The siege of Trichinopoly (1751–1752) was conducted by Chanda Sahib, who had been recognized as the Nawab of the Carnatic by representatives of the French East India Company, against the fortress town of

Trichinopoly Tiruchirappalli () ( formerly Trichinopoly in English), also called Tiruchi or Trichy, is a major tier II city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and the administrative headquarters of Tiruchirappalli district. The city is credited with bein ...

, held by

Muhammed Ali Khan Wallajah Muhammad Ali Khan Wallajah, or Muhammed Ali, Wallajah (7 July 1717 – 13 October 1795), was the Nawab of the Carnatic from 1749 until his death in 1795. He declared himself Nawab in 1749. This position was disputed between Wallajah and Ch ...

Background

Following the

Battle of Ambur The Battle of Ambur (3 August 1749) was the first major battle of the Second Carnatic War. The battle was initiated by Muzaffar Jung and supported by Joseph François Dupleix and led by Chanda Sahib, who sought to overthrow Anwaruddin Muhammed K ...

in 1749, in which Muhammed's father

Anwaruddin Muhammed Khan Anwaruddin Khan (1672 – 3 August 1749), also known as Muhammad Anwaruddin, was the 1st Nawab of Arcot. He belonged to a family of Qannauji Sheikhs. He was a major figure during the first two Carnatic Wars. He was also Subedar of Thatta from 172 ...

was slain, Muhammed fled to Trichinopoly. Chanda, assisted by Joseph François Dupleix, had planned to besiege Muhammed there in 1749, but the need for funding and provisions led him to instead besiege Tanjore first, and movements of Chanda's Maratha enemies prompted him to lift that siege and move north to face the new threat. Muhammed had in the meantime opened separate negotiations with both the French and British for support. In response to these, the British sent several hundred Europeans to Trichinopoly.

Siege

In March 1751 Chanda again began moving south from the Carnatic capital of Arcot, again with French support. The size of his force prompted the British at

Madras Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...

to send additional troops toward Trichinopoly to intercept Chanda. After a brief encounter near Valikondapuram in July, the outnumbered British retreated to Trichinopoly. Chanda followed with his main army, and began besieging the fortress town. Siege operations were principally conducted by the French contingent, first under D'Auteuil, and the later under Law. In an attempt to relieve the siege, the British in Madras sent Captain

Robert Clive Robert Clive, 1st Baron Clive, (29 September 1725 – 22 November 1774), also known as Clive of India, was the first British Governor of the Bengal Presidency. Clive has been widely credited for laying the foundation of the British ...

with a small force to occupy Arcot, which Chanda had left inadequately defended. Chanda detached 4,000 of his siege force in an attempt to recover Arcot; this attempt famously failed, propelling Clive into a more prominent role in India. The siege was eventually lifted, and the tables turned, in April 1752 with the arrival of British reinforcements led by Stringer Lawrence and including Clive. On 9 April Lawrence made a junction with troops sent out of Trichinopoly and made it inside the lines. Two days later he led a

sortie A sortie (from the French word meaning ''exit'' or from Latin root ''surgere'' meaning to "rise up") is a deployment or dispatch of one military unit, be it an aircraft, ship, or troops, from a strongpoint. The term originated in siege warfare. ...

against the besiegers, prompting Law to lift the siege and retreat to the isle of Srirangam.

Aftermath

The British then seized the opportunity to act against an indecisive opponent, and besieged and the French on the island. Chanda eventually negotiated a surrender to Tanjorean forces that had arrived to assist the British, believing this to be preferable to surrendering to the British. The Tanjoreans violated their promises to assist in his escape and beheaded him on 14 June. Law surrendered the French troops on the same day.

References

*Dodwell, Henry
''Clive and Dupleix''
*Mehta, J. L
''Advanced study in the history of modern India 1707-1813''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Trichinopoly 1751 Battles of the Second Carnatic War French East India Company Battles involving the French East India Company Sieges involving the Indian kingdoms Siege of Trichinopoly (1751–52) Siege of Trichinopoly (1751–52) Siege of Trichinopoly (1751–52) 1751 in India 1752 in India Sieges involving the British East India Company History of Tiruchirappalli

Background

Siege

Aftermath

See also

References