Battle of Providien

Battle of Providien
Part of the Anglo-French War (1778–1783)[1]

Plan of the battle of Providien
Date12 April 1782
Location
Off Ceylon, Bay of Bengal
8°15′17.94″N 81°30′47.02″E / 8.2549833°N 81.5130611°E / 8.2549833; 81.5130611
Result Indecisive[2]
Belligerents
 France  Great Britain
Commanders and leaders
Pierre Suffren Edward Hughes
Strength
12 ships of the line 11 ships of the line
Casualties and losses
225 killed and wounded[3][4] 567 killed and wounded[3]

The Battle of Providien was the second in a series of naval battles fought between a British fleet, under Vice-Admiral Sir Edward Hughes, and a French fleet, under the Bailli de Suffren, off the coast of India during the Anglo-French War. The battle was fought on 12 April 1782 off the east coast of Ceylon, near a rocky islet called Providien, south of Trincomalee.[5]

  1. ^ Clodfelter, Micheal (24 April 2017). Warfare and Armed Conflicts: A Statistical Encyclopedia of Casualty and Other Figures, 1492-2015, 4th ed. McFarland. ISBN 9781476625850.
  2. ^ Castex (p. 315) calls this a French victory on account of more severe damage to Hughes's fleet. Mahan (p. 566) and Malleson (p. 26) do not explicitly designate a victor.
  3. ^ a b Castex (2004), pp. 315–19
  4. ^ Malleson, p. 26
  5. ^ Cunat, p.128