Who Was When
Wars

Fourth Anglo-Mysore War

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Sides

Mysore and French volunteers

Kingdom of Mysore and French volunteers from Mauritius

against
East India Company forces, British Army regiments and Hyderabad

East India Company forces, Sepoy regiments of the Company's Madras and Bombay armies, British Army regiments, and Hyderabad, under the Nizam

Countries today: France, India, and United Kingdom

What happened

After the French governor of Mauritius called for volunteers to help Tipu Sultan, and Napoleon landed in Egypt, the Governor-General, Richard Wellesley, moved against Mysore. In early 1799 armies from Madras and Bombay, with a large contingent from Hyderabad, marched into Mysore under General George Harris and besieged Tipu's capital, Seringapatam, from 5 April. On 4 May troops led by David Baird stormed the fortress through a breach in its walls, and Tipu was killed in the fighting. The Company took Coimbatore and the coast of Kanara, sent Tipu's family into exile and restored the Wodeyar dynasty to a smaller Mysore, which became a princely state bound to the Company by a subsidiary alliance.

Outcome: Tipu Sultan was killed when Seringapatam fell on 4 May 1799; the Company restored the Wodeyar dynasty to a smaller Mysore bound to it by a subsidiary alliance.

Key events

Leaders

  • Tipu Sultan · Ruler of Mysore; killed at Seringapatam · Mysore and French volunteers
  • Richard Wellesley · Governor-General; ordered the war · East India Company forces, British Army regiments and Hyderabad
  • George Harris · Commanded the army that marched into Mysore · East India Company forces, British Army regiments and Hyderabad
  • David Baird · Led the storming of Seringapatam · East India Company forces, British Army regiments and Hyderabad
  • Arthur Wellesley · Colonel of the 33rd Foot; adviser to the Hyderabad contingent · East India Company forces, British Army regiments and Hyderabad

Meanwhile, elsewhere in

Sources