Battle of the Taku Forts (1900)

Battle of the Taku Forts
Part of the Boxer Rebellion

Allies charging at the forts
Date16–17 June 1900
Location38°58′37″N 117°42′19″E / 38.97694°N 117.70528°E / 38.97694; 117.70528
Result Allied victory
Belligerents
 Russia
 United Kingdom
 Japan
 Germany
 Austria-Hungary
 Italy
 China
Commanders and leaders
Russian Empire Yakov Hildebrandt
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland Christopher Cradock
German Empire Hugo von Pohl
Qing dynasty General Lo Jung-Kuang[1]
Strength
900 men
10 ships[2][3]
Approximately 2,000 soldiers and sailors
4 destroyers
Casualties and losses
172 killed and wounded Unknown

The Battle of the Taku or Battle of Dagu Forts (Chinese: 大沽口炮台之戰) was a short engagement during the Boxer Rebellion between the Chinese Qing dynasty military and forces belonging to the Eight Nation Alliance in June 1900. European and Japanese naval forces captured the Taku forts after a brief but bloody battle with units of the Qing dynasty. Their loss prompted the Qing government to side with the Boxers while the Chinese army was ordered to resist all foreign military forces within Chinese territory. Allied powers remained in control of the forts until the end of the Boxer Rebellion in September 1901.

  1. ^ Victor Purcell (2010). The Boxer Uprising: A Background Study. Cambridge University Press. pp. 250–. ISBN 978-0-521-14812-2.
  2. ^ Robert B. Edgerton (1997). Warriors of the rising sun: a history of the Japanese military. W. W. Norton & Company. p. 73. ISBN 0-393-04085-2. Retrieved 2010-11-28. kempff louis american.
  3. ^ Scharf and Harrington, p. 95; Fleming, pp. 80–81