Revolution to Regency#1: The Armed Forces of Mysore parts 4 & 5

 

Part 4: Tactics.

Mysorean tactics suffered from the same difficulties as other Indian armies that had adopted European style infantry and artillery whilst retaining their traditional cavalry forces. The two sides of the army really required completely opposite and incompatible styles of warfare. The infantry and artillery needed set piece, stand-up fights, backed up by masses of slow moving baggage and support units in order to defeat the enemy whilst the cavalry required a more fluid style of warfare depending on movement, raiding enemy supply lines, targetting their villages and towns and destroying the will to resist rather than physically destroying the armed forces. The idea was to gain wealth and power through tribute after all -not to remove the enemy completely. This dichotomy was exacerbated in those armies that depended on European officer corps to direct their forces as those same Europeans had little understanding of the traditional Indian style of warfare and very often little understanding of even their own.

There was also the problem of loyalty amongst European officers, most of whom were fine, loyal men -as long as they were being well treated and given plenty of opportunity to  “shake the pagoda tree” for training their troops and seeing off the occasional bandit incursion. Once war broke out between their masters and a  force that involved other Europeans (the EIC) though, they were inclined to desert as it was far safer and, with luck, they would be able to retain the fortunes they had amassed. Apart from anything else, there was always the possibility for European officers that they could become causes of war for their homelands. Mysore avoided this particular problem at least, by avoiding too great a reliance on European (French) officers.

Illustration 14: Tipu and his staff urge on his troops.

Haider and Tipu were both advocates of large batteries of artillery capable of firing at long range in support of their infantry and cavalry, but their greatest tactical innovation lay in the use of rockets or “ban” in large concentrations as at the defence of the Sultanpet Tope at the siege of Seringapatam with hundreds being fired off. One inaccurate missile might be easy to avoid but masses of them? Which way do you jump? And how do your horses and beasts of burden react?

Being trained by French officers, much of the army's tactics were based on those of the French though like all sepoys, the regulars fought in four lines rather than three. Tipu gave much information on tactics in the “Futtah al Majahiddin”, unfortunately though, the copy translated by Kirkpatrick from the Persian original says only this about them:-

“The two sections referred to are very short, both together not exceeding sixteen lines. Being, however, expressed in technical language, some parts of which I do not clearly understand, I decline attempting a regular translation of them, lest I should do injustice to the original. It may suffice to say, that a corps is supposed to be advancing by Indian files, of two men abreast, through a wood, in which situation it is assailed, on each flank, by the enemy. In this case, the troops in question, having been previously formed into platoons, the rear platoon, after facing to the right and left outward, and giving fire, was to divide, and advance to the head of the corps, the right hand files taking the right, and the left hand files the left, of the platoons in their front. In this manner was each platoon successively to advance, till the enemy was dispersed, or the wood was passed. The third chapter is introduced by some general observations on the different modes of attack; in the course of which, notwithstanding all that has been elsewhere said against it by the Sultan himself, the shubkhoon, or night-assault, is declared to be the best, when the situation of the enemy is favourable to it; that is, when he is encamped on a plain, or in an open country. Particular directions are accordingly given for conducting this species of attack. In the introductory part of the third chapter, the author likewise describes the manner of attacking the Nazarenes {i.e. the English) in a plain. It is stated to be of infallible success; and triumphant allusions arc made, on the occasion, to the actions with Colonels Baillie and Braithwaite, during the last irruption of Hydar into the Carnatic. “

A tantalising glimpse of what we might have learned!

In common with their Mughal forebears, Mysore’s generals preferred to fight behind defences -if not forts, then lines of earthworks, pallisades &c. to channel enemies into killing zones whilst keeping them at arms length.

Cavalry tactics were very simple and consisted of wild charges (from in woods or dead ground if possible) with each man being his own general and in no formation other than en murail -in a wall or mass. Further than this there is very little concerning tactics beyond the exhorting on the troops by their officers in a style clearly learned from their French instructors:-

"On charging with the bayonet," the commanding officer was directed to exclaim, at the moment of charging,“The Sultan of the Faith is living and well!" which words were to be repeated aloud by all the troops. This mode of attack is highly commended by the author, as being that in which the assailant suffers least and the enemy most.”

Quite clearly a Farsi equivalent of “Vive L'Empreur!”

Illustration 15: “The Sultan of the Faith is living and well!"

Part 5: The dress of the Mysorean Army.

