The 1782 warning: capture without holding power

The earlier campaign supplied the central lesson for 1795: taking the port was not enough if the landing force could not hold it. Britain captured Trincomalee and the shipping gathered there, but then left only companies of sepoys and artillerymen in the forts. Most of the expedition sailed back toward Madras, the British regional centre. Admiral Pierre André de Suffren arrived with French naval power, recovered the position, and fought strongly enough against Edward Hughes to prevent a British return. The episode explains why the later expedition was built to occupy Ceylon securely rather than merely raid a harbour.