With Clive in India; Or, The Beginnings of an Empire by G. A. Henty (lightest ebook reader TXT) 📗

command, a gallant Frenchman, called upon the survivors of the fifty French infantry, who had led the attack, to follow him; and rushed forward upon the guns. Here, however, Charlie had posted his Europeans, and these, swarming out from the temple, poured a volley into the advancing French, and then charged them with the bayonet.

The pressure from behind had now ceased. Streams of boiling lead, poured through the holes above the archway, had effectually checked the advance; and through this molten shower, the shattered remnants of the assaulting column now fled for their lives, leaving two hundred and fifty of their best men dead behind them.

As the last of the column issued out, the guns of the battery again angrily opened fire. As Charlie had anticipated, the enemy, finding how strong were the inner defences, abandoned all further idea of attack by the gateway; and, leaving only two guns there to prevent a sortie, placed their whole artillery on the western side of the pagoda, and opened fire to prepare a breach there.

For a week the siege continued, and then Charlie determined to evacuate the place. The rajah's treasure was made up into small sacks, which were fastened to the horses' croups. Had it not been for these animals, he would have defended the place to the last, confident in his power to devise fresh means to repel fresh assaults. The store of forage, however, collected by the enemy for their own use in the temple, was now exhausted. Charlie directed Peters, with twenty men, to sally out from the gate at midnight, to enter the nearest house on the right hand side, and to follow the communications made by the enemy before the assault, until they came to the end of the street. Lieutenant Hallowes, with a similar party, was to take the left side. If they found any guards within the houses, they were to overpower these; and, rushing straight on, to attack the battery, and spike the guns. Should they find the houses deserted, they were to gather in the houses nearest the battery, when Peters was to fire his pistol as a signal to Hallowes, and both parties were to attack the battery.

One of the inner walls had been pulled down, and the main body of the force, having the wounded and the ladies of the rajah's zenana in their centre, were to sally out, the instant the guns were taken.

The plan was carried out with the greatest success. The houses on both sides of the street were found to be deserted, and as Peters fired his pistol, the party dashed at the flanks of the battery. The French gunners leaped to their feet and, believing that they were attacked in front, discharged their cannon. The grapeshot swept along the empty street, and through the gateway; and Charlie, leading one of the troops, at once dashed down the street.

At their first rush, Peters and Hallowes had carried the battery, cutting down the gunners. Immediately behind, however, the enemy had posted a support, several hundred strong, and these speedily advanced to recover the battery.

Leaving their horses in charge of a small party, Charlie dismounted his men and joined Peters, and his fire quickly checked the assault. In the meantime, the rest of the defenders of the temple rode down the street and, leaving a few men with the horses of Peters' and Hallowes' detachments, rode out into the open country. After driving back his assailants, Charlie led his party back to their horses, mounted them, and speedily rejoined the main body. An hour later they were well on their way towards Permacoil, which they reached, next day.

The rajah was delighted at recovering his family. The treasure was divided, and the portion belonging to the troops was, with the Company's share, sent down under a strong escort to Madras.

For a considerable time, Charlie's force were occupied with small undertakings. Lally had now arrived, from France, and had taken the command. He had, at his orders, a European force considerably exceeding any that had hitherto been gathered in India, and he boasted that he was going to capture Madras, and drive the English out of India. Nothing could have been more unfortunate for the French than the choice of such a man, and his appointment was destined to give the last blow to French influence in India, as the supercession of Dupleix had given the first.

Monsieur Lally had one virtue. He was personally brave; but he was arrogant, passionate, and jealous. He had no capacity, whatever, for either awing or conciliating those with whom he came in contact. He treated the natives with open contempt, and was soon as much hated, by them, as by his own soldiers.

His first step had been to order Bussy down, from Hyderabad, with the whole of his force. Bussy, a man of great genius, of extreme tact, of perfect knowledge of the Indian character; had, for eight years, maintained French influence supreme at that court, and had acquired for France the Northern Sirkars, a splendid and most valuable province, on the seacoast north of Madras. Salabut Jung, the ruler of Hyderabad, the protege of the French, heard with dismay the order which Bussy had received. To Bussy himself, the blow was a heavy one, and he saw that his departure would entail the ruin of the edifice of French influence, which he had built up by so many years of thought and toil.

However, he obeyed at once; and marched, with two hundred and fifty Europeans and five hundred native troops, into the Sirkars. He made over the charge of this treaty to the Marquis de Conflans, whom, although but just arrived from Europe, and entirely new to Indian affairs, Count de Lally had sent to replace Monsieur Moracin, who had, for years, ably managed the province. He then marched, with his troops, to join the main army under Count de Lally.

This force, having taken Fort Saint David, had operated against Tanjore, where it had suffered a repulse. The news of this reached the Northern Sirkars, soon after the departure of Bussy; and Anandraz, the most powerful chief of the country, rose in rebellion, and sent a messenger to Calcutta, begging the assistance of the English to drive out the French.

