True Account of Baillie's Disaster at Pullalur in 1780, the Worst British Defeat in India - Part 4
Welcome to the third part of the Battle of Pollilur series. Feel free to check out the previous parts:
True Account of Baillie's Disaster at Pullalur in 1780, the Worst British Defeat in India - Part 1
True Account of Baillie's Disaster at Pullalur in 1780, the Worst British Defeat in India - Part 2
True Account of Baillie's Disaster at Pullalur in 1780, the Worst British Defeat in India - Part 3
Munro proceeded forward and advanced to within 2 miles of Pullalur, when a wounded sepoy who had fled from the battle came up and informed him of Baillie's fate. Soon after, more sepoys came with the same sad news. Without delay, Munro took the decision to retreat back to Kanchipuram.
Learning that Hyder was not far, Munro, having arrived in Kanchipuram, threw off all his heavy guns and stores in the large tank and took the road to Madras at 3 am on September 11. Munro reached Chingleput (present-day Chengalpattu), on the morning of September 12, being harassed along the way by Tipu's cavalry and losing much of his remaining supplies and baggage.
"So great was their apprehension of being followed by Hyder's whole Army, that it was once in meditation to march off the Europeans by night to the Sea Coast, and leave the Natives to shift for themselves; which would have been an indelible disgrace upon our nation, and the ruin of our affairs in India." (Captain Alex Read)
British troops were accustomed to defeating vastly superior numbers, as Munro had done conspicuously at Buxar. However, in this instance, Hyder's tactical brilliance in deceiving Munro, vacating his camp, and subsequently joining Tipu resulted in Baillie's defeat. Hyder had an excellent intelligence department, as well as the advantage of cavalry and the Amrit Mahal transport.
"Our operations against the Sultan [Hyder Ali] accordingly resembled a game of blind man's buff, in which we were the blind man," observed Major Forbes.
"In the history of the British people, there is nothing finer or more terrible, than Baillie's resistance to the overwhelming army which surrounded him," noted David Leighton (Vicissitudes of Fort St. George).
A Frenchman in Lally's corps wrote, "There is not in India an example of a similar [British] defeat."
In his 'History of Hyder Shah,' Maistre de la Tour noted that Tipu received much applause from his father for leading the cavalry that successfully broke through the square upon the blowing up of Baillie's tumbrils. From that period on, his father considered him one of his most able generals.
Monsieur Lally and Biccaji Scindia also played crucial roles in the defeat of the British forces.
Historian Mohibbul Hasan wrote, "If after Baillie's retreat Hyder Ali had attacked Munro with his whole army, he would have not only destroyed his army but would have met with hardly any serious opposition up to the gates of Madras."
"At this point when he had the British at his mercy, Hyder for some inexplicable reason refused to march on Madras. This was probably the greatest error Hyder made in his campaigns against the British," recorded historian Pradeep P. Barua.
"I am almost confident had Hyder Ali followed up his success at that time to the gates of Madras, he would have been in possession of that most important fortress," wrote Sir Eyre Coote.
"If the Nawab had followed the advice of M. Lally, who counselled him to return to the camp from which we had departed in the morning, all would have been said for that campaign about the power of the English, and M. Munro would have been obliged to throw down his arms, and submit himself a prisoner of war with all his army," remarked a Frenchman in Lally's corps.
Jacob Haafner, a Dutchman exclaimed, "It would have been finished with the British on the coast, had Hyder Ali then, with the bulk of his army, gone to Madras, while Tipu with a reinforcement, had surrounded the troops of Munro in Chengalpattu. Madras, in the state it was in then, would surely have fallen before it could have received help from Bengal - and what boon would it have been for the Indian people! What a blessing, what a glory for the Nawab - having driven the white tyrants from the coast, and having destroyed one of their strongest robber nests."
However, since Hyder's main objective was to reduce Arcot, he proceeded as planned and accomplished it by November 1780.
Alexander Charles Baillie's 'Call of Empire' mentions that "With the exception of Hyder Ali, the native princes, at one time or another, had been compelled to submit to terms dictated by the East India Company. Only Hyder Ali was never decisively defeated or subjugated by the East India Company and only he consistently negotiated with the British as an equal."
In later years, Tipu Sultan had this triumph commemorated on the walls of the Daria Daulat Bagh Palace, at Srirangapatna in fresco painting.
