Key Facts
- Siege duration
- 31 Oct – 30 Nov 1814 (one month)
- Garrison size
- ~600 Nepalese defenders
- British attacking force
- Over 5,000 troops
- Survivors at breakout
- 70 garrison members
- British commander killed
- Major-General Robert Rollo Gillespie, day one
Strategic Narrative Overview
The British besieged the small Nalapani fort near Dehradun on 31 October 1814, led by Major-General Gillespie, who was killed during the first assault. Two direct attacks failed against Captain Balbhadra Kunwar's 600-strong garrison. The British then cut off the fort's water supply; after three days without water, Balbhadra refused surrender and led the surviving 70 defenders in a fighting breakout on 30 November, escaping into the surrounding hills.
01 / The Origins
The Anglo-Nepalese War arose from territorial disputes between the expansionist Kingdom of Nepal, ruled by the House of Gorkha, and the British East India Company, whose own imperial reach across the Indian subcontinent was advancing northward. Competing claims over border districts, including Dehradun, brought the two powers into open conflict in late 1814, with the British launching a multi-pronged offensive into Nepalese-held territory.
03 / The Outcome
The British nominally took the fort but at disproportionate cost, making their victory pyrrhic. Balbhadra's defiant breakout became legendary. The battle, more than any other in the war, cemented the Gurkhas' martial reputation across South Asia. This renown led the British East India Company to begin recruiting Gurkha soldiers into their own forces, a practice that continued under the British Crown and beyond.
Belligerents & Mobilization Analysis
Side A
1 belligerent
Major-General Robert Rollo Gillespie.
Side B
1 belligerent
Captain Balbhadra Kunwar.
Kinetic Engagement Axis
Scroll horizontally to view full axis. Events plotted relatively.