Revolution to Regency#1: The Armed Forces of Mysore part 3

Part 3: The army on the march. 

All Indian armies of the 18th and early 19th centuries were fairly similar –even those of the East India Company. Perhaps the best way to describe them would be to say that they were like swarms of locusts devouring everything along their path. This was partly due to the nature of the supply system and partly due to that of the Indian sepoy or warrior who refused to leave his wife and family behind, which led to the need for transport not just for the army but for its’ dependents too. The situation was even worse amongst the cavalry, both regular and irregular, for an Indian horseman saw himself as being a breed apart and above the work of caring for his mount(s) so it was normal practise for each cavalryman to be accompanied by a syce (groom) and at least 1 grass cutter along with the usual bhisties (water carriers) cooks etc. it has been estimated that for every man under arms, there would be five of six non-combatants. 

Illustration 12: The army on the march

The writer of “Narrative Sketches of the Conquest of Mysore.” Tells us:- 

"The cavalry, especially the native corps, necessarily bring along with them a vast number of attendant: every trooper, besides his family, has a grass-cutter attached to him; for the grass is in this country dug up by the roots, being washed from the sand and dried in a net; and it is a sufficient day's work for one person to root out twenty-four hours' food for a single horse. Each troop is also furnished with a large copper kettle for boiling the gram or beans for the horses, as it is reckoned unwholesome to let them have it raw. A quantity of this grain, sufficient to serve the regiment for a certain time, must also be conveyed upon bullocks, allowing each ox to carry about a month's store for a single horse.” 

There was a great lack of any organised commissary in Indian armies on the march. All armies were supplied by Brinjaries – itinerant grain sellers who travelled in large groups, often thousands strong with their wares carried on the backs of draught bullocks. They could be present on an ad-hoc basis as private agents working for profit, as transport agents for a campaign, paid in advance for their wares by the army commanders or hired for a set period buying their own grain and selling it on. An army was very much a commercial enterprise with the brinjaries – a sort of Indian white van man- at the heart of the whole system, which the leaders saw as a means of raising revenue to help keep the army in the field. The lack of commissaries was remedied by bazaars in which anything required by the army from a stirrup leather to a lady of easy virtue could be bought. Each senior commander had their own bazaar which would be set up in front of their own tent and standard. The bazaar was a well run cash-cow for the leaders and ruler. First of all there was a palputtee (tent tax) levied upon all the shops of the bazaar, according to their ostensible means. The palputtee in four Mahratta bazaars was estimated at the following sums:- Duolut-gunj 3,000 rupees, Danuwulee 3,000 rupees, Chuonree 2,000 rupees, Surrafa 6,000 rupees. Similar sums would be raised in Mysorean bazaars.. Although this description from “Narrative Sketches of the Conquest of Mysore.”is actually about the British or EIC army, it still holds good for that of Mysore:- "A bazar is also an indispensable appendage to an Eastern army: it consists of a whole camp of native sutlers, they provide and sell to the best advantage all those necessaries of life, 'which it would be highly inconvenient for the soldiers to carry about with them ; such as curry-stuffs, tobacco, rice for the superfluities of the army, meat, cotton-cloth, gram for the officers horses in short, they furnish out an excellent market, where one may get anything at a certain price. " In addition to the superabundant multitude of attendants already described, every Sepoy in the army carries with him to camp his whole family, be they ever so numerous, who live upon his pay and allowances of rice from the Company. This practice, when properly considered, is really justifiable in them, for an Asiatic must have his wife, whatever may be his circumstances; nor is it customary upon any occasion for man and wife to be separated. The wife shares the hardships of war with her husband in the most cheerful manner, let them be ever so perilous, and follows him wheresoever he goes.” Besides the bazaars, there were also daily fairs (except Friday), at a particular spot in the camp, which were called Goodurees, or Nukas. Cattle of all kinds, arms and old clothes, were sold at them; and the purchasers paid a duty of six and a quarter per cent, upon the price. Strangers who bring goods to the camp generally put up at the tent of some established merchant, who accommodated them, and disposed of their goods, receiving a commission of six and a quarter per cent of the sale price for his trouble. Similarly, taxes were levied on any goods sold within the bazaar or grain sold by the brinjaries. In “Letters from a Mahratta Camp” Thomas Duer Brougton gives us a wonderful description of the design of a camp, which although of a Mahratta army would have been no different in a Mysorean army:- “On marching days, the Beenee Wala, or quarter-master general, moves off at an early hour; and upon reaching the ground where the army is to encamp, he plants a small white flag, to mark the spot where the tents of the Muha Raj (the title by which any Hindoo prince is commonly designated), are to be pitched; and which collectively are termed the Deooree. The flags of the different Bazars, or markets, are then fixed as they arrive; always in the same relative situation to each other, and generally in as straight a line as the ground will admit of. The shops, called Dokans, are pitched in two lines running parallel to each other; and thus form one grand street from the front to the rear of the army. This street often extends from three to four miles; the Deooree being situated about three-fourths of the whole length from the front, having only the market called the Chuoree Bazar in its rear. The different chiefs encamp to the right and left of the principal street; generally, however, in the neighbourhood of some particular Bazar. Their respective encampments are made without the smallest attention to regularity, cleanliness or convenience: men, horses, camels, and bullocks are all jumbled together in a mass ; which mass is surrounded on all sides by others of a similar nature, in a continued series of comfortless confusion. This forms what is termed the Bura Lushkur, or main army; and is generally about as many hundred yards in breadth, that is from flank to flank, as it is miles in length from front to rear ; thus exactly reversing the order of encampment which obtains in the disciplined armies of Europe. The shops, which compose the Bazars, are mostly formed of blankets or coarse cloth stretched over a bamboo, or some other stick for a ridge pole, supported at either end by a forked stick fixed in the ground. These habitations are called Pals; and are of all sizes, from three to eight or nine feet high, and proportionally wide and long according to the circumstances of the owner. Under these miserable coverings not only are the goods exposed for sale, but the family of the shopkeeper resides throughout the year and for many years together. The wealthiest merchants of the Bazars use these Pals; but the military men, and others attached to the camp, generally possess a dwelling of somewhat a more comfortable description, regularly made of two or three folds of cloth in thickness, closed at one end, and having a flap to keep out the wind and rain at the opposite one: these are dignified with the name of Ruotees, and come nearer to our ideas of a tent. The Ruotees, like the Pals, are of all descriptions and size; and m st of the chiefs of the highest rank inhabit them. I do not believe that there are, throughout the camp, ten tents fashioned like our European marquees, even including those of the Muha Raj himself. Much is made of the lack of cleanliness by writers of the period. Broughton says:- 

