Siege of Pondicherry (1778)

Siege of Pondicherry
Part of the American Revolutionary War

Illustration of the siege by Henri Dupray
Date21 August – 19 October 1778
Location11°56′03″N 79°50′02″E / 11.934036°N 79.833869°E / 11.934036; 79.833869
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 regulars
9,000 sepoys
700 French regulars
400–600 sepoys
Casualties and losses
243 killed
930 wounded
144 killed
285 wounded
Location within Puducherry
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 Indian port of Pondicherry in August 1778, which capitulated after ten weeks of siege.