With Clive in India

by G. A. Henty

  Charlie laughed.

  "He is safe not to be put to the test there, Tim. However, you may be sure that if Hossein is willing to go to England with me, he shall go. He has saved my life more than once; and you and he shall never part from me, so long as you are disposed to stay by my side."

  For some months, no great undertaking was attempted on either side. Many petty sieges and skirmishes took place, each party preparing for the great struggle, which was to decide the fate of Southern India.

  At last, in January, 1760, the rival armies approached each other. Captain Sherlock, with thirty Europeans and three hundred Sepoys, were besieged by the French in the fort of Vandivash, which had shortly before been captured by them from the French.

  Lally was himself commanding the siege, having as his second in command Monsieur Bussy, of whom, however, he was more jealous than ever. Lally's own incapacity was so marked that the whole army, and even Lally's own regiment, recognized the superior talents of Bussy. But although Lally constantly asked the advice of his subordinate, his jealousy of that officer generally impelled him to neglect it.

  When the English, under Colonel Coote, who now commanded their forces in Madras, were known to be advancing against him, Bussy strongly advised that the siege should be abandoned, and a strong position taken up for the battle. The advice was unquestionably good, but Lally neglected it, and remained in front of Vandivash until the English were seen approaching. The French cavalry, among whom were three hundred European dragoons, and a cloud of Mahratta horse moved forward against the English, whose troops were scattered on the line of march.

  Colonel Coote brought up two guns, and these, being kept concealed from the enemy until they came within two hundred yards, opened suddenly upon them, while the Sepoys fired heavily with their muskets. The Mahrattas rapidly turned and rode off, and the French cavalry, finding themselves alone, retired in good order.

  Colonel Coote now drew up his army in order of battle, and marched his troops so as to take up a position in front of some gardens, and other inclosures, which extended for some distance from the foot of the mountains out on to the plain. These inclosures would serve as a defence, in case the army should be forced to retire from the open.

  The French remained immovable in their camp. Seeing this, Colonel Coote marched his troops to the right, the infantry taking up their post in the stony ground at the foot of the mountain, at a mile and a half from the French camp. Some of the French cavalry came out to reconnoitre; but, being fired upon, returned.

  Finding that the French would not come out to attack, Colonel Coote again advanced until he reached a point where, swinging round his right, he faced the enemy in a position of great strength. His right was now covered by the fire of the fort, his left by the broken ground at the foot of the hills.

  As soon as the English had taken up their position, the French sallied out from their camp and formed in line of battle. The French cavalry were on their right; next to these was the regiment of Lorraine, four hundred strong; in the centre the battalion of India, seven hundred strong. Next to these was Lally's regiment, four hundred strong, its left resting upon an intrenched tank, which was held by three hundred marines and sailors from their fleet, with four guns. Twelve other guns were in line, three between each regiment. Four hundred Sepoys were in reserve, at a tank in rear of that held by the marines. Nine hundred Sepoys held a ridge behind the position, but in front of the camp, and at each end of this ridge was an intrenchment, guarded by fifty Europeans. A hundred and fifty Europeans and three hundred Sepoys remained in the batteries, facing Vandivash. The whole force consisted of two thousand four hundred Europeans, and sixteen hundred Sepoys. The Mahrattas, three thousand strong, remained in their own camp, and did not advance to the assistance of their allies.

  The English army consisted of nineteen hundred Europeans, of whom eighty were cavalry, two thousand one hundred Sepoys, twelve hundred and fifty irregular horse, and twenty-six field guns. The Sepoys were on the flanks, the Company's two battalions in the centre, with Coote's regiment on their right and Draper's on their left. The four grenadier companies of the white regiments were withdrawn from the fighting line; and, with two hundred Sepoys on each flank, were held as a reserve. Ten field pieces were in line with the troops; two, with two companies of Sepoys, were posted a little on the left; the rest were in reserve. The English line was placed somewhat obliquely across that of the French, their left being the nearest to the enemy.