“Our station is in the rear of the whole; and we generally contrive to keep at the distance of about a mile from the army; their disgusting want of cleanliness rendering them most disagreeable neighbours. It is impossible to take a ride in the vicinity of the great camp without being poisoned by the stench arising from the carcases of horses, bullocks and camels, which no one takes the trouble to remove, and a variety of other nuisances.” 

 Forbes writes:-

 “The number and variety of cattle necessarily attendant on an Asiatic army is astonishing; the expense of feeding these animals, as also the difficulty of procuring provender, is very great; and their distress for water in a parched country and sultry climate, often fatal. Exclusive of the Mahratta cavalry trained to war, were many thousand horses belonging to the camp-followers; the bazaar alone required twenty thousand bullocks to convey the commodities of the shopkeepers, besides a number of small horses and asses. Some thousand camels were employed to carry the tents and baggage; but the elephants, proud of their distinguished elevation, were appropriated to some honourable service, or, covered with caparisons of embroidered velvets and scarlet cloth, decorated with gold and silver fringe, were destined to carry the houdahs of Ragobah and his chief officers.”

Useful these animals might be for transport and other services but their feeding was not the only problem they confronted the army with. There was no separate place for herding and stabling them, and sometimes lack of care and underfeeding told so heavily on their health that they proved a source of disease. Broughton says that :- 

 “The men in the Maratha army often lived pell-mell with their mounts, and this unsanitary condition sometimes led to the outbreak of epidemic when the distress of the poor sufferers knew no bounds. For although the camp was well supplied with druggists and quacks, there were but few qualified physicians, and hospital arrangements were either unknown or deemed unnecessary.” 

 The reliance on brinjarries and foragers in the immediate vicinity of the army led to a situation where, unless the army kept moving, the worse conditions within camp became. Prime areas of grazing would be claimed by groups of horsemen who would fight or chase off anyone who tried to take any of it as fodder for their own animals. The longer the army stayed in one place, the further the foragers were forced to go from the camp and the harder it became to find fodder for the livestock and even thatch from village houses was taken with the looties, kazakhs and pindarees stealing anything movable, slaughtering the locals and burning their homes. The survivors would begin to starve along with their tormentors and it mattered little whether the army belonged to an enemy or their own state unless the headman could raise enough money to buy off its’ leader. Although the army could move rapidly at times, this meant sending on the cavalry and infantry ahead of the baggage train -a risky tactic as it left the advance force without supplies of food and ammunition and also put the baggage train at risk of capture or destruction from enemy cavalry. Haider and Tipu Sultan kept their troops in exceptional order, and what they did could not be done by other native armies. In 1781 Haider marched one hundred miles in two days and a half using forced marches by cavalry and infantry alone, and in November 1790 Tipu’s entire army marched sixty three miles in two days. These achievements though were purely short term and unsustainable over longer periods. Normal practise was for the army to stay together marching at the rate of the slowest units, namely the baggage train and the jinsee (artillery park). The average rate of march was 7.8 miles per day It was usual for the artillery park to lead the way whilst on the march, partly because its’ rate of travel was so slow and partly to allow it to traverse bad roads before they became churned up by the following hordes. Artillery was very important to the various Indian armies who saw the guns-the bigger the better, as sources of prestige and no matter how much they held the army up or how many times they got bogged down, they would not be abandoned, regardless of how little value they were on the field of battle. After the artillery would come the bulk of the cavalry followed by the Sultan or whoever was in charge of the army and his staff, who, in turn was followed by the baggage train with the infantry bringing up the rear. The whole formation would be surrounded by clouds of irregular horsemen acting as scouts and screens against attack. Tipu was quite capable of ordering troops to travel light and fast when necessary. In a letter to his brother he writes:-

