Chapter 366: Battle of Brussels
Marquis Wellesley sat down on the opposite chair, recalling the news he'd just heard in Parliament. "According to Fox, about two months ago, Mysore deployed 6,000 troops to attack Kannanur. The defending East India Company soldiers resisted for only three days before being completely routed."
Kannanur was a crucial stronghold for the East India Company in the southwest of the Indian Peninsula. Losing it would severely impact trade in southwestern India.
Though the East India Company was ostensibly a corporation, it effectively functioned as Britain's administrative body in India. From government officials to members of Parliament, and from civil servants to merchants, almost everyone in Britain owned shares in the East India Company. It could be said that any harm to this company's interests would cause a greater uproar in Britain than a massive deficit in government finances.
William Pitt Junior frowned deeply. "You're saying those Indian natives, with only five thousand men..."
Although the East India Company's garrison in Kannanur numbered fewer than 600 men, they were mostly experienced regular soldiers whose fighting power vastly outmatched the Indian natives. Moreover, there were several thousand locally recruited auxiliary troops, who, based on past experience, should have been able to withstand an onslaught of over ten thousand Mysore troops for one or two months.
Yet this time, it fell after only three days of defense.
Marquis Wellesley stated gravely, "It's said that this contingent of Mysore troops possesses extremely strong combat capabilities. They are fully equipped with European-made Flintlock Muskets, along with over a dozen excellent cannons. They even blasted breaches in the East India Company's redoubts with their artillery."
These superior weapons had, of course, been brought to Mysore by Lafayette.
Furthermore, Princess Amira of Tunisia had already arrived in Mysore and secretly held an engagement ceremony with Tipu Sultan's son, Nawaz. Although the marriage had not yet been formally concluded, her dowry had already been delivered to India.
While the British Navy controlled shipping in the Indian Ocean, they had little recourse against smuggling vessels. The artillery casting technicians, meanwhile, could safely disembark by taking French merchant ships. France still maintained a small colonial outpost in Pondicherry, India, engaging in negligible trade.
Most importantly, Mysore now had Lafayette, a general skilled at leading greenhorns into battle.
For a nation like India, still in the mid-feudal era, factors limiting military effectiveness stemmed only partially from weaponry and equipment; more significant were outdated systems and the quality of the troops.
In his capacity as Princess Amira's protector and with the rank of Umda, Lafayette spearheaded Mysore's military reforms. He instituted strict regulations covering everything from the distribution of military pay to officer appointments, from maintaining army discipline to coordinating soldiers of different faiths, and even details like tent arrangement during encampments and the precise routes and distances for patrols.
After nearly three months of rigorous training, enforced with both the lash and the stick, this Indian army, which already had some grounding in European drills, had been completely transformed. While their fighting capabilities still lagged far behind the British forces, they were at least no longer so easily overwhelmed, where one enemy soldier could rout ten of their own.
Of course, even with Lafayette's intense dedication—sleeping only five hours a day—he could only personally train 4,000 new Mysore troops; the rest had to be entrusted to the Tunisian officers he brought with him.
In the recent raid on Kannanur, he personally led 3,000 new troops, augmented by 3,000 regular Indian auxiliaries, and effortlessly seized the East India Company's camp.
However, there were also factors the British hadn't anticipated. At the time, only half of the soldiers, about 300 men, were on duty in the redoubt; the rest were in nearby cities, either conducting business or seeking entertainment. Furthermore, the auxiliary troops had not been formally mobilized.
After Lafayette launched his offensive, the British auxiliary troops, whose loyalty was nonexistent, saw that the Mysoreans appeared exceptionally fierce—Tipu's reputation as the "Tiger of Mysore" played a significant role—and swiftly defected. These individuals were intimately familiar with Kannanur's defenses, further accelerating the collapse of the British garrison.
Marquis Wellesley continued, "The last news received from India was that over ten thousand Mysore troops were approaching North Canara."
William Pitt Junior's face was grim. North Canara was a vital stronghold for the East India Company in western India, home to the Malabar port. If this location were also to be captured by Mysore, Britain would be left without a single usable trade outpost along the entire west coast of India.
And with India being so far from Britain, this news was at least a month and a half old.
He mused, looking at Marquis Wellesley, "It seems the Royal Navy should provide full support to India."
"And several thousand expeditionary troops will also be needed," Marquis Wellesley nodded, then suddenly remembered something and added, "Prime Minister, Governor-General Cornwallis of India mentioned that a group of Frenchmen has been active in Mysore recently.
"Mysore recently saw a wave of anti-British sentiment, which was very likely orchestrated by the French. The weapons in the hands of the Indians were probably supplied by them too."
William Pitt Junior was greatly astonished. France's financial situation should have been extremely dire; how could they still squeeze out funds to aid the Indians?
Little did he know that France had actually only provided Lafayette and the Tunisian princess; other investments had long since been recouped by Tipu Sultan's bride price, even turning a small profit.
William Pitt Junior sighed silently. He had previously poured vast sums into Africa, yet the French still hadn't withdrawn from Tunisia. Subsequently, Hanover's army suffered a crushing defeat in the Southern Netherlands. Now, India required significant investment.
Furthermore, British textile exports in Europe had recently declined, as the French were flooding the German and Spanish markets with inexpensive fabrics. If these unfavorable situations across various fronts couldn't be reversed, the Whig Party would certainly seize the opportunity to cause trouble, and His Majesty the King might even begin to doubt his abilities.
He calculated the costs of aiding India and the complex situation of war with Mysore, finally, with a weary gesture, he told Marquis Wellesley, "Please make a trip to Paris as soon as possible. We cannot afford greater losses in India."
...
Southern Netherlands.
Brussels.
Karl II glared furiously at the officers before him, bellowing, "What in heaven's name are you doing? The French have only three thousand men in Rœulx, yet with nearly three times their strength, you failed to take it!"
The Hanoverian officers lowered their heads in silence, though inwardly they were complaining bitterly.
Those French troops were truly terrifying. Before their forces even approached Rœulx, the outnumbered French army proactively attacked, splitting their formations in two.
Had they not reacted quickly and retreated in time, their losses would have likely been far greater than just 300 soldiers.
In reality, it was Joseph's strict order not to annihilate the enemy forces on a large scale; otherwise, how could they have escaped the Guards Corps?
The front line south of Brussels had been stalemated for over a month. Karl II had conscripted over 7,000 more troops from Hanover, yet he couldn't budge the French forces an inch, suffering repeated losses himself.
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