Battle of Zhangjiawan

Battle of Zhangjiawan (Chinese: 張家灣戰役) or Battle of Chang-kia-wan was fought by British and French forces against China at the town of Zhangjiawan (to the east of Tongzhou) during the Second Opium War on the morning of 18 September 1860.

Battle of Zhangjiawan
Part of the Second Opium War
Cousin-Montauban leading French forces
Date 18 September 1860 Location Zhangjiawan, near Tongzhou, China Result Franco-British victory
Belligerents
United Kingdom  France	Qing China
Commanders and leaders
James Hope Grant Charles Guillaume Cousin-Montauban	Sengge Rinchen[1]
Strength
4,000[2]	20,000–30,000[3][4]
Casualties and losses
British:[4] 1 killed 19 wounded French:[4] 2 killed 14 wounded	Heavy 80 guns captured[4]

Battle

The combined Anglo-French force which had recently occupied Tianjin engaged a Chinese army numbering some 30,000-strong at Zhangjiawan. British cavalry won a battle against Mongolian cavalry, French infantry crushed the defence of Chinese troops, and British-French artillery inflicting massive losses on the Chinese Qing army.

Aftermath

Since infantry was the worst part of Qing army, the Qing commander-in-chief Sengge Rinchen decided to use his cavalry against the Anglo-French forces. The Battle of Palikao took place three days later.

References

1. Correspondence Respecting Affairs in China. 1859–60. London: Harrison and Sons. p. 258.
2. Knollys, Henry (1875). Incidents in the China War of 1860. Edinburgh: William Blackwood and Sons. p. 114.
3. Wolseley, Garnet (1903). The Story of a Soldier's Life. Volume 2. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons. p. 66.
4. Frontier and Overseas Expeditions from India. Volume 6. Calcutta: Superintendent Government Printing. 1911. p. 434.

Further reading

• Walrond, Theodore, ed. (1872). Letters and Journals of James, Eighth Earl of Elgin. London: John Murray. pp. 355–358.