Battle of Amoy
| date | August 26, 1841 |
|---|---|
| place | Xiamen , China |
| output | British victory |
| Parties to the conflict | |
|---|---|
| Commander | |
|
Unknown |
|
| Troop strength | |
| 10 warships 2500 men |
5680 soldiers 9279 yong 400 cannons 50 ships |
| losses | |
|
1 dead |
60 dead |
.svg){kind=small}
.svg){kind=small}
The Battle of Amoy or the Battle of Xiamen took place during the First Opium War on 26./27. August 1841. In the course of the battle, the British expeditionary force under Henry Pottinger captured the southern Chinese coastal city of Xiamen against the resistance of the Chinese defenders under the command of the governor-general of Fujian and Zhejiang Yan Botao .
background
After the military defeats against the expeditionary corps in Guangdong in the spring and summer of 1840, the Imperial Representative Yishan had found a modus vivendi with the British that in fact amounted to a surrender of the province. He described his actions towards Emperor Daoguang as a peace agreement that would have ended the war. The new governor of Fujian and Zhejian Yan Botao, appointed by Daoguang in 1840, did not believe Yishan's accounts and made the military preparation for a British invasion his main task. For this he moved his governor's seat from Hangzhou to Xiamen, as he considered the city to be particularly endangered as a port that was formerly open to foreign trade.
The city had been practically unfortified before the Opium War. For defense, it had three artillery batteries with 25-30 soldiers each, which were located on the south, north-west and south-east coast of the island on which the city was located. After the city had been the target of a British attack at the beginning of the war, the then Governor General Deng Tingzhen reinforced the city's defense to around 268 cannons, 1,600 soldiers and 1,300 Yong militiamen. Due to time constraints, he had the new guns housed in sandbag bunkers. Yan replaced the improvised fortifications with a stone wall made of locally mined granite . The wall was 1.6 kilometers long, 3.3 meters high and 2.6 meters deep. One of the 100 cannons was provided every 16 meters. After the construction work was completed, the stone structure was reinforced by an earth hill. 1400 soldiers served as the manning of the wall. Yan concentrated the artillery batteries that were also available with a focus on the southern port entrance of the city. In the six months Yan stayed to prepare for battle, the Qing military in Xiamen increased to 5,680 soldiers, 9,279 Yong with 400 cannons and 50 ships. The ships were partly rebuilt and partly requisitioned by traders. Against the resistance of the bureaucracy in the capital, Yan also raised the soldiers' wages and meals. The military expenditures of the province Fujian, most of which flowed to Xiamen, amounted to 1.5 million tael of silver up to the battle .
The British expedition fleet comprised ten warships with 310 cannons. It carried around 2500 army soldiers on 22 transport vehicles, some of which were steam-powered.
course
On August 25, 1841, Pottinger's fleet reached Xiamen. The following day, the convoy drove through the chain of islands in front of the city towards Xiamen, led by HMS Blonde (44 cannons). Yan Botao asked a dealer about the intentions of the British. Pottinger called for the city to surrender, which Yan refused. Meanwhile, Pottinger, Army Officer Hugh Gough and Navy Officer William Parker inspected the defenses and prepared a battle plan. In the course of the day, the British warships advanced in two groups against the center and the east end of the wall and opened fire from a safe distance. At 3:45 p.m., the British began fighting on land when they brought their army soldiers ashore on the east side of the wall. The British ground troops were able to take control of the wall within 15 minutes. Panic broke out on the part of the Qing military and the soldiers fled.
The British withdrew to a hill north of the city at night. On August 27, they entered the city itself and found that the Chinese defenders had fled during the night.
consequences
The British side recorded one dead and 16 wounded. The imperial military reported 321 casualties, including a regional commander and seven other officers.
The British evacuated the city shortly after the conquest and, on Pottinger's orders, left three ships and 550 soldiers on Gulangyu Island, from which they could control the sea access to Xiamen. For Pottinger, Xiamen was a stage on the way to the actual destination, the island of Zhoushan , which had already been in British hands.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Mao Haijian: The Qing Empire and the Opium War - The Collapse of the Heavenly Dynasty. Cambridge 2016, p. 277 f.
- ↑ a b Mao Haijian: The Qing Empire and the Opium War - The Collapse of the Heavenly Dynasty. Cambridge 2016, pp. 280-285
- ↑ Mao Haijian: The Qing Empire and the Opium War - The Collapse of the Heavenly Dynasty. Cambridge 2016, p. 286 f.
- ↑ Mao Haijian: The Qing Empire and the Opium War - The Collapse of the Heavenly Dynasty. Cambridge 2016, pp. 287-288
- ↑ a b Mao Haijian: The Qing Empire and the Opium War - The Collapse of the Heavenly Dynasty. Cambridge 2016, pp. 289-291
- ↑ Julia Lovell: The Opium War. 2nd edition, London 2012, p. 183 f.