John Jenkins Designs: Third Carnatic War Preview

THE FRENCH ARMY

LALLY’S (IRISH) REGIMENT

During the Seven Years War the regiment was ranked 109^th, and was under the command of Thomas Arthur Comte de Lally-Tollendal

On March 6 1757, the 2nd battalion of the regiment left Brest on board a squadron under the command of Admiral d'Aché to reinforce the French posts in India. The fleet pursued by British men-of-war loitered on the voyage to Mauritius. It then took three months on his passage to the Coast of Coromandel.

On April 25^th 1758, the fleet transporting the 2^nd battalion finally arrived before the British Fort St. David. The 2^nd Battalion took part in the operations on the Coast of Coromandel and in the Siege of Fort St. David until its capitulation on June 2^nd.

From December 1758 to February 1759, the battalion took part in the unsuccessful Siege of Madras.

In 1759 the 2^nd Battalion took part in the operations on the coast of Coromandel. At the beginning of August, it was in garrison at Chittapett (present day Chetpet). It broke into open mutiny and marched out of the fort with the avowed intention of joining the British. Their officers followed them, and by promises to discharge the arrears of their pay, now several months overdue, succeeded in Conciliating most of them, but 60 men persisted in their resolution and deliberately carried it out.

On January 22^nd 1760, the battalion took part in the Battle of Wandewash.

Throughout the rest of the year, it was involved in the defence of Pondicherry. On September 4th, during the blockade of Pondicherry by a British amphibious force, Lally made an attack on the British camp which was repulsed after one redoubt had been taken by the French, 1 gun captured, 2 others spiked and a British officer and 3 men had been taken prisoner.

The Lally battalion was particularly distinguished in this occasion, losing 8 sergeants and 25 privates killed.

On January 15 1761, when Pondicherry surrendered, the regiment became prisoners of war.

Thomas Arthur, Comte de Lally, Baron de Tollendal (13^th January 1702 – 9^th May 1766) was a French general of Irish Jacobite ancestry. Lally commanded French forces including two battalions of his own red coated Regiment of Lally of the Irish Brigadde, in India during the Seven Years’ War.

After a failed attempt to capture Madras he lost the Battle of Wandewash to British forces under Eyre Coote and then was forced to surrender the remaining French post at Ponticherry.

After time spent as a prisoner of war in Britain, Lally voluntarily returned to France to face charges where he was beheaded for his alleged failures in India. Ultimately the jealousies and disloyalties of other officers, together with insufficient resources and limited naval support prevented Lally from securing India for France. In 1778, he was publicly exonerated by Louis XVI from his alleged crime.

ORDRE MINCE AND ORDRE PROFONDE

In the 18th century, a fierce debate arose among tacticians, some backing the ordre mince and some backing the ordre profond. Infantry fighting based itself on two concepts.

To give a brief idea of these two conceptions: proponents of the ordre mince considered that fire was the determining factor in a combat thus the more the front of a unit was extended the more one could inflict losses to the enemy, weakening him to get the upper hand.

The Line, ordre mince, favoured firepower, and allowed the largest number of men to fire on the enemy force. However it was not very mobile, and could be easily broken by a shock attack or by cavalry.

The proponents of the ordre profond argued that it was not fire but shock which was the determining factor, allowing to crush the enemy lines with 6 ranks deep (or more) columns bristling with bayonets.

The English preferred the Ordre Mince (thin order) and had even developed salvo firing by sections which allowed a group of men (on each volley) to create a gap in the opposing formation. Less professional armies used salvoes in line formation, with three ranks, having one rank fire while the other two reloaded.

It is argued that the losses to each salvo were divided up amongst the mass of the opposing unit, and thus had a less damaging effect on morale than fire by section.

During the Seven Years’ War, it is the ordre mince in 3 ranks which was the most commonly used when infantry units deployed in order of battle.

From 1754, in the French army firing was made by section, platoon, tiers de rang, demi-rang or battalion.

In 1755, the regulation specified that fire should start from the central part of the battalion and proceed outwards.

Exercises in garrison or in camps drew attention that in real combat situations, firing procedure were much more difficult.

The Encyclopédie of 1777 describes the action of an infantryman during combat as follows:

“Fire is most often very uncertain, and nothing is more true. Whatever the position of an infantry troop, in open terrain or in mountainous country, it is undisputable that wind, dust or sun, noise and smoke, who are unavoidable, perpetual movements and unevenness of terrain make soldiers knock each others, and change order and union of the various parts of a troop and expose it to break; the quickness with which a soldier charge his musket, makes him often spill half his cartridge, or push it only halfway in the barrel; the barrel becomes burning hot and clogged by dint of firing; the gun lock gets dry and breaks down, or whose flint does not produce sparks any more; finally the ardour who gets on their nerves and stuns them; all of this contribute to disturb the exactness of fire, and to considerably diminnish fire and its effect.”

It was in April 1759 that the war Minister, the Marechal de Belle-Isle, wrote to the Marechal de Contades, enjoining him to put his infantry in 6 ranks in encampment as well as in battle and to train them in this exercise.

The French armies of the 18^th and early 19^th centuries eventually placed a significant amount of emphasis on the ordre profonde, in part to counter the success of the English and Prussian ordre mince.

The ordre profonde was also appealing in that at least in theory, it would cure the problems with desertion, decisiveness and systematizing that the French had experienced throughout the 18^th century, particularly in the Seven Years’ War.

THE BRITISH ARMY

The Battle of Wandewash was a confrontation between the French under the command of The Comte de Lally, and the British Sir Eyre Coote. It was the decisive battle in the Anglo French struggle in southern India during the Seven Years War.

Lally, cut off from sea support by the withdrawal of Admiral d’Aché’s fleet and hampered by a lack of funds and by dissensions among his troops, tried to recover the fort of Wandiwash near Pondicherry.

There he was attacked and routed by Coote, with about 1,700 British troops against about 2,000 French. Lally’s best general, the marquis de Bussy, was captured. The French were thereafter confined to Pondicherry, which surrendered on Jan. 16, 1761, after much privation. Lally was later imprisoned and executed, after a trial in Paris, for alleged treason

The following two British regular units served in India and were present at the battle of Wandewash. It should be noted however that it was rare for these units to serve as complete battalions, and that they were generally broken up into detachments.

The British 79^th Regiment of Foot, was raised in November 1757, originally as the 64^th with drafts taken from the 4^th, 8^th and 24^th foot, but was later re-numbered during the shake up after various second Battalions were taken into the line.

The regiment was to mainly see service in India from 1758, and was disbanded in 1764.

Its commander was Major Brereton

The 84^th (Coote’s) Regiment was raised in January 1759, specifically for service in India.

The regiment was ordered home to be disbanded in 1764, but was instead reduced in India and most of the personnel were to enter the East India Company service.