the winter. During that season Trincomalee is the only
secure port. Deprived of it, Hughes determined to go to Bombay, and
for that purpose left Madras on the 17th of October. Four days later
a reinforcement of five ships of the line arrived from England,
under Commodore Sir Richard Bickerton, who at once followed the
Commander-in-Chief to the west coast. In the course of December the
entire British force was united at Bombay.

In Trincomalee Suffren had a good anchorage; but the insufficiency
of its resources, with other military considerations, decided him to
winter at Acheen, at the west end of Sumatra. He arrived there on
the 2d of November, having first paid a visit to Cuddalore, where the
_Bizarre_, 64, was wrecked by carelessness. On the 20th of December he
left Acheen for the Coromandel coast, having shortened his stay to the
eastward for reasons of policy. On the 8th of January, 1783, he was
off Ganjam, on the Orissa coast, and thence reached Trincomalee again
on the 23d of February. There he was joined on the 10th of March by
three ships of the line from Europe: two 74's and one 64. Under their
convoy came General de Bussy, with twenty-five hundred troops, which
were at once despatched to Cuddalore.

On the 10th of April Vice-Admiral Hughes, returning from Bombay,
passed Trincomalee on the way to Madras, The various maritime
occurrences, wrecks and reinforcements, since the battle of September
3d had reversed the naval odds, and Hughes now had eighteen ships
of the line, one of which was an eighty, opposed to fifteen under
Suffren. Another important event in the affairs of India was the death
of Hyder Ali, on the 7th of December, 1782. Although his policy was
continued by his son, Tippoo Saib, the blow to the French was serious.
Under all the conditions, the British authorities were emboldened
to attempt the reduction of Cuddalore. The army destined to this
enterprise marched from Madras, passed round Cuddalore, and encamped
south of it by the shore. The supply-ships and lighter cruisers
anchored near, while the fleet cruised to the southward. Being there
to windward, for the south-west monsoon had then set in, it covered
the operations against disturbance from the sea.

Towards the beginning of June the investment of the place was complete
by land and by water. Intelligence of this state of things was brought
on the 10th of June to Suffren, who by Bussey's direction was keeping
his inferior fleet in Trinc