The Sino-French Vietnamese War

        In 1883, France invaded the Ch'ing tributary of Vietnam. The Chinese subsequently dispatched an army to reinforce Vietman, thereby sparking the Sino-French war. In August of 1884, French warships sank the Ch'ing dynasty's entire Fukien-based navy at Ma-wei (near modern day Foochow, Fukien). Although Chinese forces under the command of Feng Tzu-ts'ai later defeated the French army at Chen-nan-kuan, Kwangsi, in 1885, the subsequent signing of a peace treaty prevented further Chinese advances and left Vietnam in French hands.

        Illustration of Engagement Between French and Chinese Naval Forces
       

        In the wake of the 1860 assault on Tientsin and Peking by joint British and French forces, the Ch'ing government turned its attention to naval defense and began to establish a modern navy. Forays by French warships into the ports and rivers of Fukien, which began in July, 1884, eventually brought the French up against the Ch'ing navy. On August 23, the French seized the opportunity of a low tide to attack the Chinese navy. At that time, the Chinese vessels were all at anchor, turned upriver by the force of the out-flowing tide - a position that prevented them from bringing their heavy, bow-mounted guns to bear on the French fleet. Before the Ch'ing fleet could raise anchor and get about to face the enemy, every ship was either sunk or heavily damaged. Within a half an hour, the French destroyed the recently launched Fukien fleet in its entirety. The catastrophe can be traced to indecisiveness on the part of the court and inadequate planning by cowardly field officers, combined with the superior tonnage, defenses, cannon, gunnery, and training of the French navy.