Action of 6 July 1746

The Action of 6 July 1746 was an inconclusive naval engagement between a British fleet under Edward Peyton and a French fleet under Bertrand-François Mahé de La Bourdonnais early in the First Carnatic War, as the Indian theatre of the War of the Austrian Succession is sometimes called. Both fleets were damaged, with La Bourdonnais putting in at Pondicherry for repairs, and Peyton at Trincomalee. La Bourdonnais acquired additional guns at Pondicherry, and when the fleets met again in August 1746, Peyton refused battle and retreated to Bengal. La Bourdonnais then proceeded to lead the successful French attack on Madras in September.