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Amend coordinates. Add external link
|location=[[Thana]], Island of Salsette, [[Maharashtra]]
|presidency= [[Bombay (Presidency)|Bombay]]
|co-ordinates=[http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?ll=19 12'.200315, 72 59' .984553&z=16&t=h&hl=en 19.200315°N 72.984553°E]
|result= British capture Salsette Island and gain full control of Bombay Harbour and the surrounding waterways
|territory=
|combatant1= [[East India Company]]
|combatant2= Maratha Empire
|commander1= Brigadier General Robert Gordon (land forces), Commodore John Watson (naval forces)
|commander2= Anand Roa Ram Bivakalar
|strength1= 620 European, 1,000 sepoys and 200 gun lascars
==== Siege of Thana Fort 1774====
This was an event during the [[1st Maratha War]].
The [[East India Company]] appointed Thomas Mostyn as envoy to the Peshwa’s court in [[Poona]] 1st April 1772, the aim was to curry favour and to prevent other colonial countries gaining access to [[Bombay]]’s Harbour, and the surrounding waterways. The real intention was to get possession of Salsette Island and the [[Bassein]] port from the [[Maratha]]s. Mostyn's negotiations for the cession of Thana were rejected.
Urged by the news that a fleet had left Portugal to recover Salsette and Bassein, including possession of [[Thana]]. This would have left the [[Bombay]] isthmus isolated from the mainland of India. An assult assault was made on Thana Fort under Brigadier General Robert Gordon, on the 12th December 1774. On the 17th an attempt to fill the ditch was repulsed with the loss of 100 Europeans, a breach in the defences was made on the 24th, but it was not until the evening of the 28th the fort was taken, and the greater part of the garrison were put to the sword.
During the siege Commodore Watson, who was in command of the naval force, was mortally wounded by particles of sand driven into his body by a cannon shot, which struck the ground close to him.
====Thana Fort====
Thana fort is geometric with strong earthwork revetments radiating from the core. Seen from above, the defences are still visible.
==External links==
*[http://wikimapia.org/96843/Thane-Central-Jail Thana Fort] wikimapia.org
*[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Anglo-Maratha_War 1st Maratha War] Wikipedia
*[http://books.google.co.nzuk/books?id=sbMFCZyAcnQCCI0cAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA1010&lpg=PA1010PA58&dq=Dictionary+of+Battles+And+Sieges:+A+Guide+toBrigadier+8,500General+BattlesRobert+fromGordon+Antiquity+Thana&source=bl&ots=kG21j49Teb&sig=qSl7QOwnZGyMR27S5j0KXnL6M2I1774&hl=en&ei=JfAwTKC6OcSJnQeehvmJBAFNCETJPiMZCWswb_8OiaBQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=37&ved=0CCEQ6AEwAg0CEIQ6AEwBg#v=onepage&q=Brigadier%20General%20Robert%20Gordon%20%201774&f=false Battle Report]Google Books
*[http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=UWooAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA302&dq=A+history+of+the+Mahrattas,+Volume+2&cd=2#v=onepage&q&f=false History of the Marathas] Google Books p198
*[http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=fUfRAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA253&dq=Commodore+Watson+1774&hl=en&ei=6c2ETIGKIovBswao_-SaBQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=3&ved=0CDQQ6AEwAg#v=onepage&q=Commodore%20Watson%201774&f=false Biography of Commodore Watson] Google Books
