SUFFREN VERSUS HUGHES: War in the Indian Ocean 1781-1783

1-243030

Describes the naval campaign between Britain and France for mastery of the Indian Ocean in the closing years of the War of American Independence. It is effectively the third volume of a trilogy recording the history of the Royal Navy during this period -- the earlier volumes being Crisis at the Chesapeake (2021) and From Ushant to Gibraltar (2022). In the course of their hard-fought campaign, the British and French fought five battles, none of which produced the decisive victory which each sought. Includes 11 b/w illustrations, 9 b/w maps, and 5 tables.

Describes the political, economic and military background created by the impact of the British East India Company upon the complex system of the various dynasties that ruled India. Discusses abilities of the respective commanders. Sir Edward Hughes and Pierre-Andre de Suffren were very different men, who brought to their commands contrasting approaches to the particular problems of naval warfare of the eighteenth century. Hughes was a very typical product of the traditions of the Royal Navy, a patient and careful exponent of all that he had learned from his training and experience. Suffren, on the other hand, was atypical of French admirals of the period -- he was bold, aggressive, and innovative, and quite impatient of the stately conventions of sea battles of the period.