| Second Anglo-Maratha War | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of theAnglo-Maratha Wars | |||||||
 TheBattle of Assaye, a painting by J.C. Stadler | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
 Peshwas Baroda StateSupported by:  Mughal Empire | Supported by Kingdom of Bharatpur[1] | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| Units involved | |||||||
Lake & Wellesley:[2]
| Shock infantry forces | ||||||
Second Anglo-Maratha War (from 1803 –1805) was a large conflict within theMaratha Empire involving theBritish East India Company. It resulted in major loss of territory for the Marathas, including regions around Delhi and in present-day Gujarat falling into direct Company rule.
The British had supported thePeshwaRaghunathrao in theFirst Anglo-Maratha War, and they continued with his son,Baji Rao II. Though not as martial in his courage as his father, the son was "a past master in deceit and intrigue". Coupled with his "cruel streak", Baji Rao II soon provoked the enmity of Yashwant Rao Holkar when he had one of Holkar's relatives killed.[3]
The Maratha Empire at that time consisted of a confederacy of five major chiefs: the Peshwa (Prime Minister) at the capital city ofPoona, theGaekwad chief ofBaroda, theScindia chief ofGwalior, theHolkar chief ofIndore, and theBhonsle chief ofNagpur. The Maratha chiefs were engaged in internal quarrels among themselves.Lord Mornington, theGovernor-General ofBritish India had repeatedly offered a subsidiary treaty to the Peshwa and Scindia, butNana Fadnavis refused strongly.
In October 1802, the combined armies of Peshwa Baji Rao II andScindia were defeated byYashwantrao Holkar, ruler of Indore, at theBattle of Poona. Baji Rao II fled to British protection, and in December the same year concluded theTreaty of Bassein with theBritish East India Company, ceding territory for the maintenance of a subsidiary force and agreeing to treaty with no other power. The treaty would become the "death knell of the Maratha Empire".[3]
This act on the part of thePeshwa, their nominal overlord, horrified and disgusted the Maratha chieftains; in particular, theScindia rulers ofGwalior and theBhonsale rulers ofNagpur andBerar contested the agreement.
The British strategy included Maj. Gen.Arthur Wellesley securing theDeccan Plateau, Lt. Gen.Gerard Lake takingDoab and then Delhi, Powell enteringBundelkhand, Murray taking Badoch, and Harcourt neutralizingBihar. The British had available over 53,000 men to help accomplish their goals.[3]: 66–67
With the logistic assembly of his army complete (24,000 men in total) Wellesley gave the order to break camp and attack the nearest Maratha fort on 8 August 1803.[4] On the same day he took the walledPettah of Ahmednagar (town adjacent to the fort) byescalade.[5][6]
TheAhmednagar Fort surrendered on 12 August after an infantry attack had exploited an artillery-made breach in the wall. With the pettah and fort now in British control Wellesley was able to extend control southwards to the riverGodavari.[7]
In September 1803,Scindia forces lost to Lake atDelhi and to Wellesley atAssaye. On 18 October, British forces took thepettah ofAsirgarh Fort with a loss of two killed and five wounded. The fort's garrison subsequently surrendered on the 21st after the attackers had erected abattery.[citation needed] British artillery pounded ancient ruins used by Scindia forces as forward operating bases, eroding their control. In November, Lake defeated another Scindia force atLaswari, followed by Wellesley's victory overBhonsle forces atArgaon (now Adgaon) on 29 November 1803.[8]
On 17 December 1803,Raghoji II Bhonsale of Nagpur signed the Treaty of Deogaon[3]: 73 inOdisha with the British after the Battle of Argaon and gave up theprovince of Cuttack (which included Mughal and the coastal part of Odisha, Garjat/the princely states of Odisha,Balasore Port, parts ofMidnapore district of West Bengal).
On 30 December 1803, theDaulat Scindia signed theTreaty of Surji-Anjangaon with the British[3]: 73 after theBattle of Assaye and Battle ofLaswari and ceded to the British,Hisar,Panipat,Rohtak,Rewari,Gurgaon,Ganges-Jamuna Doab, theDelhi-Agra region, parts ofBundelkhand,Broach, some districts ofGujarat and the fort ofAhmadnagar.
The British started hostilities againstYashwantrao Holkar on 6 April 1804. Yashwantrao was somewhat successful as he harassed the British forces by guerilla warfare. However, he didn't receive the expected help from Scindia who had already signed a treaty with the British. He went to Punjab and soughtRanjit Singh's help with no success. The lack of resources compelled him to come to terms with British.
The Treaty of Rajghat, signed on 24 December 1805, forcedHolkar to give upTonk,Rampura, andBundi to the British.[3]: 90–96
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: publisher location (link)
| Preceded by | Anglo-Maratha Wars | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Indo-British conflicts | Succeeded by |