Far East Squadron

The French Far East Squadron () was an exceptional naval grouping created for the duration of the Sino-French War (August 1884 – April 1885).
Background.
In 1882 French interests in the Far East were protected by two naval divisions, the Cochinchina naval division (based at Saigon) and the Far East naval division (based at Yokohama). The Cochinchina naval division ("division navale de Cochinchine") was responsible for monitoring coastal navigation between Singapore and the Hainan Strait and along the rivers of Cochinchina and Cambodia, while the Far East naval division ("division navale de l'Extrême-Orient") policed the China Coast and the seas around China and Japan.
Henri Rivière's intervention in Tonkin in April 1882 was made with vessels of the Cochinchina naval division. As France increased its commitment in Tonkin after Rivière's defeat and death at the Battle of Paper Bridge, a naval division was created at the end of May 1883 to patrol the Gulf of Tonkin. Command of this new Tonkin Coasts naval division ("division navale des côtes du Tonkin") was given to Admiral Amédée Courbet. A Tonkin Flotilla ("flotille de Tonkin"), consisting of a number of despatch vessels and gunboats, was also created for inland operations in the summer of 1883, and placed under the command of "général de brigade" Alexandre-Eugène Bouët (1833–87), the French "commandant supérieur" in Tonkin.
Composition.
The Far East squadron was formally constituted on 27 June 1884, in response to the news of the Bắc Lệ ambush, by the amalgamation of the Tonkin Coasts naval division and the Far East naval division. The Tonkin Coasts naval division, under the command of Admiral Amédée Courbet since July 1883, consisted of the ironclads "Bayard" (the flagship) and "Atalante", the cruiser "Châteaurenault", the light frigates "Hamelin" and "Parseval", the gunboats "Lynx", "Vipère" and "Aspic", the troopships "Drac" and "Saône" and Torpedo Boats Nos. 45 and 46. The Far East naval division, under the command of Admiral Sébastien Lespès since March 1884, consisted of the ironclads "La Galissonnière" (the flagship) and "Triomphante", the cruisers "d'Estaing", "Duguay-Trouin" and "Volta", and the gunboat "Lutin". The new squadron was placed under Courbet's command, with Lespès second in command.
In October 1884 the squadron was joined by the cruisers "Rigault de Genouilly" from the Levant station, "Nielly" from the Indian Ocean station and "Champlain". At the end of November 1884 a fourth cruiser, "Éclaireur", arrived from the Pacific station. In January 1885 the squadron was joined by the cruisers "Duchaffaut" from New Caledonia and "Lapérouse" from France. Around the end of March 1885 the cruiser "Kerguelen", transferred from the Pacific station, joined the squadron. French naval forces in Tonkin were strongly reinforced in the spring of 1885 by the cruisers "Fabert" and "La Clocheterie", and the seagoing gunboat "Jaguar", previously based at Along Bay as part of the Tonkin flotilla, was also transferred to the Far East squadron at this period.
In April 1885 the squadron was reinforced by a third naval division, sent out from France in January 1885 under the command of Admiral Adrien-Barthélémy-Louis Rieunier. Rieunier's division consisted of the ironclad "Turenne" (his flagship), the cruisers "Magon", "Primauguet" and "Roland", and the gunboats "Comète" and "Sagittaire". The division was accompanied by two more torpedo boats, Nos. 44 and 45, and by the 'auxiliary cruiser' "Château-Yquem", a civilian vessel leased and armed by the French government for the duration of hostilities with China. Rieunier's division reached Far Eastern waters too late to take part in active naval operations, but some of its ships took part in the continuing French blockade of the Yangzi River between April and June 1885.
