From Carical D’Aché sent on Lally to assume his government at Pondicherry, and he himself struck at the English station of Cuddalore. He had the good fortune to cut off two small vessels, the =Triton= and =Bridgewater=, which were driven ashore under the citadel of the place, Fort St. David. Meanwhile Pocock was coming back from his unsuccessful cruise to the South. On the 29th April the two fleets sighted one another, and a confused action ensued. The dull rules of the Fighting Instructions were badly executed by some of Pocock’s captains, and one of D’Aché’s officers showed downright cowardice. After the usual cannonade the two fleets separated in the customary respective conditions of British and French squadrons after an action fought according to rule. The French, whose ships were crowded with Lally’s soldiers, had a heavy list of killed and wounded, because we preferred to fire at our enemy’s hull. In the British squadron several vessels were so crippled in their rigging as to be unmanageable. D’Aché anchored at Alamparva, north of Pondicherry, where one of his vessels became a wreck in the surf. Pocock went on to Madras to refit and bring three of his captains to court martial. One was dismissed the service, and the other two sentenced to lesser penalties. The incident is an example of that wholesome severity which, by assigning to every man a definite responsibility and calling on him to answer for every failure, has established the magnificent discipline of the Royal Navy, and has been the austere parent of its splendid efficiency.
From Alamparva D’Aché went to Pondicherry and landed his soldiers and his numerous sick and wounded. At the close of May Pocock appeared off the port. The French Admiral, whose squadron was ill fitted, had recourse to every device to avoid action, and all the rabid driving of Lally could not make him incur risks. As the authorities at Madras were rendered nervous for their safety by the strength of the French military force they recalled Pocock, and thus enabled D’Aché to co-operate with Lally in the capture of Fort St. David in June. In July, however, the admiral was back off Pondicherry seeking battle. D’Aché would fain have avoided a meeting and have returned at once to the Île de France. Prayers and threats from the authorities and Lally induced him to stay, and to play a game of hide-and-seek in the calms and varying inshore winds of the coast. On the 3rd August, after infinite confusing movements and varying breezes, another barren cannonade took place off Negapatam. Again both admirals anchored, Pocock at Carical and D’Aché at Pondicherry. On the 3rd September the Frenchman sailed for the Île de France, and the sea being now clear of enemies, Pocock went round to Bombay to avoid the storms of the north-easterly monsoon.