"Preneuse" separated in March 1798, carrying messages of support and 86 military volunteers for the Tipu Sultan of the Kingdom of Mysore, an enemy of the British in Southern India who sought to form an alliance with France. Lhermitte's instructions emphasised subtlety in the operation, but on 20 April he attacked the British port of Tellicherry and seized the East Indiaman merchant ships "Woodcot" and "Raymond". This alerted the British to "Preneuse"'s mission and although the reinforcements were landed safely at Mangalore on 24 April, diplomatic relations between the British and Mysore collapsed, leading to the Fourth Anglo-Mysore War the following year in which Tipu Sultan was killed and his kingdom absorbed into British India.