ORDER OF BATTLE // July 1, 1781
Battle of Porto Novo
Estimated force strength by side, with confidence labels per surviving record.
Forces engaged
2 sides catalogued · combined 48,000 estimated
East India Company
8,000
Medium-confidence figure
Mysore
40,000
Medium-confidence figure
Battle context
The Battle of Porto Novo on 1 July 1781 was a significant engagement of the Second Anglo-Mysore War, in which a British East India Company force of more than 8,000 men under Sir Eyre Coote defeated a Mysorean army estimated at 40,000 commanded by Hyder Ali. The result demonstrated that a smaller, well-led Company force could overcome a numerically superior Mysorean army in open battle. Coming during a war in which Hyder Ali had posed a serious threat to British positions in southern India, the victory at Porto Novo checked Mysorean momentum and helped stabilize the Company's military position on the subcontinent.
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