Franco-Chinese War: Monsieur gets Vietnam and gets it in the teeth
Triomphant is an armored cruiser (or a 2nd rank battleship?)
A proxy war between the French and pro-Chinese forces in Cochin China led to a completely ordinary war—a direct one between China and France. However, Paris was in no hurry to send too many forces to the Chinese coast, believing that Rear Admiral Amédée Courbet's squadron of four cruisers, an aviso, three gunboats, and a pair of torpedo boats would somehow handle the Middle Kingdom on its own. Especially since the Chinese forces fleet In these parts, they were outdated wooden ships of local construction, which the armored cruiser Triomphant (sometimes respectfully called a 2nd rank battleship) could sink alone, and Courbet had three more wooden cruisers.
"Dingyuan" - a Chinese man of German descent in the dock
It's worth noting that by that time, the Chinese had already ordered a pair of Dingyuan-class battleships from Germany. However, at the request of the French, the Germans delayed the completion of the ships, and they didn't arrive in time for the war. While the Germans and the descendants of Asterix and Obelix lived like cats and dogs in Europe, they showed remarkable solidarity with China, so by the outbreak of hostilities, China was left without large, modern ships.
The screw corvette Yanlu (sometimes written Yanwu) and the gunboat Fuxing before the Battle of Fuzhou
The most powerful ship in Admiral Zhang Peilun's Fuzhou Squadron was the screw-propelled corvette Yanlu, with a displacement of 1600 tons. Armed with one 7,5-inch gun and two 6,3-inch guns (all three were muzzle-loading), the ship was considered a cruiser in the Chinese navy. There were four other cruisers—Fubo, Chenhang, Feiyun, and Ji'an—displacing 1200-1260 tons, mounting one 6,3-inch gun and four 4,7-inch guns. Built in the Fuzhou shipyards, these ships would have been avisos or sloops in Europe, but for the Far East...
In addition, there were four old gunboats: the wooden Fuxing and Zhengwei, 550 tons of displacement, 1 x 6,3-inch and 2 x 4,7-inch guns, and the steel Fusheng and Jiansheng. The latter were the most modern ships of the Fujian squadron, but also the smallest - 250 tons of displacement, 1 x 11-inch gun. These were "Rendell gunboats", built in England in 1877, they did not have guns of the same caliber as those installed on them by Rear Admiral Courbet, so the future battle did not seem hopeless ... In addition to all the aforementioned ships, which can be characterized as "relatively modern", the Chinese had a pair of screw transports, a paddle tug, 11 military junks with smoothbore artillery and seven steam launches with pole mines. But, most importantly, the Chinese squadron was to operate in conjunction with the coastal batteries.
"Volta" - Courbet's flagship
Courbet had four La Galissonnière-class armored cruisers in the Far East, but only the Triomphant—4600 tons, armed with six 9,4-inch guns, six 5,5-inch guns, and one 5,5-inch gun, all breech-loading—was able to navigate the Minjiang River. The cruiser's armor belt was 150 mm thick, and her battery and barbettes were protected by 120 mm of armor. The squadron also included the wooden cruisers Duguay-Trouin, 3500 tons in displacement, armed with five 7,6-inch and five 5,5-inch guns, and the d'Estaing and Villars, 2400 tons in displacement, each carrying fifteen 5,5-inch guns.
All of the aforementioned ships were superior to anything the Chinese had, but there was a fifth, the Volta, roughly comparable in strength to the enemy's ships. It was a small wooden cruiser with a displacement of 1300 tons, armed with one 6,4-inch and four 5,5-inch guns. Oddly enough, it was this that Courbet chose as his flagship.
The Far Eastern Squadron also included three gunboats: Lynx, Aspic, and Viper (550 tons, 1x5,5-inch and 2x4-inch guns), and two torpedo boats with pole mines. The French had a salvo weight one and a half times greater: 6 pounds versus 4,5 for the Chinese), but, as it turned out, the most important thing was that they had mitrailleuses mounted on the tops of their ships—deadly at close range. weapon!
The French's greatest advantage was the training of their crews and commanders, which was head and shoulders above their opponents! And Courbet himself, who, by any measure, was a true naval commander—calculating, cool-headed, and strong-willed. And a true sailor—his opponent, Zhang Peilun, preferred to steer his fleet from the shore...
