Qualla: Battle of Nui Bop

Battle of Nui Bop: Introduction

Thu, 26 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Charles-Lucien Huard, Public domain. On the morning of 23 December 1884, Tonkinese farmers walked into the French headquarters at Chu with urgent news: a Chinese army had occupied the conical hill of Nui Bop, eighteen kilometers to the east, and its soldiers were plundering every village they could reach for food. The farmers' resentment delivered intelligence that reconnaissance had not. Within days, General Francois de Negrier would lead fewer than 3,000 men against a fortified camp held by 12,000 Chinese regulars, in what his fellow officers later called the most spectacular professional triumph of his career.

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Image: Charles-Lucien Huard | Public domain

Battle of Nui Bop: A Hungry Army on a Hill

Thu, 26 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Charles-Lucien Huard, Public domain. The Guangxi Army had reason to be desperate. Driven south in the October battles of the Kep campaign, its detachments had been defeated in quick succession at Lam, Kep, and Chu. But the Chinese commanders had not abandoned their ambition to break into the Red River Delta. Hunger ...

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Image: Charles-Lucien Huard | Public domain

Battle of Nui Bop: The Flanking March

Thu, 26 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Unknown author, Public domain. De Negrier chose cunning over brute force. Rather than marching east from Chu into the teeth of the Chinese defenses, he crossed to the southern bank of the Luc Nam River on the morning of 3 January 1885 and swung wide to strike the Chinese left. A Foreign Legion battalion at Chu...

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Image: Unknown author | Public domain

Battle of Nui Bop: Midnight at Phong Cot

Thu, 26 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Charles-Lucien Huard, Public domain. What followed was a grinding afternoon of close combat on unfamiliar terrain. Mahias's marines drove the Chinese skirmishers from the wood with relative ease, but Captain Salles pushed too far beyond his own lines and found himself taking fire from heights on both sides of the va...

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Image: Charles-Lucien Huard | Public domain

Battle of Nui Bop: A Private Named Meffret

Thu, 26 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Charles-Lucien Huard, Public domain. Just before dawn on 4 January, the Chinese counterattacked in force, with artillery from the Western Fort hammering the French positions. Within minutes, Verdier's isolated company was surrounded. As his men fought at close range, Verdier sent a young private named Meffret crawli...

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Image: Charles-Lucien Huard | Public domain

Battle of Nui Bop: What Victory Cost

Thu, 26 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Jean-François-Alphonse Lecomte, Public domain. French casualties were 19 dead and 65 wounded, modest losses for an assault against nearly ten-to-one odds. The Chinese left 600 dead on the field, along with two Krupp batteries, battle flags, rifles, tents, and provisions. What happened next darkens the triumph: French soldiers...

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Image: Jean-François-Alphonse Lecomte | Public domain