`` For other sieges with this name , see Siege of Pondicherry ( disambiguation ) '' The Siege of Pondicherry was a colonial military operation Military_operation in the early stages of the French Revolutionary Wars .

Britain and France both controlled Control colonies on the Indian Subcontinent and when the French National Convention declared Expressing_publicly war on Britain on 1 February 1793 , both sides were prepared GetReady for conflict in India .

French India was governed Control from Pondicherry ( modern Puducherry ) on the Coromandel Coast .

British forces in India were considerably stronger than the French , with the British Indian Army supported Supporting by British Army detachments and a Royal Navy squadron under Rear-Admiral William Cornwallis .

Pondicherry 's defenses were strong , but the garrison was too small to effectively man the walls , and although a French frigate squadron was stationed Placing at the distant Île de France , it was unable to effectively protect Defending the French Indian coast .

Pondicherry 's defenses were strong , but the garrison was too small to effectively man the walls , and although a French frigate squadron was stationed Placing at the distant Île de France , it was unable to effectively protect Defending the French Indian coast .

News of the outbreak of war took Conquering five months to reach the Indian Ocean but British forces , recently engaged Forming_relationships in the Third Anglo-Mysore War , were mobilised Becoming_a_member in preparation and immediately seized the ports of French India .

Within hours the French commander Colonel Prosper de Clermont requested Request a truce , followed Self_motion the next morning by an unconditional surrender Surrendering .

After Rossbach ( 5 November ) , the French had refused Agree_or_refuse_to_act to participate Participation further in Austria 's war with Prussia ; and after Leuthen ( 5 December ) , Austria could not continue it by herself .

The Battle Hostile_encounter of Saint-Mihiel was a major World War I battle Hostile_encounter fought Hostile_encounter from 12–15 September 1918 , involving Cause_to_be_included the American Expeditionary Forces ( AEF ) and 110,000 French troops under the command Control of General John J. Pershing of the United States against German positions .

The Saint-Mihiel attack Attack established Creating the stature of the U.S. Army in the eyes of the French and British forces , and again demonstrated Coming_to_believe the critical role of artillery during World War Military_operation I and the difficulty of supplying Supply such massive armies while they were on the move Motion .

All the passengers were French citizens from Martinique , with the exception of one Italian , acting as the tour operator .

In early August 1509 , Maximilian set out Departing from Trento with some 35,000 men and headed Self_motion south into Venetian territory ; there he was joined Becoming_a_member by French and Papal contingents .

For two weeks , Imperial and French artillery bombarded Attack the city , successfully breaching Committing_crime the walls ; but the attacking Attack troops were driven Motion back by determined Deciding Venetian resistance when they attempted to enter .

He was subsequently held Defending in custody there by the French administration and brought Bringing to the island of Réunion .

On15 May France rejected Agree_or_refuse_to_act Bacar 's request Request for asylum but the French refugee office ruled Legal_rulings that the ousted leader could not be extradited Extradition to the Comoros because of the risk of persecution .

In the summer of 1806 , during the War Hostile_encounter of the Third Coalition ( of Britain , Russia , Prussia , Sweden ) , Napoleon 's ambassador General Count Sebastiani managed to convince Convincing the Porte to cancel Change_event_time all special privileges granted Preventing_or_letting to Russia in 1805 and to open Process_start the Ottoman straits ( Dardanelles ) exclusively to French warships .

But the Turks erected Building powerful batteries and strengthened Cause_change_of_strength their fortifications with the help Assistance of General Sebastiani and French engineers .

The Bali Strait Incident was an encounter between a squadron of six French Navy frigates and six British East India Company ( EIC ) East Indiamen in the Bali Strait on 28 January 1797 .

The incident took place Process_start admidst the East Indies campaign of the French Revolutionary Wars repeated French attempts to disrupt Hindering the highly valuable British trade routes with British India and Qing Dynasty China .

The incident took place Process_start admidst the East Indies campaign of the French Revolutionary Wars repeated French attempts to disrupt Hindering the highly valuable British trade routes with British India and Qing Dynasty China .

In 1796 , a large squadron of French frigates arrived in Arriving the Indian Ocean under the command of Contre-amiral Pierre César Charles de Sercey .

The EIC Commodore , James Farquharson , captain of , knew Know that if he fled Escaping the French would rapidly overwhelm Destroying his ships so he decided Deciding to try a bluff .

The Attack Attack on Mers-el-Kébir ( 3 July 1940 ) also known as the Battle Military_operation of Mers-el-Kébir , was part of Operation Military_operation Catapult , a British naval attack Attack on French Navy ships at the naval base at Mers El Kébir on the coast of French Algeria .

The Attack Attack on Mers-el-Kébir ( 3 July 1940 ) also known as the Battle Military_operation of Mers-el-Kébir , was part of Operation Military_operation Catapult , a British naval attack Attack on French Navy ships at the naval base at Mers El Kébir on the coast of French Algeria .

The bombardment Attack killed Killing 1,297 French servicemen , sank a battleship and damaged Damaging five ships , for a British loss Earnings_and_losses of five aircraft shot Use_firearm down and two crewmen killed Killing .

