‘Oh, God . . . God . . .’ Fitzgerald moaned as his body trembled. ‘Sweet Jesus . . . it hurts.’

Arthur groped towards the shaft of the pike, felt along until he sensed Fitzgerald’s jacket and then fixed his grip on the pike. ‘Hold steady there.’

‘Sir?’ Fitzgerald writhed as the pike moved inside his stomach. Arthur gritted his teeth and wrenched the shaft and head of the weapon out and felt a rush of blood over his hands as the other man screamed.

‘Grenadiers!’ Arthur called out. ‘Over here! On me!’

There was a rustling as the men came back, breathing hard. ‘There you are, sir. Thought we’d lost you. Where’s Mr Fitzgerald?’

‘Here. He’s been injured. Did you deal with them? The enemy?’

‘Two down; the others ran for it. Not a scratch on us, sir.’

‘Good. Now, you, help Mr Fitzgerald. Get him over your shoulders.The rest of you find Williams and let’s get out of here. There’s nothing more we can do.’

‘What about you, sir?’ asked one of the grenadiers. ‘I heard you fall.’

‘I’m all right.’ Arthur replied through gritted teeth. ‘Don’t worry about me. Get moving.’

The nullah was closer than he had thought and shortly after the brief skirmish they emerged from the trees to see the bank rising up above them. As they struggled up the slope several figures rose up on either side.

‘33rd!’ Arthur snapped. ‘Colonel Wellesley. We’ve got wounded men here.We have to get them across to the other side. Lend a hand.’

The small party clambered into the water, helping Williams and Fitzgerald across to the other side.The lieutenant groaned in agony as he was manhandled over the nullah on the shoulders of three men, and he passed out before he reached the far bank. Arthur glanced back towards the impenetrable mass of the tope. There was still fighting going on in there, further off now, and he shook his head in pity and anger for the fate of his men before he turned and waded across the nullah.

‘Twenty-four casualties?’ Harris mused. ‘Not as bad as it could have been, Colonel. Too bad about Fitzgerald. He was a fine young man.’

It was shortly after midnight and Arthur stood before the general in the headquarters tent, still in sodden, muddy clothes. A bloodstained dressing had been tied round the flesh wound just above his knee. His face was rigid with barely suppressed rage as he replied. ‘Twenty-four of my men is bad enough, sir, considering they never should have been sent into the tope in the first place.’

‘It was a risk,’ Harris admitted. ‘And it failed. The tope is still in enemy hands. I had hoped we might save time by taking it tonight, but we’ll just have to make another attempt tomorrow, in daylight. I’ll give the job to Baird.’

‘Sir, I respectfully submit that I should command the second attempt.’

‘But you’re wounded.’

‘It was my task, sir. I deserve another chance.’

‘Really?’ Harris stared at him for a moment, and Arthur was sure that he would refuse.Then the general shrugged. ‘Very well, Wellesley, as you wish.The command is yours. But the 33rd needs a rest.You’ll have the Scottish Brigade for the job. Make sure you see it through.’

‘I will, sir.You have my word.’

‘Good. Now go and clean yourself up and get some sleep.’

‘Sir.’ Arthur saluted and turned painfully to stride out of the tent, only resorting to a limp when he was out of the general’s sight. As he rode Diomed back to the encampment of the Nizam’s column he decided that if the night’s disaster had taught him one thing, it was never to conduct any operations under cover of darkness, if it could be avoided. Never again would he lose control of his men in that way.The spectre of failure haunted him through the early hours. He tried to rest, but the vision of Fitzgerald’s face, as he died by the light of the surgeon’s lantern, returned to Arthur again and again, and robbed him of any sleep.

Chapter 49

Throughout April the army pushed its siege lines forward, capturing the enemy positions on the western bank of the south Cauvery river. The tope was taken in daylight and most of the bodies of the 33rd’s grenadiers were recovered, but eight remained unaccounted for and Arthur feared that they must have been taken prisoner. Once the enemy outposts had been cleared from in front of Seringapatam’s walls General Harris gave orders for the construction of strongly fortified batteries for the heavy siege guns that Arthur had procured while the army assembled for the campaign. At a range of nine hundred yards the guns methodically knocked out the enemy cannon along the western wall of Seringapatam before turning to pound the corner bastions into rubble.Then on the second day of May the batteries were aimed at the point along the wall that General Harris had chosen to be breached. An intense bombardment followed over the next two days, until a wide section of the city’s wall had been smashed through and Harris was satisfied that an assault could be made over the rubble.

That night he assembled his senior officers and announced his plan of attack.‘It’s important that we take the city on the first attempt.The first of the monsoon rains might arrive in the next two weeks and the brinjarris tell me that their food supplies are starting to run down. So I have decided to throw as many men into the attack as can be spared from defending our camp.There will be three formations in the attacking force: two assault columns and a reserve. Major General Baird has volunteered to lead the assault. Given the antipathy between Tipoo’s men and our Madras sepoys I pray that we do not have to deploy them in the battle for Seringapatam. They will be held in reserve.’

‘Who is to command the reserve, sir?’ Arthur asked. He already knew that the 33rd had been selected for the assault force and was looking forward to leading them into the attack.

‘You are.’

‘Me?’ Arthur started and some of the other officers could not help smiling at his surprised expression.Arthur fought back a flush of irritation with himself. ‘But who is to lead my regiment, sir?’

‘Major Shee.’

‘Sir, if my regiment is to be part of the attack, then I should be with them.’

Harris shook his head. ‘I need a steady head to control the reserve column. As soon as the attack goes in, you are to march your column across the river and wait outside the breach. I’m trusting you to use your judgement as to whether Baird needs any support. Is that clear, Wellesley?’

There was little chance of altering the general’s mind at this stage and Arthur accepted his role in the coming battle with as much grace as he could muster.

‘Yes, sir.’

‘Very well then, gentlemen. The men will move forward in the trenches before dawn and keep out of sight until the signal to attack is given at midday. Make sure all your officers are thoroughly briefed on the attack, and try to get some sleep, if you can.’ Harris gave them a wry grin, and then gestured towards the tent flap. His officers rose from their chairs and filed out.

‘Wellesley?’

Arthur turned back. ‘Yes, sir?’

‘A word, if you please.’

Once the last of the other officers had quit the tent Harris spoke. ‘I have good reasons for assigning you to command the reserve.’

‘I’m sure you do, sir.’

Harris looked at him sharply. ‘Don’t try to be ironic, Colonel. It doesn’t become a senior officer in my army.’

‘No, sir.’

Harris sighed. ‘The fact of the matter is that I need an officer with sound judgement to command the reserve. The assault column is a different matter. Baird is a born fighter and he wants revenge for the years he spent chained in the dungeons of Seringapatam. Who better to command the attack?’

‘Baird’s the man right enough, sir. But why am I to be denied my place at the head of the 33rd?’

‘If the attack goes badly I’ll need you to retrieve the situation. And if the attack fails, then it is vital that a path is kept open through which Baird and his men can retreat. That is why you are the best man to command the reserve, just as Baird is the best man to lead the attack.’