Chapter 435: The British Tactic
The next day, under a fine drizzle, a group of British soldiers sneaked into the innermost layer of the "pah" (a type of fort) through a breach created by cannon fire. The Mysorean defenders hurriedly fled through tunnels, leaving behind one man tasked with igniting the powder barrels. But his flint sparks were repeatedly extinguished by rainwater blowing in.
Two British soldiers appeared at the entrance of the tower, raising their Brown Bess muskets at him.
An hour later, Marquis Wellesley stared grimly at the eight or so corpses soaking in rainwater. He had wasted a full 14 days on this makeshift fort, finally breaching it, yet only about 30 Mysoreans had died.
Glancing at the pile of over 200 muskets and a 4-pound cannon nearby, he was about to return to his tent when he suddenly paused.
Turning to the officer in charge of cataloging the spoils, he asked, "Why haven't I seen any enemy powder or shells?"
The officer quickly pointed to a few small wooden crates under a tree. "Over there, Colonel."
Wellesley, who came from a military family, was already a colonel at a young age.
Surprised, he remarked, "Is that all?"
"Yes, Colonel. In fact, this is the first time we've captured their weapons. Before, they always blew up their powder during retreat."
Wellesley narrowed his eyes as he stood in the rain. The ammunition they had seized would have only lasted the defenders another 10 days. In other words, they had prepared only enough for about 20 days from the start.
Wiping the rain from his face, he looked at the narrow tower atop the "pah," a smile slowly curling his lips. Turning to Cornwallis beside him, he said, "I believe I've found the weakness of these forts."
Two days later.
Forty to fifty Hyderabad soldiers, in a loose formation, nervously advanced toward the "pah" on the hillside.
Soon, gunfire erupted from within the fort, and one Hyderabad soldier was struck in the head by a musket ball, instantly killed.
The others panicked, instinctively wanting to flee, but when they turned, they saw several hundred British soldiers in red uniforms pointing muskets at them from afar.
Their hearts tightened as they recalled the scene that morning when dozens of men who had tried to retreat were shot dead on the spot. Reluctantly, they turned back, searching for cover and bracing themselves to return fire.
The British officers had ordered them to attack for an hour, after which they could retreat and be replaced by another group.
But less than half an hour later, these men were all killed by Mysorean gunfire.
A British officer put down his telescope and turned to Wellesley. Seeing Wellesley nod in approval, he immediately ordered a small group of Maratha soldiers, "Your turn! Go take that fort!"
The Marathas, driven forward by British soldiers, turned pale as they reluctantly advanced on the "pah."
"Are you sure this will work?" Cornwallis asked Wellesley, watching the Indian soldiers drop one by one, "We seem to be achieving nothing but heavy losses."
"Just be patient and watch," Wellesley replied calmly. "If I'm right, we'll take that fort before nightfall."
Nearly 50 Maratha soldiers were soon killed, and another batch of British sepoys was forced to advance. They used the bodies of the previous attackers as cover but lasted only about 40 minutes before being replaced by the next group.
By 5 p.m., Cornwallis estimated that around 600 Indian soldiers had died around the "pah." As he was about to speak to Wellesley again, he noticed an unusual silence from the Mysorean fort.
"Alright, it seems my judgment was correct," Wellesley said with a smile, turning to the officer beside him. "Send in our men now."
"Yes, Colonel!"
Soon, nearly a thousand British "lobsterbacks" surrounded the "pah," encountering only sporadic resistance.
The British soldiers methodically blasted through several walls with powder, forcing the Mysoreans into their tunnels.
Finally, the retreating defenders ignited their powder barrels, collapsing much of the fort's tower.
In the fading light, Cornwallis watched the British flag rise over the fort that had troubled him for months. He turned to Wellesley in shock. "How did you do it? You took this place in just one day!"
"Ammo supplies," Wellesley calmly pointed to the tower at the top of the "pah." "This fort has three layers of walls, but only the middle section is used to store ammunition.
"I estimated that after accounting for food and water, they could store at most 300 cannonballs, 15,000 musket balls, and the corresponding powder.
"So I ordered our men to attack in waves. Under pressure, the Mysoreans would deplete their ammo without realizing it. Oh, and continuous firing lowers accuracy significantly.
"Finally, when they ran out of ammo, our soldiers stormed the fort. Simple as that."
Actually, Wellesley had left out one detail: after killing so many enemies, the Mysorean soldiers would become excessively excited and bloodthirsty, mindlessly firing without considering tactics.
Cornwallis was stunned as the young officer calmly explained a tactic of "using lives to exhaust enemy ammunition." He realized that his previous efforts to minimize casualties and protect his soldiers had inadvertently given the enemy time to rest and plan.
In fact, relentless pressure was the best tactic against the poorly trained Mysoreans!
"But," Cornwallis hesitated, "though we took the fort quickly, the casualties were too high…"
The day's assault had cost them at least 600 men. At this rate, taking all the forts around Mangalore could cost two or three times that number!
"They're just Indian sepoys," Wellesley dismissed with a wave. "Their population is enormous; it doesn't matter."
Just then, the Hyderabad officer, his face dark with anger, stormed over. Unperturbed, Wellesley continued to Cornwallis, "Besides, my goal isn't to take Mangalore. I just need Tipu to understand that we can quickly breach his forts."
The Hyderabad officer arrived, skipping formalities as he growled, "You can't keep sending my men to die like this! We lost nearly 400 today!"
Wellesley smiled at him. "Dying in battle is a soldier's duty. There will be many more assaults like this. You'd better get used to it."
(End of Chapter)
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