Wellesley's Leadership Traits During the Maratha Battle

Arthur Wellesley who is also known as the Duke of Wellington is considered to be one of Great Britain's greatest military leaders. Wellesley was a conservative and careful general who managed to inspire loyalty and discipline among his troops and he frequently won battles in the most difficult of circumstances. It is because of these characters that Wellesley managed to emerge victorious in many battles, but his major victory was against the Maratha forces at Assaye. It was quite known that the Duke of Wellington was a defensive general and he was well known due to his defensive strategies, but during the battle with the Maratha forces, he employed offensive strategies. This change of tact contributed immensely to his victory because no one expected him to be offensive and he managed to catch the enemies unawares (Harvey, 2008). Although he is viewed as a defensive general, it is said that when he was on the defensive he happened to make many mistakes.
In 1803, Major General Wellesley demonstrated his great leadership abilities by leading his men who consisted of a combined force of about 24,000 British and Hyderabad soldiers onto an overwhelming combat engagement against the Maratha forces who comprised of about 200,000 soldiers. Looking at the number of soldiers that each general had, it is clear that Wellesley was outnumbered, but that was not a deterrent to him because he was a great strategist. He is also credited for always being involved in the battles in that he was a micromanager and he always kept tight control of his troops on the battlefield. Wellesley seldom gave his officers much scope for initiative, which ensured that he made decisions all the time down to battery and battalion level. Wellington was overly cautious and very defensive minded, and it is for this reason that he always preferred to deploy his infantry on the reverse slope in order to conceal his infantry. This allowed him to operate with a relatively small army that the enemy was never aware of.
On September 23rd, 1803, Wellesley received intelligence information that there was a substantial enemy force present at Assaye. He rode ahead of his troops to verify the information without fear or hesitation. What Wellesley saw was a 200,000-person Maratha force that was located between Juah and Kaitna rivers. He led the attack against the Maratha forces without waiting for reinforcements. During this battle, the Duke of Wellington demonstrated his ability to take advantage of the enemy by controlling the engagement timing and devising a well-planned attack. Using these strategies, he managed to force the Maratha forces to flee from their position. However, this success came at a great cost to his troops because he lost about 1,500 soldiers. In complete contrast, the Maratha forces lost about 6,000 soldiers. Wellington's success during this battle was a combination of leadership traits, direct action, and basic military tactics. Wellesley employed the principles of "when a falcon strike breaks the body of its prey, it is because of timing, and when torrential water tosses boulders, it is because of momentum”, and "avoid what is strong, attack what is weak" (Tzu, 2005). During this battle, Wellesley's decisive military action at the battle is well demonstrated.
General Wellesley was a cautious, unassuming, reserved, and careful planner who paid great attention to detail, which resulted in outstanding results. He was also a great diplomat as well as a great warrior. According to (Harvey, 2008, p. 195) Wellington was not afraid to die and he fully understood and accepted that if his time to die has come then there is nothing he could do about it. Bravery, courage, and the absence of fear are some of the qualities that a great leader should possess and Wellington proved that he had these qualities. A great leader should always be ready to change their strategy, and this was another leadership trait that Wellington demonstrated. Having been well known for his defensive strategies, he saw an opportunity that required him to change to become offensive and he grabbed it, which resulted in the win. What this shows is that there is no single leadership strategy that does not have faults or weaknesses, and it is vital that a leader is able to make changes in order to suit the situation at hand.
General James Mattis Parallels Wellington’s Leadership Abilities
The May 2004 shooting and bombing of a suspected enemy safe house located near the Syrian border is one of the operations that parallels General Mattis and Wellington's leadership abilities. The attack and bombing happened at 3:00 am and this caught the enemy unawares. The only way this could have been achieved was with careful planning and analysis of the area. Although the attack is still questioned, it demonstrates the leadership abilities of General Mattis in that he made a decisive decision and planned the attack when the enemy least expected. The timing was favorable because no one would have expected them to hit at such an hour. After receiving the intelligence, it only took the General 30 minutes to deliberate and decide that he will bomb the location. This is similar to the attack that Wellington made against the Maratha forces when he decided not to wait for reinforcements and instead led the attack. Controlling the engagement timing is vital in any war and having a well-planned attack ensures that the enemy is defeated completely. General Mattis is also a careful planner and he has demonstrated this by how he orchestrated the attack in the desert. The location of the so-called wedding party was in the middle of the desert 80 miles from the nearest civilization. This was suspect because it was not imaginable that anyone could have a wedding party in such a secretive location. It is for this reason that the general made the decision to have the area attacked. The attack resulted in at least 42 civilians being killed, but the general stood firm and defended his decision of attacking the location.

Harvey, R. (2008). Maverick Military Leaders: The Extraordinary Battles of Washington, Nelson, Patton, Rommel, and Others. New York, NY: Skyhorse Publishing Inc.
Tzu, S. (2005). The art of war. Boulder, CO: Shambhala Publications.