Page:Our Indian Army.djvu/605

Rh

Notwithstanding the very severe loss sustained by the enemy, they were still greatly superior in point of numbers to their opponents, and were headed by chiefs who could not hope for any satisfactory terms from the conqueror. The foremost of these was Hoche Mahommed Seedee, one of the Beloochee chiefs, who, along with Meer Shere Mahommed, the chief of Meerpoor, was looked upon as the great promoter of the war. The small number of the forces under Sir Charles's command, amounting, with recent reinforcements, only to about 6,000 men in all, prevented his occupying any extended position beyond the walls of Hyderabad; the enemy, therefore, began to muster towards the end of March, in numbers not greatly inferior to the force he had already defeated after so