With Clive in India; Or, The Beginnings of an Empire

by G. A. Henty

A week afterwards six ships, with six hundred fresh troops from England, arrived.

The Mysoreans, who had brought food into Pondicherry, made many excursions in the country, but were sharply checked. They were unable to supply themselves with food, and none could be spared them from the stores in the magazines. Great distress set in among them, and this was heightened by the failure of a party, with two thousand bullocks with rice, to enter the town. This party, escorted by the greater portion of the Mysorean horse from Pondicherry, was attacked and defeated, and nine hundred bullocks, laden with baggage, captured. Shortly afterwards the rest of the Mysorean troops left Pondicherry, and marched to attack Trinomany.

Seeing that there was little fear of their returning to succour Pondicherry, the English now determined to complete the blockade of that place. In order to have any chance of reducing it by famine, it was necessary to obtain possession of the country within the hedge; which, with its redoubts, extended in the arc of a circle from the river Ariangopang to the sea. The space thus included contained an area of nearly seven square miles, affording pasture for the bullocks, of which there were sufficient to supply the troops and inhabitants for many months. Therefore, although the army was not yet strong enough to open trenches against the town, and indeed the siege artillery had not yet sailed from Madras, it was determined to get possession of the hedge and its redoubts.

Before doing this, however, it was necessary to capture the fort of Ariangopang. This was a difficult undertaking. The whole European force was but two thousand strong, and if eight hundred of these were detached across the river to attack the fort, the main body would be scarcely a match for the enemy, should he march out against them. If, on the other hand, the whole army moved round to attack the fort, the enemy would be able to send out and fetch in the great convoy of provisions collected at Jinji.

Mr. Pigot therefore requested Admiral Stevens to land the marines of the fleet. Although, seeing that a large French fleet was expected, the admiral was unwilling to weaken his squadron; he complied with the request, seeing the urgency of the case, and four hundred and twenty marines were landed.

On the 2nd of September two more men-of-war, the America and Medway, arrived, raising the fleet before Pondicherry to seventeen ships of the line. They convoyed several Company's ships, who had brought with them the wing of a Highland regiment.

The same evening Coote ordered four hundred men to march to invest the fort of Ariangopang; but Colonel Monson, second in command, was so strongly against the step that, at the last moment, he countermanded his orders. The change was fortunate, for Lally, who had heard from his spies of the English intentions, moved his whole army out to attack the—as he supposed—weakened force.

At ten at night fourteen hundred French infantry, a hundred French horse, and nine hundred Sepoys marched out to attack the English, who had no suspicion of their intent. Two hundred marines and five hundred Sepoys proceeded, in two columns. Marching from the Valdore redoubt, one party turned to the right to attack the Tamarind redoubt, which the English had erected on the Red Hill. Having taken this, they were to turn to their left and join the other column. This skirted the foot of the Red Hill, to attack the redoubt erected on a hillock at its foot, on the 18th July.

Four hundred Sepoys and a company of Portuguese were to take post at the junction of the Valdore and Oulgarry avenues. The regiments of Lorraine and Lally were to attack the battery in this avenue, Lorraine's from the front, while Lally's, marching outwards in the fields, was to fall on its right flank. The Indian battalion, with the Bourbon volunteers, three hundred strong, were to march from the fort of Ariangopang, across the river, to the villages under the fort of Vellenore; and, as soon as the fire became general, were to fall upon the right rear of the English encampment.

At midnight a rocket gave the signal, and the attack immediately commenced. The attack on the Tamarind redoubt was repulsed, but the redoubt on the hillock was captured, and the guns spiked. At the intrenchment on the Oulgarry Road the fight was fierce, and Colonel Coote himself brought down his troops to its defence. The attack was continued, but as, owing to some mistake, the column intended to fall upon the English rear had halted, and did not arrive in time, the regiments of Lorraine and Lally drew off, and the whole force retired to the town.