768 



TONQtJItf. 



tary expedition on a larger scale, which would 

 be sufficient to subjugate the country, and 

 announced to China and Europe its inten- 

 tion practically to annex the province of Ton- 

 quin. 



Campaign of 1883. About the same time the 

 fresh activity of the hostile Anamites drove 

 Commandant Rivi&re to resume offensive op- 

 erations. He had in vain appealed to the Gov- 

 ernment for re-enforcements. The moment 

 was now favorable, and his fresh action was 

 an incitement to French politicians to take up 

 the mooted scheme of the acquisition of Ton- 

 quin. M. de Kergaradec was sent to Anam 

 as the bearer of an ultimatum of the French 

 Government to the King Tuduc, whereby he 

 would virtually resign the government of his 

 country into the hands of the French, and ac- 

 cept the position of a mediatized Indian prince. 

 The Assembly was asked for a vote of 5,300,- 

 000 francs to enforce these demands. 



The French commander feared that the com- 

 munications between Hanoi and the sea would 

 be cut off by the entrance into southern Ton- 

 quin of the bands on the Bod6, or chief arm of 

 the Red river, and their occupation of the 

 country in combination with forces from 

 Anam. Commandant Riviere therefore deter- 

 mined to occupy the fortress of Namdmh, the 

 most important point in the Bode region, com- 

 manding the river. The city is the capital of 

 a rich province, and was one of the centers of 

 the hostile Anamite and Mandarin sentiment. 

 He requested the governor several times to 

 pull down his flag and admit a French garri- 

 son, but was answered : " Why have you come 

 here ? If you want to fight, let us fight ; oth- 

 erwise stay away." On March 2Vth Riviere 

 embarked, in seven small steamers and gun- 

 boats, a force of 800 men to attack Namdinh, 

 which was captured after a bombardment of 

 several hours. The same day the Anamites, 

 in the absence of the commander and a large 

 part of the garrison, assailed the citadel at Ha- 

 noi. Commandant Riviere telegraphed home 

 for 2,000 more troops. 



On May 15th the vote of credit for the Ton- 

 quin expedition came up in the French Cham- 

 ber and was carried by a large majority. M. 

 Challemel-Lacour, in defending the project, 

 characterized the objections of China as purely 

 platonic, since it was not a military nation. 

 There would be no conquest of Tonquin, be- 

 cause the King of Anam had no fighting 

 troops, but merely a military demonstration. 

 The expeditionary corps would occupy certain 

 points in Tonquin until Tuduc showed a will- 

 ingness to renew and revise the treaty in the 

 desired sense. The collection of customs dur- 

 ing the occupation would pay all the costs of 

 the expedition. He represented that the Ton- 

 quinese were weary of the yoke of Anam and 

 would welcome the French as deliverers. Im- 

 mediately after the Chamber determined to 

 prosecute the operations for the enforcement 

 of the treaty, news came of the annihilation 



of a French force before Hanoi, and of the 

 death of the commander. 



A heavy cannonade from the Anamite guns 

 annoyed the French troops for several days. 

 The Black Flags became bolder and more dan- 

 gerous, and their commander sent a challenge 

 in extravagant language, of the kind which is 

 usual in Chinese warfare, threatening to kill 

 the French commandant with his own hands. 

 On May 19th Commandant Riviere called out 

 his troops for a sortie in force. Commandant 

 Berthe de Vilers led the column, consisting of 

 400 men, with sailors to draw the guns. The 

 Anamites fell back as they took up a position 

 in the open and advanced with confidence, 

 until they reached the spot where Francois 

 Gamier fell. Here they were brought up short 

 by a stockade concealed by bushes, in which a 

 strong force of Black Flags were waiting for 

 them. A heavy fusillade was opened upon the 

 French column, and before a shot was fired in 

 reply 80 soldiers fell dead or wounded. Com- 

 mandant Riviere attempted to bring up his 

 artillery, and, while he and Cadet Moulin were 

 assisting the sailors with the cannon, they were 

 both killed. Commandant de Yilers was mor- 

 tally wounded, and two other officers were 

 killed. The soldiers retreated precipitately. 

 When the news was brought to Saigon, Chef- 

 de-Bataillon Chevalier was sent with 500 regu- 

 lar troops and two gunboats. 



On receiving the news of this disaster, May 

 26th, the Chamber, which had been wrangling 

 over the appointment of a civil commissioner, 

 at once passed the bill for the expedition. 

 Transports were dispatched under the com- 

 mand of Admiral Courbet, followed by others, 

 until in July 7,000 troops were landed in Ton- 

 quin, 4,000 of whom were sent up to Hanoi. 

 Admiral Courbet commanded the sea-forces, 

 Gen. Bouet the land troops, and Dr. Harmand 

 was appointed civil commissioner. 



This triumvirate, in communication with the 

 authorities at home, planned an extensive cam- 

 paign. The French troops proceeded at once 

 to take possession of the delta of the Red riv- 

 er. At the apex of the triangle is the city of 

 Hanoi, and the two arms of the river constitute 

 the lines of communication between the princi- 

 pal points. They already had possession of Nam- 

 dinh on the southern arm. They next occupied 

 without difficulty the seaport of Haiphong, at 

 the mouth of the northern arm. Between the 

 latter and the main position of the French at 

 Hanoi the fortress of Haiziuong remained in 

 the hands of the defenders of the country. On 

 August 13th, Col. Brionval marched on this po- 

 sition, and captured it without loss. About the 

 same date, Gen. Bouet, the chief in command, 

 undertook an expedition against the city of 

 Sontay, on the Red river, twenty miles above 

 Hanoi. While this operation was being carried 

 out from Hanoi, Admiral Courbet was expected 

 to gain possession of the forts at the mouth of 

 the Hu6 river, with a squadron and a division 

 of land-troops, and then advance upon Hue. 