 "To BURHANUDDEEN; dated 26th Wasaaey. (25th September) Four Kushoons have likewise been dispatched [to you] with Ghazy Khan (the principal Pindari commander in Tipoo Sultan's employ.) You must leave all the women and other rubbish, (emphasis is in the translation if not the original letter) together with the superfluous baggage belonging to your army, at Unwutti, and crossing the river with the above-mentioned [Ghazy Khan], repair directly to the Presence, instead of halting [as directed by our letter of yesterday), at the distance of six or seven coss from the victorious army. You will bring on with you, however, your light baggage, as well as all your warlike apparatus, with the exception of one of your three great guns. This, with whatever spare wheels you may have, you must leave with your heavy baggage: with which, such of your bullocks as are in bad condition must, likewise, remain. The two Lumchurs (the translator takes the Lumchur to have been a long gun, calculated for distant cannonading) are to accompany you.” 

Which perhaps tells us as much about Tipu's attitudes towards women as about the need to travel light. Where possible, the army would only march in the dry season as the monsoon rains turned many of the rivers from narrow channels with wide sandy flats on either side into raging, swollen torrents that were almost impossible to cross. If it was necessary to cross a river and there were no fords, either bridges of boats were built or boats consisting of sewn skins over a bamboo frame, rather like a large, elongated coracle, were made and the army ferried across. A good commander would ensure that teams of lascars and sappers would be sent ahead to prepare boats ready for the army’s arrival. Finally, there was the problem caused by the excesses of baggage that officers believed their status and comfort deserved and required, again from “Narrative Sketches of the Conquest of Mysore.” about the British or EIC army but still relevant:- 

“Thus every officer in the line equips himself according to his abilities and rank ; and thus usually accompanied is the march of an army in India; but it by no means follow, that the captors of Seringapatam attended to all this kind of preparation for personal convenience. Apologies, however, are to be made for carrying such an ample stock into the held: no supplies of any kind are to be found in the country towns through which the army marches, as in Europe ; for. whenever an Indian war breaks out, the villages are instantly desolated, so that there is scarcely a chance of making the smallest acquisition toward tbe comforts, or even the necessaries of life, from the beginning to the end of a campaign.”

Illustration 13: Merchants

 Revolution to Regency#1: The Armed Forces of Mysore part 2

Mangalore Fort

CONTENTS

Introduction.

Part 1: The History of Mysore (in progress)

Part 2: The organisation of the Mysorean Army.

Part 3: The army on the march.

Part 4: Tactics

Part 5: The dress of the Mysorean Army.

Part 6: Flags, Banners and insignia of rank.

Part 7: Arms and Equipment.

Part 8: Army Lists.

Part 9: The Navy of Mysore.

Part 10: Glossary of Indian terms.

Part 11: Bibliography and sources.

Part 2:

Baillie surrenders to Haider Ali at Pollilur

The organisation of the Mysorean Army.

The army of Mysore began life as Mughal remnant but was rapidly transformed into a modern force organized and trained along European Lines, presumably using the drills then used by the French army. Haider and his son, not content with modernising the army, also saw fit to update their navy in order to control their own coasts and as a means of attacking their enemies. This navy can only be faulted in its' shortage of deep water vessels, the majority being coastal vessels such as Ghorabs (Grabs) and Galivats along with brigs, ketches and dhows. From his father, Haider Ali, Tipu Sultan or “The Presence” had inherited a system of compulsory service from which all feudal elements and ties had been removed.

The Mysorean armed forces answered directly to the ruler and he alone was responsible for promotions, rewards and punishments.

After Haider Ali's death, Tipu strengthened this personal control and given the prevalence of intrigues, coups and assassinations in the Indian states at this time one can hardly blame him. As far as possible he kept the army under his eye. He kept the army under his personal careful supervision and established a system of reports and checks laid out in the “Futtah al Mujahiddin”, a set of army regulations written by Zain-al-Abedin Mehdivi by order of the Sultan and following his ideas concerning organisation, duties and tactics. These checks and reports were not so much to encourage loyalty amongst the troops and officer corps so much as to ensure that should disloyalty be intended, that he the Sultan would know of it and be in a position to act.

Most regular troops were cantoned around Seringapatam and officers were never left in command of the same troops for very long. Certainly never long enough for them to foster feelings of loyalty to the officer rather than “The Presence” amongst the men. Although there was an official intelligence system in place to keep the Sultan informed of the morale of his regiments, it appears that Tipu encouraged certain Sipahdars (commander of a cushoon – roughly equivalent to a Colonel or Brigadier in the British army) to write to him over the heads of their commanding generals, even on matters of current strategy.

Eleven departments were established to look after the administration, organisation and welfare of the army. Tipu paid his soldiers a greater salary than did the Mahrattas and the Nizam and he imported superior breeds of horses, cattle and mules for his cavalry and the transportation of supplies. These animals were trained in Mysore and had their own special department called Amrit Mahal devoted to their upkeep.

Separate departments were also established for the construction of forts and the production of arms and ammunitions, with huge quantities of iron and steel said to be better than the quality of that produced in Europe being turned out. The regular forces were originally organised into cushoons, risalas and juqs, roughly equivalent to brigades, battalions and companies that were commanded by Sipahdars, Risaldars and Juqdars respectively but were reorganised by Tipu Sultan, who divided the infantry and cavalry into brigades (cutcheries), subdividing them into regiments, the infantry into cushoons and the cavalry into mokums.

