Wellington and the British Army’s Indian Campaigns 1798 - 1805

The Peninsular War and the Napoleonic Wars across Europe are subjects of such enduring interest that they have prompted extensive research and writing. Yet other campaigns, in what was a global war, have been largely ignored. Such is the case for the war in India which persisted for much of the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic periods and peaked in the years 1798?1805 with the campaigns of Arthur Wellesley - later the Duke of Wellington - and General Lake in the Deccan and Hindustan. That is why this new study by Martin Howard is so timely and important. While it fully acknowledges Wellington’s vital role, it also addresses the nature of the warring armies, the significance of the campaigns of Lake in North India, and leaves the reader with an understanding of the human experience of war in the region. For this was a brutal conflict in which British armies clashed with the formidable forces of the Sultan of Mysore and the Maratha princes. There were dramatic pitched battles at Assaye, Argaum, Delhi and Laswari, and epic sieges at Seringapatam, Gawilghur and Bhurtpore. The British success was not universal.
AUTHOR: Martin Howard is a hospital consultant and an honorary visiting professor at the University of York. He has a longstanding interest in the Napoleonic Wars with a particular focus on the human dimension of the conflict and the lesser known campaigns. His most recent books in the field are Walcheren 1809: The Scandalous Destruction of a British Army and Death Before Glory! The British Soldier in the West Indies in the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars 1793-1815.
30 colour illustrations