HMS Inflexible fought at Cuddalore in a British fleet of eighteen ships against fifteen French ships. Nine British and seven French vessels were 64s, while a 60 and a 68 brought the number of similarly sized ships to eighteen out of thirty-three. After inconsistent winds delayed the fleets, a steady wind on 20 June allowed a three-hour line battle from 1600 to 1900. Suffren then anchored twenty-five nautical miles north of Cuddalore while Hughes remained near the besieged city. Damage and shortages of food and water subsequently drove Hughes toward Madras, giving Suffren an opportunity to return. On 23 June the French forced away the British army's supply fleet and landed reinforcements, although the strengthened garrison's sortie was repelled. British killed and wounded totaled 533, against 478 French casualties. News of preliminary peace terms arrived on 29 June, and hostilities ceased on 2 July. Supplying the city gave the French a strategic success despite the fleet action's inconclusive result.
Chapter · 18:38-25:25
Inflexible and the 64-gun fleets at Cuddalore
A three-hour fleet action left Cuddalore's fate dependent on naval supplies and reinforcements, with 64-gun ships forming nearly half the opposing forces.