Each cushoon contained 1392 men (of whom 1056 carried muskets) with a suitable staff, combatant and non-combatant. A company of rocket men was attached to each cushoon along with two artillery pieces. Tipu and his father Haider Ali also developed a military tactic of mass attacks by rocket brigades. However, Tipu was the first to have a full-fledged force of over 5000 rocket men and each cushoon, of which there were 27, had a company called a juq of 200 rocket men attached.

e were also separate sizeable regiments of POWs which included many Hindus and Christians forcibly converted to Islam through circumcision. (See Ahmedis and Assad Ilahi) Recruitment was fairly cosmopolitan with soldiers coming from neighbouring states as well as within Mysore. Most of the Hindus fighting in Tipu’s army were Rajputs and Mahrattas while the Muslims included Pathans, Mughals, Baluchis - a people closely related to the Pathans but who wore their hair long rather than cropped short- Sheikhs and Syeds -a Muslim sect who believed another prophet was to come after Mohamed- the recruitment from among st these people was encouraged because of their martial prowess. Tipu exempted brahmins, darweshes and merchants from military service.

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.

The cavalry force was divided into three establishments

1) Regular cavalry.

2) Silahdars, who provided their own horses.

3) Kazakhs, (from the same root as “Cossacks) or Predatory Cavalry. Of these the first called ‘Sawar Askar’, comprised three cutcheries, consisting each of six mokums of 376 troopers. The Silahdars mustered 6000 horse, and the Kazakhs 8000.

The most versatile of Tipu’s troops were the irregular cavalry, or Silahdars. In contrast to the regular horse, (Askars), these found their own arms and mounts. Their pay and allowances were adjusted accordingly. They and the irregular infantry were responsible for much of the devastation wrought by Tipu’s armies in the Carnatic and Malabar. Many, being hunters by profession were excellent marksmen with matchlocks, accustomed to pursuing tigers and deer in the woods and indefatigable in running down their prey, which in war time was an extremely useful skill.

There were several organisational changes made to the army of Mysore during the reign of Tipu Sultan, many of which were in the terms used rather than substantial. There were also several changes that appeared to have considerably decreased the size of the armed forces though, in light of the almost constant state of war between Mysore and the British, the Nizam of Hyderabad or various Maratha factions, it is more likely that these seeming reductions in forces led to an increase in the number of smaller, less unwieldy formations of troops.

At the start of his reign, Tipu's inherited army was organised into infantry cushoons (brigades) also spelt as kushoons or kushuns of 8 risalas (battalions) each of which in turn consisted of 8 companies called juqs or jowks. These cushoons each had their own integral artillery and rocket support, with each cushoon having (according to some sources) a juq of 200 rocketeers attached.

Each cushoon was commanded by a Sipahdar and had a bakhshi (paymaster) and a mutasaddis attached to it. Each risala was commanded by a risaldar (roughly equivalent to a lieutenant colonel,) each juq by a juqdar (captain). Below these came the Sarkheils, jamadars, dafadars and yazakdars. It was the sipahdars duty to look after the men of his cushoon and he was empowered to promote or punish the juqdars and other lower officers, though risaldars had to be reported to the Sultan for promotion or punishment. The sipahdar with the bakhshi and the mutasaddis, were required to take the muster roll of the troops once every month, and inspect their firelocks and accoutrements.

He was then to submit a report conjointly with the bakhshi He was to see that his cushoon was well supplied with arms and ammunition, that guns were kept clean and that parade was regularly held. lf he was faced with some difficulty, he was to consult the risaldars and take their opinions in writing. If their views differed

from his own the decision was to be taken by mutual agreement.

The duty of the bakhshi was the examination of the cushoons books and records and the preparation of a monthly statement on the battalions strength and the pay due each man He was also to collect the money and distribute it on the first Monday of every month.

The risaldar was responsible for the daily parades of the risala (except on Thursdays which were holidays) Another important officer was the saryasaqchi, who's duty was to visit his risala every day, observe its' condition and report first to the sipahdar and then to the jaish cutchery of the huzur (I have been unable to find out anything concerning this officer) and finally to the Sultan himself. This

officer was one of Haider Ali and Tipu's checks on the officer corps and had a role similar to a Soviet era political commissar.

The yasaqchi's duty was to keep the senior officers in touch with the men, report to them on the men's condition and carry their orders to their subordinates in time of war. If they merited promotion it was to juqdar and if demoted to sarkheil, so presumably they were some kind of ensign or officer cadet.

The Askar or Uskar (regular cavalry) was organised into mokums (regiments) each of which had four risalas (squadrons.) Five such mokums were grouped into cavalry cushoons. Apart from the regimental commander being a mokumdar rather than a risaldar, ranks were as for the infantry. The number in each cushoon or mokum was not fixed.

At some uncertain point (but before 1790,) Tipu changed the organisation of the jaish (infantry). The cushoons were down-graded from brigades to regiments, each of two, eight juq risalas (battalions) and replaced with a brigade now called a cutchery which consisted of six such cushoons (regiments.) The regular cavalry was now organised into cavalry cutcheries consisting of five, four juq (squadron) risalas.(cavalry regiments)

The brigades were now commanded by a bakhshi, who was no longer simply a pay-master. Under him were the mokumdars and sipahdars.

