The army was just completing its deployment when General Harris rode up.
‘Wellesley!’ He smiled as he greeted his subordinate, then gestured to the men drawn up on either side.‘You’re a step ahead of me. I got your message and my men are forming to your right. Baird’s brigade will be closest to you. I had thought to camp for the night and tackle them tomorrow. But, as we have the enemy in sight, it would be foolish not to give him a thrashing.’
Arthur felt a surge of relief at his superior’s words, and nodded. ‘Very well, sir. What are your plans?’
‘Nothing clever. No need to do much more than let good training and stout hearts have their way. We’ll advance on the ridge and take it. The cavalry will screen our flanks and keep Tipoo’s rascals at bay with those galloper guns you allocated to our lads.’
‘Very good, sir.’
‘All right then, Wellesley. I’ll be off to take up position in the centre. As soon as you hear our guns fire, you can begin to advance. Don’t waste any time. We have to force the enemy to fight before they lose their nerve.’
Once the general had gone, Arthur and Fitzroy rode up and down the line to make sure that the men were properly spaced. Almost at once there was the crack of a light gun away to the right.
Fitzroy muttered, ‘Bloody hell, that was quick. If it was the signal, that is.’
Arthur glanced to the right and saw that Baird’s brigade had started forward. ‘Well, if it wasn’t the signal, it is now.’ He filled his lungs and called out, ‘Fix bayonets!’
The men neatly reached for their bayonets, drew them out and slotted them on to the ends of their muskets. Back in Europe bayonets would only be fixed once it was clear that any exchange of fire was over. But here in Mysore, where the enemy cavalry could appear and disappear in an instant, Arthur decided that his men might only have the chance to fire once before they were charged.
‘The line will advance, at the quick step!’
The men advanced as one, weapons resting on their shoulders as they stamped through the calf-high grass towards the ridge. Once again, Arthur rode down the line and returned to the 33rd, delighted to see that they had pulled ahead of Baird’s brigade. Up ahead of them the men of Tipoo’s army were chanting their war cries, and brandishing their weapons. The artillery on the hill continued to fire, and as the gap narrowed they drew first blood as a ball ricocheted off the hard-baked soil and ploughed through a file of men on the flank of Baird’s brigade. Arthur tore his eyes away from the mangled bodies sprawling on the ground and looked ahead to calculate the point at which he would order his men to deploy into a firing line as they closed on the enemy. There was a slight fold in the ground three hundred yards from the nearest enemy unit and as soon as the 33rd reached it Arthur shouted the order to form line. At once the regiment slowed and the rear companies doubled obliquely to the left and forward to catch up with the right flank until, in a matter of minutes, the whole regiment was in a line, two men deep. The sepoy battalions formed up on the left, in echelon, as the 33rd continued forwards.
Arthur felt a surge of pride as he watched. The years of training and nurturing his men were paying off handsomely. There had been skirmishes before but this was their first pitched battle as part of an army, and suddenly he felt a thrill of pleasure and excitement that he had never experienced before. All those years of playing at being a soldier, and being painfully aware of it, fell away from him and at last Arthur truly felt that he belonged in uniform and that this was his calling.
There was a great roar from the crest of the hill and Arthur instantly abandoned his reverie as he saw a large mass of Tipoo’s men, perhaps as many as three thousand, surge forward down the slope, directly towards the men of the 33rd Foot.This was it then, he realised. The moment for which he had been preparing his men, and himself. The redcoats did not hesitate for an instant when they saw the wave of enemy warriors rushing towards them. Arthur was about to shout some words of encouragement to his men, but realised that none were needed.They knew their profession well enough to be above the influence of platitudes and homilies.Any words he offered would only be taken as a sign of his nervousness. Arthur smiled. He had no nerves, no fear in the slightest, just a desire to see the job done and done well.
The two sides closed on each other, andTipoo’s men came on with a heedless courage that Arthur could only admire. When they were no more than a hundred yards away Arthur reined Diomed in and shouted an order, straining his voice to be heard above the din of the charging enemy.
