Editing First Opium War (section)

== War ==

=== Opening moves ===
[[File:Volage & Hyacinth in Chuenpee.jpg|thumb|Engagement between British and Chinese ships in the First Battle of Chuenpi, 1839.]]The Chinese naval forces in Guangzhou were under the command of Admiral [[Guan Tianpei]], who had fought the British at Chuenpi. The Qing southern army and garrisons were under the command of [[Yang Fang (general)|General Yang Fang]]. Overall command was invested in the [[Daoguang Emperor]] and his court.<ref name="Janin-1999" /> The Chinese government initially believed that, as in the 1834 Napier Affair, the British had been successfully expelled.<ref name="Melancon-2003">{{Cite book |last=Glenn Melancon |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=V527VTyT29gC&pg=PA126 |title=Britain's China Policy and the Opium Crisis: Balancing Drugs, Violence and National Honour, 1833–1840 |publisher=Ashgate |year=2003 |isbn=978-0754607045 |page=126}}</ref> Few preparations were made for a British reprisal, and the events leading to the eventual outbreak of the [[Sino-Sikh War]] in 1841 were seen as a greater cause for concern.<ref name="Elliott-1990">Elliott, Mark (June 1990). "[http://scholar.harvard.edu/files/elliott/files/elliott_bannerman_and_townsman.pdf Bannerman and Townsman: Ethnic Tension in Nineteenth-Century Jiangnan]". ''Late Imperial China'' '''11''' (1): 51.</ref><ref name="Rubin-1960">The Sino-Indian Border Disputes, by Alfred P. Rubin, The International and Comparative Law Quarterly, Vol. 9, No. 1. (Jan. 1960), pp. 96–125.</ref>{{page range too broad|date=September 2021}}

Left without a major base of operations in China, the British withdrew their merchant shipping from the region while maintaining the Royal Navy's China squadron in the islands around the mouth of the Pearl River. From London, Palmerston continued to dictate operations in China, ordering the East India Company to divert troops from India in preparation for a limited war against the Chinese. It was decided that the war would not be fought as a full-scale conflict, but rather as a [[punitive expedition]].<ref name="Westminster-1903" /><ref name="Glenn Melancon 1840, pp 854-874" />{{page range too broad|date=September 2021}} Superintendent Elliot remained in charge of Britain's interests in China, while [[Gordon Bremer|Commodore Gordon Bremer]] led the [[Royal Marines]] and the China Squadron. [[Hugh Gough, 1st Viscount Gough|Major General Hugh Gough]] was selected to command the British land forces, and was promoted to overall commander of British forces in China.<ref>[https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/19989/page/1583 "No. 19989"]. ''[[The London Gazette]]''. 18 June 1841. p. 1583.</ref> The cost of the war would be paid by the British Government.<ref name="Elleman-2001" />{{page needed|date=November 2021}}<ref name="Melancon-2003" /><ref>John K. Derden, "The British Foreign Office and Policy Formation: The 1840s," ''Proceedings & Papers of the Georgia Association of Historians'' (1981) pp. 64–79.</ref>{{page range too broad|date=September 2021}}<ref>{{Cite web |last=Luscombe |first=Stephen |title=The British Empire, Imperialism, Colonialism, Colonies |url=http://www.britishempire.co.uk/forces/armycampaigns/asia/china/opiumwar.htm |access-date=26 May 2017 |website=www.britishempire.co.uk}}</ref> Per Lord Palmerston's letter, plans were drawn up by the British to launch a series of attacks on Chinese ports and rivers.<ref>Rait (1903) p. 161</ref>