While the rest of the Bengal council, seeing that Bengal was, at the time, threatened with invasion from the north, and menaced with troubles within, considered that it would be an act little short of madness to send troops, at a time when they could be so little spared, to assist a chief, who, even from his own accounts, was only able to raise three thousand irregular followers, Clive thought otherwise. He saw the great value of the Northern Sirkars, whose possession would complete the line of British territory, along the seacoast, from Calcutta down to Madras. He saw, too, that a movement here would effect a diversion, in favour of Madras. The situation there appeared very serious, and he could spare no troops which would suffice to turn the scale. But even should Madras be lost, the gain of the Northern Sirkars would almost compensate for the disaster.

Having gained the council to his views, he sent Lieutenant Colonel Forde, who commanded the Company's troops in Bengal, with five hundred Europeans, two thousand natives, and six six-pounders, by sea to Vizagapatam, a port which Anandraz had seized. These landed on the 20th of October, 1758.

Had Conflans been an efficient officer, he could have crushed Anandraz long before the arrival of the English. He had, under his orders, a force composed of five hundred European troops, men trained by Bussy, and accustomed to victory; four thousand native troops, and a brigade of artillery. Instead of marching at once to crush the rebellion, he sent messenger after messenger to Lally, begging for assistance. It was only when he heard, from Lally, that he had directed Moracin, with three hundred European troops, to support him, that he moved against Anandraz.

His opportunity had, however, slipped from his hands. He had thrown away six weeks; and when, upon the march, the news reached him of the landing of the English, he took up the very strong position within sight of the fort Peddapur, and intrenched himself there.

Clive had sent to Madras the news that he was despatching Colonel Forde to the Sirkars, and begged that any body of troops who might be available might be forwarded. Charlie's corps had already been recalled towards Madras, to keep the bodies of French who were converging in that direction at a distance, as long as possible, so as to allow the victualling of Madras to go on uninterrupted. Mr. Pigot now instructed Charlie to hand over the command of that force to Peters; and, with fifty men, to make his way north and to effect a junction with Forde, who was entirely deficient in cavalry.

Avoiding the French force, Charlie reached Vizagapatam upon the 2nd of December, and found that Forde had marched on the previous day. He started at once, and on the evening of the 3rd came up to Forde, who had arrived in sight of the French position.

Charlie had already made the acquaintance of Colonel Forde in Bengal, and Forde was glad to obtain the assistance, and advice, of an officer who had seen so much service. An hour after arriving, Charlie rode out with his commander and reconnoitred the French position; which was, they concluded, too strong to be attacked. In point of numbers, the forces were about even. Conflans had, in addition to his five hundred Europeans, six thousand native infantry, five hundred native cavalry, and thirty guns. Forde had four hundred and seventy Europeans, one thousand nine hundred Sepoys, and six guns. Anandraz had forty Europeans, five thousand infantry, five hundred horsemen, and four guns. These five thousand men were, however, a mere ragged mob, of whom very few had firearms, and the rest were armed with bows and arrows. His horsemen were equally worthless, and Forde could only rely upon the troops he had brought with him from Calcutta, and the troop of fifty natives under Charlie Marryat.

Finding that the French position was too strong to be attacked, Forde fell back to a strong position at Chambol, a village nearly four miles from the French camp. Here, for four days, the two armies remained watching each other, the leaders of both sides considering that the position of the other was too strong to be attacked.

Chapter 26: The Siege Of Madras.

At last, weary of inactivity, the Marquis de Conflans and Colonel Forde arrived simultaneously, on the 8th of December, at a determination to bring matters to a crisis. Conflans had heard, from a deserter, that Forde had omitted to occupy a mound which, at a short distance from his camp, commanded the position. He determined to seize this during the night, and to open fire with his guns, and that his main army should take advantage of the confusion, which the sudden attack would occasion, to fall upon the English. Forde, on his part, had determined to march at four o'clock in the morning to a village named Condore, three miles distant, whence he could threaten the French flank.

Ignorant of each other's intentions, the English and French left their camps at night. Forde marched at a quarter past four, as arranged with Anandraz; but the rajah and his people, with the usual native aversion to punctuality, remained quietly asleep, and a few minutes after daybreak they were roughly awakened, by a deadly fire poured by six guns into the camp. The rajah sent messenger after messenger to Forde, urging him to return; and he himself, with his frightened army, hurried towards Condore. Forde had, indeed, retraced his steps immediately he heard the fire of the guns, and soon met the rajah's rabble in full flight; and, uniting with them, marched back to Condore.

Conflans supposed that the fire of his guns had driven the whole of his opponents in a panic from Chambol; and, determining to take advantage of the confusion, marched with his force against them. Forde at once prepared for the battle. In the centre he placed the English, including the rajah's forty Europeans. Next to these, on either side, he placed his Sepoys, and posted the troops of Anandraz on the right and left flanks. He then advanced towards the enemy.

The French guns opened fire. Forde halted. In the position in which he found himself, his centre occupied a field of Indian corn, so high that they were concealed from the enemy. Conflans had moved towards the English left, with the intention, apparently, of turning that flank; and after the artillery battle on both sides had continued for forty minutes, he ordered his troops to advance.

In Madras, both the English and French dress their Sepoys in white. In Bengal, however, since the raising of Sepoy regiments after the recapture of Calcutta, the English had clothed them in red. Conflans, therefore, thought that the force he was about to attack was the English contingent; and that, if he could