  As the English took up their position, Lally led out his cavalry, made a wide sweep round the plain, and then advanced against the English horse, who were drawn up some little distance behind the reserve. Upon seeing their approach, the whole of the irregular horse fled at once, leaving only Charlie's troop remaining. The Sepoys with the two guns on the left were ordered to turn these round, so as to take the advancing French in flank; but the flight of their horse had shaken the natives, and the French cavalry would have fallen, unchecked, on Charlie's little troop, which was already moving forward to meet them, had not Captain Barlow, who commanded the British artillery, turned two of his guns and opened fire upon them.

  Fifteen men and horses fell at the first discharge, throwing the rest into some confusion; and at the next deadly discharge, the whole turned and rode off. Seeing the enemy retreating, many of the irregular horse rode back, and, joining Charlie's troop, pursued them round to the rear of their own camp.

  For a short time a cannonade was kept up by the guns on both sides, the English fire, being better directed, causing some damage. Upon Lally's return to his camp with the cavalry, he at once gave the order to advance. Coote ordered the Europeans of his force to do the same, the Sepoys to remain on their ground.

  The musketry fire began at one o'clock. The English, according to Coote's orders, retained theirs until the enemy came close at hand. Following the tactics which were afterwards repeated many times in the Peninsula, the Lorraine regiment, forming a column twelve deep, advanced against that of Coote, which received them in line. The French came on at the double. When within a distance of fifty yards, Coote's regiment poured a volley into the front and flanks of the column. Although they suffered heavily from this fire, the French bravely pressed on with levelled bayonets, and the head of the column, by sheer weight, broke through the English line.

  The flanks of the English, however, closed in on the sides of the French column, and a desperate hand-to-hand fight ensued. In this, the English had all the advantage, attacking the French fiercely on either side, until the latter broke and ran back to the camp.

  Colonel Coote, who was with his regiment, ordered it to form in regular order again, before it advanced, and rode off to see what was going on in the rest of the line. As he was passing on, a shot struck an ammunition waggon in the intrenched tank held by the French. This exploded, killing and wounding eighty men, among whom was the commander of the post. The rest of its occupants, panic stricken by the explosion, ran back to the next tank. Their panic communicated itself to the Sepoys there, and all ran back together to the camp.

  Colonel Coote at once sent orders to Major Brereton, who commanded Draper's regiment, to take possession of the tank, before the enemy recovered from the confusion which the explosion would be sure to cause. The ground opposite that which Draper's regiment occupied was held by Lally's regiment, and in order to prevent his men being exposed to a flanking fire from these, Draper ordered them to file off to the right. Bussy, who commanded at this wing, endeavoured to rally the fugitives, and gathering fifty or sixty together, added two companies of Lally's regiment to them, and posted them in the tank; he then returned to the regiment.

  As Major Brereton, moving up his men, reached the intrenchment, a heavy fire was poured upon him. Major Brereton fell, mortally wounded, and many of his men were killed. The rest, however, with a rush carried the intrenchment, and firing down from the parapet on the guns on Lally's left, drove the gunners from them. Two companies held the intrenchment, and the rest for
med in the plain on its left, to prevent Lally's regiment attacking it on this side.

  Bussy wheeled Lally's regiment, detached a portion of it to recover the intrenchment, and with the rest marched against Draper's troops in the plain. A heavy musketry fire was kept up on both sides, until the two guns, posted by Draper's regiment, and left behind when they attacked the intrenchment, came up and opened on the French. These began to waver. Bussy, as the only chance of gaining the day, put himself at their head, and endeavoured to lead them forward to attack the English with the bayonet. His horse, however, was struck with a ball and soon fell; the English fire was redoubled, and but twenty of Lally's men kept round him.

  Two companies of the English rushed forward and surrounded the little party, who at once surrendered. Bussy was led a prisoner to the rear, and as he went was surprised at the sight of the three hundred grenadiers, the best troops in the English army, remaining quietly in reserve.

