sultan's crescent

Chapter 136 Concerns brought about by Britain in India (two chapters in one)

"Your Majesty, don't the British have any other ideas?"

At this time Yusuf Pasha asked.

"As far as I know, Warren Hastings has controlled the most prosperous areas in India, and the authority of the Mughal emperor in the past has long been gone.

If we march at this time, we will not only deter the Qajar dynasty, but also completely take over the inland areas. This will undoubtedly give the British a feeling that we are trying to return to the Persian Gulf and open up the old sea route again. tolerated. "

Hearing Yusuf's question, Selim did not speak. This issue is actually quite complicated. If it is not handled properly, it will indeed easily arouse the vigilance of the British.

After all, Britain's destiny lies at sea.

But the Arab region needs to be resolved. The harassment of the Bedouins is intolerable to the Ottoman Empire. If left alone, the Wahhabis and Saudi Arabia will rise from this land.

As for India, the British had not completely conquered India during this period.

In fact, for the Western colonists, their initial idea was not to conquer India. These people really came with the idea of ​​​​doing business.

For example, the British, with the official permission of the Mughal Empire, the East India Company also continued to expand its trade presence. By 1647 AD, it had 23 trade points in India.

But soon, the British built castles around these trading points and turned a considerable number of trading points into military fortresses.

During this period, the British had already used these fortresses to take a series of military operations, but these military strikes were mainly aimed at other European countries that also colonized the surrounding areas in the name of trade, such as the Netherlands, Portugal, and Spain.

After all, we are all old Europeans. We are not Europeans if we don’t stab people with knives and use evil hands.

Under the British operation, the British East India Company quickly became the most powerful European "trading company" in India.

However, these military actions still aroused high vigilance among Mughal officials.

In 1689 AD, the Mughal Dynasty once sent a fleet led by General Sidi Yakub to launch a siege on Mumbai, which was entrenched by the East India Company.

The East India Company surrendered after resisting for a year, and they immediately paid the Mughal Empire a large amount of reparations, and promised to act prudently and abide by the law in the future, in exchange for the Mughal Empire's withdrawal from Bombay.

It can only be said that the European colonists were indeed able to stretch and shrink, and they would never give up when they should be soft.

By the way, Aurangzeb, the Indian emperor of this period, was considered the last Indian man from the late seventeenth century to the emergence of Nehru in the twentieth century.

Oh, he is still a Muslim. I feel that Ali Jinnah of the Muslim League has to blame him. Nehru should live with Gandhi, the master of hunger strike.

Until the beginning of the 18th century AD, the East India Company still did not have the guts to directly conduct military expansion in India because of the powerful central government of the Mughal Empire.

But this situation changed fundamentally in 1707 AD. In March of this year, Emperor Aurangzeb, who ruled the Mughal Empire for 3 years, died. Only two months later, the Mughal army was captured by the northern Indian army The Hindu rebel forces (the Mughal royal family embraced Islam) and the Maratha alliance were defeated.

After that, some military generals of the Mughal Dynasty were dissatisfied with the new emperor Bahadur Shah and launched a rebellion, and the Mughal Empire was divided.

As the pioneer of the civilized world, the British Empire immediately discovered that this situation was very suitable for its own positioning, and it quickly saw an opportunity to fish in troubled waters.

In 1717 AD, the British East India Company seized the power of taxation in Bengal, and the East India Company's colonization of India accelerated significantly thereafter.

By the mid-18th century, the early Portuguese-Dutch colonial power had faded and was replaced by competition between Britain and France.Britain and France entered India almost at the same time, and each had their own East India Company, which established strongholds on the coast to control local trade.

Both East India companies had local Indian maharajas as backers, and the companies' small numbers of mercenaries acted as goons for their allies.

Due to the endless competition for power among local forces in India, the two companies often clashed to support their respective allies. However, due to the limited number of mercenaries, these conflicts were not large-scale, and there were no battles or sieges.

In this context, the Carnatic region in southeastern India became an important starting point for the British to control India.

The British and French East India Companies soon established different local warlords and went to war with each other.

This war was very brutal, fought on and off for decades, and caused a total of about 100 million local deaths.

The military strength of the British East India Company also increased dramatically during this process. After all, an excellent army still had to rely on actual combat.

Beginning in 1756 AD, with the outbreak of the Seven Years' War, Britain and France fought not only in continental Europe, but also in major colonies.

The Carnatic War also expanded rapidly during this period, and soon spread to the whole of South India and Bengal.

On June 1757, 6, the army of the British East India Company defeated the local prince Daura supported by France in the Battle of Plassey in Bangladesh, and gained hegemony in the Bengal area.

The leader of the British army in this battle was Clive.

At that time, the old king of Bengal had not died for a few years. When the situation was turbulent, the French upheld the concept of never letting the British feel better. Clive's old opponent, Dubres, came to the headquarters of Bengal in person. Murshidabad.