True Account of Baillie's Disaster at Pullalur in 1780, the Worst British Defeat in India - Part 1
True Account of Baillie's Disaster at Pullalur in 1780, the Worst British Defeat in India - Part 2
True Account of Baillie's Disaster at Pullalur in 1780, the Worst British Defeat in India - Part 3
Munro's Retreat to Kanchipuram
When Munro discovered that Hyder had left, he finally started towards Pullalur by 8 am. At 10 am, Munro arrived near a large tank located 4 miles away from the battlefield. He halted there and fired three signal guns, but got no response. Unfortunately, the battle was over by that time!Munro proceeded forward and advanced to within 2 miles of Pullalur, when a wounded sepoy who had fled from the battle came up and informed him of Baillie's fate. Soon after, more sepoys came with the same sad news. Without delay, Munro took the decision to retreat back to Kanchipuram.
 |
| Surrender of Baillie to Hyder Ali, 1780, illustration from Cassell's Illustrated History of England |
Learning that Hyder was not far, Munro, having arrived in Kanchipuram, threw off all his heavy guns and stores in the large tank and took the road to Madras at 3 am on September 11. Munro reached Chingleput (present-day Chengalpattu), on the morning of September 12, being harassed along the way by Tipu's cavalry and losing much of his remaining supplies and baggage.
"So great was their apprehension of being followed by Hyder's whole Army, that it was once in meditation to march off the Europeans by night to the Sea Coast, and leave the Natives to shift for themselves; which would have been an indelible disgrace upon our nation, and the ruin of our affairs in India." (Captain Alex Read)
The Battle of Pollilur (September 10, 1780)
In the glorious annals of Indian army, the Battle of Pollilur occupies a unique position, as it was the first major defeat suffered by the British forces in India. The intense conflict lasted from around 6 am to 10 am.British troops were accustomed to defeating vastly superior numbers, as Munro had done conspicuously at Buxar. However, in this instance, Hyder's tactical brilliance in deceiving Munro, vacating his camp, and subsequently joining Tipu resulted in Baillie's defeat. Hyder had an excellent intelligence department, as well as the advantage of cavalry and the Amrit Mahal transport.
"Our operations against the Sultan [Hyder Ali] accordingly resembled a game of blind man's buff, in which we were the blind man," observed Major Forbes.
"In the history of the British people, there is nothing finer or more terrible, than Baillie's resistance to the overwhelming army which surrounded him," noted David Leighton (Vicissitudes of Fort St. George).
A Frenchman in Lally's corps wrote, "There is not in India an example of a similar [British] defeat."
In his 'History of Hyder Shah,' Maistre de la Tour noted that Tipu received much applause from his father for leading the cavalry that successfully broke through the square upon the blowing up of Baillie's tumbrils. From that period on, his father considered him one of his most able generals.
Monsieur Lally and Biccaji Scindia also played crucial roles in the defeat of the British forces.
 |
| Colonel Baillie's Dungeon at Srirangapatna - Wikipedia |
Hyder's Missed Opportunity
Hyder heard about Munro's retreat towards Chengalpattu while he was mustering the British prisoners at Damal. But, instead of setting out with his whole force, he only sent Tipu with some cavalry to pursue Munro.Historian Mohibbul Hasan wrote, "If after Baillie's retreat Hyder Ali had attacked Munro with his whole army, he would have not only destroyed his army but would have met with hardly any serious opposition up to the gates of Madras."
"At this point when he had the British at his mercy, Hyder for some inexplicable reason refused to march on Madras. This was probably the greatest error Hyder made in his campaigns against the British," recorded historian Pradeep P. Barua.
"I am almost confident had Hyder Ali followed up his success at that time to the gates of Madras, he would have been in possession of that most important fortress," wrote Sir Eyre Coote.
"If the Nawab had followed the advice of M. Lally, who counselled him to return to the camp from which we had departed in the morning, all would have been said for that campaign about the power of the English, and M. Munro would have been obliged to throw down his arms, and submit himself a prisoner of war with all his army," remarked a Frenchman in Lally's corps.
Jacob Haafner, a Dutchman exclaimed, "It would have been finished with the British on the coast, had Hyder Ali then, with the bulk of his army, gone to Madras, while Tipu with a reinforcement, had surrounded the troops of Munro in Chengalpattu. Madras, in the state it was in then, would surely have fallen before it could have received help from Bengal - and what boon would it have been for the Indian people! What a blessing, what a glory for the Nawab - having driven the white tyrants from the coast, and having destroyed one of their strongest robber nests."
