Battle of Savanur

The Battle of Savanur occurred between the forces of the Maratha Empire and the forces of the Kingdom of Mysore from September 1786 to October 1786. Maratha general, Haripant's army decided to move to Savanur due to growing illness and lack of resources amongst his Maratha troops. His army was pursued by the forces of Tipu Sultan, who made two attacks early in September on the Maratha camp, which proved to be indecisive. On September 15, 1786, Tipu's army encamped approximately 5 miles from Savanur. On October 1, 1786, Tipu's army divided into four columns and made a surprise attack on the Maratha position. The Marathas, however, were informed by their spies about Tipu's surprise attack and had evacuated their position. The Marathas moved to a height from which they attacked Tipu's forces with artillery. Tipu ordered his troops not to fire back to deceive the Marathas into thinking that he did not possess long range guns. He did this to lure the Marathas to make an offensive. The strategy had proven to be effective, and the Marathas advanced to the Mysore position. When the Marathas had come close enough, Tipu's army unleashed a strong barrage of heavy fire on them. Tipu's heavy firing on the Marathas continued for approximately 7 hours. The Marathas were forced to retreat and Tipu Sultan entered Savanur on October 10, 1786 with support from the inhabitants of the city.