Order of Battle
Only a fraction of the Far East squadron was present off the Pagoda Anchorage on the morning of 23 August. In particular, none of the Far East squadron's four ironclads was immediately available. Bayard, Courbet's flagship, was at Sharp Peak near the island of Matsu, guarding a vital telegraph station. Atalante was hunting down pirate ships in the Gulf of Tonkin. Courbet had summoned the ironclads Triomphante from Shanghai and La Galissonnière from Jilong to join him off Fuzhou, but La Galissonnière had been detained at Jilong by bad weather, and although Triomphante was approaching the Min River, it was not clear whether she would be able to cross the bar at its entrance.
Courbet had under his immediate command the first-class cruisers Duguay-Trouin, Villars and d’Estaing, the third-class cruiser Volta (which he chose as his flagship during the engagement), the gunboats Lynx, Aspic and Vipère and Torpedo Boats No. 45 and No. 46. The second-class cruiser Châteaurenault and the troopship Saône had been left at the Jinpai pass, at the entrance to the Min River, to stop the Chinese from laying a barrage to prevent the squadron's escape.
The Chinese Fujian fleet consisted of the wooden corvette Yangwu (the flagship), the scout-transports Chenhang, Yongbao, Fupo, Feiyun and Ji'an, the paddle steamer Yixin, the wooden gunboats Zhenwei and Fuxing, and the Rendel flatiron gunboats Fusheng and Jiansheng. Twelve large junks were nearby, but did not take part in the battle. The French squadron displaced 14,500 tons and included 1,780 men, while the eleven warships in the Chinese fleet displaced 8,000 tons, and included 1,040 men. The French squadron was much better-led and better-armed than the Chinese fleet. Only a few of the Chinese ships were capable of offering serious resistance to Courbet’s attack. The Chinese defence was under the command of the imperial commissioner Zhang Peilun (張佩綸), one of the leading members of China's war party.
Table 1: French warships in the Min River actions, August 1884
| Name | Type | Specifications | Construction | Captain |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Triomphante | station ironclad (cuirassé de croisière) | 4,585 tons | 1879, Rochefort | capitaine de vaisseau Baux |
| La Galissonnière | station ironclad (cuirassé de croisière) | 4,645 tons | 1874, Brest | capitaine de vaisseau Fleuriais |
| Duguay-Trouin | 1st class iron cruiser | 3,479 tons | 1879, Cherbourg | capitaine de vaisseau Desnouy |
| Villars | 1st class cruiser | 2,363 tons | 1881, Cherbourg | capitaine de vaisseau Vivielle |
| d'Estaing | 1st class cruiser | 2,363 tons | 1881, Brest | capitaine de vaisseau Coulombeaud |
| Châteaurenault | 2nd class wooden cruiser | 1,820 tons | 1869, Normand | capitaine de frégate Le Pontois |
| Volta | 3rd class wooden cruiser | 1,323 tons | 1869, Cherbourg | capitaine de frégate Gigon |
| Saône | transport | 1,575 tons | 1880, Toulon | capitaine de frégate Monin |
| Lynx | composite gunboat | 465 tons | ~1870s, Cherbourg | lieutenant de vaisseau Bonaire |
| Aspic | composite gunboat | 465 tons | ~1870s, Rochefort | lieutenant de vaisseau de Fauque de Jonquières |
| Vipère | composite gunboat | 465 tons | ~1870s, Rochefort | lieutenant de vaisseau Picard Destelan |
| Torpedo Boat No. 45 | torpedo boat | details to be supplied | ~1879, ? | lieutenant de vaisseau Latour |
| Torpedo Boat No. 46 | torpedo boat | details to be supplied | ~1879, ? | lieutenant de vaisseau Douzans |
Table 2: Composition of the Fujian fleet, August 1884
| Name (pinyin) | Name (Wade Giles) | Characters | Type | Construction | Specifications | Captain |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yangwu | Yang wu | 揚武 | wooden corvette | 1872, Foochow Navy Yard | 1,393 tons, 15 knots, 13 British muzzle-loaders | Chang Ch'eng |
| Yongbao | Yung-pao | 永保 | scout-transport | 1873, Foochow Navy Yard | 1,391 tons, 3 guns | (in dock) |
| Chenhang | Ch'en-hang | 琛航 | scout-transport | 1874, Foochow Navy Yard | 1,391 tons, 3 guns | (in dock) |
| Fupo | Fu-p'o | 伏波 | scout-transport | 1870, Foochow Navy Yard | 1,258 tons, 5 guns | Lü Wen-ying |
| Feiyun | Fei-yun | 飛雲 | scout-transport | 1872, Foochow Navy Yard | 1,258 tons, 13 knots, 5 Prussian breechloaders | Kao Teng-yün |
| Ji'an | Chi-an | 濟安 | scout-transport | 1873, Foochow Navy Yard | 1,258 tons, 12 knots, 5 guns | ? |
| Zhenwei | Chen-wei | 振威 | wooden gunboat | 1872, Foochow Navy Yard | 572.5 tons, 10 knots, 6 guns | Hsü Shou-shen |
| Fuxing | Fu-hsing | 福星 | wooden gunboat | 1870, Foochow Navy Yard | 515 tons, 3 guns | Ch'en Ying |
| Fusheng | Fu-sheng | 福勝 | Rendel flatiron gunboat | 1875, Laird, Birkenhead | 280 tons | Yeh Chen |
| Jiansheng | Chien-sheng | 建勝 | Rendel flatiron gunboat | 1875, Laird, Birkenhead | 250 tons | Lin Sen-lin |
| Yixin | I-hsin | 藝新 | river patrol boat | 1876, Foochow Navy Yard | No details available | Lin Tse-yu |
Read more about this topic: Battle Of Fuzhou
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