SUFFREN DE SAINT-TROPEZ, PIERRE ANDR DE

born July 13, 1729, Saint-Cannat, France died Dec. 8, 1788, Paris French admiral, noted for his daring tactics, who fought the British in Indian waters during the American Revolutionary War. A Knight of Malta, Suffren de Saint-Tropez served under Admiral C.H. d'Estaing in America and was sent to assist French military operations in India in 1781. In a remarkable series of engagements with British Admiral Sir Edward Hughes off the coasts of India and Ceylon in 178283, he disregarded textbook rules and tried, with varying success, to teach his captains to isolate groups of enemy vessels and thus destroy a squadron piecemeal.