‘33rd! Halt! Make ready!’
On they came, now close enough for Arthur to make out individual features in the faces of the men gathering speed as they sprinted to close the distance with the thin line of redcoats.
‘Present!’
The glittering steel of the long barrels and the wicked spikes of the bayonets swept out towards the enemy. The lines were staggered so that the entire regiment would fire its volley as one. Just over sixty yards away the first of Tipoo’s soldiers missed a step as they eyed the wall of foreshortened musket barrels, and flinched before the imminent hail of lead shot.
‘Fire!’
The fizz from the priming pans was swallowed up in a great crash as flame stabbed from every musket in the regiment. Above the smoke, standing in his stirrups, Arthur saw the entire front of the enemy charge collapse as scores of men tumbled to the ground, or reeled back under the impact of the musket balls. So crushing was this first volley that the bodies of the dead and wounded formed a solid obstacle that stopped the charge in its tracks. More men slammed into the backs of those who had been forced to halt and knocked many more to the ground, in piles of tangled, struggling limbs.
‘Face front! . . . Advance!’
Arthur’s regiment marched forward, in step, towards the enemy, still trying to recover from the terrible effects of the volley fired at point-blank range. Now the relentless approach of the redcoats behind their gleaming bayonets proved to be too much for the nerves of the men who just a moment earlier had been charging towards the British line with such reckless exhilaration. Individuals, and then small groups, turned away and began to thrust back through the ranks of their comrades, fleeing up the slope. The sudden collapse in fighting spirit spread through the enemy like a wave and the entire formation broke and ran, many abandoning their weapons, and leaving their wounded comrades to their fate.
Arthur was about to order his men to charge when a pounding of hooves made him look to his right. Charging across the face of the slope was a brigade of cavalry from Harris’s column. Dragoons. Their sabres were out and flashing brilliantly in the sun as they charged home, tearing through Tipoo’s broken infantry and cutting them to pieces as they hacked and slashed at the men streaming up the hill.
‘33rd! Halt!’
With his regiment stilled, the rest of the units in the line caught up and took up their position on the flank. As the last of the cavalry continued the pursuit up the hill, Arthur turned his attention to the right flank. Baird’s brigade was still advancing and had pulled a short distance ahead of Arthur’s line.The centre regiment of the brigade, the King’s 74th Foot, was at the front of the line and as Arthur watched it broke into a trot as it neared the crest of the hill. Arthur frowned. The commander of the regiment was bound to get a roasting from Baird for letting his men disrupt the formation. Already, the tall figure of the brigade’s commander was visible galloping his mount forward to catch up with the 74th. But before Baird could reach them, the crest of the hill above was suddenly filled with horsemen as they poured forward, charging straight at the 74th. The regiment halted as one and just had time to loose off one volley before they were struck by the swarm of enemy cavalry. Arthur could just make out Baird as he reined in and took charge of his errant regiment. As the flanking regiments came forward they too were forced to halt and engage the enemy cavalry. The sounds of pistol and musket fire crackled across the slope of the hill and then Arthur saw that, behind the cavalry, a column of infantry
had appeared. While their cavalry attacked the 74th they would have the chance to approach Baird’s infantry without coming under fire.Then it would be a question of hand to hand fighting in which the enemy would have a good chance of carrying off a victory against Baird’s men.
Arthur turned back to his regiment.‘The 33rd will advance at the double!’
The red line rippled forward, up the hill, a short distance from the struggle engulfing Baird’s brigade. As they advanced Arthur kept glancing to the side, gauging the distance between his men and the desperate melee away to his right. When the 33rd had advanced a quarter of a mile beyond Baird’s formation Arthur halted them and, leaving the light company to protect his flank, he wheeled the rest of the regiment to the right, in a line facing the enemy column hurriedly marching down the slope towards Baird’s brigade.With bayonets fixed there was risk of injury when loading and Arthur knew it was best that it was done before they closed on the enemy.
