Gawilghur

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Gawilghur (also Gawilgarh) was well-fortified mountain stronghold of the Maratha Empire north of the Deccan Plateau, in the vicinity of Melghat Tiger Reserve in Amravati District of Maharashtra. It was popularly considered impregnable, but was successfully assaulted by an Anglo-Indian force commanded by Arthur Wellesley on the 15 December 1803 during the Second Anglo-Maratha War.

After many casualties and two failed attempts at the main gate from British and Sepoy companies, Captain Campbell led the 94th Scottish Brigade (light company) on a daring assault, up the ravine dividing the inner and outer forts and into the inner fort by escalade, the Scots then forced the northern gatehouse and opened the many gates allowing the remaining British force entry. The British suffered few casualties in the final assault (~150), but in the subsequent uncontrolled sack it is estimated that almost half of the seven thousand Indians within the fort were killed.

The fortress was returned to the Marathas' after making peace with the British but they abandoned it, leaving unrepaired breaches made by British guns, which remain to this day. The great gun that killed five attackers with a single shot, still stands although now with graffiti running the lenghth of the barrel.

In popular culture, the campaign to take Gawilghur forms the background of the novel Sharpe's Fortress by Bernard Cornwell, the third in a trilogy of books covering the fictional character's time in the Army during the Indian campaign.