Atlas of Battles

battle, landmark, early modern

Battle of Plassey

Battle of Plassey was a battle fought on 23 June 1757 at Palashi, in what is now India. The recorded result: British victory; Mir Jafar becomes the Nawab of Bengal and Bengal becomes a British puppet state.

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Battle of Plassey
Francis Hayman, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
Fought23 June 1757
WherePalashi, India23.800N, 88.250E
OutcomeBritish victory; Mir Jafar becomes the Nawab of Bengal and Bengal becomes a British puppet state
BelligerentsKingdom of Great Britain British East India Company; Bengali defectorsagainstBengal State; France; French East India Company
Casualties and losses27 killed; 50 woundedand500 killed and wounded

Record

Date23 June 1757
PlacePalashi, India
23.800N, 88.250E
KindBattle, early modern
Territorial changeBengal came under de facto control of the British East India Company
StrengthEast India Company:750 British soldiers; 100 Topasses; 2,100 Indian sepoys; 100 gunners; 50 sailors; 8 cannon (six field artillery pieces and 2 howitzers)Total: 3,100 menBengal:16,000–18,000 cavalry; 35,000 infantry; 53 field pieces (mostly 32, 24, and 18-pounder pieces); France:about 40–50 French workers; 50 field piecesTotal: 50,000 men; more than 40–50 men (including artillerymen)
Casualties and losses27 killed; 50 wounded500 killed and wounded
Commanders
  • Siraj ud-Daulah
  • Diwan Mohanlal
  • Mir Madan
  • Sinfray
Battle of PlasseyBattle of PlasseyBattle of GiriaBattle of ChinsurahSiege of HooghlyAttack in HooghlyBattle of BedaraBattle of GiriaBattle of ChinsurahSiege of HooghlyAttack in HooghlyAsansolRajshahiBarddhamanKrishnanagarJashoreJamalpurPabnaTangail100 km23.800N, 88.250E
The recorded site, with the nearest other engagements in the atlas. Present-day coastlines, rivers and borders; towns from Natural Earth.
A Plan of the Battle of Plassey, fought 23 June 1757 by Col. Robt. Clive, against the Nabob of Bengal" Detailed depiction of the battlefield, with explanations of troop movements.
A Plan of the Battle of Plassey, fought 23 June 1757 by Col. Robt. Clive, against the Nabob of Bengal" Detailed depiction of the battlefield, with explanations of troop movements.. Hand colored map from the London Magazine, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.

The ground today

Relief of the ground around the site of Battle of Plassey
Relief within about 10.0 km of the site, contours every 5 m. Copernicus DEM GLO-30, ESA.
Satellite view of the site of Battle of Plassey today
The same ground from Sentinel-2 on 2023-04-19. Contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data 2023.

The recorded site stands at about 18 m; within 10.0 km the ground runs from 9 to 30 m, 20 m of relief, flat country and today it is 63% cropland, 25% tree cover, 6% water.

cropland: 63%tree cover: 25%water: 6%built-up: 5%cropland 63%tree cover 25%water 6%built-up 5%
west to east, 10.0 km11 to 21 mnorth to south, 10.0 km12 to 25 m
Elevation from the Copernicus DEM GLO-30 (ESA, Airbus); land cover from ESA WorldCover 2021 (CC BY 4.0), within about 5 km of the recorded site. Computed, not recorded.

Nearest engagements

Elsewhere in 1757

Combat data (CDB90)

Attacker: BENGALI ARMYDefender: BR ARMY
Strength50,0502,975
Casualties500 (1.0%)63 (2.1%)
Mission accomplishment, 1 to 1029
Outcomedefender won
Duration1 day
Front width3.2 km0.7 km
Attacker advanced-1 km

From the US Army Concepts Analysis Agency Database of Battles (CDB90, battle 66), public domain, in the CC0 tidy edition by Jeffrey B. Arnold. Figures are the database's estimates, compiled in 1990 from published histories, and may differ from the Wikipedia infobox above.

Battle of Plassey is one of 2,009 engagements of the 18th century in the atlas and one of 354 in present-day India.

Sources

Identity, coordinates, dates and the war from Wikidata Q203233, released under CC0. Result, belligerents, commanders, strength and casualties from the infobox of the English Wikipedia article Battle of Plassey, revision 1381150568, read 2026-11-14, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0; the article's text is not reproduced here. Present-day country and state from Natural Earth. Dates before 1582 follow the Julian calendar as recorded.