This man was not stingy in his work. He directly gave 30 cannons to the Nawab (referring to the King of Bengal) as a meeting gift to encourage Siraj to rebel against the British.

The wavering Nawab immediately gave France trade privileges in Bengal. This series of actions aroused Clive's resentment. As a member of the British gentry, Clive would never tolerate adultery.

Under his arrangement, the East India Company had long been in contact with the dignitaries who were dissatisfied with the young Nawab, including General Ya Luthuf Khan and Nawab's uncle Prince Mir Jafar, and they all expressed their support for the British .

Clive did not trust these people, but out of concern for the fickle character and weak nature of the young Nawab, Clive decided to give the ruler of Bengal a fatal blow.

At the same time, news of the outbreak of the Seven Years' War reached India, and Clive soon occupied the French stronghold of Jinder Nagar in Bengal.

In order to express his dissatisfaction with the British, in April 1757, Siraj Nawab moved his army to Plassey, a small village on the bank of the Bhagirati River to the north to threaten Calcutta.

Clive, on the other hand, signed an agreement with Mir Jafar after paying huge bribes, that is, the East India Company supported the latter as the Nawab, and the latter would raise troops to fight with the British.

On June 6, Clive led his army northward from Kindernagar.

On June 6, through a report from a Dutch businessman, Clive learned that the Ketwa fortress was a storage place for the Bangladesh Army.

He immediately sent a small force with only a 6-pounder gun to attack by boat.

However, it was discovered by the defenders during the sneak attack at night, and it was delayed until Clive led the main force to arrive on the 19th.

At this time, the situation changed again. The envoy of Mir Jafar that Clive had originally planned to meet did not arrive. The more disturbing news was that the Nawab gathered all the troops, including Mir Jafar's troops, around him. Mir Jafar was almost beginning to waver, ready to abandon his agreement with the British to renegotiate relations with the Nawab.

This situation made Clive hesitate. His expeditionary force would face the entire army of Bengal.Clive gathered all British and Indian officers for a conference to discuss the situation.

At the meeting, most of the military officers, including Clive, advocated staying on the sidelines, trying to disintegrate the interior of Bangladesh on the one hand and waiting for reinforcements on the other.

But Naval Fleet Admiral Kutt insisted on an immediate attack. He believed that Bangladesh was still unstable and divided, and it was necessary to fight passively in order to preserve its strength.

The rainy season is coming. Losing this opportunity will give the Nawab enough time to consolidate his position. The morale of the troops is high and they can win on the battlefield. If it is delayed for a long time, it will damage the morale.

After hearing this analysis, Clive immediately changed his view and decided to attack immediately despite the opposition of most people.

On the 22nd, the expeditionary force crossed the Bhagirati River and, after marching two miles in heavy rain, arrived at a forest north of Plaxi Village, about 1.5 miles away from the Bengal Army camp.

Here Clive established his position. At 23 o'clock in the morning on the 1rd, the Bengalis discovered the British army. Siraj Nawab believed that this was an opportunity to annihilate the British and immediately led the entire army to dispatch.

It took 6 hours for the army to spread out in an arc in front of the British army.

At 7 a.m., on the hottest day of the year, the battle of Plassey, which will define modern Indian history, begins.

Clive's expeditionary force had about 900 Europeans and 2200 Indians, the core of which was the Royal 39th Grenadier Company and the 12th Artillery Company brought from the mainland.

The other troops were 3 East India Company troops, some naval sailors and European settlers in India.

These troops were equipped with flintlock muskets and received rigorous training, and some were battle-hardened.The expeditionary force's artillery only had eight 8-pounders and two howitzers borrowed from the Navy. Fortunately, well-trained gunners could fire 6-5 times per minute, which made up for the lack of quantity.

Before going to war, Clive organized two exercises for this unit, which basically ensured that the new recruits and veterans, and the British and Indian soldiers could coordinate.

Clive's opponent, Siraj Nawab, had about 35000 infantry and 15000 cavalry at Plasey.

The composition of his infantry is very chaotic, some are troops formed by princes, including traditional Indian armored infantry and arquebus infantry imitating Europeans, but most of them are strong men temporarily recruited from various villages, equipped with short knives.

These infantry units did not understand the language and were not strictly disciplined, and they were never the main force of the Bangladesh Army.

The elite of the Nawab were his cavalry. These armored spear cavalry received generous salaries and conducted hunting training in the dry season and rainy season every year. They always maintained a high fighting spirit. They were the regular army of Bengal.

The Bangladesh Army has more than 50 24-pound and 36-pound guns but lacks gunners. The addition of more than 40 French gunners who escaped from Kindernagar has slightly eased this situation. However, due to the large number of rockets equipped, the firepower of the Bangladesh Army Still very impressive.

