I am Tang Di, a history buff. Welcome everyone [attention] I, let's talk about the past and the present, and discuss the general trend of the world. Gentleman I, just to learn and make friends!
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="2" >1, Where is Shanxi? </h1>
Shanxi Province is located in northern Vietnam, and its unique natural advantages make the land fertile and the grains abundant. To its north is the famous Sanjiangkou (also known as Tunhe and White Crane) - the north is Xuanjiang River (also known as Qinghe River, the southern section is called Lushui River), Tongyiguang Province; southeast is The Furang River (a section of the Red River), Tong Hanoi Province; northwest is the Tuo River (a section of the Red River), up to Tongxinghua Province and even China's Yunnan Province.
On land, the highway from Hanoi to Xinghua runs through it, with convenient transportation, merchants and merchants, and a developed economy, so it is said at the time: "In addition to Hanoi and Nanding, the essence of Vietnam is only in Bac Ninh and Shanxi." "The French army came from europe, logistical support is not an easy task, and the attraction of a rich area like Shanxi to the French army goes without saying."
Shanxi City, the capital of Shanxi Province, is located on the south bank of the Red River in the northwest of Hanoi, only about 35 kilometers away from Hanoi. After the fall of Hanoi, it became one of the military bases of France. The capture of Shanxi can be linked to Hanoi, and the military base can be expanded in order to expand northward, forming a military posture of controlling the upper reaches of the Red River and overlooking the important town of Hanoi.
In addition, Shanxi City was an important stronghold of the Black Flag Army, where the Black Flag Army painstakingly operated and built complete fortifications, as long as the French army used its military superiority to drive away or eliminate the Black Flag Army and other defenders, this stronghold could be used by the French army. With advanced weapons and equipment to defend this stronghold, the French army can firmly establish its heel.
The French army, not only to enter southwest China from the north of Vietnam, was bound to make efforts in finding convenient passages. In order to find this passage, the French "explorers" did everything they could to do whatever it took.
Since the establishment of trade relations between European countries and China, people have been looking for the most convenient and feasible way into southern China such as Sichuan, Guizhou and Yunnan, and the Yangtze River (also known as the Yangtze River) is indeed the main artery for trade between Central And Southern China, but this big river is winding and twisting, the water is turbulent, making the voyage slow and dangerous. Moreover, only after a long distance of people picking mules and driving can the grain in Yunnan and Guizhou reach the two banks of the Yangtze River. The disadvantages of the Pearl River in Guangzhou are the same as those of the Yangtze River, and its entire river is within the territory of China, which is not convenient for European trade.
Because Shanxi is located on the passage from Vietnam to Yunnan, China, it is not surprising that France, with such a high desire to enter Yunnan, will desperately attack Shanxi. Therefore, the general of the Qing army pointed out: "The frontier of Gu yunnan will defend Shanxi." ...... If Shanxi is not defended, tunhe will be difficult to defend, and Yunnan Province will be unable to defend. ”
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="70" >2, Why did France launch the Battle of Shanxi? </h1>
However, it is easy to enter China to dump industrial products and rob industrial raw materials, not only in a corner of Yunnan.
The troops guarding Shanxi City consisted of the Black Flag Army and the Qing Army. At the same time, there were Vietnamese troops outside the city as a backup. The defenders did not enter Shanxi in one step, but only after three or four rushes arrived.
The Black Flag Army was originally part of the anti-Qing peasant army in Guangxi, and then because it could not be pursued by the Qing court, it infiltrated Vietnam, took Baosheng as the base, carried out the struggle against the French, repeatedly created the French army and built a miracle, its leader Liu Yongfu was successively awarded the title of Deputy Vice Governor of San Xuan, the title of Vice Governor of San Xuan, and the rank of Baron of First Class by the Vietnamese Government.
Shanxi is located in the lower reaches of the old base area of the Black Flag Army, and the activities of the Black Flag Army in the early years have entered and exited Shanxi more than once. Before the outbreak of the Battle of Shanxi, the first to enter Shanxi was also the Black Flag Army.
It was after the Vietnamese Nguyen dynasty surrendered to France and began to force Liu Yongfu to retreat. Forced to do so, the Black Flag Army retreated from Danfeng County, Shanxi Province, on September 11, 1883. At that time, there were about 2,000 people in the Black Flag Army, and it was not enough to recruit the Imperial Guard and Liu Yongfu. At the beginning of December, more than 1,000 recruits marched into Shanxi and were organized into the Seven Stars 4 Battalion, led by Liu Rongmei. As a result, the number of new and old Black Flag troops defending the city increased to more than 3,000.