Admiral François Darlan , commander of the French Navy , promised Commitment the British that the fleet would remain under French control Control but Winston Churchill and the War Cabinet judged Deciding that the fleet was too powerful to risk Risk an Axis take-over Conquering .

Admiral François Darlan , commander of the French Navy , promised Commitment the British that the fleet would remain under French control Control but Winston Churchill and the War Cabinet judged Deciding that the fleet was too powerful to risk Risk an Axis take-over Conquering .

After the attack Attack at Mers-el-Kébir and the Battle Military_operation of Dakar , French aircraft raided Attack Gibraltar in retaliation Revenge and Marshal Philippe Pétain , who had become Becoming the prime minister of France on 16 June , severed Process_end diplomatic relations with the United Kingdom .

In 1979 , P. M. H. Bell wrote Writing that `` The times were desperate ; invasion Attack seemed imminent ; and the British government simply could not afford to risk Risk the Germans seizing Getting control Control of the French fleet ...

The French thought they were acting Action honourably in terms of their armistice Process_end with Nazi Germany and were convinced Know they would never turn Bringing over their fleet to Germany .

On 10 July , Marshal Pétain was installed Change_of_leadership as leader of the new French State .

French grievances festered for years over what they considered Deciding a betrayal by their former ally .

On 27 November 1942 , after Operation Military_operation Torch , the Allied invasion Attack of Morocco and French Algeria had begun Process_start , the French navy foiled Removing a German attempt to capture Conquering the rest of the French fleet ( Operation Military_operation Anton ) by scuttling Destroying their ships in Toulon Harbour .

On 27 November 1942 , after Operation Military_operation Torch , the Allied invasion Attack of Morocco and French Algeria had begun Process_start , the French navy foiled Removing a German attempt to capture Conquering the rest of the French fleet ( Operation Military_operation Anton ) by scuttling Destroying their ships in Toulon Harbour .

On 27 November 1942 , after Operation Military_operation Torch , the Allied invasion Attack of Morocco and French Algeria had begun Process_start , the French navy foiled Removing a German attempt to capture Conquering the rest of the French fleet ( Operation Military_operation Anton ) by scuttling Destroying their ships in Toulon Harbour .

French dragoons supported Supporting by infantry and commanded Control by General Exelmans destroyed Destroying a Prussian brigade of hussars under the command Control of Lieutenant Colonel Eston von Sohr ( who was severely wounded Bodily_harm and taken Conquering prisoner during the skirmish ) .

However , when the Prussian detachment was in the vicinity of Rocquencourt it was ambushed Attack by a superior French force .

Under attack the Prussians retreated Escaping from Versailles and headed Self_motion east , but were blocked Hindering by the French at Vélizy .

The Action of 9 September 1796 was an inconclusive minor naval engagement Hostile_encounter between small French Navy and British Royal Navy squadrons off northeastern Sumatra , near Banda Aceh , during the French Revolutionary Wars Hostile_encounter .

The Action of 9 September 1796 was an inconclusive minor naval engagement Hostile_encounter between small French Navy and British Royal Navy squadrons off northeastern Sumatra , near Banda Aceh , during the French Revolutionary Wars Hostile_encounter .

The French squadron comprised Containing six frigates engaged Hostile_encounter on a commerce raiding Attack operation Military_operation against British trade routes passing Motion_directional through captured Conquering parts of the Dutch East Indies , and posed Causation a considerable threat to the weakened British naval forces in the region .

The British force consisted of two 74-gun ships of the line hastily paired to oppose Agree_or_refuse_to_act the eastward advance Self_motion of the French squadron .

The French squadron , commanded Control by Contre-amiral Pierre César Charles de Sercey , had left Departing their base on Île de France in July , cruising Patrolling off Ceylon and Tranquebar before sailing Self_motion eastwards .

On 8 September , while the French were removing Removing supplies from a captured British merchant ship east of Banda Aceh , two large sails were spotted Know .

These were HMS `` Arrogant '' and HMS `` Victorious '' , sent Sending to drive Motion off the French before they could attack Attack the scattered British shipping and ports in the region .

The French frigates , particularly `` Vertu '' and `` Seine '' , also suffered Damaging and by late morning both sides disengaged Escaping , the British retiring Process_end to Madras for repairs while Sercey anchored Placing at King 's Island in the Mergui Archipelago , eventually sheltering in Batavia .

The Raid Military_operation on Genoa was a minor naval engagement fought Hostile_encounter in the harbour of the Italian city of Genoa during the first year of the French Revolutionary Wars .

French Republican forces in the Mediterranean , under pressure from Austrian and Spanish armies , Royalist uprisings and British blockade had suffered Bodily_harm the loss of their principal naval base and the fleet stationed there when British forces under Lord Hood seized Toulon at the invitation of the city 's Royalist faction .

The survivors of the French fleet were scattered Dispersal across the Mediterranean , several sheltering in neutral Italian harbours , including the frigates `` Modeste '' at Genoa and `` Impérieuse '' at Leghorn .