Mawei Arsenal, the largest military-industrial complex of the Qing Dynasty
The war didn't begin suddenly, but rather took a long time to mature, so the French Far East squadron and the Chinese Fujian fleet stood next to each other in the main channel of the Min River for five weeks! During this time, the ships were in a state of constant combat readiness: gun crews manned their guns, and the upper masts were stowed. The Chinese squadron covered the Mawei arsenal—a modern facility built to European designs. Gradually, the Chinese relaxed their guard, despite the fact that the French were already shelling Chinese coastal batteries near Taiwan and even attempting to land troops (which the Chinese repelled).
On August 22, 1884, Rear Admiral Courbet received a telegram from Paris summoning the ship's captains to the Volta. There, he gave his final orders before the battle. The battle was scheduled to begin the following day at 14:00 PM. The timing was no accident: the Chinese ships were upstream, and during the low tide that began in the afternoon, they would have to turn their sterns toward the French to maintain their position against the strengthening current, even though the Chinese gunboats' most powerful guns were positioned on their bows.
At 10 a.m. on August 23, Courbet sent an official notification to Fuzhou announcing the start of hostilities. The French, not the Japanese, didn't want to attack without declaring war, but they were even less willing to lose the element of surprise, and... The admiral had calculated everything so that news The declaration of war hadn't reached the Chinese captains yet. However, the Chinese captains had received strict orders from Beijing: "Do not give in to provocations!" so the French actions truly came as a surprise to them.
Gunboat "Lynx"
By 13:30 PM, the crews on the French ships had taken up their positions according to the battle schedule. The ships began to weigh anchor, but remained stationary while their engines worked. This didn't escape the Chinese's attention, and they also began to weigh anchor. At 13:50 PM, the Triomphant approached the battlefield from downstream. Both destroyers advanced to the attack line: according to Courbet's plan, the explosions of their mines would serve as the signal to open fire. But in war, things rarely go according to plan: at 13:56 PM, a stray shot from the gunboat Lynx rang out, and the French commander raised the red flag—the command to open fire.
A French land mitrailleuse of the period described—it's difficult to say whether the same type was used on ships or of a different type...
The ships were moored close together, and the mitrailleuses stationed on the French ships' tops began to mow down the crews on the decks of the Chinese ships. Their small shells also riddled the sides and decks of the unarmored Chinese "cruisers," and shrapnel added to the confusion of the crews who had been suddenly attacked. At that moment, a French torpedo boat attacked the Chinese flagship. 12,7 kg of pyroxylin tore the Chinese flagship's side right down the middle of its hull, and it began to sink rapidly. True, the sandbank on which the ship had been washed ashore saved it, but this did not save the Yanlu from the fire, and as a result, only 15 of the 270-man crew survived. The torpedo boat itself came under fire and was knocked off course, swept toward the American ship.
Attack of French minesweepers at Fuzhou
The second destroyer attempted to attack the Fuxing, but it was covered by a Chinese mine launcher, which pushed back the French and prevented the mine from detonating. The Fuxing began to move into position for battle, but a mine launcher launched from the Volta detonated a mine near its stern, ripping off its propeller and rendering the ship powerless. The current carried it toward the enemy squadron, where the French first fired cannonballs, then boarded it, and... barely managed to escape—the ship, reduced to a sieve, quickly sank.
Cruiser "Duga-Truen"
The Volta opened fire on the naval junks, but they suddenly put up fierce resistance: one of the Chinese shells exploded on the flagship's bridge, killing two helmsmen and the navigator. Courbet miraculously survived not only alive but also unharmed—not a single shrapnel struck him. The second shell hit the waterline and killed several sailors loading ammunition from the magazine. In retaliation, the Frogmen shot all the sailors from the sunken junks in the water. The Ji'an and Feiyun attempted to reverse upstream, but came under fire from the Dugas-Trouin and Villard, after which they ran ashore, their crews escaping.
Gunboat Zhenwei at the Battle of Fuzhou
The old gunboat Zhenwei engaged the D'Estaing, but the Triomphant approached from the stern and fired a broadside. One of its 9,5-inch shells struck the stern, passed through the entire ship, and exploded in the bow. The ship burst into flames, and the sailors began jumping overboard, but the officers remained on board and attempted to use the burning gunboat as a fireship, grappling with the D'Estaing and catapulting themselves into the air. The situation was saved by the timely arrival of the Villard, who finished off the Chinese ship with a broadside. The Zhenwei perished heroically, firing at the French until she sank.
