I am the Crown Prince of France

The entire "pā" was built on a 70 to 80-meter high hill, surrounded by three concentric walls, with a central watchtower standing over five meters tall.

Each wall was supported by thick tree trunks, with a dense network of smaller wooden slats forming the outer layer. Behind this was a 1.5-meter-thick earthen wall. Defenders could stand on the earthen wall and shoot from behind the large tree trunks.

For attackers, it was difficult for musket fire to penetrate the half-meter thick logs from a distance. If cannons were used, the cannonballs would likely ricochet off the low earthen wall beneath .

As a result, attackers would have to use cannons to destroy the upper part of the earthen wall's wooden structure before advancing with infantry to breach each layer of the wall. Moreover, it would be hard for attackers to hold the first two layers of the wall because the defenders could shoot down from above.

Nikau, one of the Maori warriors, excitedly explained, "There's a tunnel under the tower. If we can't hold the fort, we can escape through the tunnel."

Major Gaston gave a dismissive look and said, "The British will dig around until they find the tunnel..."

Nikau laughed, "There are two tunnels—one shallow and one deep. The shallow one only extends about 200 steps and is meant to be discovered by the enemy. The deep one leads to the woods behind us."

Gaston was stunned. He knew that once the attackers found a tunnel, they would think they had won and wouldn't bother looking for another one.

Fernand added, "We've also combined some advanced weapons for defense." He pointed to the top of the "pā" where a tower stood.

"We'll place a four-pound cannon up there. Also, we've buried a large barrel of gunpowder at the tunnel entrance. If the British try to follow us, they'll get a very 'explosive' surprise."

Mysore's cannon factory had already started normal production, and the simple four-pound cannon, which was the easiest to make, could be produced every day and a half—enough to arm a significant number of "pā" for defense. While this cannon had limited range, if placed on top of the high tower, and given that the "pā" was built on elevated ground, its range could even surpass that of an eight-pound cannon.

Lafayette looked at the seemingly simple earth-and-wood structure, but a smile began to form on his lips.

He knew that this structure was built by just three Maori warriors, along with less than 400 Mysore serfs, and it took only half a month to complete.

Magnus had originally estimated a month to build it, based on the Maori's tools, which included wooden shovels and stone axes, as they hadn't yet mastered metallurgy. However, with the Mysore serfs using iron tools and assisted by oxen and horses, the first "pā" was completed in just half the time. And this was only because the serfs were unfamiliar with the construction process—once they got the hang of it, the speed would increase even more!

...

The British Governor of India, Charles Cornwallis, glanced at the endless ranks of red-coated "lobster-back" soldiers, feeling immensely proud.

Yes, the East India Company's reinforcements had arrived!

With the additional troops he had recently pulled from various parts of India, Cornwallis now commanded 9,000 British soldiers, along with numerous heavy cannons and supplies.

On the British army's flanks were 20,000 Maratha soldiers and 14,000 Hyderabad troops, and these two British puppet states continued to send reinforcements to North Canara.

With such a powerful force at his disposal, Cornwallis was confident that he could reach the walls of Mysore within three months. By early next year, Tipu Sultan would be forced to sign a surrender and pay the East India Company an enormous war indemnity.

He sneered, "Lafayette, this time I'll make you pay for the humiliation at Yorktown!"

Back in America, he had participated in the British surrender at Yorktown, with Lafayette sitting smugly across from him.

However, that very afternoon, just two miles after his army had entered Mysore's territory at Mangalore, the vanguard suddenly halted.

Cornwallis frowned at his aide, "Michael, what's going on?"

The aide spurred his horse to investigate and returned half an hour later with an officer from the vanguard. The officer reported to Cornwallis, "General, Colonel Presley's regiment has encountered a... they say it's a bastion blocking the way."

"It's not exactly a bastion," the officer quickly corrected. "It looks very crude—made of wood and earth—but there's a cannon on top, so the colonel decided to destroy it first."

Cornwallis frowned and waved dismissively, "Tell Presley to get on with it."

"Yes, General!"

The next day at noon, Cornwallis listened to the continuous sound of cannon fire in the distance—it had been going on since early the previous morning—and his face grew darker.

He mounted his horse and rode to the vanguard to see for himself.

"My apologies, General," Colonel Presley said with a bitter expression, glancing at the distant structure. "That thing is... strange. Cannonballs don't seem to have much effect, and only 12-pound cannons can fire from a safe distance. Yesterday, a Mysore cannon nearly hit one of our eight-pounders."

Cornwallis glared at him, "It's just a primitive Indian defensive structure, and you've deployed ten cannons, spent two days, and still haven't taken it!"

He moved closer to the front lines, and soon he spotted the so-called "bastion" in his telescope.

It looked like an oversized grain silo, but then he saw a black spot burst into a spray of wood splinters and shoot into the air.

From experience, he knew that was a 12-pound cannonball. The cannonball had ricocheted off the "silo!"

Furious, Cornwallis ordered his elite skirmisher battalion and three 12-pound cannons to be brought in, with orders to take the "silo" before nightfall.

Under the suppressive fire of heavy cannons, the British skirmishers, protected by a thousand infantry, bravely charged up the hill.

The Mysore soldiers behind the wooden walls fought back, but their poor marksmanship and chaotic leadership resulted in them hitting fewer than ten British soldiers.

Then, the British skirmishers reached the first wall, where they found a breach and climbed through.

Cornwallis smirked and put away his telescope, confident that his officers would soon report their victory, bringing prisoners with them.

But soon, his skirmisher commander returned, looking disheveled, to report that the first assault had failed, with 27 men lost.

Cornwallis's eye twitched, "Didn't you already break through?"

"Y-yes, General," the skirmisher commander stammered, keeping his head down. "The Mysoreans set fire to the first trench and threw rocks down on us from above. Until the cannons breach the second wall, I had no choice but to retreat..."

[Note 1]: A "ricochet" occurs when a cannonball hits an angled surface and, instead of penetrating, is deflected along the angle. This phenomenon was especially common with the solid, round cannonballs fired from smoothbore cannons in the late 18th century.

(End of Chapter)

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