The irregular cavalry was not organised into corps in the same manner as the regulars but were arranged as their commander saw fit. Although the irregular horse was very useful it was without any discipline. The horses of the regular cavalry were the property of the Government at whose expense the soldiers were clothed and armed but the horses of the irregular cavalry belonged to the commander or the horsemen, and the Government paid a regular monthly salary

to their owners. If the horse was killed on service the Government paid its price. Half of the plunder obtained by the regular cavalry was regarded as the property of the Government. The rest was distributed among the soldiers.

Observers at various times seem to give very different views of the army of Mysore. According to “The Military Systems of the Mahrattas” the word “Gardi” was used by the Mahrattas for troops who were European trained and was derived from “Guard”. If we assume the same system for Mysore, many of whose officers would be Hindi Mahrattas and Rajputs anyway, it seems likely that Tipu’s “guards” were trained and armed as European sepoys.

A Risala was the equivalent of a battalion, 2 of which made up a cushoon or regiment, 6 of which make up an infantry cutchery, the equivalent of a Brigade.

The cavalry cutcheries were of 5 mokums equating to cavalry regiments.

In “Wellington's Campaigns in India,” RG Burton (page 11) says:-

“To oppose the British Army he (Tipoo) had a force of some 76,000 men, well armed and equipped, and composed as follows:—

Regular Cavalry 6,000

Irregular Cavalry 7,000

Guards (Slaves) 4,000

Regular Infantry 30,000

Pikemen 16,000

Carnatic Peons 8,000

Pioneers 6,000

These numbers include the lascars and gunners. Each regiment of regular horse had two three-pounder galloper guns, and each body f irregular horse had three six-pounders; these were drawn by mules. Each infantry brigade had two eighteen-pounders. Each brigade had an elephant attached to it, to assist the guns through difficulties. The cavalry and infantry were clothed alike in a striped blue and white stuff of country manufacture. The artillery were clothed in white cotton with large round blue spots.”

No mention is made of rockets.

1793 and the implementation of the “Futtah al Mujahiddin” (“Victory of the Soldier of Faith”) saw further changes to the regular infantry -jaish or jysh- now known as the Piaddeh Uskur was divided into several types, which formed five separate cutcheries.

1st Cutchery Ahmedi, or the Ahmedi Cutchery.

Two Bukhshies (bakhshies) commanding the whole,-'' and having a Teep of Uskur, consisting of 346 men, attached immediately to them.

Six Cushoons of Uskur (askari)- men of the Koreish tribe and of the Suni sect with twelve field pieces attached.

2nd Cutchery Huzoor Uskur

Six Cushoons of Uskur, composed of men of the same tribe and sect

as the preceeding. Twelve field pieces were attached.

3rd Second Cutchery of Piadeh Uskur.

Five Cushoons of Uskur, and one Teep of Uskur consisting of 346 men attached to the Bakhshies.

Men of the tribe of Koreish, Siyuds, Moghuls, and Pathans of the Suni sect, with ten field pieces.

Illustration 8: The Futtah al Mujahaddin

4th. Third Cuchery of Piadeh Uskur.

Five Cushoons. Men of the Koreish tribe, Siyuds, Pathans and

Moghuls of the Suni sect; with one Teep of Uskur (consisting of 346 men) attached to the Bakhshies. Ten field pieces.

5th The Assad Ilahi Cutcherry.

Five cushoons, i.e: three Uskur, composed of men of the Koreish tribe, and of Siyuds of the Suni sect and two cushoons of Assad Ilahi (or Usud Ilhyes), with ten guns.

Total twenty-seven Cushoons, with three independent Teeps (battalions) of Uskur and fifty-four field pieces.

The Ahmedi (Ahmudi ) and Assad Ilahi (Ussud Ilyhe )

These two groups mentioned in the preceding infantry organisation need some explanation. In most of the books I've read involving the army of Mysore, The Ahmedi corps and the Assad Ilahi are generally understood to both be the same thing -prisoners of war from the Malabar coast treated as slave sepoys and who were poor quality, unreliable troops. However, I do not believe this to be the case

as there are clear distinctions between the two corps.

To take the Ahmedis first. In “A History of the Reign of Tipu Sultan” Mir Hussein Kermani states:-

“When the Sultan arrived at Seringapatam, the prisoners taken in the

country of Koorg, who had been all made Mussulmans and were styled

Ahmudees, were formed into eight Risalas or regiments, and veteran

officers were appointed to train and discipline them, and they with very

little labour having instructed these wild men, soon made them perfect in their military exercise.

About this time the Sultan caused gorgets of gold, silver and jewels to be made, and they were presented to the officers of horse and foot, the

Assud Ilahi and Ahmudi regiments, according to their different ranks,

and the uniforms of these regiments being also made up of tiger cloth, (a new invention in weaving) they were clothed in it.”

This refers quite obviously to Hindus forcibly converted to Islam by means of circumcision -a practice deplorable to them which they regarded as rendering them unclean. Good reason perhaps for considering them to be “unreliable” troops. It also explains why the teep of uskur were attached to the Bakhshies – as a guard and to ensure the Ahmudis behaved.

