Tippu was the Muslim ruler of the state of Mysore. He is referred to as the tiger of Mysore, but this is mainly because he kept 6 tigers in his palace as pets. In terms of military acumen, he was a poor general and perhaps had never heard of the principles of war.

Tippu spent almost 20 years of his life fighting without much to show for all that strife. In fact  in the 3rd Anglo-Mysore war he was decisively defeated and the British took two of his sons as hostage. The boys were only released after Tippu surrenderd half his kingdom and paid a massive sum of money as ransom to the British.

A clash with the English was always on the cards as Tippu hobnobbed with the French to act as a counterpoise to the English. To the bad luck of Tippu, the First Lord of Welesely  later known as the Duke of Wellington, arrived in Madras in 1796. He remained in India till 1803, before he left back for England. Lord Welesley was an astute commander and later became a Field Marshal when he led the allied army against Napoleon at Waterloo and defeated him decisively.

The British were approached by the Hindus and the Christians  from Malabar to overthow Tippu as he had committed untold atrocities against them. They gave clear passage  to the East India company troops through  their regions. Tippu should have been on alert, but he showed poor strategic sense as he allowed the English to build up their force.

The East India company assembled 3 armies, one from Bombay and two from Madras in a pincer movement against Tippu who was holed up in Seringapatnam( Mysore). One of the army from Madras was commanded by Lord Welesely. The British had in all about 26000 troops, with about 4000 pure English soldiers. The Nizam of Hyderabad sided with the English and gave 16000 soldiers.Tippu Sultan had about 30000 soldiers.

The English army commmenced the march from Madras. It was a slow moving affair as the army was also carrying camp followers, cooks and other personnel. As per records the army covered about 10 miles in a day. The English army was a like a lumbering elephant and was spread over 18 sq miles as it was also carrying goats, sheeps and hens for meat In addition  there were barbers, women call girls, and small shop keepers to sell items  to the soldiers as they advanced. Just for the record Lord Welesley had over 30 attendents along with him as well as 30 pieces of silver table ware with him. Tippu heard of the advancing British force, but as he had very little strategic sense , he did nothing. This was the time to move out of his fort and attack the unwieldy English army, but he did nothing and just waited for the English in his fort- cum palace. Perhaps he  was not aware of the principles of war that attack is the best form of defence. By just waiting for the English force he signed his death warrant.

The English army which was unopposed reached Seringapatnam in April 1799. The orders had been given in December 1798. The English army surrounded the fort and Tippu had boxed himself into a corner. The English generals took a decision to storm the  fort and on 4  May they attacked the fortress. 

The British carried the day and English soldiers entered the fort. Tippu was adviced by his French advisor to escape through the many secret tunnels, but it appears he refused.  As the English advanced Tippu was shot dead by an English soldier and the entire Fort was captured. That was the end of Tippu Sultan. The English not only set the fort on fire but looted the treasures of the Sultan. The 6 tigers were shot dead.

It was a massive defeat and brings to the fore the poor generalship of Tippu. He had in fact little idea of the concept of mobility in war and paid a  heavy price. The British put an end to Muslim rule and Hindus and Christians heaved a sigh of relief.

One of the intriguing facts of history is that Lord Welesley made a name for himself and rose up in the army to become a Field Marshal. He was the commander of the allied troops in the fampus battle at Waterloo(1815), in which he decimated the French force under Napoleon. What a man!

The battle with Tippu like other battles by the English in India was a one sided affair. The only real challange the English faced was  by the Sikhs  in the Anglo-Sikh wars ( 1846-49). It is worth recalling the spirit of the Duke of Wellington who was almost 89 then, yet when he heard of the ferocious battles, offered to come to India and fight the " savage Sikhs". He is a  man to admire