Chinese "Rendell gunboat"
One of Rendell's gunboats was destroyed immediately (it's not entirely clear which of the two), but the other tried to fight: cloaking the coastline undetected at 14:08 PM, it emerged from behind Pagoda Point and fired its 11-inch gun at the Dugas-Trouin. It missed! It didn't get a second chance: the concentrated fire of the entire squadron sent the heroic ship to the bottom. In fact, that was the end of the battle: the remaining Chinese ships fled, hoping to escape the deeper-sea French in shallow water. Three French gunboats pursued them, after which the Fubo beached itself, its crew scattering. The captain of the Chenhang fired only one salvo before ordering the crew to set the ship on fire and flee. At 14:20 PM, the dock, mined by the Chinese, exploded. It is unclear why it exploded: either from shelling, or the Chinese themselves blew it up.
The battle's results were devastating for the Celestial Empire: all the ships were sunk, and the official casualties were 521 killed, including 39 officers and five senior officers. Admiral Zhang Peilun, who fled early in the battle, was demoted, and two ship commanders who disbanded their crews were executed for cowardice. The French claimed to have killed 2,000-3,000 Chinese, but given that the Fujian fleet had only 1200 personnel, this figure seems a bit exaggerated. As the saying goes, "Why should we pity them, the infidels?"
Meanwhile, Courbet was faced with the question of what to do next. He decided to repeat the landing on Taiwan. Well, not really... In his opinion, capturing Port Arthur or Weihaiwei would have been more effective, but that was expensive! Jules Ferry's cabinet decided that Taiwan was a low-cost option that would, on the one hand, add prestige, and, on the other, by basing itself on the port of Keelung and the coal mines nearby, organize operations against China's communications at a low cost. And, of course, to make up for the previous unsuccessful landing.
French ships off Jinglong
The French attempted a second landing here in early October 1884. Two thousand two hundred and fifty French marines, armed with a pair of 80mm mountain guns and four Hotchkiss revolving guns, and a detachment of Vietnamese porters, set foot on Taiwanese soil at Jinglong. Since the forts here had been destroyed during previous landing attempts, serious resistance was not expected. There were no significant losses: four killed and 12 wounded; the Chinese suffered far more severely: a hundred killed and 300 wounded. It seemed the predictions were coming true!
Hotchkiss revolver cannon
On October 3, the French army advanced on the coveted city of Keelung. The next day, the forts and southern districts of the city were captured. Four days later, after the French captured the forts at Shiqiu Ridge, the entire port was theirs. Victory seemed certain! But the mines needed to be captured, and the landing force was limited. Once away from the coast, the troops would enter the jungle, where the Frogmen's advantage in armament and maneuverability would be negated. The Chinese's numerical superiority, however, began to play a significant role. And the invaders began to feel sad. As one French officer wrote:
The Shiqiu Ridge is capable of holding off an attack by 4000 soldiers (remember, the French didn't have nearly that many – G.T.). With the exception of Keelung, all of Taiwan is on the Qing side. If we encounter any Taiwanese aborigines, we can be sure they're Qing guerrillas...
Liu Mingquan (unfortunately, I couldn't find better quality)
The Chinese commander, Liu Mingquan (one of China's most capable generals, having distinguished himself in battles with the Taiping Rebellion), decided to confine the landing force to the Keelung Basin, relying on the commanding heights. The jungle trails and passes didn't require large numbers of troops, so the main forces could be redeployed toward the city of Tamsui (the French clearly had their eye on it, too). True, this required blowing up and flooding the coal mines built by British engineers using the latest technology... But this step made Taiwan significantly less valuable to the French! Liu and his troops retreated to Taipei (then Tai Pak Fu), where unrest immediately erupted: local residents decided the Mandarin had decided to grease his heels with lard. In principle, this was understandable—Chinese officials regularly did just that, but Liu Mingquan was a different breed.
The Red Fort in Tamsui
Tamsui was defended by two forts: "White" and "Red." But only "White" was of significance—"Red" housed the British consulate. There was also a "New Fort" under construction, but it was only partially armed, and there were smaller fortifications on the mountain ridges. The Chinese forces numbered about 1000 fighters, including a detachment of Taiwanese aborigines. This was unprecedented—the first time in history. stories, when they came out on the side of the Chinese! General Sun Zaihua commanded the defense.
Sebastien Lespe
On the morning of October 3, the French ships approached Tamsuy. The Chinese opened fire first—three cannons mounted in the New Fort's battery. The ships responded with over 2000 shells, but their aim was atrocious: some of the shells hit the European sections of the city, including the British consulate. The French only managed to suppress the battery by evening, but it managed to hit the cruiser D'Estaing several times, injuring it and dismasting it, with several wounded crew members. Ultimately, the shelling failed to achieve its target; Chinese mines prevented the advance upriver (the attackers discovered them and attempted to pull out the wires, but the Chinese detonated one of the mines, nearly sinking the French boat). Clearing the mines required clearing the enemy from the shore. But Admiral Sebastien Lespe, operating near Tamsui, had only 300 marines: with such forces, a landing was out of the question, and he sent for reinforcements to Keelung.
