Glory to the French Navy: Admiral Napoleon, Conqueror of the World

Chapter 18 - Destruction of British East India Company

Having defeated the British East India Fleet at sea, I successfully landed 15.000 troops in Calcutta. Moreover, the equipment of the landed troops includes state-of-the-art Minié rifles and Chassepot rifles.

There are stories that Talleyrand, the pro-British French Foreign Minister, pushed forward the Egyptian expedition plan to politically undermine me. But realistically, Britain is not just declining but almost doomed. It should be a disappointment for Talleyrand and the royalists. And as preparations for combat against Britain progressed, the year changed to 1799.

The damage from the Third Anglo-Mysore War, which took place from February 6 to February 24, 1792, was deeply ingrained in the Kingdom of Mysore. However, with the reinforcement of our French troops, the morale of the Mysorean army was high.

I delivered a speech before them.

"We have come to defeat the oppressive British army. Let us fight together!"

"YEAAH!"

And Tipu told me, "First, we'll defeat the small British army in the north."

I nodded. "Then I'll hold off the army in the east."

On February 11, an army of 37.000 British troops led by George Harris and 16.000 troops from the Nizam of Hyderabad, who were under British control, crossed the border from Madras (now Chennai) to Mysore and advanced westward. Originally, Arthur Wellesley should have been among them, but he's been lost at sea, so he's not there. At the same time, James Stuart's British army of 6.000 men also marched south from Bombay (now Mumbai) to Mysore.

Tipu Sultan, on the other hand, had 50.000 men trained by French military advisors who, after advancing northward, ambushed Stuart's troops at Periapattam, forcing the British army that had advanced from the north into a tactical retreat.

"All right, let's thoroughly attack the British supply units."

Harris' army advanced towards Mysore slowly, with the entire army spread out for miles, including the transport units for food and ammunition.

"Then, I'll rely on you for guiding us through the back roads."

"Yes, leave it to me."

I had local guides lead us through the back and animal trails, while infantry units moved in platoons. We targeted the British supply units carrying food and ammunition on carts pulled by castrated bulls, horses, and elephants. We first sniped the commanders with Minié rifles, causing confusion among the enemy, then launched attacks. Even if the defending forces approached, we defeated them with Chassepot rifles. We seized as much food and ammunition carried by the bulls, horses, and elephants as possible, and after burning what we couldn't take back, we calmly withdrew, thoroughly executing the raid operation.

The British and the army of the Nizam of Hyderabad exceed 50.000 in number, so they will soon find themselves starving. Furthermore, by conducting night raids to seize or burn the food and ammunition accumulated at the British army's various positions, we kept pressuring the British forces.

"Sending a large army deep into enemy territory and extending the supply lines indefinitely won't lead to victory."

However, ordinarily, attacks by Mysore would be repelled by British musket fire. But this time, the muskets used by the British army in India were already outdated. It was only possible to carry out such operations with weapons like the Minié rifles with superior range or the Chassepot rifles with faster loading times. Despite repeatedly plundering the locals and earning their resentment, the British army continued to advance. However, desertion became rampant, and the signs of exhaustion were undeniable.

"Let's deliver the final blow to the British."

The British army finally reached terrain where they could deploy their large forces. They attempted to engage us in a decisive battle head-on, taking advantage of their numerical superiority, but were thrown into disarray by long-range artillery fire from Tipu's steel rocket artillery units, which caused explosions in the British ammunition depots.

Effectively losing their artillery capabilities, the British and the Nizam of Hyderabad's armies attempted to confront the Mysorean army and the French formations with muskets. However, they found no success against the French formations and, although they fought bravely against the evenly matched Mysorean army, the morale decline due to the shortage of food and ammunition led to a decrease in their fighting strength. As a result, the British were defeated in a frontal battle, suffering a significant number of casualties amounting to a third of their entire army, and eventually surrendered to us.

This practically signified the destruction of British military power in India. The British East India Company's territories were occupied by France, and the Nizam of Hyderabad came under the rule of the Kingdom of Mysore. The lands previously owned by the British East India Company now belonged to us, the French, and as a result, we successfully rebuilt our bases in South India and East India.

"With this, can we ensure stable food supplies to Madagascar and Mauritius?"

Marmont nodded. "Well, yes, sir."

We formed a military alliance with the Mysore's Tipu, granting autonomy to Mysore and the Nizam of Hyderabad, while administering the territories formerly under the British East India Company with French-style governance, ensuring non-interference in each other's internal affairs.

"Well, he should be able to manage India well."

He deprived Hindu Brahmins of their privileges by Islamizing the state religion, aimed to run an efficient state by removing private tax collectors and punishing them for personal enrichment to reduce the tax burden on the common people, and invited craftsmen from France to develop sericulture and silk industries. It would only create confusion to interfere at this point.

"Well then, we will leave the garrison of the East India Company behind and return to Egypt," I decided.

This was because we received information that Austria and the Ottoman Turks were planning to invade Egypt.