The Assud Ilahi were a completely different case. They were, from the same source:-

“Slaves brought up by the late Nawab and trained for service by the

Sultan, and when formed into regiments called by him Assud Ilahi”

The important phrase here is “brought up by the late Nawab” i.e. They had been taken as children and schooled in Islam from an early age in the same manner as the Ottoman Janissaries who were Christians taken from the Balkans as children, and the Mameluks who were Christians taken from the Caucasus as children. Both groups of course became fanatical supporters of Islam and it is

likely that the same happened with the Assud Ilahi. It is telling that whilst there was an independent teep attached to the Ahmedi Cutchery, there was no such force attached to the Assud Ilahi. This seems to indicate that this formation was considered totally loyal.

The “Tiger Grenadiers”

There are questions also around the identity of the cushoons known as the “Tiger Grenadiers” by Europeans. In “Narrative Sketches of the Conquest of the Mysore,” the author states:-

“The grenadier battalions of Tippoo's sepoys, or regular infantry are composed of Moormen, or Hindoos of large stature, who carry firelocks chiefly of French manufacture, with long and indented bayonets. They are, by our troops, called Tiger Grenadiers, or Tiger Men, from their dress, which is a short bannian of purple woollen stuff, transversely striped, or speckled with white irregular spots of a lozenge form, and thence named the Tiger Jacket. The ferocity of their appearance is heightened by their thick black beards and whiskers. On the head is worn a muslin turban of a red colour, and round the waist, a cumber-band, or sash of the same their legs and feet are entirely naked, excepting a kind of sandal-slipper worn to protect their soles from the roughness of a march: their pay is about twelve rupees, or thirty shillings per month; being rated equal with the artillery, and rocket men of Tippoo's army.”

Indian and Persian sources say nothing about these soldiers. There are however a few “clues” about them. They are sometimes identified as “gardi” believed to be a term for an elite soldier with its roots in “guards” and is also used as both a soldier trained and equipped in the European manner and as a slave soldier. All three of these descriptions fit the Assad Ilahi corp.

In “The History of the reign of Tipu Sultan”, The Persian writer Mir Hussein Ali Kirmani makes mention of further elite or guard units:-

“The Sipahdars of the Sultan’s cavalry according to his orders on seeing the approach of the enemy, posted a body of infantry in the low grounds, the guns attached to them being loaded with grape, were kept in readiness, while the household cavalry accompanied by the horse of the Paigahs, and the body guard, with great show paraded over the higher ground.”

The Paigahs are a family in the senior aristocracy of Hyderabad State and each maintained his own court, individual palaces, and a standing army of three or four thousand soldiers, however, they were ultra-loyal subjects of the Nizam and considered second only to him in importance in Hyderabad, so it is unlikely they would have fought for his enemy Tipu. I have found no other references to the Paigahs or bodyguard so it is possible that they were part of the Assad Ilahi.

Besides the guns belonging to the Cushoons, there was a park of artillery attached (apparently) to the whole body of infantry, and consisting of a heavy train of:-

10 battering guns

6 long guns (for distant cannonading), and

6 howitzers

The staff of each Cutchery seems to have consisted of:-

2 Bakhshies

1 Mirzaiy Duftur

1 Hindooy duftur

16 Gumashtehs,

2 Sur-yusakchies

2 Nukeebs

5 Hazirbashies

4 Standard bearers

1 Furrash

2 Surwans (in charge of three camels)

1 Mushalchy

Establishment of a Cushoon

Staff:

1 Sipahadar (paid according to qualification)

2 Mutusuddies

1 Yasakchy

1 Hukeem (or physician)

Revolution to Regency vol.1: The Armed Forces of Mysore page 28

1 Jurrah (or surgeon)

1 Musalchy

Each Cushoon was composed of four Teeps (companies) of Uskur, of which the

first, second, and third were denominated Ouwuls (or of the first class}, and the

fourth, Dooeni (or of the second class), Each teep consisted of four yooz (yaz), and

each yooz was composed as follows:

1 Yoozdar (or yazdar)

2 Surkheels (surkheils)

8 Jumuadars (jamadars)

64 Yuzukhdars, (yazakhdars) or privates

1 Bheesty (bhistie)

9 Nujm-walahs, for bell tents, &c.

Strength of one yooz or yaz 87 men

Strength of one teep or four yooz 348

Strength of a cushoon, or four teeps, 1392 men, (of which, however, only 1056 are

stated to have carried muskets).

The following were likewise attached to each cushoon:-

One Jowk (juq) of rocket-men,

1 Jowkdar (including horse)

1 Surkheel

4 Jumuadars.

32 Privates

1 Nujm-walah

Each man carrying 2 rockets, or (with Jumuadars) 72 rockets.

One Juq of Durkhshundaz, or gunners, for the service of the two guns attached to

the cushoon. Consisting of:-

2 Surkheils (one to each gun) each armed with a pair of pistols

28 Gunners.

2 Nujm-walah

N. B. Each gun was in length two dirais (or guz) and a half [about seven feet], and

carried shot weighing four short duhs or seers: ie. about six pounds weight.