British plans to form an expeditionary force were started immediately after the January 1840 vote. Several infantry regiments were raised in the British isles, and the completion of ships already under construction was expedited. To conduct the upcoming war, Britain also began to draw on forces from its overseas empire.<ref name="Fay-2000k">Fay (2000) pp. 210–223</ref>{{page range too broad|date=September 2021}} British India had been preparing for a war since word had arrived that the opium had been destroyed, and several regiments of Bengali volunteers had been recruited to supplement the regular British Indian Army and East India Company forces. In terms of naval forces, the ships earmarked for the expedition were either posted in remote colonies or under repair, and [[Oriental Crisis of 1840]] (and the resulting risk of war between Britain, France, and the [[Ottoman Empire]] over Syria) drew the attention of the Royal Navy's European fleets away from China.<ref name="Fay-2000c" /> Orders were dispatched to British South Africa and Australia to send ships to Singapore, the assigned rendezvous point for the expedition. A number of steamers were purchased by the Royal Navy and attached to the expedition as transports. The unseasonable summer weather of India and the [[Strait of Malacca]] slowed the British deployment, and a number of accidents decreased the combat readiness of the expedition. Most notably, both of the 74-gun ships of the line that the Royal Navy intended to use against Chinese fortifications were temporarily put out of action by hull damage.<ref name="Fay-2000c" /> Despite these delays, by mid-June 1840 British forces had begun to assemble in Singapore. While they waited for more ships to arrive, the Royal Marines practised amphibious invasions on the beach, first by landing ashore in boats, then forming lines and advancing on mock fortifications.<ref name="Fay-2000c">Fay (2000) pp. 240–243</ref><ref name="Fay-2000k" />{{page range too broad|date=September 2021}}

=== British offensive begins ===
[[File:Capture of Ting-hai.jpg|thumb|left|[[Capture of Chusan]], July 1840]]

In late June 1840 the first part of the expeditionary force arrived in China aboard 15 barracks ships, four steam-powered gunboats and 25 smaller boats.{{sfn|Spence|1999|pp=153–155}} The flotilla was under the command of Commodore Bremer. The British issued an ultimatum demanding the Qing Government pay compensation for losses suffered from interrupted trade and the destruction of opium, but were rebuffed by the Qing authorities in Guangzhou.<ref name="ReferenceA">{{London Gazette|pages=2990–2991|issue=19930|date=15 December 1840}}</ref>

In his letters, Palmerston&nbsp;had instructed the joint plenipotentiaries Elliot&nbsp;and his cousin Admiral&nbsp;[[George Elliot (Royal Navy officer, born 1784)|George Elliot]]&nbsp;to acquire the cession of at least one island for trade on the Chinese coast.<ref>Morse. p. 628</ref> With the British expeditionary force now in place, a combined naval and ground assault was launched on the Zhoushan (Chusan) Archipelago. [[Zhoushan Island]], the largest and best defended of the islands was the primary target for the attack, as was its vital port of [[Dinghai District|Dinghai]]. When the British fleet arrived off Zhoushan, Elliot demanded the city surrender. The commander of the Chinese garrison refused the command, stating that he could not surrender and questioning what reason the British had for harassing Dinghai, as they had been driven out of Guangzhou. Fighting began, a fleet of 12 small junks was destroyed by the Royal Navy, and British marines captured the hills to the south of Dinghai.<ref>Fay (2000) p. 252</ref>

[[File:First taking of Chusan.jpg|thumb|The Battle of Chusan]]

The British [[Capture of Chusan|captured the city]] itself after an intense naval bombardment on 5 July forced the surviving Chinese defenders to withdraw.<ref name="ReferenceA" /> The British occupied Dinghai harbour and prepared to use it as a staging point for operations in China. In the fall of 1840 disease broke out in the Dinghai garrison, forcing the British to evacuate soldiers to Manila and Kolkata. By the beginning of 1841 only 1900 of the 3300 men who had originally occupied Dinghai were left, with many of those remaining incapable of fighting. An estimated 500 British soldiers died from disease, with the Cameron and Bengali volunteers suffering the most deaths, while the Royal Marines were relatively unscathed.<ref name="Fay-2000b">Fay (2000) pp. 288, 289</ref>

