[close] Plassey was the battle which established the reputation of Clive of India. After relatively lowly beginnings as a writer in the East India Company, Clive rose to be perhaps the most important single figure in the history of British involvement in India. At Plassey on 23 June 1757 Clive's 3,500 native and East India Company troops faced an army of 50,000 under the French supported nawab Siraj-ud-daula. Having succeeded in keeping his powder dry in a torrential rainstorm which soaked the nawab's artillery, Clive's guns were able to open a murderous fire on the enemy troops as they attempted to encircle him. Siraj-ud-daula's attack was beaten off and the counter-attack which Clive launched swept the field; only the French gunners under St. Frais fought to the last. This battle decided the fate of Bengal, the nawab being assassinated a few days later and succeeded by Clive's nominee, Mir Jaffa. Clive's losses in the battle totalled only 23 men killed. Plassey was crucial because it helped to ensure British dominion over India. [close]