Battle of Assaye

BelligerentsCommanders and leadersArthur Wellesley
James StevensonRaghuji II
Anthony Pohlmann
Daulatrao ScindiaStrength 6,500 (including two British infantry regiments and one cavalry regiment)
2000 camp followers
17 cannons 10,800 European trained Indian infantry
10,000–20,000 irregular infantry
30,000–40,000 irregular cavalry
100+ cannonsCasualties and losses 428 killed
1,138 wounded
18 missing 1,200–3,000 killed
3,000–4,500 wounded
98 cannons captured

The Battle of Assaye was fought on 23 September 1803 during the Second Anglo-Maratha War between the British and Maratha empires. An outnumbered British army led by Major-generalArthur Wellesley defeated a Maratha army under the command of Daulatrao Scindia and Raghoji II Bhonsle near Assaye in western India. The battle was Wellesley's first major victory and one he would later describe as his finest accomplishment on the battlefield, even more so than his more famous victories in the Peninsular War and his defeat of Napoleon at the Battle of Waterloo.

In August 1803, Wellesley's army and a separate British force under the command of his subordinate ColonelJames Stevenson began pursuing the Maratha army, which had threatened to raid south into Hyderabad. After several weeks of pursuit and counter-marching, Scindia reinforced the Maratha army with his Westernised infantry and artillery as the two British forces closed in on his position. Wellesley received intelligence indicating the location of the Maratha encampment on 21 September and devised a plan whereby his two armies would converge on the Maratha position three days later.

On 23 September, Wellesley's force encountered the Maratha army 6 miles (9.7 km) farther south than he anticipated. Although outnumbered, Wellesley resolved to attack at once, believing that the Maratha army would soon move off. Both sides suffered severely in the ensuing battle; Maratha artillery inflicted large numbers of casualties among Wellesley's troops but the vast numbers of Maratha cavalry proved largely ineffective. A combination of bayonet and cavalry charges eventually forced the Maratha army to retreat with the loss of most of their guns, though Wellesley's army was too battered and exhausted to pursue.

Wellesley's victory at Assaye, preceded by the capture of Ahmednagar and followed by victories at Argaon and Gawilghur, resulted in the defeat of Scindia and Berar's armies in the Deccan. Wellesley's progress in the Deccan was matched by Lieutenant-generalGerard Lake's successful campaigns in northern India and led to the British becoming the dominant power in the heartland of India.