,622 British soldiers were wounded and 26 soldiers were reported missing. Wellington was troubled by the loss of men and remarked that he hoped "I should not like to see again such loss as I sustained on 23 September, even if attended by such gain". Years later, however, he remarked that Assaye was the best battle he ever fought.

Argaum and Gawilghur 

Despite the damage done to the Maratha army, the battle did not end the war. A few months later in November, Wellington attacked a larger force near Argaum, leading his army to victory again, with an astonishing 5,000 enemy dead at the cost of only 361 British casualties. A further successful attack at the fortress at Gawilghur, combined with the victory of General Lake at Delhi forced the Maratha to sign a peace settlement at Anjangaon called as the Treaty of Surji-Anjangaon.

Military historian Richard Holmes remarked that Wellington's experiences in India had an important influence on his personality and military tactics, teaching him much about military matters that would prove vital to his success in the Peninsular War. These included a strong sense of discipline through drill and order, the use of diplomacy to gain allies, and the vital necessity for a secure supply line. He also established a high regard for the acquisition of intelligence through scouts and spies.

Leaving India

Wellington had grown tired of his time in India, remarking "I have served as long in India as any man ought who can serve anywhere else". In June 1804 he applied for permission to return home and as a reward for his service in India he was made a Knight of the Bath in September. While in India, Wellington had amassed a fortune of £42,000 (considerable at the time), consisting mainly of prize money from his campaign. When his brother's term as Governor-General of India ended in March 1805, the brothers returned together to England on HMS Howe. Wellington, coincidentally, stopped on his voyage at the little island of Saint Helena and stayed in the same building to which Napoleon I would later be exiled.

The importance of India to the British during the Napoleonic War

Considerable duty was paid by the East India Company to the British Exchequer during this time.  There were large rice and grain shipment from India.  
There were large quantities of saltpetre, essential for the production of gunpowder, produced in  India at this time, rising from 6000 tons in 1808 to 8000 tons in 1810.  
Hemp was another useful commodity imported from India.  Used by the Royal Navy for ropes, 5000 tons were imported in 1800, 7000 in 1809 and 8000 in 1810.
Shipbuilding - there was a shortage of hardwoods in the UK. After 1803 at least two ships were built for the Royal Navy in India using teak; a 38 gun frigate in 1805 and a 74 gun battle ship completed in 1810. 

My sources were,
Wellington in India by Jac Weller
Wellington as military commander by Michael Glover
Britain against Napoleon The organization of Victory 1793-1815 by Roger Knight.