Battle of Phu Hoai
Encyclopedia
The Battle of Phu Hoai was an indecisive engagement between the Tonkin Expeditionary Corps
and Liu Yongfu's Black Flag Army
during the early months of the Tonkin campaign
(1883–1886). The battle took place during the period of increasing tension between France and China that eventually culminated in the Sino-French War
(August 1884–April 1885).
is conventionally considered to have begun in June 1883, with the decision by the French government to despatch reinforcements to Tonkin to avenge the defeat and death of Henri Rivière at the hands of Liu Yongfu's Black Flag Army at the Battle of Paper Bridge
on 19 May 1883. These reinforcements were organised into a Tonkin Expeditionary Corps
, which was placed under the command of général de brigade Alexandre-Eugène Bouët (1833–87), the highest-ranking marine infantry officer available in the French colony of Cochinchina.
The French position in Tonkin on Bouët's arrival in early June 1883 was extremely precarious. The French had only small garrisons in Hanoi, Haiphong and Nam Dinh, isolated posts at Hon Gai and at Qui Nhon in Annam, and little immediate prospect of taking the offensive against Liu Yongfu's Black Flags and Prince Hoang Ke Viem's Vietnamese. During June the French dug in behind their defences and beat off half-hearted Vietnamese demonstrations against Hanoi and Nam Dinh. The early arrival of reinforcements from France and New Caledonia and the recruitment of Cochinchinese and Tonkinese auxiliary formations allowed Bouët to hit back at his tormentors. On 19 July chef de bataillon Pierre de Badens, the French commandant supérieur at Nam Dinh, attacked and defeated Prince Hoang Ke Viem's besieging Vietnamese army, effectively relieving Vietnamese pressure on Nam Dinh.
The arrival of Admiral Amédée Courbet
in Along Bay in July 1883 with substantial naval reinforcements further strengthened the French position in Tonkin. Although the French were now in a position to consider taking the offensive against Liu Yongfu, they realised that military action against the Black Flag Army had to be accompanied by a political settlement with the Vietnamese court at Hue, if necessary by coercion, that recognised a French protectorate in Tonkin. On 30 July 1883 Admiral Courbet, General Bouët and Jules Harmand, the recently-appointed French civil commissioner-general for Tonkin, held a council of war at Haiphong. The three men agreed that Bouët should launch an offensive against the Black Flag Army in its positions around Phu Hoai on the Day River as soon as possible. They also noted that the Court of Hue was covertly aiding and abetting Liu Yongfu's Black Flag Army, and that Prince Hoang was still in arms against the French at Nam Dinh. They therefore decided, largely on Harmand's urging, to recommend to the French government a strike against the Vietnamese defences of Hue, followed by an ultimatum requiring the Vietnamese to accept a French protectorate over Tonkin or face immediate attack. The proposal was approved by the navy ministry on 11 August, and on 20 August, in the Battle of Thuan An
, the French stormed the forts at the mouth of the Hue River, allowing them to attack Hue directly if they chose. The Vietnamese asked for an armistice, and on 25 August Harmand dictated the Treaty of Hue
to the cowed Vietnamese court. The Vietnamese recognised the legitimacy of the French occupation of Cochinchina, accepted a French protectorate both for Annam and Tonkin and promised to withdraw their troops from Tonkin. Vietnam, its royal house and its court survived, but under French direction.
While Harmand and Courbet were entrenching the French protectorate at Hue, General Bouët attempted to carry out his part of the programme settled at the Haiphong conference of 30 July. On 15 August 1883, Bouët attacked Liu Yongfu's Black Flag Army
in its strong defensive positions in front of the Day River.
