Fall of the Mughal Empire v4.c56.s4.3

v4.c56.s4.3

Even before the war broke out, General Lake converted the Governor-General to his own opinion that “the early defeat of Perron in the field” should be the primary object of the war, in view of “the effect which this would produce on the minds of the native princes” who believed the French-trained campoo to be invincible.* Therefore Perron could have averted an armed conflict only by the unconditional surrender of himself and his vast army to the British. But apart from Daulat Rao being the lawful master of these troops, would the sepoys of his campoo have agreed to such a mass-suicide?