Persian Gulf Campaign of 1809 - British Operations

British Operations

In the aftermath of the raid on Sind and following the 1809 monsoon season, the British authorities in India decided to make a significant show of force against the pirates, in an effort not only to destroy their larger bases and as many ships as could be found, but also to counteract French encouragement of the pirates from their embassies in Persia and Oman. Forces were gathered at Bombay during the summer: the small HEIC warships, Mornington, Aurora, Ternate, Mercury, Nautilus, Prince of Wales, Ariel and Fury joined by the bomb ketch Stromboli and the Royal Navy frigates HMS Caroline under Charles Gordon and Chiffone under John Wainwright, who was placed in command of the entire expeditionary force with the temporary rank of commodore. The force was complemented with troops seconded from the Bombay garrison, including a battalion of the 65th Foot, soldiers from the 47th Foot and an assortment of HEIC marines, engineers, artillery men and sepoys from the 2nd Bombay Native Infantry under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Lionel Smith of the 65th.

The expeditionary force left Bombay on 17 September, intending to rendezvous at Muscat the following week. However, the force was repeatedly delayed during their passage, first with providing escorts to convoys of country ships in the Arabian Sea and subsequently with rescuing survivors of the Stromboli, which was so rotten that she fell apart in the ocean swell with considerable loss of life. When the force eventually arrived at Muscat in October, Sultan Sa'id informed Wainwright that over 20,000 Bedouin warriors had descended on the coast to join the pirates. Understanding that a protracted land campaign would be impossible with the forces available, Wainwright determined to make a series of small raids against the principle pirate bases in the area of the Straits of Hormuz, beginning with Ras al-Khaimah, to the north of the Strait on the Arabian coast.