‘Reload!’
The men grounded their muskets and pulled out fresh cartridges, biting off the end with the ball and holding it in their teeth as they primed the pan and dropped the charge into the muzzle. Then they spat the balls in and rammed the lot home before taking the weapons back in both hands ready to advance again. As soon as the reloading was complete Arthur gave the order to advance, and the regiment moved along the slope towards the column of Tipoo’s infantry, already drawing near to Baird’s men who were still in close formation as they fought off the enemy cavalry. Some of Tipoo’s men closest to the 33rd were shouting and gesticulating towards the new threat but their officers drove them on, knowing that their one chance of achieving some measure of success in the battle lay in charging directly into the ranks of the redcoats.
Arthur hurried his men on at the double, their kit thudding up and down as they trotted forward. He did not halt them until they were no more than seventy yards from the flank of the enemy column and then the familiar sequence of orders rattled out again.
‘Make ready! Present! Fire!’
The volley burst out in a storm of smoke and shot and all along the side of the enemy column men buckled and fell to the ground. The blow stopped their advance dead in its tracks, and at the same time unnerved the enemy cavalry who turned away from Baird’s men at the sound of massed musket fire. At once the redcoats, who had been beleaguered a moment before, let out a shout and surged forwards.
Arthur grabbed the chance at once. ‘33rd! Charge!’
Theatened from two directions the enemy instinctively recoiled, then broke and ran, streaming back up the hill at an angle from the two British formations. The enemy cavalry were heedless of their infantry and ran scores of them down in their bid to escape. Not wishing to repeat the mistake of the 74th, Arthur halted his men, and wheeled them back to the ridge to face any further attacks over the hill. But the battle was over. From his vantage point near the crest Arthur saw that the slopes of the nearby hills were also cleared of the enemy and red-coated battalions were moving forward to secure the ridge above Malavalley, stepping over the bodies of hundreds of Tipoo’s warriors as the daylight began to fade.
Although the enemy had been beaten there was no question of continuing the pursuit into the night. Tipoo still had a strong force of horsemen in the field and General Harris knew it would be folly to attempt a pursuit which would scatter his cavalry in the face of such a danger.As the army and camp followers settled around the large village for the night in a vast square of tents and glittering fires, Arthur, accompanied by Fitzroy, rode over to General Harris’s headquarters to make his report. The 33rd had only lost two men, victims of lucky shots fired from the enemy column they had shattered with their first, close range volley.
‘Did your boys get a chance to take ’em on with the bayonet?’ Harris asked.
‘No, sir.’ Fitzroy smiled. ‘The enemy didn’t quite stand up to that.’
‘Hah!’ Harris grinned with derision. ‘So much for the tiger warriors of Mysore.After today, I doubt that we’ll see much more of them before we reach Seringapatam.’
‘I hope that’s the case, sir,’ Arthur replied.
‘Of course it is. They’ll not dare to chance their arm against massed volleys again, mark my words.’
He clapped Arthur on the shoulder and turned as Major General Baird entered the tent to make his report. He had lost twenty-nine men from his brigade, but Harris was content with the estimated tally of enemy dead accounted for by Baird’s men and did not censure the reckless advance of the King’s 74th. As Harris moved on to the next officer Baird approached Arthur.
‘Good evening, sir.’ Arthur saluted.
‘Wellesley,’ Baird acknowledged in an even tone. He was not smiling and his brow was faintly furrowed as he continued, with evident reluctance, ‘I suppose I should thank you for intervening earlier. The timing of the flank attack was well judged.’
‘Thank you, sir.’
Baird stared at him for a moment, then nodded. ‘Yes, well, I just wanted to express my gratitude, Wellesley. That’s all. Good evening to you. And you, Fitzroy.’
He turned and walked away, back to the cluster of officers from his brigade.
‘Cheerful soul,’ Fitzroy muttered. ‘And so gracious in his appreciation of being rescued.’
