Page:History of the French in India.djvu/359

DUPLEIX RE-ASSUMES THE OFFENSIVE. 335 left them on account of his health; Clive had been chap. . , VII compelled to proceed to Fort St. David from the same , J„ cause ; and the command of the troops in the field was 1752. left to the incapable Gingens. This officer remain- ing idle at Tiruvadi, instructions were sent him from Governor Saunders, contrary to the advice of Major Lawrence, to detach a portion of his force against Jinji. Major Gingens obeyed these orders by sending, on August 3, 200 Europeans, 1,500 sipahis, and 600 of the NawwaVs cavalry under the command of Major Kinneer, an officer who had but just arrived from Europe. Intelligence of the march of this detachment having been promptly conveyed to Dupleix, he determined to use it to strike a blow for the recovery of the prestige of the French arms. Sending orders, therefore to the commandant of Jinji to hold that place to the last extremity, he organised from his new levies a force of 300 Europeans and 500 sipahis, and sent them with seven field-pieces to occupy a position half way between Pondichery and Jinji, and commanding the pass just traversed by the English on their route to the latter place. Jinji was a fortress on many accounts very dear to the French. Its almost marvellous capture by Bussy, on the 11th September, 1750, had raised the reputation of his countrymen to the highest point all over India: the victory gained near it by de la Touche over the forces of Nasir Jang, had eemed to consolidate and cement French power in the Karnatik. The possession of Jinji alone gave them a prestige in the eyes of the natives, which it would have taken much to eradicate. Its natural inaccessibility, Dupleix was well aware, was sufficient to enable a well-commanded garrison to beat off a force five times the strength of that commanded by Kinneer. That officer likewise, he knew, was a stranger to the country and its people, and it seemed