There are few images of Mysorean army (or any other Indian army come to that).

Most of what can be discovered comes from books written and printed largely in

the 18th and 19th centuries and from often wildly inaccurate European

illustrations and paintings, but frescoes in Tipu's Daria Daulat Bagh palace give a

wonderfully vivid impression of the army during the reign of Haidar Ali in 1780 at

the Battle of Pollilur near Conjeevaram during the Second Anglo- Mysore War. It

was waged between two forces commanded by Tipu Sultan and Colonel William

Baillie of the HEIC. The army of the East India Company surrendered and

suffered a high number of casualties. It was the worst loss the British suffered on

Illustration 16: The explosion of an ammunition tumbril caused by a Mysorean
rocket at the battle of Pollilur which led to the defeat of the HEIC force. From a
mural at the Daulat Palace in Seringapatam

the subcontinent until WW2. Benoit de Boigne, a French officer on escort duty with the British at the battle site, wrote, "There is not in India an example of a similar defeat." Of the 3853 British men under Baillie's command, only 50 officers and 200 men were taken prisoner after the "general massacre". Tipu and Haider’s victory was partly due to a Mysorean rocket hitting one of the HEICs ammunition tumbrils. The subsequent explosion killed many of the British sepoys and disorganised and demoralised the rest.

The Pollilur frescoes, painted as pro-Mysore propaganda show us many of the troop types in Haider Ali and Tipu's army. The cavalry consists of light cavalry in the Mahratta style and more heavily armoured troops in the late Mughal style, presumably with a mix of mail, scale and quilted armour armed with swords, spears and bows. There are also camel mounted gunners similar to the Qajar (Persian) zamburaks, large numbers of elephants and several bands. In the infantry, there are units of bowmen, spear-men, pikemen though few armed with matchlocks or muskets which were common later on.

What is noticeable about Tipu and Haider's force is its' uniformity. Each infantry unit shown in the Pollilur murals probably intended to represent a “cushoon” or battalion, is shown wearing tunics of the same colour though turbans and sashes of differing colours are common which suggests some sort of uniform. Many figures are dressed in white and most likely represent the irregulars with which Tipu bolstered his regular troops on realizing that they were still incapable of beating British troops on their own.

Other troops -bowmen and archers are dressed predominantly in pink, the same shade as the British troops which must therefore represent red, or in blue. Then  there are the other troops, the regulars. These are dressed in the typical Mysore “tiger stripes” Paul Stephenson, in his articles in the Miniature Wargames magazine so often copied on the internet, mistakenly calls the purple tunic with white diamonds and red or pink turbans the “tiger stripe” or “bubris,” though the “bubris” is actually the shape of the “stripe” rather than a specific combination of colours. And can also seen in the shape of Mysorean bayonets. Tipu had a tiger fetish and these stripes appear in a range of colours in the fabrics of uniforms,

saddle-cloths, elephant drapes and banners.

The "Bubri" or tiger stripe

This shape is the “bubri” and whilst western drawings of Mysorean soldiers tend to show tunics with diamond patterns, this is the shape shown on Mysore paintings such as the Pollilur frescoes. Infantry tunics in this pattern can be seen in reds, purples, browns, yellows, ochres, oranges and greens with the bubri itself either as above or in solid colours such as black, red or pink. In the Pollilur frescoes, the predominant colour of the heavy cavalry is an aquamarine blue - particularly the helmets which is possibly showing them as being steel or steel reinforced quilt. As well as the more normal troop types, Mysore fielded several thousand rocket armed troops, both foot and camel mounted. The camels seem to have been surprisingly blasé about the rockets, unlike elephants and horses who were terrified by them. As mentioned above, descriptions of Mysorean soldiery tend to be highly contradictory. One source will give turbans as red or pinkish red, others will give them as green for non-Mysorean troops and green with reddish edges for those native to Mysore. In some, trousers are white, in others, some are white with pink stripes though it is not mentioned whether these are true stripes or the “bubri.”

Some say that the cavalry were dressed in the same way as the infantry whilst

others say the exact opposite -that the cavalry wore what they liked. One of the few certain sources are illustrations in the “Futtah al Mujahiddin” a Mysorean book of the period which shows infantrymen in blue turbans with ochre tunics with red/brown bubris, calf length white trousers and blue sashes. In “Tiger of Mysore,” Denys Forrest says:-

“Every chronicler pays tribute to the smart appearance and excellent

equipment of the Mysorean armies, as well as to their remarkable

steadiness under fire. The infantry wore tunics of the famous "tiger"

pattern, with or without short trousers.

