Tonkin Flotilla
[1] Several vessels under Rivière's command were normally stationed in Cochinchina or Cambodia, including the troopship Drac, the light frigate Alouette and the small gunboats Framée and Javeline.
[4] The stationary pontoon Tilsitt at Saigon and the small river gunboats Framée, Javeline and Mousqueton, normally stationed in Cochinchina, were also placed under the orders of the commander of the Tonkin Flotilla.
The two gunboats were transported to Tonkin lashed to the bridge of the troopship Bien Hoa, and re-floating them on their arrival at Haiphong was a technical task of considerable complexity.
[6] In October 1883 Admiral Courbet asked the navy ministry to design a new class of shallow-draft gunboats which could penetrate the maze of shallow tributary streams and arroyos of the Delta, so that the Black Flags and pirates could be hunted down far more effectively.
On 2 October the French gunboats Hache and Massue, on patrol in the Luc Nam river, were ambushed from the riverbank by a strong force of Chinese infantry.
Although the French suffered heavy casualties in this ambush (lieutenant de vaisseau Challier of Massue was killed and 32 sailors and soldiers were wounded), the Guangxi Army had disclosed its presence prematurely.
The French used the mobility conferred by their gunboats to move men and supplies between Phu Lang Thuong and the Luc Nam, enabling de Négrier to concentrate his forces rapidly and defeat the two widely separated wings of the Chinese Guangxi Army one after the other.
Giovanninelli had hoped to have their support when he attacked an important Chinese blocking position at Hòa Mộc, but the water level in the Clear River was so low that the gunboats grounded several kilometres above Phu Doan.
[14] General Brière de l'Isle was careful to acknowledge the heroic efforts made by their captains and crews in an order of the day issued on 5 March.
After praising the courage of the marine infantry and Turcos of the 1st Brigade, who suffered more than 400 casualties storming the Chinese defences at Hòa Mộc, he praised the sacrifices made by the men of the Flotilla: Vous avez été plus heureux que les états-majors et les équipages des canonnières Henri Rivière, Berthe de Villers, Moulun, Éclair et Trombe, qui ont espéré jusqu’au dernier moment partager vos dangers.
Ils ont ainsi prouvé que des obstacles considérés jusqu’alors comme insurmontables n’existaient pas pour eux.
[15] (You were luckier than the officers and the crews of the gunboats Henri Rivière, Berthe de Villers, Moulun, Éclair and Trombe, who had hoped right up to the last moment to share your dangers.
At the cost of unimaginable efforts they dragged their vessels for seven consecutive days up a waterless river and succeeded in reaching Phu Doan, Yu Oc and the approaches to Tuyên Quang.
