Battle of Taku Forts (1858)

Coordinates: 38°58′29.50″N 117°42′43.80″E / 38.9748611°N 117.7121667°E / 38.9748611; 117.7121667
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

First Battle of Taku Forts
Part of the Second Opium War

Map of the Peiho River forts, showing British and French ships
Date20 May 1858
Location38°58′29.50″N 117°42′43.80″E / 38.9748611°N 117.7121667°E / 38.9748611; 117.7121667
Result Anglo-French victory
Belligerents
 United Kingdom
 France
Qing China
Commanders and leaders
Tan Ting-siang
Strength
British:
1,032[1]
French:
700 (land force)[1]
unknown
Casualties and losses
British:
5 killed
16 wounded[1]
French:
6 killed
61 wounded[1]
unknown

The First Battle of Taku Forts (Chinese: 第一次大沽口之戰) was the first attack of the Anglo-French alliance against the Taku Forts along the Hai River in Tianjin, China, on 20 May 1858, during the Second Opium War.

The British and French sent a

Treaties of Tianjin and the forts were returned to the hands of the Qing Army, leading to the Second Battle of Taku Forts
in 1859.

Background

After the beginning of the

Peking
. The fortresses were then looted, where the British and French found many weapons and cannons, both foreign and domestically cast.

Notes

  1. ^ a b c d Bulletins and Other State Intelligence for the Year 1858. Part 3. London: Harrison and Sons. 1860. pp. 2869–2874.

References

  • Bartlett, Beatrice S. Monarchs and Ministers: The Grand Council in Mid-Ch'ing China, 1723–1820. Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press, 1991.
  • Ebrey, Patricia. Chinese Civilization: A Sourcebook. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1993.
  • Elliott, Mark C. "The Limits of Tartary: Manchuria in Imperial and National Geographies." Journal of Asian Studies 59 (2000): 603-46.
  • Faure, David. Emperor and Ancestor: State and Lineage in South China. 2007.

External links