Battle of Laswari

Battle of Laswari
Part of the Second Anglo-Maratha War
Plan of the battle of Laswaree
Date 1 November 1803 Location Laswari village, near Alwar, Rajasthan Result Company victory
Belligerents
British East India Company	Maratha Confederacy
Commanders and leaders
General Lake	Ambaji Ingle Daulat Rao Sindhia Ragoji Bhonsle II
Strength
10,000 Plus an unknown no. of troops from Alwar	9,000 Infantry 5,000 Cavalry
Casualties and losses
"slightly over 800"[1]	around 7,000 killed[1]

The Battle of Laswari took place on 1 November 1803 near Laswari village, Alwar.^[2] It was part of the Second Anglo-Maratha War.

The British under Gerard Lake were anxious to finish the war by neutralizing the last substantial force that the Maratha confederacy possessed, consisting of twelve battalions of regular infantry trained by the adventurer Chevalier Dudrenec. Dudrenec deserted the Marathas and command fell onto Ambaji Ingle, a veteran Maratha officer.

Lake decided to dispense first with his artillery and later with his infantry in a series of forced marches to catch up with the Maratha force. Lake initially encountered the enemy force with just three brigades of cavalry, but the British troopers by repeated charges were able to contain the Maratha Army until the British infantry arrived.

The British units, commanded by Lake, were about 10,000 men strong, opposing Sindhia's force of 9,000 veteran infantry and 5,000 cavalry under the command of Ambaji Ingle. The British units were also supported by additional allied troops from Alwar.

HM 8th Light Dragoons at the Battle of Laswaree 01

The Maratha infantry made a most gallant defence, standing their ground until the survivors laid down their arms. The cavalry also suffered heavily. The British captured 72 guns and a large quantity of ammunition and stores. Lake later wrote, "I never was in so severe a business in my life or anything like it… these fellows fought like devils, or rather like heroes".^[3]

"The casualties on both sides were very heavy. The Company lost many officers, including Maj. Gen. Weir, Col. Vandeleur and Maj. Griffith. Lake's son was also killed."^[4]

On 17 December 1803, Raghuji Bhonsale (II) of Nagpur signed the Treaty of Deogaon with the British after the Battle of Laswari and gave up the province of Cuttack including Balasore.

In this battle, the people of the Meena tribe of Shahjahanpur fought a lot and drove the British away.

General Lake and his son at the battle of Laswari

References

1. Riddick, John F. (2006). The History of British India: A Chronology. Praeger. p. 31. ISBN 978-0313322808. Retrieved 31 December 2019. 1 Nov. 1803. At Laswari Lord Lake defeated a force of seventeen battalions led by the French Commander, Colonel Dudrenec. British casualties numbered slightly over 800 in what was evaluated later as a difficult close run victory. The Marathas lost about 7,000 killed and 71 pieces of artillery.
2. "Laswari - british and troops".
3. Brigadier Peter Young; Brigadier Michael Calvert (1977). A Dictionary of Battles Volume 1: 1715 to 1815. London, New York: New English Library, Mayflower Books. p. 79. ISBN 978-0-450-02842-7.
4. Naravane, M.S. (2014). Battles of the Honorourable East India Company. New Delhi: A.P.H. Publishing Corporation. pp. 77–78. ISBN 9788131300343.

• Cooper, Randolf G.S. (2003). The Anglo-Maratha Campaigns and the Contest for India: The Struggle for Control of the South Asian Military Economy. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp. 200–206. ISBN 978-0-521-82444-6.

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