| Tillali Massacre | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the Cattle War | |||||||||
_-_Kulturhistorisk_museum,_UiO_-_UEM4416.jpg) Tillally, the governor`s country residence, by Peter Anker | |||||||||
| |||||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||||
| Template:Country data Danish India |
 Thanjavur | ||||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
|
Template:Country data Danish IndiaTemplate:Preview warning Peter Hesselberg † Template:Country data Danish IndiaTemplate:Preview warning Hans Jacob Attrup † |
Pratap Singh Perumal Naik | ||||||||
| Strength | |||||||||
|
27 Soldiers of the corps 30 Indian sepoys Total: 55–57 |
2,000[1]–4,000[2] Cavalry 2,000 men[2] Total: 4,000–6,000 | ||||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||||
| 55 killed[2] | 300 killed[3] | ||||||||
| 45 Civilians killed | |||||||||
The Tillali Massacre (Danish: Massakren i Tillali), or the Battle of Tillali (Danish: Slaget ved Tillali) was a confrontation on 30 June 1756 during the Cattle War, between the Danish command at the village of Tillali (Thillaiyadi) and the Raja of Thanjavur, Pratap Singh. The confrontation resulted in a Thanjavurian victory and a subsequent massacre of most Danish troops. After the victory, the Thanjavurian army led a further invasion into Danish Tranquebar and besieged Fort Dansborg.
Background and prelude[edit | edit source]
In January 1756 a newly appointed local governor called Perumal Naik was allegedly said to have raided Danish Tranquebar's surrounding districts.[4] In June the same year, a similar incident occurred, where Naik stole a herd of cattles.[5] As commander of the Danish border, Captain Strøbel was ordered to retaliate and marched from the Danish border town of Tillali, to occupy the Thanjavurian town of Anandamangalam with 60 men of the corps and 20-30 sepoys.[1][5] The remaining force at Tillali received Danish and Indian reinforcements, to protect to border.[1][5]
Prelude[edit | edit source]
In reaction to the Danish mobilization of Tranquebar and fortification of Anandamangalam, the nayak of Thanjavur, Pratap Singh, sent roughly 2000 cavalry and 2000 well armed men together with Perumal Naik's army into Danish territory.[1][2] The combined Thanjavurian army soon reached the Tillali, where the stationed Danes were attacked.[1]
Confrontation[edit | edit source]
Template:Multi image In command of the Danish outpost in Tillali, were captain Peter Hesselberg, with his Son-in-law, Hans Jacob Attrup, as ensign.[1] In Tillali the first confrontations occurred in the local hostel and pagoda.[1] The Danish forces retreated and took coverage behind a wall, where they got reinforcements from Tillali's local bailiff.[1] Yet the large Thanjavurian army were no match for the small Danish contingent and the Danes were subsequently massacred.[1]
Massacre[edit | edit source]
Sources describing the incident differ on the death toll. Most agree that both captain, Peter Hesselberg, and ensign, Hans Attrup were killed.[1][2][3]
Additionally, according to Hans Gregersen in his book Trankebar, two lower officers, 24 European and dozens of Indians were killed.[1] All but one, who hid in the pagoda remained unharmed.[1] A similar claim is made by Danish historian, Kay Larsen, in the brugsforeningsbladet he notes that two officers, 24 European and 45 local people from Tillali died.[2] According to Holger Christensen's Det danske fremstoed i Indien i 1750-erne 18 men of the corps[lower-alpha 1] died.[6] Another claim by Bering Liisberg's Danmarks søfart og søhandel claims that 54 people were either killed or wounded.[3]
Aftermath[edit | edit source]
After the massacre at Tillali and the Danish retreat from Anandamangalam, all Danish districts outside Tranquebar were occupied and raided.[3] Fort Dansborg was temporarily put in a state of emergency and besieged by the Thanjavurians.[3][5][7]
See also[edit | edit source]
- Danish overseas colonies
- Siege of Dansborg (1644) – Siege in Tranquebar, India 1644
- Dano-Mughal War – Danish colonial conflict against the Mughal Empire
- Assault on Osu
Notes[edit | edit source]
References[edit | edit source]
- ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 Gregersen, Hans (2018). Trankebar [Tranquebar] (in Danish). Forlag A/S. pp. 12–13. ISBN 9788711978337.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: unrecognized language (link) - ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 Larsen, Kay (1935). Danmarks Kolonier (PDF) (in Danish). BRUGSFORENINGS~ BLADET. p. 272.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: unrecognized language (link) - ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 Liisberg, Bering (2020). Danmarks søfart og søhandel (in Danish). SAGA Egmont. ISBN 978-87-26-30660-6.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: unrecognized language (link) - ↑ Christensen, Holger. "Det danske fredmstød i Indien i 1750-erne. Baggrund og forløb" (PDF).
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 Geisler, Jens (1 August 2018). "Kvægkrigen på Coromandelkysten 1756 -". milhist.dk (in dansk). Retrieved 13 February 2024.
- ↑ Holger, Christensen (1992). Det Danske fremstød i Indian i 1750-erne (PDF) (in Danish). Copenhagen: Copenhagen University. p. 126.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: unrecognized language (link) - ↑ Illustreret Tidende (PDF). Vol. II. Det kongelige bibliotek.