Background
In March 1882, on the eve of Commandant Henri Rivière's seizure of the citadel of Hanoi, France had two naval divisions in the Far East. The seas to the east of the Hainan Strait were the responsibility of Rear Admiral Charles Meyer's Far East naval division (''division navale de l'Extrême-Orient''). France's interests in Indochina were protected by Rivière's Cochinchina naval division (''division navale de Cochinchine''), responsible for monitoring coastal navigation between Singapore and the Hainan Strait and along the rivers of Cochinchina and Cambodia. Several vessels under Rivière's command were normally stationed in Cochinchina or Cambodia, including the troopship ''Drac'', the light frigate ''Alouette'' and the small gunboats ''Framée'' and ''Javeline''. ''Tilsitt'', the flagship of the Cochinchina naval division, was disarmed and in permanent dock at Saigon, and served as the division's storehouse and administrative centre. Most of the division's vessels, however, were stationed in Tonkin, where they were enforcing the right of free navigation on the Red River conceded to France by the Vietnamese government in 1874. Rivière's command in Tonkin consisted of the light frigates ''Hamelin'', ''Parseval'' and ''Antilope'' (the latter due to be replaced shortly by ''Pluvier''), the heavy gunboats ''Lynx'' and ''Vipère'', the seagoing gunboats ''Fanfare'', ''Léopard'' and ''Surprise'', and the smaller river gunboats ''Carabine'', ''Éclair'', ''Hache'', ''Massue'', ''Trombe'' and ''Yatagan''. The heavy gunboats had crews of 77 men and mounted four cannon, while the smaller gunboats had two cannon each. They all carried a Hotchkiss ''canon-revolver'' in their tops. Following Rivière's defeat and death at the Battle of Paper Bridge (19 June 1883), the navy ministry created a new Tonkin Coasts naval division (''division navale des côtes du Tonkin'') under the command of AdmiralComposition
The Tonkin Flotilla consisted initially of the light frigates (''avisos à roues'') ''Pluvier'' and ''Alouette'', the seagoing gunboats ''Fanfare'', ''Léopard'' and ''Surprise'', the large river gunboats (''avisos de flotille à roues'') ''Éclair'' and ''Trombe'', and the smaller river gunboats (''chaloupes-cannonières démontables'') ''Carabine'', ''Hache'', ''Massue'' and ''Yatagan''. ''Alouette'' was normally stationed in Cochinchina, and does not seem to have seen service in Tonkin. The stationary pontoon ''Tilsitt'' at Saigon and the small river gunboats ''Framée'', ''Javeline'' and ''Mousqueton'', normally stationed in Cochinchina, were also placed under the orders of the commander of the Tonkin Flotilla. In April 1884 the Farcy gunboats ''Revolver'' and ''Mitrailleuse'', both of which had seen service on the Seine during the Franco-Prussian War (1870–1), arrived in Tonkin. The two gunboats were transported to Tonkin lashed to the bridge of the troopship ''Bien Hoa'', and re-floating them on their arrival at Haiphong was a technical task of considerable complexity. In October 1883 Admiral Courbet asked the navy ministry to design a new class of shallow-draft gunboats which could penetrate the maze of shallow tributary streams and arroyos of the Delta, so that the Black Flags and pirates could be hunted down far more effectively. The ministry accepted his recommendations, and laid down two new classes of gunboats. Eight gunboats of the ''Henri Rivière'' class were designed and built specifically for service in Tonkin, while more than a dozen gunboats of the ''Arquebuse'' class were produced for use in both Tonkin and Madagascar. The gunboats of the former class were named after the French officers who had been killed or mortally wounded in action in Tonkin in Francis Garnier and Henri Rivière's campaigns: ''Francis Garnier'', ''Colonel Carreau'', ''Henri Rivière'', ''Berthe de Villers'', ''Jacquin'' and ''Moulun''. The gunboats, built at the Claparède works in Lorient, reached Haiphong in the autumn of 1884. The ''Arquebuse'' class of gunboats was designed for more general service, in Madagascar as well as Tonkin. Six vessels in this class (''Arquebuse'', ''Alerte'', ''Avalanche'', ''Bourrasque'', ''Mutine'' and ''Rafale'') were deployed in Tonkin in the summer of 1884. These gunboats were 30 metres long and 5 metres wide, cruised at , and drew less than one-and-a-half metres of water. Although they could carry only 60 men, they were armed with two 90-millimetre cannon and three Hotchkiss ''canons-revolvers'', so that they packed a powerful punch. Two other gunboats of the ''Arquebuse'' class, ''Casse-tête'' and ''Estoc'', joined the Tonkin flotilla in early 1885. They differed from the earlier models in having two masts, each with a Hotchkiss station. In February 1885, on the eve of theOperations