In October 1883, Tang Jingsong requested reinforcements from the commander of the Guangxi Customs Clearance Force, initially allowing 4 battalions and reducing 2 battalions, and only Jia Wengui's half-battalion and Li Yingzhang's half-battalion strength were obtained. However, these reinforcements had not yet arrived, and the 3rd Battalion of gui army in the former Zhashan West had been scattered back to Bac Ninh. The last Gui army to arrive at Tianzha was two sentries led by Li Yingzhang in early December, which were combined by Tang Jingsong into one battalion.
The Yunnan troops in the Qing army also sent troops to garrison Shanxi to guard the gate, and after Tang Jiong was promoted to inspector by the envoys, he arbitrarily scattered the Dian army. Under the strict rebuke of the Qing court and the begging of Tang Jingsong, the general Zhang Yongqingcai arrived in Shanxi on December 10 with 3 battalions of Dian troops, which was the last group of defenders to enter Shanxi, and the Battle of Shanxi broke out a few days later.
There were more than 4,000 Black Flag Troops and Qing Troops. Together with Liu Yongfu's 2,000 Vietnamese troops, the total number of Defenders in Shanxi was more than 6,000.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="71" >3, French attack</h1>
The French army's strength lies in warships, and the speed of marching from the Red River is relatively fast. However, Gu Ba still divided some of his men and horses by land, with the purpose of cooperating with land and water to attack the camps set up by the defenders along the Red River. In particular, when the bottom river that flows into the Red River clashes, it is particularly necessary to attack the two roads together.
On the 11th, the French army was unimpeded, and that night, the two French troops arrived at the mouth of the bottom river to camp.
On the 12th, the French army began to cross the bottom river by land. Due to the unsuccessful construction of the bridge, it took a whole day to transport people, horses, and artillery back and forth using sailing ships.
At noon on the 13th, the two French troops arrived 5 to 6 kilometers away from the outpost fortifications of Shanxi City to rest.
At 6:30 a.m. on the morning of the 14th, the French army attacked Shanxi City in two columns: the left column marched along the inner side of the Red River embankment, the right column advanced along the road along the Red River, and the fleet traveled at a low speed in order to parallel the whole army.
At 9:30, the vanguard of the right column stopped in front of the Tianlu Temple at the confluence of the levee and the riverbank. After a quarter of an hour, the left column rendezvoused with it. Next, it was the beginning of the fierce battle.
At 10:30 a.m. on the 14th, two Marine battalions led by Ru and Chevalier occupied villages and temples northeast of Fusha. In this way, the French army was only 500 to 600 meters away from the floating sand fortifications. In order to break through the floating sand fortifications, the French set up a group of 40 mm artillery to the west of the village of Rennuma and two 40 mm guns at the entrance of the village. At about 1 p.m., the above-mentioned artillery shells destroyed the bunkers of the floating sand fortifications. At the same time, French warships began to cooperate in combat, shelling floating sand batteries and garrison armed sailing ships moored by the docks from the Red River.
First, the defenders' batteries under the embankment were shattered by the French, and a shell entered the muzzle of the gun, which exploded. The defenders fled in a hurry, and the French took the opportunity to occupy the camp and rush to the embankment. Because the river embankment was the same height as Shanxi City and connected to the North Gate Gate, the defenders had no way out and had to retreat into the city. However, Huang Shouzhong and other troops who went to encircle the enemy detoured due to the obstruction of the stream, and on the way, they heard that the defenders had defeated the city, so they turned back to the same place.
Liu Yongfu was furious at the retreat of the Black Flag Army and ordered Han Zaixun's right battalion, which was stationed outside the north gate, to go out of the city gate alone. Tang Jingsong marched on foot to the North Gate to resume the battle, and transferred the Gui Army Jia Wengui's troops stationed outside the South Gate to the North Gate to assist the Gui Army's Li Yingzhang's troops. The Dian army, which was lined up outside the West Gate, fled before the battle, and Tang Jingsong immediately transferred it to the north gate with an arrow in an attempt to retake the first line of defense occupied by the French army. After some reorganization, although the defenders' hearts were slightly fixed, the defenders' positions and river embankment batteries that were originally stationed outside the north gate had all fallen into the hands of the enemy.
On the 15th, the defenders asked for help from the Gui army stationed in Beining on the one hand, and on the other hand closed the outer city, except for the seven-star battalion of the Black Flag Army at the east gate, all the rest entered the city to prepare for battle. The French garrisoned fortifications where the defenders had withdrawn, and camped along the embankments for the night.
Gu Ba admitted that in the battle to seize the fortifications outside Shanxi, the French army "suffered a huge loss": 70 dead and missing, 180 wounded; 2 captains and 1 lieutenant were killed, and 10 officers were wounded.
