Battle of Zhenhai | |||||||
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Part of the Sino-French War | |||||||
Cannons at the monument of Zhenhai | |||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||
France | China | ||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||
Amédée Courbet |
Ouyang Lijian Xue Fucheng Liu Bingzhang Wu Ankang | ||||||
Strength | |||||||
2 ironclads, 1 cruiser, 1 troopship |
3 cruisers, 1 sloop, 1 transport, 2 gunboats and shore batteries | ||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||
Minimal | Minimal |
The Battle of Zhenhai (Chinese: 鎮海之役) was a minor confrontation that took place on 1 March 1885 between Admiral Amédée Courbet's Far East Squadron (escadre de l’extrême-Orient) and Chinese warships and shore batteries near the coastal city of Zhenhai, 12 miles (19 km) downstream from Ningbo, China during the Sino-French War (August 1884 – April 1885). French and Chinese sources disagree sharply as to what happened; French sources treat the encounter as a minor incident, while Chinese sources consider it a striking defensive victory. The Battle of Zhenhai is still commemorated in China as an important Chinese victory in the Sino-French War.