decisive action was fought near the little village of Condore (Chandurti) a few miles north of Gollaprólu. The result was a complete victory for the English, the French losing all their baggage and ammunition and nearly all their artillery and retreating in confusion to Rajahmundry. The battle is described in more detail in Chapter XV.
Forde at once sent forward a force of 1,500 sepoys to occupy Rajahmundry; and the garrison there, imagining that the whole of the English force was upon them, abandoned the fort on l0th December and retired to the south. Forde again advanced on January 28th and reached Ellore on February 6th. Thence he detached a force to occupy the French factory at Narasapur, which was abandoned on its approach.
De Conflans had retired to Masulipatam, and at his earnest request the Subadar of the Deccan, Salábat Jang, marched to assist him down the valley of the Kistna. On the 6th March Forde appeared before Masulipatam and, after a month's siege, carried that fort by a brilliant assault. On the 14th May 1759 he concluded a treaty with Salábat Jang (who was so awed by his successes and harassed by disputes with a brother that he made no attempt to assist the French) by which the country round Masulipatam and Nizampatam was ceded as 'inam' to the English, and the Subadar promised to renounce all friendship with the French and prohibit them from ever again settling in the Circars.*[1] By this treaty the whole of the country north of the Gódávari returned again to the dominions of the Subadar of the Deccan.
The district was not at once cleared of the French. A small force of about 250 Europeans and 2,000 sepoys had remained between Masulipatam and Rajahmundry to cut off the supplies of the English troops from that direction. This proceeded to Rajahmundry, where only a very small garrison had been left, and compelled the place to surrender. Soon afterwards, however, it left the district with the object of joining Salábat Jang.
M. Moracin, who had been sent from the south with reinforcements for Masulipatam before its fall was known, landed on November llth at Cocanada (which was still in the possession of the Dutch) and endeavoured to foment disturbance by intriguing with Jagapati Rázu, a cousin of the Vizianagram Rája, who had assisted the French in the recent campaign and was still under arms. His efforts were unsuccessful, and he soon re-embarked and sailed for Pondicherry.
- ↑ * Aitchison's Treaties, etc. (1892), viii, 278.