General Bouët committed 2,500 French and Vietnamese soldiers to the attack. The French force consisted of three marine infantry battalions (chefs de bataillon Chevallier, Lafont and Roux), three marine artillery batteries (Captains Isoir, Dupont and Roussel), four companies of Cochinchinese riflemen and around 450 Yellow Flag auxiliaries. The attackers advanced in three separate columns. The left column, under the command of Lieutenant-Colonel Révillon, consisted of a marine infantry battalion, a supporting company of Cochinchinese riflemen and two artillery sections. It was accompanied by the Yellow Flag auxiliary battalion.Révillon’s column included Chevallier's marine infantry battalion, the 1st Annamese Rifle Company (Captain de Beauquesne), 450 Yellow Flags, and two sections of Isoir's battery. Chevallier's battalion consisted of the 25th, 34th and 36th Companies, 1st Marine Infantry Regiment (Captains Poulnot, Larivière and Lombard). The centre column, under the command of Bouët's chief of staff, chef de bataillon Paul Coronnat, consisted of a marine infantry battalion with a supporting company of Cochinchinese riflemen and a marine artillery battery.Coronnat's column included Lafont's marine infantry battalion, the 3rd Annamese Rifle Company (Captain Berger) and Dupont's battery. Lafont's battalion consisted of the 26th, 29th and 33rd Companies, 2nd Marine Infantry Regiment (Lieutenant Goldschoen and Captains Jay and Trilha). The right column, under the command of Colonel Bichot, also included a marine infantry battalion, a supporting Cochinchinese rifle company and a marine artillery battery.Bichot's column included Roux's marine infantry battalion, the 4th Annamese Rifle Company (Captain Serre de Bazaugour) and Roussel's battery. Roux's battalion consisted of the 25th, 26th and 30th Companies, 4th Marine Infantry Regiment (Captains Drouin, Taccoën and Martellière). Bichot's column, whose right flank lay on the Red River, was supported by six French gunboats (Pluvier, Léopard, Fanfare, Éclair, Mousqueton and Trombe) from the Tonkin Flotilla
, under the command of capitaine de vaisseau Morel-Beaulieu. Bouët himself marched behind Révillon's column with a small general reserve.Bouët’s reserve consisted of the 21st Company, 3rd Marine Infantry Regiment (Captain Buquet), the 2nd Annamese Rifle Company (Captain Boutet) and an artillery section (2nd Lieutenant Simon).
The Black Flag Army seems to have fielded around 3,000 men. Although Liu Yongfu's forces did not substantially outnumber the French, they had built two lines of field fortifications to block the road to Son Tay. The first, outpost, line ran from the village of Cau Giay near Paper Bridge, the scene of Rivière's defeat and death on 19 May, to the Pagoda of the Four Columns (Quatre Colonnes) on the Red River. The main line of defence ran behind it, taking in the villages of Phu Hoai, Noi and Hong.
Révillon's left column unsuccessfully attacked the right of the Black Flag line and was counterattacked in its turn by Liu Yongfu and the bulk of the Black Flag Army. As ammunition was running short the French fell back towards Paper Bridge. Their retreat nearly turned into a rout, as the Vietnamese coolies with the column streamed to the rear in panic, blocking the dyke paths along which fresh supplies of ammunition were being brought forward. However, Chevallier's marine infantry battalion, firing from sheltered positions in the village of Vong, successfully covered the French withdrawal, inflicting heavy casualties on Black Flag units that left their defences and ventured out into the open. Towards nightfall Bouët committed his reserve, enabling Révillon to stabilise his line. Having heard no news of the progress of the other two columns, Bouët ordered Révillon's column to return to Hanoi the same evening.
The reason that Liu Yongfu was able to make such a powerful counterattack against Révillon's column was because the other two French columns failed to put serious pressure on the enemy. Coronnat's centre column failed to make contact with the Black Flags at all, while Bichot's right column succeeded in capturing the village of Trem but was then held up in front of the Black Flag defences at Quatre Colonnes. On 16 August Bichot advanced to attack Quatre Colonnes, only to find that the Black Flags had abandoned their positions during the night. The battle had been fought in pouring rain, and during the night of 15 August the Red River burst its banks and began to flood the plains between Hanoi and Phu Hoai. The flooding effectively brought the battle to an end. Neither Coronnat nor Bichot was able to make any further headway on 16 August. Coronnat's column returned to Hanoi, while Bichot contented himself with occupying Quatre Colonnes and bringing back to Hanoi a number of cannon abandoned by the Black Flags in their retreat. The French would later claim that the floods had prevented them from inflicting a major defeat upon Liu Yongfu. In fact, the flooding was a disaster for the Black Flag Army. Liu Yongfu had to abandon his entrenchments in front of the Day River and fall back behind the river, leaving behind all his material and all his wounded.
