Battle of Taku Forts (1858)

First Battle of Taku Forts Part of the Second Opium War Map of the Peiho River forts, showing British and French ships Date 20 May 1858 Location Taku Forts, Tianjin, China Coordinates: 38°58′29.50″N 117°42′43.80″E / 38.9748611°N 117.7121667°E / 38.9748611; 117.7121667 Result Anglo-French victory Belligerents  United Kingdom  France Qing China Commanders and leaders Michael Seymour Rigault de Genouilly Tan Ting-siang Strength British:[1] 1,032 troops French:[1] 700 troops (land force) Unknown Casualties and losses British:[1] 5 killed 16 wounded French:[1] 6 killed 61 wounded Unknown

Second Opium War 1st Canton French Folly Fort Bogue Barrier Forts Escape Creek Fatshan Creek 2nd Canton 1st Taku Forts 2nd Taku Forts 3rd Taku Forts Zhangjiawan Palikao

The First Battle of Taku Forts was the first invasion of the Anglo-French alliance against the Taku Forts along the Hai River in Tianjin, China, on 20 May 1858, during the Second Opium War.

The British and French sent a squadron of gunboats, under Rear-Admiral Admiral Michael Seymour, to attack China's Taku Forts. The battle ended as an allied success. However, the first phase of the Second Opium War would end with the Treaties of Tianjin and the forts were returned to the hands of the Qing Army, leading to the Second Battle of Taku Forts in 1859.

Background

After the outbreak of the Second Opium War, the Anglo-French alliance captured the significant harbor of Canton (Guangzhou) during the Battle of Canton in 1857. The Xianfeng Emperor received the news that Canton had been occupied on 27 January 1858. The British commander Michael Seymour, hoping to force a settlement (the later Treaty of Tianjin), ordered an attack on the Taku Forts as they were the closer path towards Peking.

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External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Taku Forts.

• Taku Forts 1860