The Battle of Mukandwara Pass, also known as the Battle of Mokandra Pass or Monson's Retreat, was fought from 8 to 10 July, 1804 between forces of the

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 ...

Maharaja

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 ...

, a member of the

Maratha Confederacy The Maratha Empire, also referred to as the Maratha Confederacy, was an early modern polity in the Indian subcontinent. It comprised the realms of the Peshwa and four major independent Maratha states under the nominal leadership of the former. ...

and

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 ...

forces under Colonel William Monson supported by Kotah kingdom 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 ...

. It was fought just to the south of the Mukandwara Pass, about . Monson, having overextended his supply line, was retreating toward Kotah when Holkar's forces decimated his rear guard on 10 July. Monson reached Kotah on 12 July, but was forced to abandon his guns in the mud at the

Chambal River The Chambal River is a tributary of the Yamuna River in Central India, Central and North India, Northern India, and thus forms part of the drainage system of the Ganges. The river flows north-northeast through Madhya Pradesh, running for a brie ...

on the 15th. Holkar continued to harass Monson's force, which reached Kushalgarh on 25 Aug. Monson's men were then in a panic as they barely made it to

Bayana Bayana is a historical town and the headquarters of Bayana tehsil in the Bharatpur district of Rajasthan, India. Hindaun City is the nearest city to Bayana at just away. Bayana is also known as the "City of Bansasur". It was the site of the ...

. "Monson's loss had been heavy. Twelve British officers had been killed, two were drowned and two were missing. Five other officers were wounded. Half of the five...battalions had been lost. Monson's retreat shook British military reputation and prestige to the core."

References

* MacFarlane, Charles
''A History of British India: From the Earliest English Intercourse to the Present Time''
* Dorman, Mark Robert Phipps
''A History of the British Empire in the Nineteenth Century'', Volume 1
* Mehta, J. L
''Advanced Studies in the history of modern India, 1707–1813''
Conflicts in 1804 1804 in India Battles of the Second Anglo-Maratha War Battles involving the British East India Company Battles involving the Maratha Empire July 1804 {{India-hist-stub