  While on either flank the French were now beaten, the fight in the centre, between the European troops of the English and French Companies, had continued, but had been confined to a hot musketry and artillery fire. But upon seeing the defeat of their flanks, the enemy's centre likewise fell back to their camp.

  From the moment when the Lorraine regiment had been routed, four field pieces kept up an incessant fire into their camp, to prevent them from rallying. The three English regiments now advanced in line, and entered the enemy's camp without the least opposition. The Lorraine regiment had passed through it, a mass of fugitives. The India regiment and Lally's went through rapidly, but in good order.

  Lally had, in vain, endeavoured to bring the Sepoys forward to the attack, to restore the day. The French cavalry, seeing the defeat of Lorraine's regiment, advanced to cover it, their appearance completely intimidating the English irregular horse. Charlie's troop were too weak to charge them single handed.

  Reanimated by the attitude of their cavalry, the men of the Lorraine regiment rallied, yoked up four field pieces which were standing in the rear of the camp, and moved off in fair order. They were joined in the plain by Lally's regiment and the India battalion, and the whole, setting fire to their tents, moved off in good order. The four field pieces kept in the rear, and behind these moved the cavalry. As they retired, they were joined by the four hundred and fifty men from the batteries opposite Vandivash.

  Colonel Coote sent orders to his cavalry to harass the enemy. These followed them for five miles, but as the native horse would not venture within range of the enemy's field guns, Charlie, to his great disappointment, was able to do nothing.

  Upon neither side did the Sepoys take any part in the battle of Vandivash. It was fought entirely between the two thousand two hundred and fifty French, not including those in their battery, and sixteen hundred English, excluding the grenadiers, who never fired a shot. Twenty-four pieces of cannon were taken, and eleven waggons of ammunition, and all the tents, stores, and baggage that were not burned. The French left two hundred dead upon the field. A hundred and sixty were taken prisoners, of whom thirty died of their wounds before the next morning. Large numbers dropped upon the march, and were afterwards captured. The English had sixty-three killed, and a hundred and twenty-four wounded.

  The news of this victory reached Madras on the following morning, and excited as much enthusiastic joy as that of Plassey had done at Calcutta; and the event was almost as important a one. There was no longer the slightest fear of danger, and the Madras authorities began to meditate an attack upon Pondicherry. So long as the great French settlement remained intact, so long would Madras be exposed to fresh invasions; and it was certain that France, driven now from Bengal, would make a desperate effort to regain her shaken supremacy in Madras.

  The force, however, at the disposal of the Madras authorities, was still far too weak to enable them to undertake an enterprise like the siege of Pondicherry; for their army did not exceed, in numbers, that which Lally possessed for its defence. Accordingly, urgent letters were sent to Clive to ask him to send down, in the summer, as many troops as he could spare, other reinforcements being expected from England at that time. The intervening time was spent in the reduction of Chittapett, Karical, and many other forts which held out for the French.

  After the battle of Vandivash, Charlie kept his promise to his men. He represented to Mr. Pigot that they had already served some months over the time for which they were enlisted, that they had gone through great hardships, and performed great services, and that they were now anxious to retire to enjoy the prize money they had earned. He added that he had given his own promise that they should be allowed to retire, if they would extend their service until after a decisive battle with the French. Mr. Pigot at once assented to Charlie's request, and ordered that a batta of six months' pay should be given to each man, upon leaving.

  The troop, joined by many of their comrades, who had been at different times sent down sick and wounded to Madras, formed up there on parade for the last time. They responded with three hearty cheers to the address which Charlie gave them, thanking them for their services, bidding them farewell, and hoping that they would long enjoy the prize money which they had gallantly won. Then they delivered over their horses to the authorities, drew their prize money from the treasury, and started for their respective homes, the English portion taking up their quarters in barracks, until the next ship should sail for England.

