Lạng Sơn campaign
The Lạng Sơn campaign (3 to 13 February 1885) was a major French offensive in Tonkin (northern Vietnam) during the Sino-French War (August 1884–April 1885). The Tonkin Expeditionary Corps, under the command of General Louis Brière de l'Isle, defeated the Chinese Guangxi Army and captured the strategically important town of Lạng Sơn in a ten-day campaign mounted under formidable logistical constraints.[1]
General Louis Brière de l'Isle (1827–96)
General François de Négrier (1842–1913)
Colonel Ange-Laurent Giovanninelli (1839–1903)
The Lạng Sơn expeditionary column (colonne expéditionnaire de Lang-Son) was organised around the two brigades originally established by General Millot in January 1885. Each brigade contained two marching regiments (régiments de marche), each of two or three battalions, with supporting artillery and Tonkinese skirmishers, and was accompanied by field hospital and engineering detachments. Giovanninelli's 1st Brigade consisted of a two-battalion marine infantry regiment, a two-battalion regiment of Algerian riflemen (Turcos), a battalion of Tonkinese riflemen and three artillery batteries. De Négrier's 2nd Brigade consisted of a 'French' regiment of three line infantry battalions from the metropolitan army, an 'Algerian' regiment of two Foreign Legion battalions and one battalion of African Light Infantry, a battalion of Tonkinese riflemen and three artillery batteries:
The strengths of the infantry battalions varied considerably, depending on how long they had been in Tonkin. The battalions which had served longest in the Tonkin campaign could only with difficulty field as many as 500 men, while Schoeffer and Comoy's recently arrived battalions could put 800 rifles into line.[6]
The Lạng Sơn campaign, February 1885[edit]
Capture of Cao Nhiat, 3 February[edit]
Shortly after midnight on 2 February the expeditionary corps set off from Chu, with de Négrier's 2nd Brigade leading the way, and advanced over the mountain of Deo Van to Cao Nhiat without meeting any enemy resistance. At Cao Nhiat the French captured an important Chinese rice dump, easing their supply difficulties.[7]
