Anthony Pohlmann is a supporting antagonist in the Richard Sharpe novels by Bernard Cornwell. He is one of the three main antagonists of Sharpe's Triumph (along with William Dodd and Obadiah Hakeswill) and the overarching antagonist of Sharpe's Trafalgar.
Biography[]
Anthony Pohlmann was a sergeant in a Hanoverian regiment of the East India Company. He deserted to join the army of the Mahratta prince Scindia as an officer, rising to the rank of colonel and becoming the overall commander of Scindia's army. He noted he had many wives, female servants and others who aspired to those positions. In 1803, when the Mahrattas ended up at war with the British, eighteen of his British officers resigned rather than fight their own people. He accepted a British officer, William Dodd, who had deserted with his company, into his ranks, making him a major and placing him in command of a regiment. On Scindia's instructions, he left the regiment to garrison Ahmednuggur but knew the citadel would fall to the British so gave Dodd instructions to retreat back to the main army with the regiment intact, which Dodd achieved.
Pohlmann met Colonel Hector McCandless and Sergeant Richard Sharpe when they returned Simone Joubert, the wife of a French officer in Dodd's regiment. He was aware the pair were also spying and freely showed them the extent of his army, which vastly outnumbered the British. He offered Sharpe a commission in his army but, although Pohlmann had offered the pair his hospitality, Dodd had his men steal their horses. One of the thieves shot McCandless in the leg and was apprehended. Pohlmann realised Dodd was behind it but, with no proof, simply had the captured thief executed by having an elephant stand on his chest and crush him. He left Sharpe and McCandless with money for the lost horses.
Pohlmann wanted to turn and fight the British before they were reinforced but Scindia relied on advisers and astrologers. Eventually Pohlmann got his wish and assembled his army in defensive positions near Assaye. He was left in sole command of the army when Scindia and his ally the Rajah of Berar left the battlefield. However, an unexpected crossing of the river and devastating attack on his right flank saw his army overwhelmed by the British. Seeing the battle was lost, Pohlmann headed to Assaye, intending to flee with the loot he had gathered but Dodd and his men attacked them, stealing the loot and killing most of Pohlmann's bodyguards, with Pohlmann escaping by hiding in the hay before disguising himself in his old East India sergeant's uniform. He encountered Sharpe again, who had been after Dodd. Sharpe declined to take him prisoner but did take Simone, whose husband had been killed by Dodd and who Pohlmann had been hoping to "comfort", reminding Pohlmann that he lost.
Pohlmann encountered Sharpe again two years later when they were passengers together on the British merchant ship Calliope. Sharpe was now an ensign and Pohlmann had taken the identity of the Baron von Dornberg, a disinherited Hanoverian noble who had made money in India. His companion, Mathilde, posed as his wife, although Pohlmann intended to discard her once her use was over. Sharpe kept quiet about his identity and Pohlmann invited him to dine at the captain's table with him, so Sharpe could spend time with Lady Grace Hale. He was pleased to learn Dodd was dead.
However, Pohlmann was working with French diplomat Michel Vaillard, who was posing as his servant. They had arranged a treaty between the French and the Mahrattas, where the Mahrattas would distract the British by pretending to sue for peace, and were delivering the treaty to the French, along with information on the Mahrattas they could rely on. To this end, they convinced the ship's captain, Peculiar Cromwell, to allow his ship to be captured by the French vessel Revenant, which would then give them passage to France. Pohlmann, Vaillard, Cromwell and Mathilde crossed over to the Revenant, leaving a prize crew to run the Calliope.
However, the Revenant ended up caught up in the Battle of Trafalgar, joining the Franco-Spanish fleet. Pohlmann insisted on staying on deck alongside the ship's commander, Captain Montmerin, during the battle and was killed by a cannonball to the chest during the early stages. Montmerin noted he had been a brave man. Sharpe agreed he was a good soldier but commented that he had a habit of choosing the wrong side.
Trivia[]
- Pohlmann existed and did command the Mahratta army at Assaye. However, his involvement in Sharpe's Trafalgar is entirely fictional. It is believed that the real Pohlmann rejoined the East India Company as an officer.
