‘Perhaps we are wrong to think of conducting war as we would in Europe,’ Arthur suggested. ‘As you say, the distances are too great. The only way an army could stay in the field for long enough to cover the necessary ground is to be resupplied on the march.’
Ball nodded.‘It would make sense, sir, but the supplies of grain that we would need could not be met by the villages in the mofussil - sorry, the hinterland.’
Arthur smiled politely. ‘I understand the word, Major. But I wasn’t thinking of gleaning what little the natives had grown for themselves. I was thinking that our columns could be supplied by the brinjarris.’
Ball raised an eyebrow at the suggestion, then considered it carefully for a moment. The brinjarris were almost a separate nation in India, raising huge herds of bullocks which they contracted out, or used to carry excess grain and rice across the subcontinent in search of a decent profit. Ball nodded. ‘It might work, provided they could be assured that they would make money. Certainly it would relieve our commanding officers and their staffs of the burden of arranging supplies.’
‘That’s what I thought. Do you have any contacts with their headmen?’
‘I know some of the local boys. I could arrange a meeting with them, if you wish, sir.’
‘I’d be most grateful. One other thing.These bullocks that the brinjarris use, would they be suitable for drawing guns?’
‘Cannon?’ Ball pursed his lips for an instant. ‘I don’t see why not. We could arrange a trial and see.’
‘Then let’s do it.’Arthur nodded amiably.‘If the bullocks prove a success, then we may be a step nearer taking the fight closer to our enemies.’>
‘Very well, sir. I assume you’ll want an intermediary when you meet the headmen, someone to translate for you.’
‘I’d be grateful. My Hindoostani is coming along, but I would rather not rely on it at present.’
Ball raised his eyebrows. ‘You’re learning Hindoostani?’
‘Yes. Why not? You seem surprised, Ball.’
‘I am. It’s a rare officer of the King’s regiments who bothers to learn more than a handful of words. It’s different for the officers in the Company battalions. We have to live with the sepoys. Makes sense for us.’
‘I would have thought it makes sense for any Englishman serving here, whether he is employed by the Crown or the Company.’
‘I agree. But you would have a hard time convincing most of the officers of that, sadly.’ Ball considered the young colonel for a moment before he continued. ‘Frankly, I wish there were more here like you, sir. It’s what England needs in India if the place is ever to become more than an asset on the Company’s balance sheet. If there were more men like you, then there’d be a fine future for India.’
‘The future of India?’ Arthur mused. ‘I’ve been thinking of little else since I arrived here. Believe me, before I return home, I will have made my mark on these lands and their peoples.’
Chapter 25
Spring gave way to summer and the heat increased to stifling proportions, but Arthur continued to drill his men as often as possible until the 33rd moved with precision in response to his commands. They soon sweated off the extra weight they had gained on the voyage from England and became as fit and hardy as they had ever been. Arthur had persuaded the quartermaster at Fort William to provide his men with the lighter and looser uniforms issued to Company soldiers, but the men still grumbled under the weight of their backpacks, heavy boots and muskets.
He ordered that a firing range be set up in the fort, and once every fortnight he had the men perform a live fire drill, the sound of their muskets echoing round the fort and drawing curious glances from those not used to it.The cost of gunpowder was such that few armies anywhere in the world allowed their soldiers to discharge their weapons off the battlefield. But Arthur had no intention of putting the request for powder through official army channels. Instead, he drew on the stocks of the East India Company who had plentiful supplies of powder and ball in their Calcutta arsenal.
Naturally the quartermaster protested, and Arthur cordially invited him to write a letter of complaint to the board of directors in London, in the happy knowledge that time and distance would mean that any dispute over his actions would take years to resolve. At the same time, Arthur was writing long letters to his brother Richard, urging him to put his name forward when His Majesty’s government and the Company decided to find a replacement for Sir John Shore. He filled the pages of his letters with detailed reports on any aspect of India that might be of use to his brother: descriptions of the geography, the natural resources that England might harvest, the loyalties or otherwise of its peoples and carefully judged assessments of any Europeans who might help or hinder the expansion of British influence in the subcontinent. Most important of all Arthur outlined the threats to British influence in India which would need to be overcome before any grand vision for the future could become a reality. In addition to the resurgence of French involvement in the area, there were a number of powerful native warlords who must be reduced to client status.
In the south, there was Tipoo Sahib, ruler of Mysore, whose lands stretched to the borders of the Madras presidency and dominated the Carnatic. Tipoo had long harboured a hatred of the English, as his father had before him. His capital at Seringapatam was a strongly fortified city built on an island in the Cauvery river. It would have to be taken by storm, and that meant the creation of a practical siege train and supply system to allow the English army to operate nearly three hundred miles from Madras.
Then, in the heart of India, there was the Nizam of Hyderabad. Though the Nizam was far less hostile to English interests, he was a weak man, easily manipulated, and his army was large and well trained, principally by French mercenaries.The Nizam, like Tipoo, was being deliberately cultivated by the French who no doubt hoped to provoke both rulers into an open confrontation with England and the East India Company.
North of Hyderabad was the vast sprawl of the Mahratta confederacy, composed of kingdoms ruled by warlords at the head of huge armies of mounted warriors. Here too the French were busy building their relationships with gifts, promises and military advisers.
All three powers would have to be brought to heel, Arthur wrote to his bother, by diplomacy if possible, by force if not. But the key to success lay in fighting them one at a time. If they ever united in common interest against English forces then they must surely succeed in driving the English out of India. It was a sobering prospect, yet much had to be risked in pursuit of the vast wealth and influence that England might gain from exerting itself in India and the far east.
‘Manila?’ Arthur’s eyebrows rose. ‘That’s in the Philippines, isn’t it?’
‘Yes.’ Sir John nodded. ‘There will be a force leaving from Calcutta and another one from Madras.They’re to rendezvous at Penang before proceeding to Manila. Now that we’re at war with Spain our government wants us to extend the conflict into their colonies, and hit their trade. Manila’s their largest trading colony in the area. If we can take Manila then only the French will present us with much danger on this side of the world.’
Arthur took a sharp breath. ‘Not just the French, sir. You’ve read the reports.Tipoo is building up his forces. I can’t believe he won’t be tempted to wage war on us before too long. And if we send men to take Manila, then we’re offering him a grand opportunity to attack us when we’ll be at our weakest. In the present circumstances the last thing we should be doing is spreading ourselves too thinly.’