Battle of Son Tai
The Battle of Son Tai, occurring from December 14 to 16, 1883, marked a significant military engagement during the French conquest of Vietnam. French forces, led by Admiral Amédée Anatole Prosper Courbet, launched an assault on the fortified position held by a much larger Vietnamese garrison, which included approximately 25,000 defenders, notably featuring 10,000 Black Flag Chinese guerrillas. The battle was characterized by intense fighting, as the French troops, numbering around 7,000, faced fierce resistance. After a day of fierce combat, the defenders retreated into the citadel, but later attempted a counterattack that was ultimately repelled by the French.
Over the course of three days, the French suffered considerable casualties, with 92 officers and 318 soldiers killed, while the defenders experienced around 1,000 fatalities. The outcome of the battle was a decisive victory for the French, paving the way for further military actions in the region, including the planned deployment of nearly 17,000 additional troops by the summer of 1884. The Battle of Son Tai thus represented a critical moment in the context of French colonial ambitions in Vietnam, setting the stage for subsequent military and political developments in the region.
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Battle of Son Tai
Type of action: Naval and land engagement in Tonkin War
Date: December 14-16, 1883
Location: Fortress in Indochina, twenty miles northwest of Hanoi (later in Vietnam)
Combatants: 15,000 Vietnamese and 10,000 Chinese vs. 7,000 French with 7 gunboats
Principal commanders:Vietnamese, Lin Yung Ku; French, Admiral Amédée Anatole Prosper Courbet (1827–1885)
Result: Successful French taking of the fort and village
In the first serious engagement in the French conquest of Vietnam, the French charged the fortress of Son Tai on December 14, 1883. French admiral Amédée Anatole Prosper Courbet’s 7,000 men and seven riverboats attacked the Vietnamese garrison, which was under the command of Lin Yung Ku and numbered more than 25,000, including 10,000 of the feared Black Flag Chinese guerrillas. After a day of hard fighting, the garrison was finally forced into the citadel. During the evening, the garrison rallied and delivered a hard and desperate sortie. The French forces stood firm against the rally and repulsed the attempted reversal.
On December 16, the French stormed the last of the resisters in the citadel. In three days of hard fighting, the French would suffer 92 officers and 318 men killed; the defenders lost 1,000 dead.
Significance
Son Tai was a bloody but decisive victory for the French, who would continue with the landing of nearly 17,000 French troops by the summer of 1884.
Bibliography
Brunschwig, Henri. French Colonialism, 1871–1914: Myths and Realities. New York: Praeger, 1966.
Buttinger, Joseph. Vietnam: A Dragon Embattled. 2 vols. New York: Praeger, 1967.
Goscha, Christopher E. Vietnam or Indochina? Contesting Concepts of Space in Vietnamese Nationalism, 1887–1954. Copenhagen: NIAS Books, 1995.
Porch, Douglas. “Bugeaud, Galliéni, Lyautey: The Development of French Colonial Warfare.” In The Makers of Modern Strategy: From Machiavelli to the Nuclear Age, edited by Peter Paret. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 1986.