French landing on Tamsuya beach, mural
Courbet's situation in Keelung was more or less stable, but he refused to provide marines—he didn't have enough! Instead, he sent for reinforcements, which were scheduled to arrive on October 5th. The Châteaurenault, Duguay-Trouin, and the transport Thorn soon arrived, and the "hero of Foochow" decided to send a landing force from them to Lespe, led by Captain 2nd Rank Martin, who had already participated in the first, unsuccessful landing. True, the weather initially hampered the landing, and when the weather cleared, Martin fell ill with a fever and had to be replaced by Captain 2nd Rank Boulineau from the cruiser Châteaurenault. The landing began on October 8th. Each landing force carried a Gras rifle, 1600 rounds of ammunition, and a daily supply of dry rations. The first wave included companies from La Galissonnière (120 men, Lieutenant Fontaine) and Triomphant (120 men, Lieutenant Deorter), while the second wave included marines from D'Estang and Châteaurenault (130 men, Lieutenant Deman). The second wave moved 200 meters behind the first, with marines from Tarn and Duguay-Trouin (130 men) remaining in tactical reserve. A company from Bayard (100 men) covered the left flank. By 9:00 a.m., all the landing forces had taken their places in steam launches and landing barges.
"New Fort", current state
But the Chinese commander wasted no time! While he had about a thousand men in Tamsui on October 3, by the 8th he had more than five thousand, including elite units transferred from Keelung. At 9:05, Sébastien Lespey ordered fire. The Chinese batteries initially responded vigorously, but then fell silent, which signaled to the admiral that they were overwhelmed. At precisely 10:00, all 600 Frenchmen reached the beach and began moving in orderly fashion toward the city. But... beyond the beach, they found not the rice fields familiar in Vietnam, but impenetrable jungle, through which sappers had to cut a path. Once they had traversed it, they found fields surrounded by hedgerows and crisscrossed by numerous ditches. The units lost contact with each other and began advancing independently, with the New Fort as their landmark. In general, when the shots from the Chinese batteries rang out, the French were even glad - the Chinese could escape from the attack, but the thickets - no!
Bombing of Tamsuya
The joy was short-lived: the Chinese fired from behind the cover of the undergrowth and from trenches. The situation became especially dire after the arriving Chinese reinforcements opened fire on the flank from behind a stone wall. The paratroopers were in terrible disarray: no one listened to Bulino's commands, and the bugler was killed by the first shots. The Marines fired wildly, but the enemy remained invisible. Finally, on the left flank, a company from the Bayard succumbed to the fire and retreated to the center. The paratroopers' situation was becoming desperate: 600 men were stretched out in a thin line 1,5 kilometers long, ammunition was running low, and the enemy began to outflank them: General Song from the left, and General Zhang from the right. A company from the Triomphant attempted to restore the situation with a bayonet charge, but was driven back by Song's soldiers.
Lieutenant Deorter
The French retreated, but held firm. Everything collapsed when, one after another, Lieutenant Fontaine was killed (wounded in the leg, beheaded by the advancing Chinese), Lieutenant Deman was seriously wounded, and Lieutenant Deorter was mortally wounded. The landing party rolled toward the ships, and a company from the Bayard had to fight its way through with bayonets. The battle lasted only half an hour, but ended in complete defeat: the sea became rough, the boats couldn't reach the shore, and the marines had to wade neck-deep in water to board them. One of them capsized, and a Hotchkiss gun fell into the water, becoming a trophy for the Chinese. If not for the decisive actions of Lieutenant Bué de Lapeyère from the gunboat Viper, who covered the evacuation, the losses would have been enormous!
Rear Admiral Amédée Courbet
The Chinese began transporting reinforcements to the island using chartered British ships. In response, Courbet declared a blockade of the island, but the British protested, so the blockade had to be lifted. Or rather, how to lift it... Officially, they announced the abandonment of the blockade, but in fact, they continued it. The Chinese decided to organize (the first and only!) combat mission with the remnants of their fleet (four large cruisers and aviso) to Taiwan. It all ended badly: Courbet with three cruisers (two of them armored) sailed to Shanghai, and then to meet their opponents.
