Pohlmann arrived in India as a sergeant in a
Hanoverian Army regiment sent to fight alongside the
East India Company's
Madras Army. He deserted his unit in 1792 or 1793 and took employment in the army of the
Maratha prince
Daulat Rao Sindhia. He served under the French mercenary
Benoît de Boigne, who promoted him to captain in 1794. By 1795, he was in command of a
battalion of infantry, serving alongside the
Anglo-Indian military adventurer
James Skinner. In early 1799,
Pierre Cuillier-Perron – who superseded de Boigne as the overall commander of Scindia's troops – promoted Pohlmann to colonel and gave him command of Scindia's second
brigade. Pohlmann was instrumental at defeating the
Rajput armies of
Jodhpur and
Jaipur at the Battle of Malpura. At the
Battle of Assaye in 1803, Pohlmann effectively commanded all the regular battalions in the
Maratha Army, after Scindia and the
Rajah of Berar absented themselves before the battle. He re-entered service with the East India Company as a lieutenant colonel in 1804. ==Fiction==