Born Thomas Arthur O'Mullally of Tullindally, Ireland, he joined the Irish Brigade in the service of France at the age of 20. Lally, as he became known, served without particular distinction until the battle of Fontenoy. Here he is credited with being the Officer who suggested to De Saxe the changing of the disposition of the French artillery that was instrumental in the defeat of the Allies. At some point during his career he became the Comte de Lally-Tollendal, a title which was more in keeping with his rank and status. Lawford describes Lally as ". . . an extremely brave, energetic and determined soldier… He possessed the boundless self-confidence of a headstrong, vain and obstinate man; impatient and mercurial in temperament, he lacked the intelligence to be aware of his own limitations… a man unable to understand any viewpoint but his own… ."

On 7th April 1757 Lally arrived at Pondicherry accompanied by several French noblemen including the Comte D'Estaing. Without waiting for the rest of his regiment to disembark, Lally ordered D'Estaing to gather together some troops and prepare an offensive against the British based at Madras. The treasury at Pondicherry, however, Lally found to be almost empty and in no fit state to support operations against the British. Undeterred, Lally levied contributions from the noblemen who had landed with him. Significantly De Bussy, the most experienced commander in the French army in India, refused to contribute. Lally dispatched several forces with orders to gather money from local Poligars (chieftains). This was predictably an unpopular move both with the French Compagnie Des Indes and the local population. Orme says, "Not finding the same means and facilities for military operations as he had been accustomed to in the armies of Europe, he resolved to create them, as it were, in spite of nature."

Less than 8 weeks after landing in India, Lally forced the British garrison of Fort St. David to surrender. This sent shock waves through the nearby British Authorities in Madras, who began to prepare for the inevitable French attack. Lally returned to Pondicherry and, although the treasury was still empty, enjoyed a huge celebratory banquet. He decided next to reduce the enemy garrison in Trichinopoly and gather funds in Tanjore. During this campaign, he beat up the locals and burned their villages, creating a hostile populace who hid their food and declined to assist him. Starved of supplies, he was forced to withdraw. Lally refused to acknowledge the Indian caste system, whereby "the man who rides the horse does not cut grass to feed it."

By making Indians of higher caste work for him as laborers he further alienated the natives. "The violence created terror, the disgrace, indignation." (Orme).

Blaming his soldiers for this lack of success, Lally returned to Pondicherry where he found the Compagnie officials unwilling to co-operate with a man who openly boasted that he "knew nothing of politics or commerce." In June of 1758, the arrogant Lally, still disregarding advice from De Bussy, organized another expedition to raise funds from the native princes and "succeeded" in looting several temples and blowing the Brahmins (holy men) from guns.

In December 1758 He finally began the siege of Fort St. George, Madras. The French fleet under D'Aché failed to support him and inevitably, after a determined siege by the French army, a British fleet carrying Draper's Regiment (79th) relieved the hard pressed garrison. On the 17th February 1759 Lally raised the siege and returned to Pondicherry. Demoralized, he wrote to the Council, "this…war requires too much patience…I had rather go and command the Coffers of Madagascar than remain in this Sodom… Send then your orders, or come and command it (the army), for I shall quit it upon my arrival…." Lally took defeat very badly indeed.

On 22nd January 1760, Lally was brought to battle by Eyre Coote at Wandiwash. He was out-maneuvered and out-fought and retired to Pondicherry, leaving his outstations to their fate. A sortie led by Lally narrowly failed on the 3rd September 1760 due in part to the lack of co-operation of his subordinates. Lawford comments, "Probably no-one but Lally had any faith in his complicated plan… Lally's last throw had become a complete fiasco." On the 16th January 1761 the fortress-city of Pondicherry surrendered. The British razed the earthworks to the ground and Lally was returned to France.

In June 1763, Lally was incarcerated in the Bastille whilst evidence was gathered against him. It was now that all the enemies that he had ever made came out of the woodwork. He was subsequently charged with High Treason. The evidence was considered at great length by the 120 members of the Parliament of Paris, some of whom were outspoken in their defense of the accused. However, public opinion was generally against Lally, and the French Authorities required a scapegoat for the loss of the Indian Empire.

On the morning of 9th May 1766, the sentence of death was read to Lally, now relegated to the cell of a common criminal in a Paris gaol. "Is this the reward of 45 years service?" screamed Lally, who tried to stab himself in the chest with a navigation compass and failed. On the same afternoon, he was gagged, to prevent him from speaking to the public and taken by cart to the scaffold on the Greve. There he was beheaded, aged 65 years.

Voltaire commented, "A murder committed with the sword of justice."

More on India

Lieutenant General Sir Eyre Coote
Comte de Lally-Tollendal
Battle of Wandewash: 22 January 1760

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