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The Battle of the Nedumkotta took place on 29 or 28 December 1789, and was the opening of hostilities in the Third Anglo-Mysore War and was also a part of the Travancore-Mysore War. Forces of Tipu Sultan, the ruler of the Kingdom of Mysore, attacked the fortified line known as the Nedumkotta that protected the Kingdom of Travancore, an ally of the British East India Company.
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The strength of Travancore Nair Army was greatly reduced after several earlier battles with Hyder Ali's forces. The death of the Dutch military leader Eustachius De Lannoy in 1777 further diminished the morale of the soldiers. The death of Makayiram Thirunal and Asvati Thirunal in 1786 forced the Travancore royal family to adopt two princesses from Kolathunad. As the threat of an invasion by Tipu Sultan loomed in the horizon, Travancore's Maharajah Dharma Raja tried to rebuild his army by appointing Chempakaraman Pillai as the Dalawa and Kesava Pillai as the Sarvadhikaryakkar.[1]
Tipu Sultan planned the invasion of Travancore for many years, and he was especially concerned with the Nedumkotta fortifications, which had prevented his father Hyder Ali from annexing the kingdom. On December 29, 1789, Tipu Sultan marched his troops from Coimbatore and attacked the Nedumkotta. His Mysorean Army were joined by some 500 local Muslims. Tipu's army consisted of 20,000 infantry, 10,000 spearmen and match-lockmen, 5,000 cavalry and 20 field guns.[2]
Travancore purchased the strategic forts of Cranganore and Ayacottah from the Dutch to improve the country's defenses. The deal was finalized by Dewan Kesava Pillai and Dutch merchants David Rabbi and Ephraim Cohen under the observation of Maharajah Dharma Raja and Dutch East India Company Governor John Gerard van Anglebeck. Travancore also held a treaty with the British East India Company, under whose terms two battalions of the Company army were stationed at the Travancore-Cochin frontier. Tipu Sultan objected to these purchases because the forts, even though they had long been in Dutch hands, were in a territory that paid him tribute.
Kesava Pillai was appointed as the Commander-in-Chief of the Travancore Army. To boost the strength of the armed forces, several thousand Nair militiamen were called up from Kalaris all over the kingdom. The forts of Cranganore and Ayacottah were repaired and garrisoned.[3]
Tipu reached Nedumkotta on 28 December 1789. Out of his army numbering several tens of thousands, about 14,000 along with 500 local Muslims marched towards the fortification. By 29 December, a large portion of the right flank of Nedumkotta was under the control of Mysore Army. Now only a lengthy ditch (16 foot wide and 20 foot deep) separated the Kingdom of Travancore from the Mysorean forces. Tipu commanded his soldiers to level up the ditch, so that his army can move forward. The retreating soldiers and militiamen from Travancore regrouped on the other side of the ditch. Unable to fill the ditch under heavy fire from the Travancoreans, Tipu ordered his soldiers to march forward through a very narrow passage.[4] This ill advised move backfired on the Mysoreans, as a group of two dozen Nair militiamen from the Nandyat kalari under Vaikom Padmanabha Pillai ambushed their enemies half-way. A few dozen Mysorean soldiers died of direct gun-fire, and the commanding officer was killed. Many more panicked and in the ensuing chaos fell in to the ditch and died. The reinforcements sent by the Mysoreans were prevented from merging with the main contingent by a batch of the Travancore regular army. Tipu himself fell from his palanquin and was nearly stampeded. He was seriously wounded and went permanently lame.[5][6]
The Nairs of Travancore recovered the sword, the pallanquin, the dagger, the ring and many other personal effects of Tipu from the ditches of the Nedumkotta and presented them to the Maharajah of Travancore. Some of them were sent to the Nawab of Arcot (one of Tipu's arch rivals) on his request. The Mysorean army suffered 2,000 deaths and many thousands were injured. Several high ranking Mysorean officers were taken prisoner, including 5 Europeans and one Maratha.
After his defeat at Nedumkotta, Tipu regrouped, and captured the Nedumkotta line several months later. His forces were once again defeated by the Travancoreans near the Alwaye river in 1790. Faced with epidemics of cholera and malaria, increasing resistance from the Travancoreans, and the looming threat of war with the British in eastern Mysore, Tipu retreated. Tipu was forced to concentrate on simultaneous attacks of English on Mysore and the damp weather.[7]