Siege of Pondicherry (1778)

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Siege of Pondicherry
Part of the American Revolutionary War[1]
French map depicting the siege, c. 1778
Date 21 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 British occupation of French India begins
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
class=notpageimage| Location within Puducherry Show map of Puducherry Siege of Pondicherry (1778) (India) Show map of 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.