The sinking of the Yuyuan
The rendezvous took place on February 13, 1885, off Chusan Island. Chinese Admiral Wu Ankang refused to engage and, with three new ships (the cruisers Nanchen, Nanrui, and Kaiji), broke away from the French and retreated to Zhenhai, while the aviso Dengqing and the oldest of the cruisers, Yuyuan, retreated to the nearest harbor, Shipu. These two ships were commanded by Admiral Ding Ruchang, a former cavalryman with no naval experience. The ships took refuge in shallow waters where the larger French ships could not navigate. Ding Ruchang's mistake was not removing the numerous fishing junks from the harbor. Captain Charles Goudron and Lieutenant Emile Duboc took advantage of this oversight, entering the harbor in two steam launches from the cruiser Bayard and sinking the Yuyuan with pole mines. The Dengqing, in a panic, was scuttled by its own crew. The remaining Chinese ships were blockaded in Zhenhai.
As the war dragged on, France decided to declare a "rice blockade." The fact is that rice in China is grown primarily in the south and then transported north by sea (Beijing means "Northern Capital" in Chinese). It was these rice ships that the French began stopping and turning back. And in March, landing forces launched another offensive in Taiwan, capturing the coal mines of Keelung. Simultaneously, Courbet landed on the Pescadores Islands. He captured Mugun Island and began using it as the main base of his Far Eastern Squadron.
Chinese troops are going to beat the French
Seeing that they had no prospects at sea, the Chinese decided to expel the French from Vietnam by land, sending two armies: approximately 45-50 "trained troops," well-armed with Mauser repeating rifles and Krupp guns. By this time, the French had about 15 men in Vietnam. Initially, the local population sympathized with the Chinese, but constant requisitions quickly negated this support. Moreover, the French commander, Louis Brière de l'Isle, had an ace in the hole: a river flotilla, which allowed troops to be transported along rivers, concentrating forces at the right time and place.
One of the assaults on Tuen Quang
In November 1884, the Chinese besieged the fortress of Tuen Kuang, slowing their already slow advance. 650 Annamese riflemen and legionnaires defended the fortress from 6 Chinese soldiers, while another 15 provided cover for the besiegers against attempts to relieve the siege. This siege stranded one of the two Chinese armies for several months, and the French general decided not to sit idle but to attack the other. The offensive began in February 1885, and by February 13, the Guangxi Army was finished (or so the French believed), and Brière de l'Isle turned his attention to the Yunnan Army besieging Tuen Kuang. By that time, the fortress garrison had repelled seven assaults, but its strength was at its limit. In early March, the French attacked the Yunnan Army and relieved the fortress.
General François-Oscar de Negrier
But it turned out that the Guangxi Army had suffered losses but not been routed. The Chinese commander, Pan Dingxin, had reinforced his army and now had 30 men under his command. The French government had grown tired of this expensive (very expensive!) war, and the commander of a brigade with 3 bayonets, General Négrier, was tasked with attacking the Chinese army's fortified positions. Well, what can one say? The Chinese, of course, weren't yet up to par with the European troops, but they weren't natives either. Négrier was not forgiven for this mistake—the brigade's attack was drowned in blood. Having lost over 300 men killed alone, the French commander ordered a retreat. On March 28, the Battle of Lang Son ensued, in which Négrier was seriously wounded, and his troops, left leaderless, fled, abandoning their cannons and supply train.
Battle of Lang Son
The impact of the defeats at Ban Bo and Lang Son was staggering: the government of Jules Ferry, declared guilty of waging a full-scale war without parliamentary sanction, fell. Whether this "full-scale war" had been successful would have been a different matter, but the defeats were clearly not comme il faut. True, the new government did not dare to tarnish France's honor and decided to send reinforcements to Vietnam... But then China requested negotiations, and France happily agreed.
So what happened? England was an ally of China, and the gentlemen were pleased that the French had gotten a thrashing from the Chinese near recently conquered Burma. But by this point, the threat of conflict with Russia in Central Asia had arisen (a conflict the English truly feared), and the cunning British decided that the Chinese should shift their efforts from the south to the north. In short, the Bogdykhan was strongly advised to hand over Vietnam to the French.
Signatories of the Treaty of Tienza
An armistice was concluded on April 4, 1885, and on June 9, the Treaty of Tangjin was signed. Under the treaty, China ceded Vietnam, but France withdrew its troops from Taiwan and the Pescadores Islands and waived indemnities. The French also received a number of trade privileges in the provinces bordering Vietnam.
The Sino-French War had a number of serious consequences, and the loss of Vietnam was not the most significant. During the conflict, China lost virtually all of its shipbuilding capacity, where it had been actively learning to build modern ships. Now, the Chinese fleet was replenished exclusively from foreign shipyards. And this had far-reaching consequences...
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