Battle of Zhangjiawan

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
France United Kingdom	Qing China
Commanders and leaders
Charles Guillaume Cousin-Montauban James Hope Grant	Sengge Rinchen
Strength
4,000	20,000–30,000
Casualties and losses
French: 2 killed 14 wounded British: 1 killed 19 wounded	Heavy 80 guns captured

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

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 the 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.

Further reading

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