In April 1885, at the end of the Sino-French War, the squadron consisted of the following vessels:
Admiral Courbet died aboard his flagship "Bayard" in Magong harbour in the Pescadores on 11 June 1885, and was briefly succeeded in command of the squadron by Admiral Sébastien Lespès. On 25 July 1885 the French government reconstituted the traditional Far East naval division at close to its 1883 strength. The division, under the command of Admiral Lespès, with Rieunier second in command, consisted of the ironclads "La Galissonnière" (the flagship), "Turenne" and "Triomphante", the cruisers "Lapérouse", "Primauguet", "Champlain" and "Roland", and the gunboats "Vipère" and "Sagittaire". The other ships returned to France, or were transferred to Tonkin, or were sent to the various stations of the French fleet around the globe:
Around the end of June each day saw the departure of one of our ships. "D’Estaing" and "Kerguelen" were the first to leave, towing Torpedo Boats Nos. 50 and 44 as far as Saigon, then continuing on to France. "Villars" and "Éclaireur" followed them, while "Château-Yquem" conveyed troops, artillery and mules to Along Bay. Then "Annamite" left, to repatriate the sick. "Duguay-Trouin" and "Châteaurenault" went next, to return to France. "Magon" and "Fabert" went back to the Pacific station, and "Rigault de Genouilly" to the Levant station. A little later "Atalante" left to decommission in Saigon, "Nielly" joined the Indian Ocean station and "La Clocheterie", "Lutin" and "Comète" left for Tonkin to join General de Courcy's command.
Operations.
The Far East squadron was engaged on several occasions during the Sino-French War. The ironclad "La Galissonnière", the cruiser "Villars" and the gunboat "Lutin" took part in the bombardment of Keelung on 5 August 1884, directed by Rear Admiral Lespès. The landing force put ashore by Lespès on the afternoon of 5 August to occupy Keelung consisted of the landing companies of "Bayard" and "Villars", under the respective commands of "capitaine de frégate" Martin and "lieutenant de vaisseau" Jacquemier. Both companies were attacked by superior Chinese forces on the morning of 6 August, and had to make a fighting withdrawal to the coast, where they were re-embarked. French casualties in this operation were 2 dead and 11 wounded.
Other ships were involved in the Battle of Fuzhou (23 August 1884), various operations in the Keelung Campaign, including landings at Keelung and Tamsui (1 to 8 October 1884), the blockade of Formosa (October 1884 to April 1885), the Battle of Shipu (14 February 1885), the so-called Battle of Zhenhai (1 March 1885), the Pescadores Campaign (March 1885) and the 'rice blockade' of the Yangtze River (March to June 1885).
There were also a number of exploits by individual vessels. The light frigate "Parseval", sent to Shanghai in the summer of 1884 to observe the movements of China's Southern Seas fleet, made a daring night escape under the guns of the Wusong forts in September 1884.
Losses.
None of the squadron's vessels were lost in battle, but there were several losses from other causes. The light frigate "Hamelin" ("capitaine de frégate" Roustan) stranded in the Min River in July 1884 and had to return to France for repairs. Thirteen sailors were scalded to death aboard the cruiser "Rigault de Genouilly" on 15 November 1884 when a boiler exploded.
Torpedo Boat No. 45, which had fought in the Battle of Fuzhou, was lost at sea on 21 March 1885 while sailing to Ningbo to join the French vessels blockading the mouth of the Yangzi River. Torpedo Boat No. 46, which had attacked and sunk the Chinese corvette "Yangwu" during the Battle of Fuzhou, was lost at sea off Makung on 30 April 1885, shortly after the end of the Sino-French War. Both torpedo boats were lost while under tow (by "Châteaurenault" and "d'Estaing" respectively), and on both occasions foundered after the towing rope snapped. There were no casualties in either incident.
The battle losses of the ships' crews and the squadron's landing companies were moderate. The squadron suffered minor losses in the Battle of Fuzhou and the subsequent descent of the Min River, and rather heavier casualties on 8 October 1884 in the failed landing at Tamsui during the Keelung Campaign. French casualties in the Battle of Shipu were minimal. Several sailors died of cholera during the four-month occupation of the Pescadores Islands following the Pescadores Campaign.