Siege of Ahmednagar (1803)

01War declared

Scindia and Raghuji Bhonsle of Nagpur would not accept the Treaty of Bassein, by which the Peshwa had placed himself under British protection. Talks broke down on 3 August 1803. Wellesley, already in the field with the army that had restored the Peshwa to Poona, marched on Ahmednagar, the great Nizam Shahi fortress which Scindia then held. It was the nearest of Scindia’s strong places, and Wellesley wanted it before the rains ended and the rivers fell.

02Four days

On 8 August Wellesley’s infantry went over the wall of the pettah, the walled town beside the fort, with ladders, and took it after sharp fighting in the streets. Batteries were then raised against the fort itself. Once the guns had opened a breach, the killedar asked for terms and marched out on 12 August. The Company now held a strong place with stores on the road to the Godavari.

Battle · 23 September 1803 CEBattle of AssayeThe first great battle of the Second Anglo-Maratha War. Scindia’s European-drilled infantry and artillery fought the Company hard, and lost.Read →