Early in the afternoon of 1 March, Courbet conducted closer reconnaissance  from the Nielly, triggering vigorous fire from Chinese shore batteries and nearby warships.
Despite the extreme long range, some of their shots landed within a hundred metres of the French cruiser.
 Unharmed, Nielly returned fire and slowly rejoined the squadron.
The duel lasted a little over half an hour, and it is questionable whether Nielly’s fire was any more effective than that of the Chinese.
Nevertheless, the French claimed to have killed a number of soldiers ashore and inflicted slight damage on one of the shore batteries.

On the evening of 1 March, Courbet gave orders for an attack the next day, but on the morning of the planned assault the risks of the operation became evident.
Silencing the Chinese batteries would be a long and slow business, and while the French ironclads duelled with the forts they would be exposed to fire from the three Chinese cruisers.
Even if the French warships succeeded in suppressing the Chinese defences and forcing the barrage, the enemy cruisers might still elude them by heading upriver towards Ningbo.
Courbet decided not to incur unnecessary casualties, and cancelled the planned attack.
Early in the afternoon of 1 March, Courbet conducted closer reconnaissance  from the Nielly, triggering vigorous fire from Chinese shore batteries and nearby warships. Despite the extreme long range, some of their shots landed within a hundred metres of the French cruiser.  Unharmed, Nielly returned fire and slowly rejoined the squadron. The duel lasted a little over half an hour, and it is questionable whether Nielly’s fire was any more effective than that of the Chinese. Nevertheless, the French claimed to have killed a number of soldiers ashore and inflicted slight damage on one of the shore batteries.
On the evening of 1 March, Courbet gave orders for an attack the next day, but on the morning of the planned assault the risks of the operation became evident. Silencing the Chinese batteries would be a long and slow business, and while the French ironclads duelled with the forts they would be exposed to fire from the three Chinese cruisers. Even if the French warships succeeded in suppressing the Chinese defences and forcing the barrage, the enemy cruisers might still elude them by heading upriver towards Ningbo. Courbet decided not to incur unnecessary casualties, and cancelled the planned attack.
Battle of Zhenhai