”Of the cavalry he states:-

Tipu's regular cavalry was armed with carbines and swords but did not

wear any particular dress. His cavalry wore no martingales and this was

a distinction by which the English could recognise them from the cavalry

of the Nizam.

This gives a very clear picture of the Mysorean regulars as being very little different from any other Indian horseman. Tipu had done away with the martingales as he felt they deprived his horses of some of their power and freedom of movement. Although concerning the cavalry of the Nizam of Hyderabad, the following give equally valid glimpses of that of Mysore. In “A Narrative of Cpt. Little's Detachment.” Edward Moor gives us the most wonderful description:-

We had very few opportunities of observing the discipline or customs of the Nizam's, or, as they called it, the Moghul camp; but an idea may be gained of some part of their equipments from the following extračt from an Asiatic newspapers.

“The retinue of the prince on his visit to the palace of Bangalore was large; and his attendants variously and irregularly accoutered. Some of them were superbly dressed, and elegantly mounted upon horses and elephants. Many of the Sirdars were in armour, and none of them deficient in weapons of war, both offensive and defensive. Two swords, from a brace to half a dozen pistols, a spear, kriss, and match-lock

Illustration 18: Close-ups from the above book. this was taken from the "Futtah al Mujahaddin."

carbine, constituted the moving arsenal of most of them. But one hero in particular, cut a conspicuously grotesque a figure, that I cannot avoid, giving you a more particular account of his appearance.—He was mounted upon a tall. thin skeleton of a horse, from whose shoulders and flanks depended as a barricading, twenty or thirty weather-beaten cow's tails: two huge pistols appeared in his capacious holsters, while one of still larger dimensions, placed horizontally upon the horse's neck, and pointed towards his ears, which were uncommonly long, dreadfully

menaced the assailants in front. His flanks and rear were provided with a similar establishment of artillery of different sizes and calibres: one piece was suspended on each side of the crupper of the saddle, and a third centrically situated, and levelled point blank with its muzzle towards the poor animal's tail, contemptuously frowned upon such as dared posteriorly to reconnoitre him. The rest of his armament consisted of a couple of sabres, a spear, a match-lock and shield, all of them bearing honourable testimony of antiquity and hard service. He wore besides, a rusty coat of mail, from the lower part of which a large red quilted jacket made its appearance; a turban of enormous size, and a vizor, whose peak, or frontpiece, was unable to conceal an illustrious pair of brown bristly whiskers, that grimly proječted from it on each side. If you add to all this his yellow boots, large enough for an elephant, and the affected stateliness and gravity of his demeanour, the annals of Quixotism will hardly present to you a knight of a more ludicrous and

fantastical equipment.”

and in “Wellington's Campaigns in India” (appendix IV) RG Burton, gives the

following description:-

The Nizam's cavalry at this period is thus described in Wilks' History of Mysore'.—"They were rated at 15,000 and really amounted to 10,000 men, well mounted on horses in excellent condition ; and to those who had never before had an opportunity of observing an Indian Army, their first appearance was novel and interesting. It is probable that no national or private collection of ancient arms in Europe contains any weapon or article of persona] equipment which might not be traced in this motley crowd : the Parthian bow and arrow, the iron club of Scythia, sabres of every age and nation, lances of every length and description, and matchlocks of every form, metallic helmets of every pattern, simple defences of the head, a steel bar descending diagonally as a protection to the face ; defences of bars, chains, or scale work, descending behind or on the shoulders, cuirasses, suits of armour, or detached pieces for the arm, complete coats of mail in chain-work, shields, buckles and quilted jackets, sabre-proof. The ostentatious display of these antique novelties was equally curious in its way ; the free and equal use of two sword-arms, the precise and perfect command of a balanced spear eighteen feet long, of the club which was to shiver an iron helmet, of an arrow discharged in flight, but, above all, the total absence of every symptom of order, or obedience, or command, excepting groups collecting round their respective flags ; every individual an independent warrior, self-impelled, affecting to be the champion whose single arm was to achieve victory ; scampering among each other in wild confusion ; the whole exhibition presenting to the mind an imagery scarcely more allied to previous impressions of reality than the Actions of an Eastern tale, or the picturesque disorder of a dramatic scene."

