Battle of Phu Hoai

The Battle of Phu Hoai (15 August 1883) was one of several engagements between the Tonkin Expeditionary Corps and Liu Yongfu's Black Flag Army during 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).

Background

Henri Rivière’s defeat and death at the Battle of Paper Bridge (19 May 1883) produced an angry reaction in France. Reinforcements were rushed to Tonkin, a threatened attack by the Black Flags on Hanoi was averted, and the military situation was stabilised. In August 1883 Admiral Amédée Courbet, who had recently been appointed to the command of the newly-formed Tonkin Coasts Naval Division, stormed the Thuan An forts which guarded the approaches to the Vietnamese capital Hue, and forced the Vietnamese government to sign the Treaty of Hue, placing Tonkin under French protection. At the same time the "commandant supérieur" of the newly-constituted Tonkin Expeditionary Corps, General Alexandre-Eugène Bouët (1833–87), attacked the Black Flag positions on the Day River.

Forces involved

General Bouët committed 2,500 French 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), five companies of Cochinchinese riflemen and around 450 Yellow Flag auxiliaries. The attackers advanced in three separate columns, commanded respectively by Lieutenant-Colonel Révillon (left column), [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).] "chef de bataillon" Paul Coronnat (centre column), [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).] and Colonel Bichot (right column). [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 battle

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 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. 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. [Bastard, "Bazeilles", 189–97; de Lonlay, "Au Tonkin", 82–8; Duboc, "Trente cinq mois de campagne", 162–78; "Histoire illustrée de l’expédition du Tonkin", 91–2; Huard, "La guerre du Tonkin", 99–103; Lung Chang, "Yueh-nan yu Chung-fa chan-cheng", 151-2; Nicolas, "Livre d’or de l’infanterie de la marine", 264–77; Sarrat, "Journal d’un marsouin", 75–7; Thomazi, "Histoire militaire de l’Indochine française", 60–2; Thomazi, "La conquête de l’Indochine", 163–5]

Significance

Although the French severely mauled the Black Flag Army during the battle and suffered relatively low casualties in return, their failure to win a clear victory against Liu Yongfu was widely noted, and in the eyes of the world the battle was tantamount to a French defeat.

Notes

References

* Bastard, G., "Défense de Bazeilles, suivi de dix ans après au Tonkin" (Paris, 1884)
* Duboc, E., "Trente cinq mois de campagne en Chine, au Tonkin" (Paris, 1899)
* Lung Chang (龍章), "Yueh-nan yu Chung-fa chan-cheng" [Vietnam and the Sino-French War, 越南與中法戰爭] (Taipei, 1993)
* Nicolas, Captain Victor, "Livre d'or de l'infanterie de la marine" (Paris, 1891)
* Thomazi, "Histoire militaire de l’Indochine française" (Hanoi, 1931)
* Thomazi, A., "La conquête de l'Indochine" (Paris, 1934)