Second Mysore War

Second Mysore War

Part of: Mysore Wars

date	1780 to 1784
place	Indian subcontinent
output	Victory from Mysore
consequences	Treaty of Mangalore

Parties to the conflict
Mysore France United Netherlands	British East India Company Great Britain Kurhannover
Commander
Hyder Ali Tipu Sultan	Sir Eyre Coote Hector Munro

The Second Mysore War was part of the Mysore Wars and took place in 1780–1784 on the Indian subcontinent between the Kingdom of Mysore and the British East India Company. Mysore was allied with France. The British East India Company was reinforced by regular troops and forces from Hanover . Hanover was ruled by the English royal family at that time.

In response to the British occupation of the port of Mahé , which was under French administration, Hyder Ali , the ruler of Mysore, opened hostilities against the British and achieved some notable successes in the beginning. In the further course, however, the British managed to recapture all the lost territories. Both Britain and France sent land and naval forces. After the British declaration of war on the Netherlands in 1780, the conflict widened and Dutch troops were also involved.

prehistory

Hyder Ali, the ruler of Mysore, met British expansion efforts in India after the First Mysore War with deep suspicion and concluded an alliance with France, which had been at war with Great Britain since 1778. The British East India Company tried from Madras to push the French out of their Indian enclaves. In 1778 they were able to take some French outposts and in 1779 take the French-controlled port of Mahé. Mahé was of particular importance to Mysore, as all arms deliveries from France to Mysore went through this port. In addition, Hyder Ali had undertaken to place the port under his protection and also deployed troops, which of course were also involved in the fighting.

Hyder Ali 1762

Course of war

In July 1780, Hyder advanced to Carnatica with an army of 80,000 men in order to besiege the British fort at Arcot . Tipu Sultan , the son of Hyder Ali, was sent out with part of the army to intercept a 5,000-strong British relief army that had set out from Guntur . On September 10, 1780 Tipu succeeded at Pollilur in first taking the British units under heavy gunfire and then smashing their lines with his cavalry, leaving the British commander, Colonel Hector Munro , only to flee. It was the East India Company's worst defeat in India to date. Colonel Munro was able to retreat towards Madras with the survivors of his armed forces, leaving behind all supplies. On November 3rd, Hyder Ali captured the Arcot Fort. The British meanwhile brought further reinforcements under Sir Eyre Coote to Madras.

Coote was able to defeat Hyder in the battles of Porto Novo, Sholinghur and the Second Battle of Pollilur in 1781 , but not decisively beat it. In the summer of 1781, the new governor of Madras , Lord Macartney , arrived and brought news of the British declaration of war on the Netherlands. MacCartney ordered an immediate attack on the Dutch bases in India. In November 1781, the Dutch outpost in Nagapattinam , where 2,000 soldiers from Mysore were also stationed, was captured after a three-week siege. Hyder Ali realized that the British could not be beaten as long as their naval forces allowed them to land troops unimpeded on either coast. Tipu Sultan was able to book another victory against Colonel Braithwaite, at Annagudi , in December 1781 and subsequently take Chittur .

In the summer of 1782 Tipu was instructed by Hyder Ali to move towards Malabar with stronger forces in order to intercept further British reinforcements. Hyder Ali died of cancer shortly afterwards, prompting the British to speed up their operations. A relief lord under General Matthews marched in a hurry towards Malabar in December. Tipu could also defeat this army at Bednore . Matthews and many of his officers were captured, taken to Seringapatam and executed there.

In 1783 the news of peace between France and Great Britain reached India, which resulted in the immediate withdrawal of French troops. In September the British took Mangalore . Tipu, on the other hand, captured the fortress of Palakkad and Coimbatore .

Starting position 1780

Treaty of Mangalore

In 1783 orders arrived from London to end the war immediately and to seek negotiations with Mysore. Tipu was only ready for talks after he was able to retake Mangalore on January 30, 1784. The war ended on March 11, 1784 with the Treaty of Mangalore , which obliged the British to restore the borders of 1779.

aftermath

The Mangalore Treaty was the last time an Indian power succeeded in dictating terms to the British. As a result, the British went to great lengths to undermine the power of Tipu Sultan and Mysore, which led to two more conflicts that ended with the British taking control of all of southern India.

Individual evidence

1. ^ Edward Thornton (Ed.): The History of the British Empire in India . Adamant Media Corporation, 2001, ISBN 0-54380329-5 (EA London 1843)
2. ^ George Alfred Henty : The Tiger of Mysore. A Story of the War with Tippoo Saib . BiblioBazaar, 2007, ISBN 978-0554151915 (novel, EA London 1896)