Battle of Seringapatam

Infobox Military Conflict
conflict=Battle of Srirangapatna
partof=Fourth Anglo-Mysore War


caption=Battle of Srirangapatna
date=May 4, 1799
place=Srirangapatna, India
result=British victory
combatant1=United Kingdom
combatant2=Kingdom of Mysore
commander1=General George Harris
commander2=Tipu Sultan †
strength1=50,000
strength2=30,000
casualties1=1,400
casualties2=6,000

In the Fourth Anglo-Mysore War in 1799, the Battle of Srirangapatna was the final confrontation between the British and Tippu Sultan, "the Tiger of Mysore", who was killed when the British penetrated the fortress.

The Opposing Forces

The battle consisted of a series of encounters around Srirangapatna in the months of April and May, 1799 between the combined forces of the British East India Company and their allies, numbering over 50,000 soldiers in all, and the soldiers of the Kingdom of Mysore, ruled by Tippu Sultan, numbering up to 30,000. The Fourth Anglo-Mysore War came to an end with the defeat and death of Tippu Sultan in the battle.

Troop Composition

When the Fourth Anglo-Mysore War broke out, the British assembled two large columns under General Harris. The first consisted of over 26,000 British East India Company troops, 4,000 of whom were European while the rest were local Indian sepoys. The second column was supplied by the Nizam of Hyderabad, and consisted of ten battalions and over 16,000 cavalry, along with many soldiers supplied by the Marathas. Together, the British force numbered over 50,000 soldiers. Tipu's defending forces had been seriously depleted by the Third Anglo-Mysore War and the consequent loss of half his kingdom, but still probably had up to 30,000 soldiers.

The Siege

Srirangapatna was besieged by the British forces on April 5, 1799. The River Cauvery, which flowed around the city of Srirangapatna, was at its lowest level of the year and could be forded by infantry — if an assault commenced before the monsoon. When letters were exchanged with Tipu, it seemed that the Sultan was playing for time. He requested two persons to be sent to him for discussions and also stated that he was preoccupied with hunting expeditions. Tipu Sultan's prime minister, Mir Saadiq, was a traitor bought by the British. He pulled out the Mysore army for paying wages in the midst of the battle, thus allowing British forces to storm the boundary wall with little defence. Another key treachery to help the British was the spilling of water in the basements where the Sultan's army stored its gunpowder, which rendered the gunpowder useless.

The Breach

The Governor-General, Richard Wellesley, planned the opening of a breach in the walls of Srirangapatna. The location of the breach, as noted by Beatson, the author of an account of the Fourth Mysore War, was 'in the west curtain, a little to the right of the flank of the north-west bastion. This being the old rampart appeared weaker than the new.' The Mysorean defence succeeded in preventing the establishment of a battery on the North Side of the River Cauvery on 22 April, 1799. However, by May 1, working at night, the British had completed their South Side batteries and brought them up to the wall. At sunrise on 2 May, the batteries of the Nizam of Hyderabad succeeded in opening a practical breach in the outer wall. In addition, the mines that were laid under the breach were hit by artillery and blew up prematurely.

The leader of the British troops was Major General David Baird, an implacable enemy of the Sultan: twenty years earlier, he had been held captive by the Sultan for 44 months. The storming troops, including men of the 73rd and 74th regiments, clambered up the breach and fought their way along the ramparts. After the Company troops had taken the city, the Sultan's body was found among the dead, shot in the head and stripped of his jewels.

The Storming of Srirangapatna

The assault was to begin at 1:00 p.m. to coincide with the hottest part of the day when the defenders would be taking refreshment. Led by two forlorn-hopes, two columns would advance upon the defences around the breach, then wheel right and left to take over the fortifications. A third reserve column, commanded by Arthur Wellesley would deploy as required to provide support where needed.

At 11:00 a.m., on May 4, the British troops were briefed and whisky and a biscuit issued to the European soldiers, before the signal to attack was given. The forlorn-hopes, numbering seventy-six men, led the charge. The columns quickly formed, were ordered to fix bayonets, and began to move forward. The storming party dashed across the River Cauvery in water four feet deep, with covering fire from British batteries, and within 16 minutes had scaled the ramparts and swept aside the defenders.

The Death of Tipu

The column that rounded the North-West corner of the outer wall was immediately involved in a serious fight with a group of Mysorean warriors under a short fat officer, which defended every traverse. The officer was observed to be discharging loaded hunting weapons, passed to him by servants in his service, at the British .

After the fall of Srirangapatna, in the gathering dusk, some of the British officers went to look for the body of Tipu Sultan. He was identified as the fat officer who had fired hunting weapons at the offenders, and his body was found in a choked tunnel-like passage near the Water Gate.

Defeat of General Yaar

Commander-in-Chief General Yaar Mohammad, one of the Sultan's most capable generals, fought bravely in the Battle of Srirangapatna, but evaded capture by the British Army, after the Fall of Mysore.

Adaptions

Wilkie Collins's novel The Moonstone begins with the looting of the jewels removed from Seringapatam in 1799 from the legendary treasury of Tipu Saltan.

The Battle of Srirangapatna was adapted, and was the main conflict in the novel "Sharpe's Tiger" by Bernard Cornwell.

References

*Jac Weller, 2006, "Wellington in India", [http://www.greenhillbooks.com/ Greenhill Books, London] , ISBN 978-1853673979. [http://www.napoleon-series.org/greenhill/library/c_weller_india.html Review] .
*Elizabeth Longford (Elizabeth Harman Pakenham, Countess of Longford), 1996, "Wellington: The Years of the Sword", Smithmark Pub, New York, ISBN 978-0831756468.