Belagavi, Karnataka

During Brigadier General Thomas Munro’s mission to reduce the Southern Maratha territories, on April 10, 1818, he encountered the great medieval fortress of Belgaum, in the foothills of the Western Ghats, which he dared not leave in enemy hands in the wake of his progress.

While Munro’s forces took the pettah effortlessly, as Blacker describes in his book, the fortress appeared much more intimidating: “It was found to be in perfect repair, possessing a broad and deep wet ditch, surrounded by an esplanade of six hundred yards; and was garrisoned by sixteen hundred men”. With Herculean effort the British constructed breach batteries of heavy artillery and only after almost three weeks of constant bombardment, after which the fort was severely damaged, did its killedar surrender. The fall of Belgaum allowed Munro to resume his campaign.