 De Lannoy trained the Travancore army on European lines and, in the course of time, became a valiant and successful commander of the very foreign army that had defeated his Dutch forces.His role as military commander of the Travancore army was instrumental in the later military successes and exploits of Travancore under Maharaja Marthanda Varma.In the 1730s, prior to the Battle of Colachel and the arrival of De Lannoy, Maharaja Marthanda Varma had annexed some territories to the north of his Kingdom and was also at confrontation with Kayamkulam.