Battle of Palikao

Battle of Palikao
Part of the Second Opium War

The bridge of Palikao on the evening of the battle
Date21 September 1860
Location
Palikao, China
39°54′24″N 116°36′51″E / 39.90667°N 116.61417°E / 39.90667; 116.61417
Result Franco-British victory
Belligerents
 United Kingdom
 France		 Qing China
Commanders and leaders
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland James Hope Grant
Second French Empire Charles Cousin-Montauban		 Sengge Rinchen
Strength
10,000[1] 50,000[2]
Casualties and losses
British:[3]
2 killed
29 wounded
French:[4]
3 killed
18 wounded		 1,200 casualties[4]

The Battle of Palikao (French: La bataille de Palikao; simplified Chinese: 八里桥之战; traditional Chinese: 八里橋之戰; pinyin: Bālǐqiáo zhī zhàn; lit. 'Battle of the Eight-Mile Bridge') was fought at the bridge of Baliqiao by Anglo-French forces against the Qing Empire during the Second Opium War on the morning of 21 September 1860. It allowed Western forces to take the capital Beijing and eventually defeat the Qing Empire.[5]

  1. ^ de Saint-Amand & Martin 1912, p. 273
  2. ^ Frontier and Overseas Expeditions from India. Volume 6. Calcutta: Superintendent Government Printing. 1911. p. 435.
  3. ^ London Gazette: no. 22452, pp. 4770–4771, 27 November 1860. Accessed 28 September 2010.
  4. ^ a b de Saint-Amand & Martin 1912, p. 277
  5. ^ Mourre 1968, p. 500