Having captured Dinghai, the British expedition divided its forces, sending one fleet south to the Pearl River while sending a second fleet north to the [[Yellow Sea]]. The northern fleet sailed to the [[Hai River]], where Elliot personally presented Palmerston's letter to the emperor to Qing authorities from the capital. [[Qishan (official)|Qishan]], a high-ranking Manchu official, was selected by the Imperial Court to replace Lin as the [[Viceroy of Liangguang]] after the latter was discharged for his failure to resolve the opium situation.<ref name="Hummel-1943">{{cite ECCP}}</ref>{{page needed|date=September 2021}} Negotiations began between the two sides, with Qishan serving as the primary negotiator for the Qing and Elliot serving as the representative for the British Crown. After a week of negotiations, Qishan and Elliot agreed to relocate to the Pearl River for further negotiations. In return for the courtesy of the British to withdraw from the Yellow Sea, Qishan promised to requisition imperial funds as restitution for British merchants who had suffered damages. The war, however, was not concluded and both sides continued to engage each other. In the late spring of 1841 reinforcements arrived from India in preparation for an offensive against Guangzhou. A flotilla of transports brought 600 men of the professionally trained 37th Madras Native Infantry to Dinghai, where their arrival boosted British morale.<ref name="Fay-2000b" /> Accompanying the fleet as far as Macau was the newly constructed iron steamer [[HMS Nemesis (1839)|HMS ''Nemesis'']], a weapon to which the Chinese navy had no effective counter.<ref name="victorianweb-1839" /> On 19 August three British warships and 380 marines [[Battle of the Barrier|drove the Chinese]] from the land bridge (known as "The Barrier") separating Macau from the Chinese mainland.<ref>Bingham 1843, pp. 400–401</ref>{{Primary source inline|date=March 2022}} The defeat of the Qing soldiers coupled with the arrival of the ''Nemesis'' in Macau's harbour resulted in a wave of pro-British support in the city, and several Qing officials were driven out or killed. Portugal remained neutral in the conflict, but after the battle was willing to allow British ships to dock in Macau, a decision that granted the British a functioning port in Southern China.<ref>Fay (2000) pp. 276, 277</ref> With the strategic harbours of Dinghai and Macau secured, the British began to focus on the war on the Pearl River. Five months after the British victory at Chusan, the northern elements of the expedition sailed south to [[Humen]], known to the British as The Bogue. Bremer judged that gaining control of the Pearl River and Guangzhou would put the British in a strong negotiating position with the Qing authorities, as well as allow for the renewal of trade when the war ended.<ref name="Westminster-1903" />

=== Pearl River campaign ===
While the British campaigned in the north, Qing Admiral Guan Tianpei greatly reinforced the Qing positions in Humen (Bocca Tigris), suspecting that the British would attempt to force their way up the Pearl River to Guangzhou; sources state that Guan had been preparing for an eventual attack on the position since Napier's attack in 1835. The Humen forts blocked transit of the river, and were garrisoned with 3000 men and 306 cannons. By the time the British fleet was ready for action, 10,000 Qing soldiers were in position to defend Guangzhou and the surrounding area.<ref>{{harvp|Mao|2016|pp=200–204}}</ref> The British fleet arrived in early January, and began to bombard the Qing defences at Chuenpi after a group of Chinese fire-rafts were sent drifting towards the Royal navy ships.{{citation needed|date=September 2021}}

[[File:Attack and capture of Chuenpee 2.jpg|thumb|The [[Second Battle of Chuenpi]]]]

On 7 January 1841, the British won a decisive victory in the [[Second Battle of Chuenpi]], destroying 11 Junks of the Chinese southern fleet and capturing the Humen forts. The victory allowed the British to set up a blockade of The Bogue, a blow that forced the Qing navy to retreat upriver.<ref name="MacPherson-1843">MacPherson 1843, pp. 312, 315–316.</ref>{{better source needed|reason=only primary source provided from one side|date=February 2022}}

Knowing the strategic value of [[Pearl River Delta]] to China and aware that British naval superiority made a reconquest of the region unlikely, Qishan attempted to prevent the war from widening further by negotiating a peace treaty with Britain.<ref name="Dillon-2010">Dillon (2010) p. 55</ref> On 21 January Qishan and Elliot drafted the [[Convention of Chuenpi]], a document which both parties hoped would end the war.<ref name="Dillon-2010" /><ref name="BSI-1841">''Bulletins of State Intelligence''&nbsp;1841, p. 32</ref> The convention would establish equal diplomatic rights between Britain and China, exchange [[Hong Kong Island]] for [[Zhoushan]], facilitate the release of shipwrecked and kidnapped British citizens held by the Chinese, and reopen trade in Guangzhou by 1 February 1841.<ref name="BSI-1841" /> China would also pay six million silver dollars as recompense for the opium destroyed at Humen in 1838. However, the legal status of the opium trade was not resolved and instead left open to be discussed at a future date. Despite the success of the negotiations between Qishan and Elliot, both of their respective governments refused to sign the convention. The Daoguang Emperor was infuriated that Qing territory would be given up in a treaty that had been signed without his permission, and ordered Qishan arrested (he was later sentenced to death; the sentence was then commuted to military service.) Lord Palmerston recalled Elliot from his post and refused to sign the convention, wanting more concessions to be forced from the Chinese per his original instructions.<ref name="Glenn Melancon 1840, pp 854-874" />{{page range too broad|date=September 2021}}<ref name="Hummel-1943" />{{page needed|date=September 2021}}

