Battle of Chinkiang

Battle of Chinkiang
Part of First Opium War
British troops at the western gate of the city
Date 21 July 1842 Location Zhenjiang, Jiangsu Province, China Result Decisive British victory
Belligerents
United Kingdom British East India Company	Qing Dynasty
Commanders and leaders
Hugh Gough	Hailing[1]
Strength
6,907[2]	3,000–4,000 (est.)[3]
Casualties and losses
34 killed, 107 wounded, 3 missing	Heavy casualties
Casualties source:[4]

The Battle of Chinkiang was fought between British and Chinese forces in Chinkiang (Zhenjiang), 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.^[5] In command of the British forces was Sir Hugh Gough. Leading one brigade was future British field marshal, Sir Colin Campbell.^[6] The British capture of this stronghold allowed them to proceed forward 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 Qing 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.^[7]

Gallery

• 

  Map of the battle

• 

  Rallying of the Tartar troops

• 

  Engagement in Chinkiang

• 

  Escalade in Chinkiang

• 

  Blowing open the gates of the city

Notes

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

References

• Bulletins of State Intelligence (1842). Westminster: Printed by F. Watts.
• Bingham, J. Elliot (1843). Narrative of the Expedition to China, from the Commencement of the War to Its Termination in 1842 (2nd ed.). Volume 2.
• Greenwood, Adrian (2015). Victoria's Scottish Lion: The Life of Colin Campbell, Lord Clyde. UK: History Press. p. 496. ISBN 0-75095-685-2.
• Rait, Robert S. (1903). The Life and Campaigns of Hugh, First Viscount Gough, Field-Marshal. Volume 1.
• Waley, Arthur (1958). The Opium War Through Chinese Eyes. George Allen & Unwin. ISBN 0-04-951012-6.