Siege of Pondicherry (1778)

Siege of Pondicherry
Part of the American Revolutionary War[1]

French map depicting the siege, c. 1778
Date21 August – 19 October 1778
Location
Pondicherry (now Puducherry), French colony in India
11°56′2.53″N 79°50′1.93″E / 11.9340361°N 79.8338694°E / 11.9340361; 79.8338694
Result British victory
Belligerents
Great Britain
British East India Company
France
Commanders and leaders
Hector Munro
Edward Vernon
Guillaume de Bellecombe (POW)
François-Jean-Baptiste l'Ollivier de Tronjoli
Strength
1,500 British army regulars
9,000 or more company troops and sepoys
700 French regulars
400–600 sepoys
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
Siege of Pondicherry (1778) is located in Puducherry
Siege of Pondicherry (1778)
Location within Puducherry
Siege of Pondicherry (1778) is located in India
Siege of Pondicherry (1778)
Siege of Pondicherry (1778) (India)

The siege of Pondicherry was the first military action on the Indian subcontinent following the declaration of war between Great Britain and France in the American Revolutionary War. A British force besieged the French-controlled port of Pondicherry (now Puducherry) in August 1778, which capitulated after ten weeks of siege.

  1. ^ Tucker (2018), p. 771