Yes, it's the rocket, and Selim's eyes are opened to the fact that this thing is still in use.

In addition, there are also war elephants in the Bangladeshi army that are chained, armored and loaded with arrow towers.

But in battles with Europeans, these war elephants often pose a greater threat to one's own side.

Clive's command post was in a hunting lodge on the Bhagirathi River, which afforded an overview of the area.

Clive observed the Bengal Army's movements and ordered his troops to spread out between the woods and the river bank.

His choice was quite correct. In this case, the left flank of the expeditionary force was surrounded by forests, and the right flank was surrounded by rivers. Both flanks were covered. At the same time, there were several large and small ponds as obstacles in front of them, and the terrain was very favorable.

Taking [-] steps back, even if the expeditionary army is defeated, they can retreat into the woods to avoid the enemy cavalry, so that the entire army will not be wiped out.

Clive deployed four regular troops on the front, and the local Bengal troops deployed on the right wing. The artillery was placed in a hut along the river bank to obtain a better shooting angle, so that it could shoot the enemy's left and right flanks at the same time.The entire front was about 800 yards wide and 300 yards deep.

The Bengal army belonged to various princes and generals. Siraj's favorite general Mohan Lal led 3000 artillery and infantrymen equipped with matchlocks to attack the front of the British army (the firepower of this unit alone exceeded the entire expeditionary force) Siraj's most loyal general Mir Madan led 7000 armored infantry and 5000 heavy cavalry along the river bank to support Mohan Lal.

Prince Mir Jaffa commanded his own 15000 men to detour the British right wing, while General Ya. Lutuf Khan was responsible for covering the former's flank. The other troops followed Siraj and were deployed outside the camp.

Clive had a good view from the hunting hut as the Bengal army advanced.

Clive was also overwhelmed by the sheer number of the enemy, characterized by a large number of heavy artillery mounted on a huge six-wheeled platform.

He tried to get in touch with Mir Jafar, but the fight soon started.

The troops on both sides exchanged fire at a distance of 500 yards. After an hour, all the Bengal artillery reached the front line. Clive ordered the troops to retreat into the woods. This was a correct decision, which enabled him to finally win the victory.

Due to the cover of trees, the power of the heavy artillery was greatly reduced, and the advantage in the rate of fire of the flintlocks temporarily made up for the lack of quantity.

However, as the battle was stalemate, the casualties of the expeditionary army continued to increase. At this time, although Clive noticed that the left wing of the Bangladeshi army was standing still, he still could not determine Mir Jafar's intentions. If he joined the battle at this time, the expeditionary army would be hit by the enemy.

Clive and his officers even privately considered retreating into the woods and raiding the nawab's tent at night.

At this moment, the battlefield situation reversed. A heavy rain suddenly fell at 12 o'clock and lasted for an hour and a half. The heavy rain silenced both parties.

It can only be said that it was God's blessing that Ying was brought up. After all, such good things are rare.

After the rain, all the muskets and artillery in Bengal lost their function because of the gunpowder. However, Clive's Anglo-Indian troops finally looked like a civilized world army at this time. They did not let the gunpowder be harmed at all.

At this time Clive showed extraordinary calmness and ordered the troops to stand still until the enemy made a move.

This decision was quickly rewarded. Mir Madan thought that the firearms of the British and Indian troops had also failed, so he personally led the cavalry to launch a full-line charge.

Bangladesh's charge was met with head-to-head shooting, the front army fled backwards, the rear army fell into the mud again in the chaos, and Mir Madan was also killed in the charge.

This was the decisive moment of the battle. Based on his own judgment, Kelaiwu believed that as long as he defeated the frontal enemy army, the vacillating Mir Jafar would definitely fall to his side.

In the afternoon, including the troops covering the flanks, the entire expeditionary force launched a counterattack. The chaotic Bangladeshi army was about to collapse, and all heavy artillery was destroyed.

After witnessing the annihilation of the army loyal to Siraj Nawab, Mir Jafar officially fell to Clive and began to attack Siraj.At this point the outcome was decided, and the remaining troops loyal to the Nawab who fled back to the camp surrendered, and the Battle of Plassey ended.

After that, Britain can basically take India completely, it is only a matter of time.

Now, after Hastings returns home, the British government has intended to directly take over India.

After thinking about this incident, Selim couldn't help but feel a little worried. After all, this was the first battle of the French Revolution, and the British hadn't ended yet. Would his behavior touch the other party?

"Your Majesty, Your Majesty, what do you think?"

Yusuf Pasha's cry brought the Sultan back to reality, not everyone supported Se the Great's idea.

Just how tolerant the British are to this place still needs to be tested.

　Thanks to Sui Mingjun, Pa Pa Pa You, Fool’s Self-Reading and Book Friends’ monthly tickets.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)