The siege of Bharatpur took place between 2 January and 22 February 1805 in the

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

n Princely state of Bharatpur (now part of

Rajasthan Rajasthan (; Literal translation, lit. 'Land of Kings') is a States and union territories of India, state in northwestern India. It covers or 10.4 per cent of India's total geographical area. It is the List of states and union territories of ...

), during the

Second Anglo-Maratha War Second Anglo-Maratha War (from 1803 –1805) was a large conflict within the Maratha Confederacy, Maratha Empire involving the British East India Company. It resulted in major loss of territory for the Marathas, including regions around Delhi a ...

. Forces of the

British East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company that was founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to Indian Ocean trade, trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (South A ...

, led by

General A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air force, air and space forces, marines or naval infantry. In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colone ...

Gerard Lake Gerard Lake, 1st Viscount Lake (27 July 1744 – 20 February 1808) was a British general. He commanded British forces during the Irish Rebellion of 1798 and later served as Commander-in-Chief of the military in British India. Background He was ...

, were repulsed four times in their attempts to storm the fortress.

Background

The Ruler of Bharatpur,

Ranjit Singh Ranjit Singh (13 November 1780 – 27 June 1839) was the founder and first maharaja of the Sikh Empire, in the northwest Indian subcontinent, ruling from 1801 until his death in 1839. Born to Maha Singh, the leader of the Sukerchakia M ...

, had promised to join the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

but instead formed an alliance with the Ruler of

Indore Indore (; ISO 15919, ISO: , ) is the largest and most populous Cities in India, city in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. The commercial capital of the state, it has been declared as the List of cleanest cities in India, cleanest city of In ...

Yashwantrao Holkar Yashwant Rao Holkar (1776–1811) also known as Jaswantrao Holkar was an Indian ruler, statesman and commander belonging to the House of Holkar, Holkar clan of the Maratha Empire. He was the Raja of Indore State as part of the Maratha Empire. A ...

, who was allied to the

Maratha Empire The Maratha Empire, also referred to as the Maratha Confederacy, was an early modern India, early modern polity in the Indian subcontinent. It comprised the realms of the Peshwa and four major independent List of Maratha dynasties and states, Ma ...

. Holkar suffered setbacks against the British at the

Battle of Deeg The Battle of Deeg, fought on 13 November 1804, took place outside Deeg, now in the Bharatpur district of Rajasthan, India. A force of the British East India Company led by Major General John Henry Fraser were defeated by a Maratha force unde ...

and the

Siege of Deeg The siege of Deeg (11–24 December 1804) was a siege of the main fort at Deeg, now in the Bharatpur district of Rajasthan, India, then within the Bharatpur Kingdom. Forces of the British East India Company, led by General Gerard Lake, 1st V ...

. However, Ranjit Singh "came out openly on Holkar's side after the defeat of Monson." Lake arrived at Bharatpur fort on 2 January 1805.

Siege

The British bombardment started on 7 January, 1805, and a breach was effected on 9 January. The first British assault took place that night, led by Col. Ryan, Maj. Hawkes and Lt. Col. Maitland. The assault failed with 400 British casualties, including Maitland being

mortally wounded : A mortal wound is an injury that will ultimately lead to a person's death. ''Mortal'' refers to the mortality of a human: whether they are going to live or die."mortal_adjective." Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary. 2018. Oxford University ...

. A second attack on 16 January was also thrown back, after the Marathas added water to their moat. British casualties totaled 500, including the assault leader, Lt. Col. MacRoy. However, Lake continued to receive supplies and reinforcements, including Maj. Gen. R. Jones' force of 1600. This helped Lake deal with Amir Khan, Holkar's general, who was raiding

Bundelkhand Bundelkhand (, ) is a geographical and cultural region and a proposed state and also a mountain range in central and North India. It corresponds to the Post-Vedic Chedi kingdom. The hilly region is now divided between the states of Uttar Prad ...

. A third assault on 20 February also failed, as did a fourth assault the next day. British casualties for all four assaults were 3,292. "The worst part of it was that many of the wounded were left behind where they had fallen. The defenders sallied out from the fort and killed them." Third and Fourth Assaults on Bhurtpore

Aftermath

Ranjit Singh decided to accept the British offer, and paid the British an

indemnity In contract law, an indemnity is a contractual obligation of one party (the ''indemnitor'') to compensate the loss incurred by another party (the ''indemnitee'') due to the relevant acts of the indemnitor or any other party. The duty to indemni ...

, which allowed him to retain all his possessions, including

Deeg Deeg is an ancient historical city in Deeg district of Rajasthan, India. It is carved out from its former district Bharatpur on 7 August 2023. This little city is worth visiting for its unmatched fortifications, extremely beautiful gardens and p ...

. Caught between three British armies, led by Lake, Gen. Jones and Col. Ball, Holkar sent emissaries to Lake. A treaty was signed on 24 December 1805, in which he gave up any claim to Tonk,

Rampura Rampura may refer to the following places: * Rampura, Jalaun, a town in Uttar Pradesh, India * Rampura, Nagaur, a village in Nawa in Nagaur district, Rajasthan, India * Rampura, Neemuch, a town in Madhya Pradesh, India * Rampura State, a former pri ...

, and

Bundi Bundi is a town in the Hadoti region of Rajasthan state in northwest India. Climate The climate is hot semi arid (BSh), not having enough rainfall to qualify as a tropical savanna climate (Aw). The climate is quite warm, and most of the ra ...

References

Bibliography * {{Use dmy dates, date=November 2015 Bharatpur Bharatpur 1804 in India 1805 in India History of Bharatpur, Rajasthan Bharatpur Bharatpur Bharatpur January 1805 February 1805 Battles involving the Jats