Qualla: Battle of Yu Oc

Battle of Yu Oc: Introduction

Thu, 26 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Unknown author, Public domain. Three rifle shots echoed through the forest at 7:00 a.m. on 19 November 1884 -- Chinese scouts signaling that the French were coming. Along the Clear River in northern Tonkin, Lieutenant-Colonel Jacques Duchesne's column of five infantry companies had been marching in single file since dawn, heading for the village of Yu Oc. Weeks earlier, Liu Yongfu's Black Flag Army had seized this stretch of the river, severing the only supply route to the French garrison at Tuyen Quang, 100 kilometers upstream. The isolated post was slowly being strangled. Duchesne's mission was to break the blockade, push a food convoy through, and put the garrison on a footing to survive the winter. He would have four hours to do it.

Read more: Battle of Yu Oc on Qualla

Image: Unknown author | Public domain

Battle of Yu Oc: Strangled on the Clear River

Thu, 26 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Charles-Lucien Huard, Public domain. Tuyen Quang was the most westerly French outpost in Tonkin, planted on the Clear River in June 1884 after the French captured Hung Hoa and Thai Nguyen. Two companies of the 1st Foreign Legion Regiment garrisoned it, over 100 kilometers from the nearest friendly post. When the Sin...

Read more: Battle of Yu Oc on Qualla

Image: Charles-Lucien Huard | Public domain

Battle of Yu Oc: Approach Through Silence

Thu, 26 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Unknown author, Public domain. General Briere de l'Isle, commanding the Tonkin Expeditionary Corps, responded to the attack on Revolver within hours. He assembled a column under Duchesne: five infantry companies with artillery support, drawn from the garrison at Hung Hoa. On 18 November, the troops boarded a f...

Read more: Battle of Yu Oc on Qualla

Image: Unknown author | Public domain

Battle of Yu Oc: The Flank Through the Forest

Thu, 26 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Unknown author, Public domain. When the firing erupted, it came from three directions at once: across the path ahead, from the woods to the west, and from the opposite bank of the Clear River. Chanu and Herbin's marine infantry companies engaged the enemy head-on, absorbing the initial onslaught while the batt...

Read more: Battle of Yu Oc on Qualla

Image: Unknown author | Public domain

Battle of Yu Oc: The Convoy Gets Through

Thu, 26 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Unknown author, Public domain. French casualties totaled 10 dead and 37 wounded, concentrated among the marine infantry who bore the brunt of the frontal engagement. Chinese and Black Flag losses went unrecorded but were believed to be considerably higher. The next day, under the protective guns of the Eclair,...

Read more: Battle of Yu Oc on Qualla

Image: Unknown author | Public domain

Battle of Yu Oc: Prelude to a Siege

Thu, 26 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Jean-François-Alphonse Lecomte, Public domain. The day after Duchesne's departure, Domine declared Tuyen Quang in a state of siege. The Battle of Yu Oc had broken the blockade and bought the garrison time, but it had not broken the enemy's will. The Black Flags and the Yunnan Army were regrouping, and the four-month siege tha...

Read more: Battle of Yu Oc on Qualla

Image: Jean-François-Alphonse Lecomte | Public domain