Wearing British clothes as a second-generation aristocrat

55. Battle of Asayer 9

Just as Dugan was feeling extremely frustrated,

The sight of Gadorn Raoh falling from the rooftop, like a boulder, shattered the last vestiges of morale of the Maratha defenders.

The soldiers in the village witnessed the magnificent figure who had been commanding their resistance fall to the ground. Their morale, which was already on the verge of collapse, completely crumbled, and their will to resist collapsed instantly.

"The Prime Minister is dead! We've lost!" Someone shouted first, the sound echoing through the chaotic village, spreading rapidly like a plague.

The Maratha soldiers, who had been putting up a stubborn resistance, instantly lost their will to fight, threw down their weapons, and scattered in all directions.

Some ran wildly out of the village, while others hid in the corners of the streets and alleys, trembling with their hands covering their heads, no longer showing their previous fearless demeanor.

Chuck Garrison stood atop another earthen bunker, his hand holding the binoculars trembling uncontrollably.

With the Maratha garrison leaderless and morale low, they were beyond saving.

"No!" Chuck charged frantically down from the earthen bunker, brandishing his sword and shouting at the top of his lungs, "Don't run away! Come back! Hold the line! We still have a chance!"

Chuck also killed two Marathas who were trying to escape, but his shouts sounded so weak and powerless amidst the soldiers' running and gunfire. Not a single soldier stopped; everyone was desperately fleeing, only wanting to save their own lives.

Chuck Garrison looked at the chaos before him, his heart filled with despair and resentment.

He painstakingly deployed his troops, fortified his defenses, and even taught the Maratha soldiers French tactics, but ultimately he could not withstand the fierce British attack, nor could he hold the village of Assaye. He knew that defeat was inevitable, and any further struggle would be futile.

So Chuck quickly took off his magnificent Maratha noble attire and put on ordinary Maratha soldier's clothes, preparing to escape.

Just then, a deafening shout came from the hillside north of the village, growing louder and louder, as if a thousand troops were approaching.

Chuck Garrison looked up sharply towards the northern hillside and saw countless figures of people surging towards Asaya village, dressed in Maratha soldiers' uniforms, densely packed and stretching as far as the eye could see.

"Reinforcements! General Bornsler's reinforcements have arrived!" Chuck Garrison's eyes lit up with hope. He excitedly brandished his sword and shouted again, "Reinforcements are here! We're saved! Come back, all of you, and fight back with me!"

Dugan, Stevenson, and Olak, who were expanding their gains, also heard the shouts from the north.

A large number of British troops immediately stopped and looked up at the hillside.

Looking at the Maratha figures covering the mountains and plains, Dugan had a bad feeling.

If the Maratha reinforcements actually arrive, the previously favorable battle situation may be reversed instantly, and the entire effort may be in vain.

Dugan immediately ordered: "Order Silva and Horn's battalions to immediately turn to alert! Prepare to engage the enemy!"

The messenger immediately whipped the horse's rump and hurried off to relay the order to Silva and Horn.

The soldiers beside Dugan immediately sprang into action, quickly taking up advantageous positions within the village, raising their rifles, aiming them at the northern hillside, and standing ready with tense expressions.

The "Marata soldiers" covering the mountains and plains drew closer, their shouts and footsteps mingling together, causing the earth to tremble slightly.

However, when Dugan raised his binoculars to observe more closely, he discovered that the soldiers dressed in Maratha uniforms were actually troops. Most of them were unarmed and looked panicked, scattering in all directions like frightened birds and beasts.

A few minutes later, a British army unit dressed in red uniforms and exuding an imposing aura appeared behind them.

Those Scottish Highlanders wearing tartan kilts are particularly eye-catching.

A little while later, Wellesley's flag appeared in the telescope.

"Ha, those aren't Maratha reinforcements, but a bunch of defeated soldiers." Dugan finally breathed a sigh of relief.

It turned out that General Wellesley had engaged in a fierce battle with the main force of the Marathas along the Jua and Ketna rivers, and ultimately achieved a decisive victory.

Cindia's French advisor, Paulman, abandoned his soldiers and fled, resulting in a major rout of the Maratha army.

After Wellesley defeated the main Maratha force, he immediately led his army toward Asaya village, where he encountered the fleeing Maratha remnants and launched a counterattack, pursuing them all the way to this location.

The main British force charged down the hillside like tigers descending a mountain, launching a fierce attack on the remaining enemy forces in Maratha within the village.

The Maratha soldiers, who were already scattered and fleeing, were powerless to resist Wellesley's main force and surrendered one after another. Only a few diehards continued to put up futile resistance, but they were quickly defeated by the British soldiers.

The battlefield situation has completely reversed, and the scales of victory have tipped completely in favor of the British army.

Chuck Garrison watched as the main British force charged down the hillside, and the hope in his eyes vanished instantly, replaced by deep despair.

"It seems that the goddess of victory is not on my side." Chuck turned to leave, but was blocked by several British Indian soldiers.

Chuck Garrison was unwilling to be captured. He brandished his sword and fought with two Indian soldiers, trying to make a final stand.

However, the two Indian soldiers were not novices; they were Dugan's men, warriors from a martial tribe that Amir had recruited from the south.

Although Chuck plunged his sword into the chest of an Indian soldier, another Indian soldier did not hesitate to plunge the bayonet of his rifle into Chuck Garrison's abdomen and then quickly pull it out.

Chuck Garrison was jolted, his mouth agape, and the sword in his hand clattered to the ground.

He looked down at the blood-soaked hole in his abdomen, then looked up at the Indian soldier, his eyes filled with resentment and disbelief.

Chuck opened his mouth, as if to say something, but only spat out a mouthful of blood before his body slowly collapsed.

Dugan stood not far away, watching Chuck Garrison fall. He walked up to him and praised the Indian soldier in broken Hindi, which he had just learned.

The Indian soldier was so excited he almost started dancing right away.

Dugan looked down at Chuck on the ground, then raised his hand to touch the strip of cloth on his face; the wound still throbbed with pain.

"Damn it," Dugan said to the soldiers around him, "Take his body; it's our spoils."

Around 17 p.m., as night began to fall, General Wellesley led his army to join forces with Dugan, Stevenson, and O'Lack.

Looking at the battlefield before him, General Wellesley did not appear particularly happy.

"Congratulations, General, on your great victory," Dugan complimented.

Wellesley simply nodded slightly, still not very happy.

After a long pause, he finally said, "All the troops performed exceptionally well, and the performance of the Indian soldiers shocked me. I never want to see casualties like this again, even if it brings such a victory. Their infantry is the strongest I've ever seen in India, except, of course, for our own..."

Wellesley muttered to himself, "I never want to see casualties like this again, even if it brings such a victory. Their infantry is the strongest I've ever seen in India, except for our own."

"I assure you, their firepower is extremely intense. At one point, I seriously doubted whether I could get our troops forward."

Stevenson and Olak were puzzled by Wellesley's rambling manner and were about to offer some compliments when Dugan stopped them with a look.

So Dugan and Stevenson went back to their respective units to clean up the battlefield, leaving Wellesley alone amidst the corpses, lost in thought.

Afterwards, a count revealed that during the entire battle, the British annihilated 6 enemy soldiers and captured approximately 100 cannons. Among the enemy casualties were Gadorn Rao, the Prime Minister of the Prince of Cindia, and more than 10 European military advisors, including artillery advisor Chuck Garrison.

The British army also paid a considerable price, losing 1584 men, including 650 British soldiers.

This was Wellesley's first time commanding a large-scale battle, and it became a feat that Wellesley himself would always proudly talk about.