Besides policing the inland waterways of Tonkin, the vessels of the Tonkin Flotilla were also used in close support of the movements of theKep Campaign, October 1884
The Tonkin Flotilla played a decisive strategic role in GeneralResupply of Tuyên Quang, October–November 1884
During October and November 1884 the Farcy gunboats ''Revolver'' and ''Mitrailleuse'', based at Tuyên Quang, and the gunboats ''Bourrasque'', ''Éclair'', ''Mutine'' and ''Trombe'', operating out of Hưng Hóa, mounted a number of dangerous supply runs along the Clear River between Hưng Hóa and Tuyên Quang in support of the small French garrison at Tuyên Quang. The supply runs were successful, but the French suffered a constant dribble of casualties as their gunboats were engaged by the Black Flags. On one occasion ''Revolver'' had to steam at full speed to break a barrage laid across the Clear River, and on another occasion her crew sustained casualties of 2 men dead and 3 wounded (including the commander, ''enseigne de vaisseau'' de Balincourt) from enemy fire from Yu Oc. In an engagement on 12 November 1884 ''Trombe'' suffered casualties of 1 man dead and 7 wounded. ''Revolver'' was eventually withdrawn from Tuyên Quang, but ''Mitrailleuse'' remained on station, and later distinguished herself in theRelief of Tuyên Quang, February–March 1885
The Tonkin Flotilla played an important role in the relief of Tuyên Quang. In late February 1885 the gunboats ''Henri Rivière'', ''Berthe de Villers'', ''Moulun'', ''Éclair'' and ''Trombe'' transported 2,400 soldiers of Lieutenant-Colonel Laurent Giovanninelli's 1st Brigade from Hanoi up the Red and Clear Rivers and put them ashore near the French post of Phu Doan on the Clear River, fifty kilometres southwest of Tuyên Quang. Giovanninelli had hoped to have their support when he attacked an important Chinese blocking position at Hòa Mộc, but the water level in the Clear River was so low that the gunboats grounded several kilometres above Phu Doan. Their crews endured a week of back-breaking labour, hauling the gunboats along an almost-dry river bed, but despite their utmost efforts the gunboats were absent from the Battle of Hòa Mộc on 2 March. Some of the French crewmen were said to have wept with rage at their inability to take part in the crucial battle for Tuyên Quang. The gunboats finally reached Tuyên Quang on 4 March, the day after the post was relieved. General Brière de l'Isle was careful to acknowledge the heroic efforts made by their captains and crews in an order of the day issued on 5 March. After praising the courage of the marine infantry and Turcos of the 1st Brigade, who suffered more than 400 casualties storming the Chinese defences at Hòa Mộc, he praised the sacrifices made by the men of the Flotilla:Vous avez été plus heureux que les états-majors et les équipages des canonnières ''Henri Rivière'', ''Berthe de Villers'', ''Moulun'', ''Éclair'' et ''Trombe'', qui ont espéré jusqu’au dernier moment partager vos dangers. Au prix d'efforts inouïs, ils ont trainé leurs bâtiments pendant sept jours consécutifs dans une rivière sans eau et ont pu atteindre Phu-Doan, Yu-oc et les abords de Tuyen-Quan. Ils ont ainsi prouvé que des obstacles considérés jusqu’alors comme insurmontables n’existaient pas pour eux.Huguet, 96
(You were luckier than the officers and the crews of the gunboats ''Henri Rivière'', ''Berthe de Villers'', ''Moulun'', ''Éclair'' and ''Trombe'', who had hoped right up to the last moment to share your dangers. At the cost of unimaginable efforts they dragged their vessels for seven consecutive days up a waterless river and succeeded in reaching Phu Doan, Yu Oc and the approaches to Tuyên Quang. They thus demonstrated that obstacles hitherto supposed insurmountable did not exist for them.)
See also
*Vessels of the Tonkin Flotilla
Notes
References
* Cahu, T., ''L'amiral Courbet en Extrême-Orient: notes et correspondance'' (Paris, 1896) * Duboc, E., ''Trente cinq mois de campagne en Chine, au Tonkin'' (Paris, 1899) * Huard, L., ''La guerre du Tonkin'' (Paris, 1887) * Huguet, L., En colonne: souvenirs d'Extrême-Orient (Paris, 1888) * Lecomte, J., ''Lang-Son: combats, retraite et négociations'' (Paris, 1895) * Lecomte, J., ''La vie militaire au Tonkin'' (Paris, 1893) * Loir, M., ''L'escadre de l'amiral Courbet'' (Paris, 1886) * Marolles, Vice-amiral de, ''La dernière campagne du Commandant Henri Rivière'' (Paris, 1932) * Rollet de l'Isle, M., ''Au Tonkin et dans les mers de Chine'' (Paris, 1886) * Thomazi, A., ''La conquête de l'Indochine'' (Paris, 1934) * Thomazi, A., ''Histoire militaire de l'Indochine français'' (Hanoi, 1931) {{Sino-French war French naval components Sino-French War