ABSTRACT
Arthur wellesley’s first opportunity of independent command came in India, to which he went out a lieutenant-colonel in 1797, returning in 1805 a major-general with a knighthood. While there, he fought two of his most fiercely contested battles, against the troops of Daulat Rao Sindhia and the raja of Berar in the Second Maratha War. The performance of the Marathas at the battles of Assaye on 23 September 1803 and Argaum on 28 November attests to the high level of their infantry and especially artillery capability. The victory of the British shows how far this capability was nullified by the lack of an effective officer corps. Maratha battlefield sophistication resulted from centuries of rivalry when regional warlords competed for manpower, weaponry, and the military advantage embodied in new tactics and strategy. Wellesley, like many others, believed the traditional Maratha army to have been composed solely of Pindari horse.