‘Baird’s a tough one,’ Arthur replied. ‘It wasn’t easy for him to offer his thanks. He’ll have his chance to prove his worth once we reach Seringapatam.’
‘What makes you think that?’ Fitzroy smiled. ‘After today’s thrashing, I doubt Tipoo and his men will stand their ground a moment after we start firing at them.’
‘Don’t be too sure,’ Arthur replied. ‘Today was just a delaying action. Once we reach Seringapatam Tipoo and his men will defend their city to the death.Then I fear we’ll discover just how dangerous the warriors of Mysore can be.’
Chapter 48
Seringapatam, April 1799
The army came in sight of Tipoo’s capital on the afternoon of 3 April. Arthur climbed on to the roof of one of Tipoo’s hunting lodges, to the south-east of the city, and carefully examined the defences through his telescope. Seringapatam occupied an island in the Cauvery river, the main course of which passed to the north of the city, while a narrow channel flowed round the south, creating an island a little less than three miles long and just over a mile wide. The city had been built on the western end of the island and was surrounded by thick granite walls, outside which lay a large fortified camp where Tipoo’s army was massed, ready for the coming siege. Within the walls of the city the two minarets of the mosque gleamed in the distance, like ivory against the rich emerald green of the surrounding landscape.
Arthur turned at the sound of footsteps climbing the stairs behind him, and saw Fitzroy emerging on to the roof.
‘Ah, there you are, sir.’
‘Come and have a look, Fitzroy.’ Arthur indicated the distant city and passed his telescope to his aide. ‘It’s an impressive sight.’
There was a moment’s pause as Fitzroy squinted down the telescope and slowly panned it along the perimeter of Tipoo’s defences. ‘Good God,’ he muttered. ‘There must be over fifty . . . sixty guns along this side of the city.’
‘I counted over ninety. But you’ll note that the construction of the walls follows the usual eastern style, and will not permit effective flanking fire on any attackers. Clearly Tipoo’s French advisers haven’t had time to improve the city’s defences. That, or Tipoo is arrogant enough to believe that he knows better.’
‘So, sir, do you know how the general intends to crack this nut?’
‘It’s straightforward enough. The island is too big to besiege; our forces would be spread far too thinly to stop Tipoo’s men getting in or out of the city. Harris has decided to march round the city and set up camp to the west. From there we can batter the walls with siege guns and launch an assault across the south Cauvery channel. Our scouts reckon that the water is shallow enough at this time of year to wade across, crocodiles per
mitting.’
‘Crocodiles?’ Fitzroy stared at him. ‘You’re joking.’
Arthur smiled. ‘Not afraid of a few reptiles are you, Fitzroy? I thought you would have grown used to them what with your father being a politician.’
Fitzroy raised his eyes.‘Very funny, sir.Very droll. Nevertheless, I think I shall tread exceedingly carefully when the time comes to make our attack.’
‘Most wise.’ Arthur turned back to examine the defences. ‘Of course, time is against us. We have a little over six weeks before the monsoon season. When that comes, the south Cauvery will be unfordable until November. If we don’t take the city before the middle of May, then we’ll have to retreat all the way back to Vellore empty handed.’
Fitzroy glanced at his superior. ‘In which event, I doubt the Governor General will be in the best of moods.’
‘You can’t imagine.’
The site chosen by General Harris for the army’s camp was three miles from the ford.The wide expanse of the Cauvery protected them from the north. The Nizam’s army was positioned to the south of the main force and Arthur’s men were given the task of constructing a defence line to guard the camp from any attacks from the south and west. Meanwhile, Tipoo had not been idle. Having seen the direction from which Harris would attack he moved quickly to fortify the mainland side of the south Cauvery with a series of trenches and earthworks on which he mounted some of his artillery. Between the two armies the ground was open except for a nullah, an earth aqueduct that snaked across the landscape, rising several feet above the surrounding rice fields.To the right of the British position it looped around a tope in one direction before winding back round the village of Sultanpettah.
THE GENERALS Page 44