Battle of Chengam, Cause, Winners, Other Details

The Battle of Chengum was fought on 3rd September 1767 and is remembered as an important event of History of India. The battle took place between forces of Hyder Ali of Mysore and the Nizam of Hyderabad vs. the British East India Company at Chengum ( Tiruvannamalai district of Tamil Nadu). The British East India Company won the battle. In this article, we are going to cover all about the Battle of Chengum.  

Battle of Chengum 

The battle of Chengum is remembered as an important event due to the following reasons: 

• The battle of Chengum is also remembered as the Battle of Changama. This war was a part of the first Anglo-Mysore War. 
• Colonel Joseph Smith, an English Army Officer discovered in May 1767, that Hyder Ali and Nizam of Hyderabad, Asaf Jah II were forming an alliance. Under this alliance, Hyder Ali agreed to pay Rs.18 lakhs to the Nizam, who would bribe the Marathas to halt the southern incursions. In return, the Nizam would acknowledge Tipu Sultan, Hyder Ali’s son as the Nawab of Carnatic after its conquest. 
• However, after the agreement there were differences between Mysore and Hyderabad. 
• On August 25, 1767, British forces stationed at Kaveripattinam were attacked by the combined Mysore-Hyderabad troops, who took over the town by August 28. As Colonel Smith’s forces advanced towards Tiruvannamalai, they were ambushed on September 3, 1767, during the Battle of Chengam. 
• Despite being heavily outnumbered (Indian forces ~70,000 vs. British ~7,000), the Indian side suffered a major setback, losing nearly 2,000 men compared to 170 British casualties.
• The British regrouped and on September 26, 1767, defeated Hyder Ali again in the Battle of Tiruvannamalai. Continued failures, along with the Nizam’s secret communications with the British, eventually led to the breakdown of the Mysore-Hyderabad alliance.
• In 1768, the Nizam formally allied with the British through a treaty. The First Anglo-Mysore War ultimately ended with the Treaty of Madras.

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