Two Juqs of Burkundaz, or matchlock-men, each consisting of:-

1 Juqdar,

5 Jemadars,

45 Privates

5 Nujm-walah

Two Juqs of Khulasies (probably the native equivalent to HEIC Lascars), each Juq

consisting as follows:-

1 Juqdar,

6 Daffadars,

54 Privates.

The guns were drawn each by twelve bullocks having three men (drivers) attached

to them. (6 men)

The two tumbrils were drawn by forty bullocks, having ten drivers attached. (10

men) There was also an ammunition cart to each Cushoon, drawn by twenty bullocks, having five drivers attached to them. (5 men)To twelve spare bullocks, drivers (2 men)

Spare cart drawn by eight bullocks, with drivers (2 men)

Two Chowdries (A kind of superintendant or officer) of bullocks, with their

assistants (23 men)

Besides the regular establishment of bullocks attached to each cushoon, In 1793

the Meer Sudoor department was directed to furnish 1000 extra bullocks for the

use of every cushoon on an expedition conducted by the Sultan

To the whole of the bullock-drivers belonging to the guns were attached four

Dafadars (4 men)

A Darogha over the whole (1 man)

One camel-driver to two camels, carrying 108 rockets (1 man)

One Moallum, or teacher of the Koran (1 man)

Total strength of the cushoon (including all descriptions of men) 1,752

Those carrying firelocks amounted to 1,146, Total of twenty-seven

cushoons 47,304 and of firelocks 30,942

The cushoons composing the fifth, or Usud Ilhiy Cutchery, of regular infantry,

differed a little in their formation, as well as in point of pay, from the other

cutcheries, possibly because they were considered an “elite” force.

1 Sipahdar

2 Mutusuddies

1 Sur-yusakchy

1 Physician 5

1 Surgeon 3

1 Mushalchy

1 Moallum (or instructor in the Koran)

The cushoon was divided into four Risalas (instead of Teeps), each consisting

of 348 men,

1 Risaladar

1 Yusakchy

1 Drummer and 1 fifer

1 Standard bearer

1 Munshoor

Each Risala was composed of four Jowks (instead of Yooz), each juq consisting of:

1 Juqdar

2 Surkheils each

8 Jemadars

64 Fuzukdars, or privates

9 Nujm-walehs

1 Bheestij, or water-carrier

Total of a juq 86 men

Of four juqs 340

Staff of the Risala 8 men

Total of a Risala 348

and of four Risalas 1,392 ; being the same strength as the cushoons of the other

cutcherries.

The Ehsham, or garrison troops, are stated, in the ordinance of 1793, addressed

to the Sudoor department, at 25,000 men. Of these twenty-five thousand Ehsham

troops (armed with swords and matchlocks) fifteen thousand were distributed among the several forts throughout the country. These were ordered to be relieved

annually, and were paid at the computation of forty days to the month, and at the

rate of two pagodas per man. The remaining ten thousand Ehsham were

stationed at Seringapatam, or with the Huzoor. The number of Kunduchar- the

provincial troops or militia is unknown.

The Zumra-Gumrah Battalions

One type of troops not mentioned so far are the Zumra-Gumrah Battalions.

in its' makeup with members of most religions being included, Muslims -Shia and

Sunni, Hindus, Sikhs, Christians and from many ethnic groups including Mahrattas,

Afghans and Rajputs aprticularly in the regiment known as the Zumrah-Gumrah.

Which is described thus:-

“In the Tarikh e Tipu Sultan, Mir Husssain Kirmani writes that the Sultan selected ten thousand men from the soldiers in his army. Shaikhs and Syeds, inhabitants of Seringapatam, Kilar, Devanahalli, Suba Sira, great Balapur and Tanjore were enrolled and Tipu called them his ‘Zumrai Khas’. The name of their batallion was derived from the Farsi couplet – ‘dur Zumrai Ma Ghumm Nubashud’, that is, ‘in our company sorrow shall find no entrance’. “Zumrai” in Farsi means “company or unit” and Khas means “personal.” So this unit was his personal bodyguard. And what is very interesting here is that each consonant sound of the ‘Ghumm Nubashud’ was said to point to some racial element of the batallion. The letter ghayn (G) being the symbol of men of foreign nations(probably the French), mim(M) to denote mughals and marathas, nun (N) for Navayats (Muslims from the Konkan coast), be (B) for Brahmin, alif (A) for Afghan, shin(Sh) for Shia muslim and dal (D) for the Mehdivis in the army. The Mehdivis were Shia Muslims who believed that Prophet Mohamed was not the last prophet and another one would follow. They made good soldiers but were later deported out of Mysorean territory on Tipu Sultan’s orders on account of their fanaticism to religion and deviation from the Sunni Muslim mainstream.

However in contemporary parlance of that time, the battalion began to be

called ‘Zumra Ghumra’. Kirmani further writes that the men of this division now became the most acceptable in the eyes of the Sultan, and all confidence was implicitly placed upon them. Towards the end of Tipu’s reign, Kirmani observes, this battalion (Kirmani calls it an ‘infidel’ batallion probably on account of it’s large Hindu and Shia Muslim elements) gained complete ascendancy over all the departments of the state, and entered boldly into all the measures of government.

Unlike other choice battalions in Tipu’s service like the Asad ilahi or the Jaish Risala, this was one with a mix of members professing different faiths as well as racial backgrounds. Tipu would have felt it safer to associate the safety of his inner circle and himself in the company of such men who would not be bound by one single religion or nationality but would be subservient only to their master – Tipu Sultan and the greater cause of Mysore.

