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973:, in memory of Hassan, the son of Wallajah. But on 13 November, a spy alerted Clive to the oncoming assault. The enemy advanced, driving before them elephants whose foreheads were armed with iron plates. It was expected that the gates would yield to the shock of those living battering-rams. But the huge beasts no sooner felt the English musket-balls, than they turned round and rushed furiously away, trampling the multitude which had urged them forward. A raft was launched on the water which filled one part of the ditch. Clive, perceiving that the gunners at that post did not understand their business, took the management of a piece of artillery himself, and cleared the raft in a few minutes.
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708:, was outraged at the weak British response to French expansion. He proposed a plan to the governor at Madras, Thomas Saunders. Rather than challenge the strong Franco-Indian forces at Trichinopoly, he would strike at Arcot, Chanda Sahib's capital city, with the goal of forcing Chanda Sahib to lift the siege at Trichinopoly. Saunders agreed, but could only part with 200 of the 350 British soldiers under his command. Those 200 soldiers and a further 300 sepoys along with 3 small guns and eight European officers marched towards Arcot from Madras on 26 August 1751. On the morning of 29 August they reached
614:. Both European powers entered into agreements with local Nawabs and princely states, primarily for trade contacts but also hoping to gain influence over the territories that provided trade goods and tax revenue. As England and France were rivals in Europe, they carried on their rivalry to the new Eastern trade frontier by way of extending their support to rival Nawabs in India. The Indian princes were ambivalent toward the Europeans. As much as they appreciated the income from trade, they primarily desired the military might the Europeans could supply to tip the local balance of power in their favour.
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Late in
October a battery of artillery arrived from the French base at Pondicherry and was positioned northwest of Clive's position. It soon knocked out one of Clive's large cannon and damaged another. For six days the French pounded the walls, destroying a section of wall between two dilapidated towers. The British tried to plug the gap with trenches, wooden palisades, and piled-up rubble. Another battery was set up to the southwest and created another breach.
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only sixty days' provisions, but an ample supply of water. The Arcot fort was about a mile in circuit, with a low, unsubstantial parapet; some of its towers were in dilapidated condition and virtually useless as artillery positions. The moat was in several places fordable, and in other places completely dry. Clive's force was also reduced by disease and casualties to a mere 120 Europeans and 200 sepoys.
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about Clive's victory, the siege of Arcot marked a sea change in the
British experience in India. Clive's biographer Mark Bence-Jones wrote, "It may have been luck, it may have been bungling on the part of the enemy, but it created the legend of English courage and invincibility which was to carry English arms in India from one success to another".
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From
Conjeeveram to Arcot is 27 miles (43 km) and the troops of Clive, in spite of a delay caused by a tremendous storm of thunder and lightning, reached Arcot in two days of forced marching. The garrison left by Chanda Sahib to defend Arcot, struck with panic at the sudden coming of the foe, at
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The struggle lasted about an hour. Four hundred of the assailants fell, while the defenders lost only five or six men. The besieged passed an anxious night, looking for a renewal or the attack. But when day broke the enemy were no more to be seen. Under cover of fire, Raza Sahib had raised the siege
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Clive occupied the fort in the city centre, allowing Raza's troops to man taller buildings overlooking the walls. Clive attempted a sortie to drive the newcomers away, but ran into intense fire from newly occupied buildings. His attack managed to kill most of the French artillerymen, but he suffered
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Where the moat was dry the assailants mounted with great boldness, but the
British fire was so heavy and well directed that they made no progress. The rear ranks of the British kept the front ranks well supplied with a constant succession of loaded muskets, and every shot told upon the living mass
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Back in Madras
Governor Saunders scraped together a few more soldiers and received some new recruits from England. In the third week in October a force of but 130 British and 100 sepoys finally got on the way. Unfortunately for the defenders, the relief force was intercepted and forced to retreat.
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Chanda Sahib's garrison was encamped a few miles away, blocking the arrival of any resupply or reinforcements. Two sallies against them failed, so Clive decided on a night attack on 14 September. It was so successful the entire force scattered in fear, while Clive's men incurred no casualties. Two
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Arcot, a city of 100,000 at the time, quickly came under Clive's control, since he ordered that there be no looting and he returned property Chanda Sahib had confiscated to its rightful owners. He immediately began gathering supplies and fresh water, and reinforcing the city's defenses. There were
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Many in southern India, including some of the attacking soldiers, joined the
British company's army. When the British began to seriously recruit and train the men from the armies and provinces they conquered, they ended up with a top-notch army of sepoys mixed with a handful of British Army units
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Completely surrounded, the defenders soon began to suffer. Cut off from outside water, the fort's reservoir was brackish. Food, thankfully, was not a problem. The besieging force, manning the nearest houses, shot at anyone who moved. The small defending force exhausted itself trying to maintain a
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Clive's force had achieved an amazing feat in the face of the overwhelming numerical odds against them, but in India numbers were not always the telling factor. The death of the assault commander in the final charge broke his force's spirit. Whatever the combination of circumstances that brought
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Trichinopoly. was supported by a handful of his own men and about 600 British troops. As the
British commander did not have a reputation for inspiring confidence, British authorities in other parts of India were on the verge of writing off Trichinopoly and the entire south to the French.
