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Battle of Fuzhou Combat naval de Fou-Tchéou 馬江海戰 | |||||||
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Part of the Sino-French War | |||||||
The Battle of Fuzhou, 23 August 1884, from The Graphic | |||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||
China | France | ||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||
Zhang Peilun | Amédée Courbet | ||||||
Units involved | |||||||
Fujian Fleet | Far East Squadron | ||||||
Strength | |||||||
22 ships (11 Western-style ships, the rest Chinese Junks) | 13 ships | ||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||
796 killed 150 wounded 51 missing 9 ships sunk 10+ ships damaged |
10 killed 48 wounded 2 ships damaged | ||||||
French casualties include all casualties from 23 to 31 August 1884 (i.e. both at Fuzhou and during the descent of the Min River) The total number of Chinese casualties stands at 2,000 or 3,000 for the entire battle (i.e. including the descent of the Min River)[1] |
The Battle of Fuzhou, or Battle of Foochow, also known as the Battle of the Pagoda Anchorage (French: Combat naval de Fou-Tchéou, Chinese: 馬江海戰, 馬江之役 or 馬尾海戰, literally Battle of Mawei), was the opening engagement of the 16-month Sino-French War (December 1883 – April 1885). The battle was fought on 23 August 1884 off the Pagoda Anchorage in Mawei (馬尾) harbour, 15 kilometres (9.3 mi) to the southeast of the city of Fuzhou (Foochow). During the battle Admiral Amédée Courbet's Far East Squadron virtually destroyed the Fujian Fleet, one of China's four regional fleets.