However, since Hyder's main objective was to reduce Arcot, he proceeded as planned and accomplished it by November 1780.
Alexander Charles Baillie's 'Call of Empire' mentions that "With the exception of Hyder Ali, the native princes, at one time or another, had been compelled to submit to terms dictated by the East India Company. Only Hyder Ali was never decisively defeated or subjugated by the East India Company and only he consistently negotiated with the British as an equal."
In later years, Tipu Sultan had this triumph commemorated on the walls of the Daria Daulat Bagh Palace, at Srirangapatna in fresco painting.
Notes
After the Treaty of Mangalore, which concluded the Second Anglo-Mysore War, David Baird and the other surviving prisoners were released in March 1784. It was David Baird who commanded the final assault on Srirangapatna in May 4, 1799 during the 4th Mysore War, in which Tipu Sultan was martyred.References
- The Baillie Disaster By Rev. Edward Bull
- Haidar Ali's Invasion of the Eastern Carnatic, 1780 By Jadunath Sarkar
- Extract of a letter from General Sir Hector Munro to the Select Committee; dated 21st September 1780
- A Narrative of the Military Operations of the Coromandel Coast: Against the Combined Forces of the French, Dutch and Hyder Ally Cawn, From the Year 1780 to the Peace in 1784 By Innes Munro
- Two Narratives of the Proceedings of the British Army under General Sir Hector Monro and Colonel Baillie, and of the Battle of Conjeveram, 10th of September, 1780 By the Hon. James and John Lindsay, 73rd Highlanders
- Modern Mysore By M. Shama Rao
- Chidambaram Hidden Treasure (www.chidambaramhiddentreasure.com)
- The Defeat of Baillie (10th Sept. 1780) By N. K. Sinha
- The Battle of Pillalore, 1780 By M. V. Krishna Rao
- An Account of the Late Engagement in India Between the East-India Company's Troops and Hydery Ali Cawn (The London mercury : containing the history, politics, and literature of England, for the year 1780)
- Call of Empire: From the Highlands to Hindostan By Alexander Charles Baillie
- Account of the Last Battles and Death in India of Colonel William Baillie of Dunain 1780-1782 By Charles Fraser-Mackintosh
- History of Tipu Sultan By Mohibbul Hasan
- Narritive of the Disaster which befel the Detachment, under the Command of Colonel Baillie, near Madras, on September 10th 1780, by Capt. Alex Read, Aid-de-Camp to Colonel Fletcher, the 2nd in Command
- A free inquiry into the various causes of the alarming state of our affairs in the East Indies. With some cursory observations on the military talents and conduct of Hyder Aly By James Capper
- An account of the action fought the 10th of September between the army of Hyder Ally Cawn, and a detachment from the English army commanded by Lieutenant Colonel William Baille, near Conjeveram; with some other particulars previous to that engagement. Translated from a journal of Hyder Ally's campaign in the Carnatic, kept by a foreign officer of rank, who during that period attended the Mysore army as an Envoy from his Nation
- A Regrettable Incident By Major E. E. Forbes
- Historical Sketches of The South India History Vol. 3 By Mark Wilks & Murray Hammick
- When the Tiger Fought the Thistle: The Tragedy of Colonel William Baillie of the Madras Army By Alan Tritton
Further Reading
- Memoirs of the Late War in Asia By William Thomson
- A Brave but Unfortunate Officer - Colonel William Baillie By A. Cassells
- Rocketmen: Pollilur 1780 - Scottish Military Disasters By Paul Cowan
- The Life of Hyder Ally: With An Account of His Usurpation of the Kingdom of Mysore By Francis Robson
- Tiger By The Tail: Pollilur 1780 - History's Worst Battles and the people who fought them
- The Life of General the Right Honourable Sir David Baird, Bart
- Rustum Jung (Chevalier de Lalée) By Alfred Lehuraux
- The State at War in South Asia By Pradeep P. Barua
- The Wandering Army: The Campaigns that Transformed the British Way of War By Huw J. Davies
- The Seir Mutaqherin Or Review of Modern Times By Seid Gholam-Hossein-Khan
- The Anarchy: The Relentless Rise of the East India Company By William Dalrymple
- Memoirs of the Late Philip Melvill, Esq. Lieut. Gov. of Pendennis Castle, Cornwall
- British relations with Haider Ali, (1760-1782) By B. Sheik Ali
Comments