The action of 6 July 1746 was an inconclusive naval engagement between the British and French fleets during the

War of the Austrian Succession The War of the Austrian Succession () was a European conflict that took place between 1740 and 1748. Fought primarily in Central Europe, the Austrian Netherlands, Italy, the Atlantic and Mediterranean, related conflicts included King George's W ...

Battle

The English fleet, first under the command of Commodore

Curtis Barnett Curtis Barnett (died 2 May 1746), was an officer of the Royal Navy. He served during the War of the Austrian Succession, commanding ships in the Mediterranean and in the English Channel, before being appointed a commodore in 1744 he was appointed ...

and then

Edward Peyton Edward Peyton (died 4 April 1749) was an officer of the Royal Navy. He served during the War of the Austrian Succession and took part in an inconclusive battle off Bengal. Peyton entered the navy in 1707. From 1744 to 1746 he was captain of the ...

, and a French fleet under

Bertrand-François Mahé de La Bourdonnais Bertrand-François Mahé, comte de La Bourdonnais (11 February 169910 November 1753) was a French naval officer and colonial administrator, in the service of the French East India Company. Biography La Bourdonnais entered the service of the Fren ...

, engaged each other early in the

First Carnatic War The First Carnatic War (1740–1748) was the Indian theatre of the War of the Austrian Succession and the first of a series of Carnatic Wars that established early British dominance on the east coast of the Indian subcontinent. In this conflict ...

. Both fleets were damaged, with La Bourdonnais putting in at

Pondicherry Pondicherry (), now known as Puducherry ( French: Pondichéry ʊdʊˈtʃɛɹi(listen), on-dicherry, is the capital and the most populous city of the Union Territory of Puducherry in India. The city is in the Puducherry district on the sout ...

for repairs, and Peyton at

Trincomalee Trincomalee (; ta, திருகோணமலை, translit=Tirukōṇamalai; si, ත්‍රිකුණාමළය, translit= Trikuṇāmaḷaya), also known as Gokanna and Gokarna, is the administrative headquarters of the Trincomalee Dis ...

. La Bourdonnais acquired additional guns at Pondicherry, and when the fleets met again in August 1746, Peyton refused battle and retreated to

Bengal Bengal ( ; bn, বাংলা/বঙ্গ, translit=Bānglā/Bôngô, ) is a geopolitical, cultural and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal, predom ...

. La Bourdonnais then proceeded to lead the successful French attack on Madras in September.

Order of Battle

Royal Navy

France

Citations

References

* *Dodwell
''Dupleix and Clive''''The Navy in the War of 1739–1748''
Naval battles involving France Naval battles involving Great Britain Conflicts in 1746 1746 in India First Carnatic War History of Tamil Nadu {{France-battle-stub