British Surrender at Wadgaon
- When
- 1779
- Where
- Vadgaon Maval village, Maharashtra; Wadgaon, site of the surrendered British force
- Episodes
- 2
In January 1779 a British East India Company force under Mahadaji Shinde's pressure surrendered at Wadgaon during the First Anglo-Maratha War. Cut off and short of supplies during a march over the Ghats, the British agreed a treaty in February 1779 before being permitted to withdraw to Bombay.
Episodes
- British capitulation at Wadgaon
A supply-starved British force retreating over the Ghats was surrounded by Mahadaji Shinde's men at Wadgaon and forced to surrender.
- Treaty and return to Bombay
After surrendering, the British agreed a treaty in February 1779 and were then allowed to return to Bombay.
Background and detail
Background. The engagement formed part of the First Anglo-Maratha War, fought between the Maratha Confederacy and the British East India Company near Vadgaon Maval village in Maharashtra. A British force of over 3,000 troops, supported by 19,000 bullocks, had set out over the Ghats intending to join another force coming from Bengal, but the slow march exhausted their supplies.
Surrender and Terms. As the British retreated from their exposed position, Mahadaji Shinde's men attacked and surrounded them at Wadgaon, forcing a surrender. The legacy record's claim that the British returned territories acquired since 1773 is not confirmed by the supplied passages, which state only that a treaty was agreed in February 1779 before the troops were allowed to return to Bombay.
People involved
- Mahadaji Shinde · Maratha commander whose men attacked and surrounded the British at Wadgaon
- Warren Hastings · British Governor-General who later declared the peace with the Marathas secure
- Nana Phadnavis · Maratha minister whose diplomacy helped sustain over two decades of peace after the war
Sources
- Battle of Wadgaon Wikipedia, revision of 2026-08-30
- Third Anglo-Maratha War Wikipedia, revision of 2026-08-22
Machine-drafted from the cited Wikipedia passages and checked by a reviewing model, not by a human editor. Every passage cites the revision it was written from; dates and places follow those passages.