Battle of Chinkiang

Battle of Chinkiang
Part of the First Opium War

British troops at the western gate of the city
Date21 July 1842
LocationZhenjiang, Jiangsu, China
Coordinates: 32°11′11″N 119°25′11″E / 32.18639°N 119.41972°E / 32.18639; 119.41972
Result Decisive British victory
Belligerents

 United Kingdom

 Qing China
Commanders and leaders
Hugh Gough Hailing[1]
Strength
6,907 troops[2] 3,000–4,000 troops (est.)[3]
Casualties and losses
Land:[4]
34 killed
107 wounded
3 missing
Naval:[5]
3 killed
21 wounded		 1,000 killed or wounded[6]

The Battle of Chinkiang was fought between British and Chinese forces in Chinkiang (Zhenjiang), Jiangsu province, China, on 21 July 1842 during the First Opium War. It was the last major battle of the war. The Chinese force consisted of a garrison of Manchu and Mongol Bannermen.[7] In command of the British forces was Sir Hugh Gough. Leading one brigade was future British field marshal Sir Colin Campbell.[8] The British capture of this stronghold allowed them to proceed to Nanking. Fought near the confluence of the Grand Canal and Yangtze River, the battle effectively blocked operation of the Caoyun system, a transport network vital for the movement of grain throughout the empire. As a result, the Daoguang Emperor decided to sue for peace and agreed to sign the Treaty of Nanking, which brought hostilities to an end. Mass suicide was committed by the Manchu Bannermen who were defending the city.[9]

Gallery

Notes

  1. ↑ Waley 1958, p. 197
  2. ↑ Rait 1903, p. 272
  3. ↑ Bingham 1843, p. 353
  4. ↑ Bulletins 1842, pp. 780, 787
  5. ↑ Hall & Bernard 1844, pp. 417–418
  6. ↑ The Chinese Repository, vol. 11, p. 513
  7. ↑ Elliott, Mark (June 1990). "Bannerman and Townsman: Ethnic Tension in Nineteenth-Century Jiangnan". Late Imperial China 11 (1): 36–74.
  8. ↑ Greenwood 2015, p. 496
  9. ↑ John Makeham (2008). China: The World's Oldest Living Civilization Revealed. Thames & Hudson. p. 331. ISBN 978-0-500-25142-3.

References

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