Another battle scene

點石齋畫報 (left), a news pictorial first published in Shanghai in 1884, reported the Battle of Fisherman's Wharf with a drawing detailing the defense setup of Danshui. This reproduction (below) is a bit fuzzy; nonetheless, the heavy reinforcement at the mouth of the Danshui River still can be clearly seen. It shows several rows of boats or ships blocking the entry into Danshui River, far more complicated than the "Barrage" line on the French map shown at the beginning of this blog. We already know there were 10 mines strung across the River - this alone would have been too simplistic for a defense. Indeed the Qing military knew exactly what they were doing. It would not have been possible for the French fleet to blast their way through, hence the landing of the 600 fusiliers marins on the beaches at Fisherman's Wharf on Oct 8, 1884. The French marched into an area dense with 林投 trees and 黃槿 bushes, both quite thorny, and the progress further slowed by rifle shots from the well-hidden Qing infantrymen. Most locals even now are still surprised that the French had picked this area to do battle. The same vegetations are still there toady.

On shore, there are also locations of the gun batteries and military camps complete with other landmarks. In the Danshui Harbor, two large ships were trapped, one the British gunboat Cockchafer and the other the No 13 Qing transport ship (the 萬年清號). The French fleet is shown on the left ready to pounce.