Battle of Mallavelly

Overview

The Battle of Mallavelly was fought on 27 March 1799 between forces of the British East India Company and the Kingdom of Mysore during the Fourth Anglo-Mysore War. The British forces, led by General George Harris and Colonel Arthur Wellesley, drove the Mysorean force of Tipu Sultan from a defensive position designed to impede the British force's progress toward Mysore's capital, Seringapatam.

Overview adapted from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Significance

The Battle of Mallavelly was a preliminary engagement in the British East India Company's drive toward Seringapatam during the Fourth Anglo-Mysore War. Tipu Sultan's force had taken up a defensive position specifically to slow the British advance on the Mysorean capital, and its failure to hold that position removed an obstacle on the main axis of march. With Mysorean casualties estimated between 1,000 and 2,000, the action degraded Tipu Sultan's available strength before the decisive operations at Seringapatam. The engagement marked an early operational role for Colonel Arthur Wellesley alongside General George Harris in a campaign that would end with the fall of Seringapatam and the death of Tipu Sultan, effectively terminating Mysore's independence.

Forces & casualties

Commanders (3)