French casualties in the Battle of Phu Hoai were 17 dead (including 2 officers) and 62 wounded. The French estimated Black Flag casualties at around 300 dead and 800 wounded.
Tonkin Expeditionary Corps
The Tonkin Expeditionary Corps was an important French military command based in northern Vietnam from June 1883 to April 1886. The expeditionary corps fought the Tonkin campaign taking part in campaigns against the Black Flag Army and the Chinese Yunnan and Guangxi Armies during the...
and Liu Yongfu's Black Flag Army
Black Flag Army
The Black Flag Army was a splinter remnant of a bandit group recruited largely from soldiers of ethnic Zhuang background, who crossed the border from Guangxi province of China into Upper Tonkin, in the Empire of Annam in 1865. They became known mainly for their fights against French forces in...
during the early months of the Tonkin campaign
Tonkin campaign
The Tonkin Campaign was a armed conflict fought between June 1883 and April 1886 by the French against, variously, the Vietnamese, Liu Yongfu's Black Flag Army and the Chinese Guangxi and Yunnan armies to occupy Tonkin and entrench a French protectorate there...
(1883–1886). The battle took place during the period of increasing tension between France and China that eventually culminated in the Sino-French War
Sino-French War
The Sino–French War was a limited conflict fought between August 1884 and April 1885 to decide whether France should replace China in control of Tonkin . As the French achieved their war aims, they are usually considered to have won the war...
(August 1884–April 1885).
Background
The Tonkin campaignTonkin campaign
The Tonkin Campaign was a armed conflict fought between June 1883 and April 1886 by the French against, variously, the Vietnamese, Liu Yongfu's Black Flag Army and the Chinese Guangxi and Yunnan armies to occupy Tonkin and entrench a French protectorate there...
is conventionally considered to have begun in June 1883, with the decision by the French government to despatch reinforcements to Tonkin to avenge the defeat and death of Henri Rivière at the hands of Liu Yongfu's Black Flag Army at the Battle of Paper Bridge
Battle of Paper Bridge
The Battle of Cầu Giấy or Paper Bridge, fought on 19 May 1883, was one of the numerous clashes during the Tonkin campaign between the French and the Black Flags...
on 19 May 1883. These reinforcements were organised into a Tonkin Expeditionary Corps
Tonkin Expeditionary Corps
The Tonkin Expeditionary Corps was an important French military command based in northern Vietnam from June 1883 to April 1886. The expeditionary corps fought the Tonkin campaign taking part in campaigns against the Black Flag Army and the Chinese Yunnan and Guangxi Armies during the...
, which was placed under the command of général de brigade Alexandre-Eugène Bouët (1833–87), the highest-ranking marine infantry officer available in the French colony of Cochinchina.
The arrival of Admiral Amédée Courbet
Amédée Courbet
Anatole-Amédée-Prosper Courbet was a French admiral who won a series of important land and naval victories during the Tonkin campaign and the Sino-French War .-Early years:...
in Along Bay in July 1883 with substantial naval reinforcements further strengthened the French position in Tonkin. Although the French were now in a position to consider taking the offensive against Liu Yongfu, they realised that military action against the Black Flag Army had to be accompanied by a political settlement with the Vietnamese court at Hue, if necessary by coercion, that recognised a French protectorate in Tonkin. On 30 July 1883 Admiral Courbet, General Bouët and Jules Harmand, the recently-appointed French civil commissioner-general for Tonkin, held a council of war at Haiphong. The three men agreed that Bouët should launch an offensive against the Black Flag Army in its positions around Phu Hoai on the Day River as soon as possible. They also noted that the Court of Hue was covertly aiding and abetting Liu Yongfu's Black Flag Army, and that Prince Hoang was still in arms against the French at Nam Dinh. They therefore decided, largely on Harmand's urging, to recommend to the French government a strike against the Vietnamese defences of Hue, followed by an ultimatum requiring the Vietnamese to accept a French protectorate over Tonkin or face immediate attack. The proposal was approved by the navy ministry on 11 August, and on 20 August, in the Battle of Thuan An
Battle of Thuan An
The Battle of Thuan An was a clash between the French and the Vietnamese during the period of early hostilities of the Tonkin Campaign...
