Once again, Arthur took a position beside the 78th and a peculiar stillness hung over the plain. The sun was sinking towards the horizon and a golden slanted light threw long shadows across the flattened and bloodstained grass of the battlefield. He drew a deep breath and raised his hat in the air.

‘The line will advance!’

Harness bellowed the order to his men, and then it was repeated across each battalion as the redcoats marched towards the enemy, in echelon as before. On the far right of the line the shrill cry of cavalry trumpets sounded as Maxwell, at the head of his men, charged towards the men closest to Assaye, now held by the survivors of the 74th. In his excited state Maxwell had led his men at an oblique angle to the enemy line and before he could correct the direction his men instinctively edged away so that the whole force charged along the front of Scindia’s remaining battalions, under fire, before they reached open ground some distance beyond.

Arthur cursed the man, but at least the cavalry had inadvertently covered the advance of the infantry and they emerged from the clouds of dust kicked up by the horses close enough to halt and deliver a crashing volley before the enemy could react. The shock was too much for Scindia’s men and before the British battalions could decide the final stage of the battle with the bayonet, the enemy turned and fled in a single mass, surging into the waters of the Juah. The redcoats pursued them to the water’s edge and halted, too tired to go any further and with their bloodlust finally sated after the day’s awful slaughter. Instead, they set down their weapons and drank greedily from the water, before refilling their canteens for the first time since the previous day.

Arthur watched the fleeing enemy for a while longer as they disappeared into the twilight. Then he turned to survey the battlefield, strewn with bodies and abandoned guns. In the distance there was still an occasional explosion from the enemy’s ammunition tumbrils where some slow fuses had set fire to the gunpowder-laden vehicles abandoned by the enemy. Scindia’s army had lost every artillery piece. The trained battalions of regulars he had set so much store by had all been shattered and driven from the field.The victory was as complete as it could be, Arthur reflected. His men had proved their superiority over the enemy beyond any doubt, and word of this battle would soon reach every corner of India, and beyond. It took a moment for his exhausted mind to register that more than a battle had been won. Britain was now the undisputed master of the subcontinent.