2009年3月17日 星期二

孫開華提督 - 漁人碼頭之戰的英雄

(There are no photo records of 孫開華Sun Kai-Hua提督; the above is often mis-labeled as Sun when in fact it was 馮子材, another prominent general during the Sino-French war, posturing with a French saber)

The counterpart of Lespes, the Chinese commander was Sun Kai-Hua. He was the highest-ranking military officer (提督) in Taiwan during the Sino-French war.

Commander Sun Kai-Hua (1838-93) was from Hunan province who joined the Hsiang Army (湘軍) in his youth and had risen through the ranks fighting in many battles against many different insurgent groups in China. During the Guan-Xu (光緒) era, he was deployed to Taipei and subsequently fought in the War of Fisherman's Wharf. Legend has it that he actually led the attacks and personally grabbed the flags off the hands of the French standard bearer, thereby boosting the fighting morale of his troops. A much more credible description, from two different sources, was that General Sun was seen having lunch and sipping champagne in the shade of a tree during the French bombardment.

According to many contemporary Chinese reports, the French either lost 2,000 or 300 men and either 2,000 or 25 (or 14) of them lost their heads. These maybe a bit over-stated because the French Infantry Marines totaled about 600. The more conservative estimates were 17 dead and 49 wounded. The severed heads (including Lieutenant Fontaine of La Galissonnière and two other infantry marines) were displayed in town and the corpses mutilated [by the Aboriginal warriors] prompting the protests from the then British consulate, Mr Frater, and Captain Boteler of the trapped British warship, the Cokshaffer. The heads were then turned over to the two gentlemen and given a Christian burial.

The French Government sends an emissary every year to Danshui to pay respects.

孫開華提督:"湖南慈利人。咸丰中从军,镇压太平军、捻军。转战江西、湖北、安徽、江苏、广东诸省间,赐号“擢勇巴图鲁”;累官至提督。光绪初,历任福建漳州镇总兵,署陆路提督。募勇成捷胜军,治厦门、台北防务,曾用兵后山地区。中法战争时,驻守台湾沪尾,大败法国侵略军,歼敌二千余。封世职,帮办台湾军务。光绪十九年卒。"

以下錄自http://www.taiwanus.net/history/3/80.htm

"[1884年] 十月二日清晨,八艘法艦對滬尾 (淡水) 展開猛烈的砲轟,摧毀了河口三座砲台。十月八日天氣晴朗,上午九時在法艦砲火掩護下,八百名陸戰隊由滬尾沙崙 (今日 的淡水海水浴場一帶)搶灘登陸,然後兵分三路,欲佔領滬尾砲台及對港口掃雷,以便長驅直入。但為守軍孫開華等分途截擊。此時士勇張李成率眾五百人增援,攻擊法軍後方,在滬尾軍民合作下,加上雞籠來的援兵,利用地形夾攻,經四小時的肉搏戰,終將法軍趕下海,獲得大捷。此役戰勝計斬首有二十五級 (另一說十四 級),擊斃法兵三百餘人,尚有不少法兵落海溺斃。滬尾之捷,是保住台北的關鍵戰役,否則滬尾一旦失陷,法軍即可沿著淡水河深入內部,直叩台北府城,當時軍裝糧餉全在台北,法軍得逞,後果就不堪設想了。"

至於法軍的傷亡,也有清方報導稱 ". . .自夜至午。馘首2,000余,法人遁. . .",這可說是誇大了點,因為全法軍僅600戰鬥人員。比較保守的說法是49傷17亡。法人的首級 (包括 La Galissonnière 戰艦的 Fontaine 中尉及兩名陸戰隊員) 被示眾。還有原住民兵毀屍之舉。當時駐淡水英國領事Frater及滯留淡水港的英艦Cokshaffer艦長Boteler見景向孫提督提出抗議,認為清方對死者大不敬,所以首級遺體交給了這兩位英方人仕,妥為埋葬。

法政府每年派員到淡水致悼。

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