Battle & Siege of Kalakadu, 1755
Puli Thevar also won over three Pathan generals of Nawab named Mudemiah, Mian and Nabi Khan. Mudemiah was a good negotiator so Thevar sent him to Travancore to win Marthanda Varma, Raja of Travancore to support the Polygar confederacy. Main aim was to expel Mahfuz Khan, agent of Nawab in Polygar country.
Mudemiah returned to Tamil country with a force of 4000 men given to him by Marthanda Varma. Puli Thevar joined Mudemiah with his armies to fight Mahfuz Khan’s armies Mahfuz Khan had a larger army than Thevar, as he had received reinforcements from Nawab and British, but he had scattered his forces and Thevar’s troops, better armed, swiftly defeated these units before they could coalesce into a large formation.
These early swift victories in the open field encouraged Thevar to besiege the fort of Kalakadu. Mahfuz Khan sent a large cavalry force to help the garrison thus besieged. At this critical moment, the Travancore troops retreated as they had to handle a rebellion at home. With a large chunk of his men lost, Thevar knew well that the war was lost so he retreated.
Read more about this topic: Puli Thevar, Puli Thevar's Struggle-quoted From Caldwell's History of Tirunelveli
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