  "I am sorry to leave them," Charlie said to Peters, as they stood alone upon the parade. "We have gone through a lot of stirring work together, and no fellows could have behaved better."

  "No," Peters agreed. "It is singular that, contemptible as are these natives of India when officered by men of their own race and religion, they will fight to the death when led by us."

  Chapter 29

  : The Siege Of Pondicherry.

  As the health of the two officers was shaken by their long and arduous work, and their services were not, for the moment, needed, they obtained leave for three months, and went down in a coasting ship to Columbo, where several English trading stations had been established. Here they spent two months, residing for the most part among the hills, at the town of a rajah very friendly to the English; and with him they saw an elephant hunt, the herd being driven into a great inclosure, formed by a large number of natives who had, for weeks, been employed upon it. Here the animals were fastened to trees by natives, who cut through the thick grass unobserved; and were one by one reduced to submission, first by hunger, and then by being lustily belaboured by the trunks of tamed elephants. Tim highly appreciated the hunt, and declared that tiger shooting was not to be compared to it.

  Their residence in the brisk air of the hills completely restored their health, and they returned to Madras perfectly ready to take part in the great operations which were impending. Charlie, on his return, was appointed to serve as chief of the staff to Colonel Coote; Captain Peters being given the command of a small body of European horse, who were, with a large body of irregulars, to aid in bringing in supplies to the British army, and to prevent the enemy from receiving food from the surrounding country.

  Early in June, the British squadron off the coast was joined by two ships of the line, the Norfolk and Panther, from England; and a hundred Europeans, and a detachment of European and native artillery came down from Bombay.

  Around Pondicherry ran a strong cactus hedge, strengthened with palisades, and the French retired into this at the beginning of July. They were too strongly posted there to be attacked by the force with which the English at first approached them, and they were expecting the arrival of a large body of troops from Mysore, with a great convoy of provisions.

  On the 17th these approached. Major Moore, who was guarding the English rear, had a hundred and eighty European infantry; fifty English horse, under Peters; sixteen hundred irregular horse; and eleven hundred Sepoys. The Mysoreans had four thousand good horse, a thousand Sepoys, and two hundred Europeans, with eight pieces of cannon.

 
The fight lasted but a few minutes. The British native horse and Sepoys at once gave way; and the English infantry retreated, in great disorder, to the fort of Trivadi, which they gained with a loss of fifteen killed and forty wounded. Peters' horse alone behaved well. Several times they charged right through the masses of Mysorean horse; but when five-and-twenty were killed, and most of the rest, including their commander, severely wounded, they also fell back into the fort.

  Colonel Coote, when the news of the disaster reached him, determined, if possible, to get possession of the fort of Vellenore, which stood on the river Ariangopang, some three miles from Pondicherry, and covered the approaches of the town from that side. The English encampment was at Perimbe, on the main road leading, through an avenue of trees, to Pondicherry. Colonel Coote threw up a redoubt on the hill behind Perimbe, and another on the avenue, to check any French force advancing from Pondicherry. These works were finished on the morning of the 19th of July.

  The next morning the French army advanced along the river Ariangopang, but Coote marched half his force to meet them, while he moved the rest as if to attack the redoubts, interspersed along the line of hedge. As the fall of these would have placed the attacking force in his rear, Lally at once returned to the town. The same evening the Mysoreans, with three thousand bullocks carrying their artillery and drawing their baggage, and three thousand more laden with rice and other provisions, arrived on the other bank of the Ariangopang river, crossed under the guns of the redoubt of that name, and entered the town.

  The fort of Vellenore was strong, but the road had been cut straight through the glacis to the gate, and the French had neglected to erect works to cover this passage. Coote took advantage of the oversight, and laid his two eighteen-pounders to play upon the gate, while two others were placed to fire upon the parapet. The English batteries opened at daybreak on the 16th, and at nine o'clock the whole of the French army, with the Mysoreans, advanced along the bank of the river.