However Kirmani also mentions that Mir Nadim, the killedar of Seringapatam who would later be accused of not opening an inner gate inspite of Tipu’s personal orders to do so, and thus in the end bring about Tipu’s martyrdom during the final battle of Seringapatam also belonged to this battalion.”

Mistrusted by the mainstream Muslims they were seen as a threat to The Presence and the state.

“The men of this division of the army now became the most acceptable in the eyes of the Sultan, and all confidence was implicitly placed in them, to that degree indeed, that towards the end of the Sultan’s reign, this (Zumra Gumrah) infidel battalion gained complete ascendancy over all the departments of the State, and entered boldly into all the measures of Government,—as an instance of this, one of these men named Mir Nudim an inexperienced man was made Governor of the Fort of Seringaputtun, and although the Sultan placed entire dependence on this worthless body of men, still, they were outwardly obedient only, for in their hearts

they were all the devoted servants of the Sahib Dewan, for that traitor had laid a deep plan, for the ruin of his master’s state and kingdom.”

The general administration of the army was carried on by the mir miran

(general staff) department. After the Treaty of Seringapatam (1792) a

separate department was formed to look after the troops recruited from

among the inhabitants of the Mysore kingdom. The mir sudur department

was responsible for inspecting the defenses of the kneed and be supplying

the latter with provisions war stern and troop But a far as matters relating to

military policy web concerned they were decided by the Sultan himself who

was commander in-chief.

“The History of the reign of Tipoo Sultan” gives us the following description of

Tipoo’s changes to the army (spelling is that of the translator Col. W. Miles):-

“When the kingly throne became enlightened by the resplendent countenance of that sun of the firmament of victory, (the Sultan), he addressed him self seriously to the regulation of the country, his army and all the departments depending on his state, and revised and altered the rules and principles of the protection and efence of his kingdom after a new form ; —for instance, in former days, that is in the time of the deceased Nawab, the exercises and manoeuvres of the regular troops were arranged and performed, and the word given according to the French system of military evolution or tactics,—but, now, the Sultan drawing the pen of examination or correction through that system, with the advice of Zein al Abidin Shustree, (the brother of Abiil Kasim Khan, Hydurabadi, who was also honoured with the title of Mir Alum Shusteri), he changed the military code of regulations and altered the technical terms or words of command, above mentioned, (the French), to words of the Persian and Turkish languages; and a separate treatise called Futtah al ujahidin“ was written by Zein al Abidin and his system was confirmed.

From the regular infantry, five thousand men being selected, they were named a Kushoon, and the officer commanding that body was called a Sipahdar. In each Kushoon were four Risaladars or colonels of infantry, and one of cavalry, and under the orders of each Risaladar or colonel, were ten Jowkdars or captains, and on that scale or proportion one hundred men being a Jowk, the chief of them was called a Jowkdar, every Jowk or company included two Sur Kheil, ten Jemadars, and ten Duffadars.-—In the regiments of troop or regular horse, which were formed and appointed after the manner of the Europeans, the Teepdar and Soubadar who, in the French and English languages are called major and adjutant, were called Youzdar and Nakib. In distinction to the Nakib of the Kushoon and Risala, he, who was called Yussakchiy had his name changed to Shurbushurn. The officer commanding three or four Teeps, (regiments of cavalry), was called Mokubdar. In this mode he invented new terms in all departments, as will be succinctly mentioned hereafter.”

Rockets

Although war rockets (ban) had been in use for a considerable time in India, the

Mysorean army was probably the first to adopt their use on a large scale with

each regiment having a juq of 200 rocketeers attached as well as separate

battalions of 1000 men according to some witnesses.

Rockets could also be camel mounted with 10 being carried on each beast.

Unit Names

Apart from the Ahmedis, Issad-Ilahi and Zumrah-Gumrah, the names or designations of only a few of the Mysore cutcheries are known. Those that are

were, at least in 1799, named after the great men of Mysore. Those below and

their commanders (in brackets) were recorded in the casualty lists by British

forces

Infantry Cutcherries

Futtah Cutchery (Bahkshi Hussain Huleel)

Musjid Cutchery (Bahkshi Mauzzum Khan)

Kurreem Cutchery (Bahkshi Abdul Cadur)

Nasir Cutchery (Bahkshi Syed Mahodeen)

Nazir Cutchery (Mir Beedun)

Ally Cutchery (Bahkshi Syed Shallie)

Goffcor Cutchery (Abdul Cauder)

Kurrum Cutchery (Hubbeeb Cawn)

Fattah Cutchery (Mahomed Cawn)

Mokkudum Cutchery (Mahomed Bakur)

Ahmudy Cutchery (Abdul Khan Ghoru)

Regular (stable) Cavalry Cutcheries

Moize Cutchery (Mokumdar Shaik Mohamed)

Kaeem Cutchery (Mokumdar Hyder

Malik)lly Cutchery (Mokumdar Daoud Begalee)

Illustration 9: Tipu enters Seringapatam on an elephant

Illustration 10: Casualty returns showing Cutcherry names

Illustration 11: Casualty returns showing Cutcherry names