This “superb account of the British Army under Wellington in India reads like one of Bernard Cornwell’s Sharpe novels, or, better still, a Flashman novel” (Books Monthly). 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. “An absorbing account of Wellesley/Lord Wellington which shows how his actions in India had a significant effect on the development of the British Empire and events through to the modern era.—Highly Recommended.” —Firetrench “An eye opener on the power and influence of the East India Company at this time. A jolly good read.” —Clash of Steel

The career of Arthur Wellesley--the Sepoy General When most people consider the military genius of the Duke of Wellington it is as the commander of the British Army in Portugal and Spain during the Peninsular War and in the Waterloo campaign of 1815 when he brought to ruin the former emperor, Napoleon Bonaparte. However, Wellington (as Wellesley) learned his craft in India, commanding armies of native and British forces against the martial rulers of the sub-continent. This book chronicles Wellesley's campaigns during the Fourth Anglo-Mysore War against Tipu Sultan which terminated in the fall of Seringapatam and the subsequent Dhoodiah Waugh insurgency. The Second Anglo-Maratha War brought him one of his hardest won victories at Assaye. This early and formative period his career earned him the rank of major-general, undoubtedly influenced his personality and honed his military capabilities--including his decisive understanding of tactics, discipline, logistics and diplomacy. In fact, these were the years that created the greatest British military figure of his age. Leonaur editions are newly typeset and are not facsimiles; each title is available in softcover and hardback with dustjacket.

The Duke of Wellington made his military reputation not in fighting Napoleon's armies in the Peninsular War or at Waterloo - but in a series of colonial campaigns in the early days of British rule in India. Wellington - then Colonel Sir Arthur Wellesley - arrived in British-ruled Bengal in 1797 and over the next seven years fought a series of engagements, including sieges and pitched battles, against such foes as the bandit chief Dhoondiah Waugh, and the Mahratta confederacy, . He was uniformally successful and left India a General on the threshold of one of history's greatest military careers. This full official account of Wellington's Indian military apprenticeship, supported by excellent and detailed maps drawn up by the Army's Intelligence Branch, will interest students of the Duke's life, Napoleonic buffs and all those fascinated by Britain's role in India.

The author of Wellington in the Peninsula presents an in-depth study of the British military commander’s early career in Colonial India. Before Arthur Wellesley, the future 1st Duke of Wellington, faced Napoleon's armies, he developed his skills as a military commander in the far reaches of the British Empire. In India, Wellesley led his men to victory against the Tipu Sultan at the Battle of Mallavelly, and suffered injury at the Battle of Seringapatam. He would later put his experience of strategy and tactics to masterly effect against his most formidable opponent in years to come. Historian Jac Weller gives a complete account of Wellington's career in India, the battles and sieges he undertook, the challenges he faced, and the lessons he learned. Weller explores the first major steps in Wellesley's career and demonstrates how these early triumphs set him on the road that would eventually lead to Napoleon's defeat at Waterloo.