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{{Short description|Planned Russo-French invasion of India (1801)}}
The '''Indian March of Paul''' ({{Lang-ru|Индийский поход Павла|Indiyskiy pokhod Pavla}}) was a secret project of a planned allied [[Russian Empire|Russo]]-[[French First Republic|French]] expedition against the [[Company rule in India|British dominions]] in [[Indian Sub-Continent|India]]. It was scuttled following the assassination of [[Emperor]] [[Paul I of Russia]] in March 1801.

Russia and Britain were allied during the [[French Revolutionary Wars]] of the 1790s. The simultaneous [[Battle of Castricum|failure]] of [[Anglo-Russian invasion of Holland|their 1799 joint invasion]] of the [[Batavian Republic|Netherlands]], as well as the 1799 Austro-Russian [[Italian and Swiss expedition]] which Britain partially financed, precipitated a change in attitudes.{{sfn|Schroeder|1987|p=245}} Britain's occupation of [[Malta]] in October 1800 incensed Emperor Paul in his capacity of [[Grand Master of the Knights Hospitaller]]. He hastily broke with Britain and allied himself with [[Napoleon]] who came up with an extravagant plan of a Russo-French expedition to attack the British possessions in India.

== Secret plans ==

The secret plan of the expedition, as preserved in the Russian archives, envisaged the joint operations of two [[infantry]] corps, one French (with [[artillery]] support) and one Russian. Each infantry corps had 35,000 men, the total force thus containing 70,000 men, plus artillery and a large contingent of Cossack cavalry.

Napoleon insisted that the command of the French corps be entrusted to General [[André Masséna]]. The route of advance schedule for the French corps started in May 1801 via the [[Danube]] and the [[Black Sea]] through southern Russia via [[Taganrog]], [[Tsaritsyn]], and [[Astrakhan]].

At the [[Volga estuary]], the French were supposed to be joined by Russian forces. Then the joint Russo-French corps was to cross the [[Caspian Sea]] and land at the [[Qajar dynasty|Iran]]ian port of [[Astrabad]]. The whole trip from [[French First Republic|France]] to Astrabad was calculated to take eighty days. Further advance would take another fifty days via [[Herat]] and [[Kandahar]] before reaching the main areas of India in September of the same year.

The Indian March was designed to look very much like [[Napoleon I of France|Napoleon]]'s [[French invasion of Egypt (1798)|expedition to Egypt]], with engineers, painters and scientists taking part. Also meticulously devised was the public relations side of the Indian expedition. For example, the instructions for trade with the local peoples included the recommendation to sell the cloths "of the colorings most liked by the Asians". The expeditionary force was to have in stock a reserve of fireworks for festive illuminations.

== Outcome ==

In January 1801, the [[Don Cossack]] [[ataman]] [[Vasily Petrovich Orlov]] received orders for his [[cavalry]] force to march toward India. The route of advance schedule was to reach the steppe fort of [[Orenburg]] in a month, and from there to move via [[Emirate of Bukhara|Bukhara]] and [[Khanate of Khiva|Khiva]] to the [[Indus River]]. Soon after receiving these orders, the 20,000-strong Cossack force started for the [[Kazakhstan|Kazakh]] [[steppe]]s.

In his book about [[the Great Game]], [[Peter Hopkirk]] narrates that Paul had not been able to obtain a detailed map of India until the Cossacks' departure from Orenburg. He quotes the Tsar as instructing Orlov: "My maps only go as far as Khiva and the River [[Oxus]]. Beyond these points it is your affair to gain information about the possessions of the English, and the condition of the native population subject to their rule".<ref name="Hopkirk"/>

When Orlov's modest Cossack contingent advanced as far south as the [[Aral Sea]], they received intelligence of the Emperor's assassination. The Indian March was brought to a halt, and before long the Cossacks were commanded to retreat. It is tempting to speculate that the [[Petr Alekseevich Pahlen|Pahlen plot]] was triggered by the Indian adventure, given that the high-placed Russian officials did not approve of it and their conspiracy was financed by British diplomacy. There is no evidence to confirm this conjecture.

== Assessment ==

The British public learned about the incident years later, but it firmly imprinted on the popular consciousness, contributing to feelings of mutual suspicion and distrust associated with [[the Great Game]]. [[Hugh Seton-Watson]] observes that "the grotesque plan had no military significance, but at least showed its author's state of mind".<ref>Seton-Watson, Hugh. ''The Russian Empire, 1801-1917.'' Oxford University Press, 1967. Page 67.</ref> This assessment is echoed by Hopkirk who remarks that "no serious thought or study has been given to this wild adventure".<ref name="Hopkirk">[[Hopkirk, Peter]]. ''[[The Great Game (Peter Hopkirk book)|The Great Game: The Struggle for Empire in Central Asia]].'' {{ISBN|1-56836-022-3}}. Page 29.</ref>

== See also ==
*[[Duhamel plan]] (1854)
*[[Khrulev plan]] (1855)

==References==
{{reflist}}

== Literature ==
* {{Cite journal |last=Schroeder |first=Paul W. |date=1987 |title=The Collapse of the Second Coalition |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/1879727 |journal=Journal of Modern History |publisher=The University of Chicago Press |volume=59 |issue=2 |pages=244–290 |doi=10.1086/243185 |jstor=1879727 |s2cid=144734206 |access-date=25 February 2022}}

[[Category:1801 in British India]]
[[Category:1801 in France]]
[[Category:1801 in military history]]
[[Category:1801 in the Russian Empire]]
[[Category:Campaigns of the Napoleonic Wars]]
[[Category:Cancelled invasions]]
[[Category:Cancelled military operations involving France]]
[[Category:Cancelled military operations involving the Russian Empire]]
[[Category:France–Russia military relations]]
[[Category:Invasions by France]]
[[Category:Invasions by Russia]]
[[Category:Invasions of India]]
[[Category:Military history of British India]]
[[Category:Wars involving the Russian Empire]]
[[Category:Paul I of Russia]]

Indian March of Paul - Revision history

Bot at 01:27, 8 December 2022