Ramaroson Andrianjaka was a famed general of the Kingdom of Imerina. The earthen fort he occupied was, in the eyes of the locals on Madagascar Island, practically an entire earthen city.
To build this earthen city, Ranavalona I had mobilized more than ten thousand people, and it had taken a full three years to complete.
The purpose of building it was to resist European artillery. In earlier battles against Britain and France, the Kingdom of Imerina had witnessed the power of cannons firsthand.
Even the strongest warriors, shields in hand, could not stop cannonballs from harming their generals. Thus, Ranavalona I had spared no expense in completing this earthen city.
Ramaroson Andrianjaka himself had immense confidence in it, and had repeatedly made British and French prisoners test it by bombarding it with cannons.
The artillery brought by Britain and France could not effectively pierce its walls. Even when weaker sections were breached, they only left small holes, which were not difficult to repair.
Ramaroson Andrianjaka ordered the prisoners to test the earthen city's strength again and again, only beheading them or throwing them into the mines once they had exhausted every option.
And so, utterly assured, he led his trump card into the earthen city. What he did not know was that the British and French had previously brought mostly two-pounders and three-pounders.
Those cannons had never been meant for siege warfare, so the damage they inflicted on walls was limited.
Britain and France could not really be blamed for this either. Before the Austrian Empire's infantry guns had been developed, they too had preferred bringing light artillery when fighting natives. After all, native countries usually had terrible transport conditions, and their defenses were generally just earthen walls and wooden fences—not worth the trouble at all.
Dragging along several heavy