 Although a British frigate squadron under Josias Rowley was under orders to eliminate the French raiders , Rowley was distracted by the planned invasion of Île Bonaparte , which began the following week . Combined with limited British resources in the region , this allowed the French frigates significant freedom to attack British interests across the Ocean . The attack on Île Bonaparte was however part of a wider British strategy to seize and capture French raiding bases , and the success of the operation severely limited future French operations as Hamelin 's squadron was required for the defence of Île de France . As a result , this was the last successful attack on a British merchant convoy in the Indian Ocean during the Napoleonic Wars . 
