I'm the Dauphin in France

Chapter 500: The Different Third Mysore War
Not far to the north, an Indian sedan chair slowly moved towards the British military base. Now Seringapatna was full of water and mud, and even horses could hardly walk. People could only rely on human-powered sedan chairs to go anywhere.

Then Wellesley saw the Governor-General of India, Cornwallis, whom he was talking about, stepping on the back of a sedan bearer and jumping off the sedan. Although the servants had laid a straw mat on the ground, a large amount of mud and water still splashed up, staining his legs.

"I was just about to send someone to inquire about the remaining supplies over there, and you happened to come." Wellesley took off his gloves, stepped forward and hugged the Governor, "I hope you brought good news."

"One good news and one bad news."

Cornwallis shook the mud off his boots with disgust and glanced at the chair outside the command post:

"Mind if I sit here?"

"Of course not. This is for you." Wellesley motioned for the attendant to fetch another chair from the tent and sat down opposite the Governor. "Then, please tell me the bad news first."

Cornwallis lifted his legs and asked the servant to wipe the mud off his pants. He pointed to the teapot on the table and said, "Please give me a cup too. This is such a horrible weather... Oh, I want to tell you the good news first. After all, I can finish it in a moment."

"It's up to you. Actually, this is bad news."

"Savanur has brought dried meat and rice. Yes, damn rice, almost no wheat, and no bread," Cornwallis said. "But this is enough food for the army until October."

Savanur is the southern province of the Maratha Empire, bordering Mysore. Currently, the British army's logistics are blocked at the port of Malabar, and can only get supplies from the Maratha Empire. However, the Indian princely states can only provide food, while weapons, medicines, wine, horses and even tents have to be shipped from Europe by the British themselves.

Cornwallis picked up his teacup, his expression darkening.

“The bad news is that the four transport ships that arrived at Malabar port last month will be the last.

"The East India Company's board of directors has decided not to invest any more money in the Far East. In fact, the company's negotiators should be arriving in North Kannada soon."

Wellesley did not seem surprised. He looked at the Governor and said:
"That means we don't have many opportunities left to organize an attack?"

He had already learned that the East India Company had invested 320 million pounds in military expenditures in Mysore, which was more than the domestic taxes the company paid to the British government each year.

This resulted in the company making almost no profit this year and will also be significantly affected next year. It is said that the company's stock price has fallen rapidly as a result.

So it was not surprising that the board of directors decided to cut losses.

Cornwallis nodded and said: "The expeditionary force must return home by the end of this year at the latest, otherwise they will not even get paid."

"I understand. Let's wait until the heavy artillery arrives and then have the final decisive battle."

A month and a half later.

Tipu Sultan looked at the misty rain and turned his head to the captain of the guard and said:

"Has the location been determined?"

"Yes, great Sultan, two miles ahead are the British cannons."

Tipu Sultan nodded, turned around and drew his sword, and shouted to the 1 guards around him: "Those pagans killed our relatives and friends, and threw innocent children into the pot to cook!
“Now they are trying to invade Srirangapatna, we can’t let this happen!
"If you want to save your families and your children from becoming food for the British, then follow me and send them back to hell with your knives!"

After the propaganda of Salah, the previous consul in Mysore, the devilish image of the British has now been deeply rooted in the hearts of the people in Mysore. It is generally recognized that every British soldier has to eat a child every week to maintain his bravery.

This rumor has even spread to British-controlled princely states such as Hyderabad and Carnatic. Three months ago, there was an incident in which the Udayagiri people killed two passing British soldiers because they were afraid that their children would be taken away and eaten.

Therefore, the Mysore people now share a common hatred for the enemy and are willing to fight the British army at the risk of their lives.

The rain stopped.

When the ground became a little drier, Lord Wellesley immediately ordered 5 British troops to form the core and supervise 3 Maratha troops to approach Seringapatna.

At the same time, 4 British troops of Cornwallis's Corps on the north side also launched an attack with more than 3 soldiers from Indian princely states, forming a siege on Seringapatna.

The British 12-pounder guns began to roar. Seven guns fired at the highest rate, suppressing the Mysore cannons 7 kilometer away with a fierce barrage of bullets. The latter only had 1 10-pounder guns, which had to be dispersed outside the city for defense. The rest were 8-pounder guns, and their range was far less than that of the British heavy guns.

At around 4 p.m., Tipu Sultan and nearly 2 Mysore soldiers suddenly emerged from the side and rear of the British artillery position and rushed towards the cannons that were firing crazily.

The British infantry responsible for providing cover apparently did not expect an enemy attack, and they hurriedly beat drums and began to organize their formations.

Tipu Sultan had taken advantage of the rain to sneak here from the gap between the British and Maratha armies. Because he was very familiar with the terrain and it was impossible to use telescopes in the heavy rain, no one noticed their tracks.

Tipu Sultan led the charge, brandishing a scimitar and charging into the British infantry line without using a musket.

These 1 men were the most elite guards under his command. Each of them was extremely tough and they took three rounds of volleys from the 7-plus British infantrymen in front of them and finally got close to them from the right wing. Fortunately, their attack was very sudden and the British formation was not neat, which resulted in unsatisfactory volley effects.

After suffering nearly 300 casualties, the Mysoreans broke up the British infantry lines, and then sent more than a thousand men to block the Maratha vassal reinforcements, while others took out iron nails to nail the cannon's fire port.

At the same time, Tipu Sultan's eldest son Nawaz was leading 5 Mysore main forces to fight the British army head-on.

These soldiers had been trained by Lafayette before, and their formation and discipline were far superior to the armies of other Indian states.

Therefore, as long as Mysore did not directly face the British "lobster soldiers", its defense line would be as solid as a rock, and it could even launch local counterattacks.

After the British army came up, they exchanged a few rounds of fire, then quickly moved away and used the rear troops to continue delaying the enemy - the area outside the city of Seringapatna was more than ten miles wide, and there were many mountains that could be used for defense.

On Tipu Sultan's side, after destroying six 6-pound cannons and a large number of other artillery pieces, the British reinforcements sent by Wellesley finally arrived.

Tipu Sultan glanced at the darkening sky and immediately ordered a retreat.

His fighting style was like this, he liked extreme adventures and sneak attacks without regard for his life. Historically, he relied on this style of fighting to fight against the world hegemon Britain in southern India for several years.

(End of this chapter)