Battle of Taku Forts (1858) explained

Conflict:First Battle of Taku Forts
Partof:the Second Opium War
Date:20 May 1858
Place:Taku Forts, Tianjin, China
Coordinates:38.9749°N 117.7122°W
Result:Anglo-French victory
Combatant1:
Combatant2: Qing China
Commander1: Michael Seymour
Charles Rigault de Genouilly
Commander2: Tan Ting-siang
Strength1:British:
1,032[1]
French:
700 (land force)
Strength2:unknown
Casualties1:British:
5 killed
16 wounded
French:
6 killed
61 wounded
Casualties2:unknown

The First Battle of Taku Forts 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 squadron of gunboats, under Rear-Admiral Admiral Michael Seymour, to attack China's Taku Forts. The battle ended as an allied success. However, the first phase of the Second Opium War would end with the 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 Second Opium War, the Anglo-French alliance captured the significant harbor of Canton (Guangzhou) during the Battle of Canton in 1857. The Xianfeng Emperor received the news that Canton had been occupied on 27 January 1858. The British commander Michael Seymour, hoping to force a settlement (the later Treaty of Tianjin), ordered an attack on the Taku Forts as they were the closer path towards Peking. The fortresses were then looted, where the British and French found many weapons and cannons, both foreign and domestically cast.

References

External links

Notes and References

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