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troops arrived in the neighbourhood of the city and intercepted some ammunition going to the enemy. They attempted to enter the city but finding every street in the city barricaded. They contented themselves with plundering and setting fires to the houses after which they retreated.
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days later word came that
Governor Saunders had sent two large cannon. Clive sent almost his entire force to escort the guns to the city, and the handful that remained drove off two night attacks, taking advantage of the darkness to disguise their low numbers.
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to relieve the besieged garrison. The messenger returned to the fort safely and brought a letter from Murari Rao to Clive in which he said he would immediately send a detachment of
Marathas to assist the defenders of Arcot.
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died in 1748, the
British and French supported rival claimants to the throne and the French candidate ultimately won out. In another disputed succession of the Carnatic which was ruled by the Nizam's deputy, the
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The siege dragged its slow length along. Provisions and ammunition were on the point of exhaustion, and when the fiftieth day was reached, Clive's only hope lay in the assistance promised by Morari Rao, a
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in his intrigues and military campaigns to become Nawab of Arcot. The net result of the above two important events was the British factory and port situated at Madras was surrounded by hostile territory.
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assigned to India. France lost her colonial empire ambitions, and the fall in her fortunes in India was made worse by French losses a few years later in the
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Raza Sahib resolved to venture an assault, and fixed it for 14 November, a day on which is celebrated the great Muhammadan festival of the
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once abandoned the fort, despite their larger numbers. Clive and his forces took over the city and the fort without firing a single shot.
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With Clive in India, Or, the Beginnings of an Empire - G. A. Henty - Google Boeken
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as its capital, which claimed to exercise authority over the entire South. The
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of India was in its last throes and rule reduced only to
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clerk who had served in the company's forces during the
1107:. Internet Archive. London, Constable. p. 46.
42:Robert Clive fires a cannon in the siege of Arcot
929:, assisted by a small number of troops from the
637:. Farther to the south, a Hindu king reigned at
481:(23 September – 14 November 1751) took place at
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1219:Sieges involving the British East India Company
126:British gain influence over the French in the
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1022:. A.P.H. Publishing Corporation. p. 156.
1020:Battles of the Honorourable East India Company
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886:. Unsourced material may be challenged and
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765:. Unsourced material may be challenged and
594:trading interests with factories, ports at
563:In the early part of the 18th century, the
1068:. Edinburgh: Ballantyne, Hanson & Co.
1043:Full text of "The makers of British India"
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906:Learn how and when to remove this message
785:Learn how and when to remove this message
1064:pp.37–38, W.H. Davenport Adams (1894),
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633:– was ruled by the Nizam's deputy, the
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1131:The Life of Robert, First Lord Clive
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478:
476:
433:
429:Trichinopoly
346:
324:
304:Chanda Sahib
250:Robert Clive
196:
145:
140:Belligerents
120:becomes the
112:
81:12°54′0.00″N
28:Part of the
15:
710:Conjeeveram
608:Pondicherry
449:Golden Rock
96: /
1203:Categories
1006:References
946:Murari Rao
842:Morari Rao
721:Raza Sahib
670:Asaf Jah I
645:. Inland,
619:Asaf Jah I
517:Background
444:Chingleput
314:Raza Sahib
270:Murari Rao
184:(Wallajah)
989:Aftermath
867:does not
746:does not
664:When the
623:Hyderabad
569:Old Delhi
454:Seringham
419:Divicotta
971:Moharram
651:palegars
627:Carnatic
596:Calcutta
342:Marathas
319:Strength
118:Wallajah
68:Carnatic
59:Location
983:Vellore
963:Maratha
888:removed
873:sources
835:Maratha
767:removed
752:sources
691:besiege
643:Tanjore
592:British
573:British
557:(right)
489:led by
424:Tanjore
1111:
1026:
848:Battle
647:Mysore
612:Madras
604:Bombay
600:Madras
577:French
347:5,000
205:France
153:
109:Result
1179:Clive
950:Arcot
935:Arcot
806:Siege
655:naiks
483:Arcot
439:Arnee
434:Arcot
414:Ambur
72:India
64:Arcot
1109:ISBN
1073:ref2
1070:ref1
1024:ISBN
871:any
869:cite
750:any
748:cite
602:and
586:The
575:and
477:The
359:120
354:300
335:200
330:300
325:600
51:Date
882:by
761:by
653:or
340:400
1205::
1002:.
668:,
598:,
513:.
501:,
66:,
1117:.
1032:.
937:.
909:)
903:(
898:)
894:(
890:.
876:.
788:)
782:(
777:)
773:(
769:.
755:.
391:e
384:t
377:v
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