Siege of Pondicherry (1778) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Siege of Pondicherry |
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| Part of the American Revolutionary War | |||||||
 French map depicting the siege, c. 1778 |
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| Belligerents | |||||||
 Great Britain British East India Company |
 France |
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| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| Hector Munro Edward Vernon |
Guillaume de Bellecombe (POW) François-Jean-Baptiste l'Ollivier de Tronjoli |
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| Strength | |||||||
| 1,500 British regulars 9,000 or more sepoys |
700 French regulars 400–600 sepoys |
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| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| 77 British army killed 11 British navy killed 155 sepoys killed 193 British army wounded 53 British navy wounded 684 sepoys wounded |
92 French killed 52 sepoys killed 191 French wounded 94 sepoys wounded |
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The Siege of Pondicherry was an important battle in India during the American Revolutionary War. It happened when Great Britain and France went to war. In August 1778, British forces surrounded and attacked the French port city of Pondicherry (now called Puducherry). After about ten weeks, the French defenders surrendered. This battle was the first major military action in India after Britain and France declared war.
Contents
Why the Siege Happened
In 1777, the American colonies won a big battle against Britain at Saratoga. This victory encouraged France to join the war against Britain. France decided to become an ally of the United States.
News reached the French colony of Pondicherry in India by July 1778. It was clear that war between France and Britain was about to begin. British colonies in India had already been told to capture French lands there. They started getting ready for military action.
Pondicherry's Defenses
Pondicherry was the main city for France in India. It was also France's largest possession on the subcontinent. The British easily captured all other French areas in India in 1778. Only Pondicherry was ready to fight back.
The French governor, General Guillaume de Bellecombe, had about 700 French soldiers and 400 sepoys (local Indian troops). The city's defenses were not in great shape. Pondicherry had been captured and recaptured many times in past wars. Efforts to make its walls stronger after the Seven Years' War had failed because of disagreements among French leaders. In 1778, the outer walls of the city were still unfinished. Parts of the city were open to direct attack.
Governor Bellecombe quickly started to improve the defenses. He worked fast because he knew the British were coming. Important gates were blocked. Wooden fences and gun batteries were built along the shore. Anything that could hide British soldiers advancing on the city was removed or destroyed. Bellecombe also got more troops before the British arrived. Soldiers from Karikal (which the British took on August 10) added about 100 sepoys. Some people living in Pondicherry also joined the fight.
A small French navy was put together to face the British ships. Admiral Tronjoli led a fleet of five ships. These included the large 64-gun ship Brillant and the frigate Pourvoyeuse.
The Siege Begins
First Encounters
The British army from Madras was led by General Hector Munro. His army had almost 20,000 men. They started arriving near Pondicherry on August 8. By August 20, the entire army was there. The city was surrounded, and the siege began.
The first big fight was at sea. Admiral Edward Vernon led the British fleet. His five ships had slightly less firepower than the French fleet. Vernon commanded the 60-gun ship HMS Rippon.
On August 10, the French fleet fought Vernon's ships for two hours. Admiral Tronjoli was hurt, but the French ships managed to make Vernon's fleet leave. On August 14, French ships saw two unknown ships. They were transport ships from the British East India Company. The captains didn't know about the war and sailed right towards Pondicherry with British flags flying. Two French ships, Pourvoyeuse and Sartine, slowly chased them. The British merchant ships got away. However, Sartine was captured on August 25 when it got too close to the British fleet. This loss made the French navy weaker. But then, the 26-gun frigate Elizabeth arrived at Pondicherry. It was a private ship that joined the French fleet.
On August 20, the British fleet, now with six ships, appeared again. The French fleet had Elizabeth, but Le Brisson had to stay in the harbor because it was damaged. So, the French were still at a disadvantage. The next day, Tronjoli sailed the rest of the fleet south. It's not clear if a battle was offered or tried, but no fight happened. Tronjoli kept sailing south. Governor Bellecombe was shocked on September 2 to learn that Tronjoli had sailed all the way to Île de France, leaving only Elizabeth and La Pourvoyeuse behind.
The British army didn't do much in their siege operations until September. Bellecombe used this time to make the defenses even stronger. He built more barriers and covered the powder storage with iron. He also had to keep stopping his soldiers from firing cannons at the distant British positions, as it wasn't effective.
Fighting During the Siege
On the night of September 1, about 300 British soldiers moved forward. They were protecting engineers who started building siege works. They planned to attack two spots: the northwest wall and the southernmost wall. Gun batteries were set up to protect this work. A third battery was placed to the southwest on September 3. This battery was in a position to fire along the French defenses. Bellecombe responded by sending a few hundred men to pretend to attack the southern battery. This drew nearly 3,000 British soldiers close enough for the French guns to hit them. The French caused a lot of damage, with only one French soldier dying.
The British siege continued throughout September, often under heavy fire. British gun batteries moved closer and closer to the city walls. They caused a lot of damage inside the city. The hospital had to be moved. The powder storage (a main target for the British guns) was also emptied. On September 19, a British cannonball killed the commander of the French artillery. By September 24, holes started appearing in the walls being attacked. By October 6, British trenches had reached the inner ditches. More gun batteries were causing significant damage along all the French defenses.
On September 25, the French tried a nighttime attack to destroy the southern battery. But they were discovered. A guard was disarmed but not killed, so he could raise the alarm. The French soldiers also got lost, so the attack was stopped. A second attack on October 4 was a bit more successful. The southwest gun battery was reached while its crew was asleep. The guns were spiked (damaged so they couldn't fire, though they were soon fixed). Some of the crew were killed. Bellecombe also got a small injury on October 4 when a musket ball hit him, but he kept leading the defense.
The Siege Ends
Between October 6 and 13, the British continued their siege, but heavy rains made it difficult. The British managed to drain the northern ditch, which the French tried to flood again without success. On October 14, the walls of the two main targets for the British lay in ruins. Preparations began for a final assault.
Bellecombe was also running out of ammunition. After a meeting with his officers on October 15, he sent a truce flag to Munro the next day. He signed the surrender terms on October 18.
What Happened Next
The French force, with less than 1,500 soldiers, had held out for almost eighty days against a British army of 20,000. The French defenders suffered heavy losses: more than 300 French soldiers and nearly 150 sepoys were killed or wounded. Over 200 civilians were also hurt. The British had more than 900 casualties. The French defenders were allowed to march out with their flags flying. They were eventually sent back to France.
After this victory, Britain took over France's other colonies in India. This also helped start the Second Mysore War.