This gives a wildly different view of the army to the modern one where all infantry wear the “tiger stripes” and the cavalry are dressed in the same manner. Although some of Tipu's infantry did wear the bubris, their use was fairly limited.

In “Narrative Sketches of the Conquest of Mysore” there is the following description:-

The Tiger being the figurative Royal animal in the nations of India, as the Lion is in the British dominions, it's representative badge was found upon almost every article of the late Sultaun's princely property whether in his palace, in his fortresses, or in the field. His apartments and furniture exhibited the Tiger stripe; his ordnance bore the Tiger's head round the muzzle; and his favourite troops, (my emphasis) as already noted, were distinguished by the Tiger jacket.

As a slight digression, we all know the story about The Presence's collection of man-eating tigers that he paraded daily, taunted, fed prisoners to etc. The preceding paragraphs of the same book give us this somewhat different tale:-

“The late Sultaun, as well as his predecessor Hyder, had a strong partiality for these animals, and found in them a constant source of amusement, at staled hours of the day, when (according to the accounts of those who have escaped from his service) he ordered them, together with all his horses and elephants, to be paraded before him in one of the courts of his palace, The Tigers, at their hours of show, were generally led forth -decked with rich mantles of green and gold hanging to the ground, with a kind of embroidered cloth bonnet on their heads, by means of which their eyes could be immediately covered, in case of a mischievous turn in their gambols. After some time passed in experiments on their docility and dexterity, the Sultaun himself gave them each a ball of sweet-meats, which they took from his hand very adroitly with their paws, and retired, while their princely feeder, from an open veranda, or balcony, received the successive salams of his Elephants, as they marched round to their stables. These Tigers are of the spotted kind, (by the natives called Chittas) and trained up to hunting, instead of dogs: they are easily familiarized to the company of man, their keepers leading them every day into those places, where the greatest crowds were assembled in the streets of Seringapatarn. The striped, or Royal Tiger, has never been tamed, or domesticated, by any attempts yet made.”

Other descriptions tell us that:-

“The infantry was disciplined after the European manner with Persian words of command. lts' dress consisted of a jacket of cotton of a mixed purple colour. with spots in imitation of those of a tiger. red or yellow turban, and short, loose trousers.

Illustration 19: Elephants with howdahs for Cutchery commanders

The soldiers recruited in Mysore were called zumra and were given green turbans with a reddish border; while those recruited outside the kingdom were called ghair zumra and their turbans were wholly green. “

Even less is known about the Mysore artillery than the infantry, the only description stating that their uniform consisted of a white tunic covered in large, round blue spots.

Illustration 20: Clothes worn by Tipu Sultan

Illustration 21: Various Regular Infantry Colour Schemes

Illustration 22: Mysore Spearmen variations

Illustration 23: "Tiger stripes"

Illustration 24 Mysorean archers and Mirs

Illustration 25: Mysore regulars outside the Daulat Daria Palace . by Gold

Illustration 26: Pikeman and rocketeer

Illustration 27: Rocket stick
used as a standard pole

Illustration 28: A Rocketeer

Illustration 29: Mysore regular.
by Gold

Illustration 30: Mysore Regulars

Illustration 31: armour
I

llustration 32: Mysorean officer 1792

Illustration 34: Quilted
armour made from metal
reinforced embroidered silk.

Illustration 35: Zamburak and standard

Illustration 36: Quilted helmet from Seringapatam

Illustration 37: Mysorean Slhadars

Illustration 40: Tipu's fabric helmet

This helmet made of quilted fabric and lined with velvet belonged to Tipu Sultan, ruler of Mysore in South India (r.1782-1799). It was taken from his palace after the Siege of Seringapatam, when the army of the East India Company defeated Mysore, and Tipu Sultan was killed. The helmet has an embroidered Persian inscription on the fabric inside, stating that it had been dipped in the waters of the Zamzam well at Mecca and was therefore deemed to be impenetrable. The helmet was presented to the Indian Museum in London 'by the besiegers of Seringapatam', and was transferred to the South Kensington Museum in 1879.

Illustration 41: Light cavalry

Illustration 42: Rear view of a bargir

Illustration 43: Bargir cavalryman

Illustration 44: Mounted Musicians

Illustration 45: Tipu Sultan at Polillur

Illustration 46: Tipu greeting the general Mir Sadik Gaffur at Polillur

Illustration 47: A Cutchery commander on his elephant with horse waiting behind.

Illustration 49: A cavalry
helmet from Seringapatam

Illustration 50: Elephant and howdah