, the French stormed the forts at the mouth of the Hue River, allowing them to attack Hue directly if they chose. The Vietnamese asked for an armistice, and on 25 August Harmand dictated the Treaty of Hue
Treaty of Hué
The Treaty of Hué may refer to:*The Treaty of Hué , which confirms the First Treaty of Saigon*The Treaty of Hue , which cedes the regions of Annam and Tonkin to the French Empire*The Treaty of Hue , which confirms the 1883 Treaty of Hué...
to the cowed Vietnamese court. The Vietnamese recognised the legitimacy of the French occupation of Cochinchina, accepted a French protectorate both for Annam and Tonkin and promised to withdraw their troops from Tonkin. Vietnam, its royal house and its court survived, but under French direction.
While Harmand and Courbet were entrenching the French protectorate at Hue, General Bouët attempted to carry out his part of the programme settled at the Haiphong conference of 30 July. On 15 August 1883, Bouët attacked Liu Yongfu's Black Flag Army
Black Flag Army
The Black Flag Army was a splinter remnant of a bandit group recruited largely from soldiers of ethnic Zhuang background, who crossed the border from Guangxi province of China into Upper Tonkin, in the Empire of Annam in 1865. They became known mainly for their fights against French forces in...
in its strong defensive positions in front of the Day River.
Forces involved
Tonkin Flotilla
The Tonkin Flotilla , a force of despatch vessels and gunboats used for policing the rivers and waterways of the Tonkin Delta, was created in the summer of 1883, during the period of undeclared hostilities that preceded the Sino-French War .-Background:In March 1882, on the eve of Commandant Henri...
, under the command of capitaine de vaisseau Morel-Beaulieu. Bouët himself marched behind Révillon's column with a small general reserve.Bouët’s reserve consisted of the 21st Company, 3rd Marine Infantry Regiment (Captain Buquet), the 2nd Annamese Rifle Company (Captain Boutet) and an artillery section (2nd Lieutenant Simon).
The Black Flag Army seems to have fielded around 3,000 men. Although Liu Yongfu's forces did not substantially outnumber the French, they had built two lines of field fortifications to block the road to Son Tay. The first, outpost, line ran from the village of Cau Giay near Paper Bridge, the scene of Rivière's defeat and death on 19 May, to the Pagoda of the Four Columns (Quatre Colonnes) on the Red River. The main line of defence ran behind it, taking in the villages of Phu Hoai, Noi and Hong.
The battle
The reason that Liu Yongfu was able to make such a powerful counterattack against Révillon's column was because the other two French columns failed to put serious pressure on the enemy. Coronnat's centre column failed to make contact with the Black Flags at all, while Bichot's right column succeeded in capturing the village of Trem but was then held up in front of the Black Flag defences at Quatre Colonnes. On 16 August Bichot advanced to attack Quatre Colonnes, only to find that the Black Flags had abandoned their positions during the night. The battle had been fought in pouring rain, and during the night of 15 August the Red River burst its banks and began to flood the plains between Hanoi and Phu Hoai. The flooding effectively brought the battle to an end. Neither Coronnat nor Bichot was able to make any further headway on 16 August. Coronnat's column returned to Hanoi, while Bichot contented himself with occupying Quatre Colonnes and bringing back to Hanoi a number of cannon abandoned by the Black Flags in their retreat. The French would later claim that the floods had prevented them from inflicting a major defeat upon Liu Yongfu. In fact, the flooding was a disaster for the Black Flag Army. Liu Yongfu had to abandon his entrenchments in front of the Day River and fall back behind the river, leaving behind all his material and all his wounded.
French casualties in the Battle of Phu Hoai were 17 dead (including 2 officers) and 62 wounded. The French estimated Black Flag casualties at around 300 dead and 800 wounded.