At 6 o'clock in the morning of the 16th, the French le Tessière battalion was ordered to set out for reconnaissance and successfully reached 500 meters from the Western Gate Fort in the outer city of Shanxi, which was about 300 meters away from the Huidong Temple fortified by the defenders. With the arrival of the French, the defenders attacked with a dense array of guns, and the prelude to a new day of fighting began.
Just as the defenders counterattacked and won, reversing the defeat, the military situation suddenly changed: the defenders were attacked from the rear, inside Shanxi. Liu Yongfu was full of doubts about this sudden situation, ordered to stop pursuing the enemy, and personally led the team back to the city to investigate the end.
As a result, the situation took a sharp turn for the worse, and the French army drove straight. By about 5:00 a.m., the French had advanced to a distance of only 100 meters from the moat. At this time, the sun was setting in the west, and Gu Ba personally issued the order to charge, and the defenders fired intensive fire at the approaching French army, but still failed to prevent the Advance of the French army, and the vanguard of the French army could not enter the city after reaching the sealed west gate, so they ran along the bunker to the right, and finally carved a passage through the chaotic bamboo bushes and other obstacles piled up by the defenders. After the French entered the outer city, they occupied the West Gate Fort and replaced the big black flag on the city gate with the French flag.
At 5:45 a.m., Gu Ba, accompanied by all the members of the General Staff, entered the outer city of Shanxi. Night fell, covering the retreat of the defenders. The Black Flag Army, the Gui Army, and the Dian Army finally withdrew from Shanxi City after all kinds of hardships. Outsiders are puzzled by this, and still think that Liu Yongfu "has a strange plan" and "abandons the plot of Xinye", but in fact he has no choice but to do so.
Shanxi fell, and the Black Flag Army, the Qing Army aiding Vietnam, and the Anti-French Forces in northern Vietnam lost a strategic area, which indicated that the situation of the anti-French struggle in the future would be more severe and the task would be more arduous. Weng Tonggong wrote indignantly in his diary: "The more things are eroded, there is no way to do anything!"
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="77" >4</h1>
Since the contradiction between Vietnam and France has tended to be transformed into a contradiction between China and France, the Qing government has paid more attention to the situation in Vietnam than usual. However, at this time, the Qing Dynasty was, after all, a feudal court on the verge of extinction, and its sick body, which was thin and dying, was silent in the face of the obscenity of the western powers, which was staring at the tiger and the aggressive, and it was difficult to excite itself.
Therefore, when negotiating with France on the Vietnamese issue, the Qing government hesitated and indecisively, did not comment on the "war and peace dispute" in which the upper and lower ministers were red-faced, and even held all kinds of illusions about France, hoping that the invaders would put down their butcher knives and become Buddhas on the spot. In the face of the enemy with teeth and claws, the cowardly Qing government appeared cautious and worried, and repeatedly ordered the generals leading the troops when sending troops to resist the enemy: "The legal person has not lost peace with me, and our army has always been in the name of suppressing bandits, and it has not shown signs of aiding the war and provoked the end." "Don't provoke yourself, but turn your tongue around." It shows that the Qing government not only wants to send troops to protect the border, but also does not dare to face the enemy head-on.
According to Tang Jingsong, the rated defenders in Shanxi should be 7,000 people. As mentioned above, although there are more than 6,000 defenders in Shanxi, 2,000 of them are not strong in combat effectiveness, and more than 1,000 new recruits of the Black Flag Army have just enlisted in the army and lack training, and in general, the strength of the defenders is not very strong.
Why not add the Shanxi defenders? The main reason was that the generals of the Qing army who entered vietnam supported the troops and respected themselves, lest they lose their troops and break the generals.
The Eastern Front entered the Yue Gui army and stationed in Beining and Taiyuan on the left and right, each with 12 battalions, and later recruited, with a total of more than 10,000 people. However, the generals of the Gui Army were reluctant to send more troops to fight south.
Initially, Tang Jingsong suggested that one of the two commanders stationed in Beining should send one of the 8 battalions to Shanxi to unite with the Black Flag Army and take the initiative to attack Hanoi, but because the Taoist Zhao Wo "refused to defend Bac Ninh alone", he gave up.
The Gui army did not want to go out of Shanxi, and the Dian army did not want to invest troops in Shanxi, resulting in an empty defense in Shanxi, and the French army attacked, and there was only a share of resistance and rout.
(End of text)
If there are other topics or opinions on the field of history, you can [follow] my private chat, or you can leave a message in the comment area below and reply at the first time.