[[File:British ships in Canton.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|British ships approaching Guangzhou in May 1841]]The brief interlude in the fighting ended in the beginning of February after the Chinese refused to reopen Guangzhou to British trade. On 19 February a longboat from HMS ''Nemesis'' came under fire from a fort on [[North Wangtong Island]], prompting a British response.<ref>''Bulletins of State Intelligence''&nbsp;1841, pp. 329–330</ref> The British commanders ordered another blockade of the Pearl River and resumed combat operations against the Chinese. The British captured the remaining Bogue forts on 26 February during the [[Battle of the Bogue]] and the [[Battle of First Bar]] on the following day, allowing the fleet to move further upriver towards Guangzhou.<ref>Bingham. pp. 69–70</ref>{{Primary source inline|date=March 2022}}<ref name="Dillon-2010" /> Admiral Tianpei was killed in action during the fighting on 26 February. On 2 March the British destroyed a Qing fort near [[Pazhou]] and [[Battle of Whampoa|captured Whampoa]], an action that directly threatened Guangzhou's east flank.<ref>Perdue, Peter C. (Cambridge, Massachusetts: Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2011. MIT Visualizing Cultures). p. 15.</ref><ref name="Bingham 1842 73 74">Bingham 1842, pp. 73–74</ref>{{Primary source inline|date=March 2022}} Major General Gough, who had recently arrived from [[Madras]] aboard {{HMS|Cruizer|1828|6}}, personally directed the attack on Whampoa. Superintendent Elliot (who was unaware that he had been dismissed), and the Governor-General of Guangzhou declared a 3-day truce on 3 March. Between the 3rd and the 6th the British forces that had evacuated Zhoushan per the Convention of Chuenpi arrived in the Pearl River. The Chinese military was likewise reinforced, and by 16 March General Yang Fang commanded 30,000 men in the area surrounding Guangzhou.<ref name="McPherson-2013">McPherson, Carruthers (2013) pp. 54–55, 60</ref>

While the main British fleet prepared to sail up the Pearl River to Guangzhou, a group of three warships departed for the [[Xi River]] estuary, intending to navigate the waterway between Macau and Guangzhou. The fleet, led by [[James Scott (Royal Navy officer)|Captain James Scott]] and Superintendent Elliot, was composed of the frigate {{HMS|Samarang|1822|6}} and the steamships ''HMS Nemesis'' and {{HMS|Atalanta| 1836|6}}.<ref>Bernard, Hall (1847) p. 138</ref> Although the waterway was in places only 6 feet deep, the shallow [[Draft (hull)|draft]]s of the steamships allowed the British to approach Guangzhou from a direction the Qing believed to be impossible.<ref>Bernard, Hall (1844) pp. 378</ref> In a series of engagements along the river from 13 to 15 March, the British captured or destroyed Chinese ships, guns, and military equipment. 9 junks, 6 fortresses, and 105 guns were destroyed or captured in what was known as the [[Broadway expedition]].<ref name="Bernard-1847">Bernard, Hall (1847) pp. 138–148</ref>{{page range too broad|date=September 2021}}

[[File:Canton River and adjacent islands.jpg|thumb|left|British map of the Pearl River]]
With the Pearl River cleared of Chinese defences, the British debated advancing on Guangzhou. Although the truce had ended on 6 March, Superintendent Elliot believed that the British should negotiate with the Qing authorities from their current position of strength rather than risk a battle in Guangzhou. The Qing army made no aggressive moves against the British and instead began to fortify the city. Chinese military engineers began to establish a number of mud earthworks on the riverbank, sank junks to create [[blockship]]s on the river, and started constructing [[Fire ship|fire rafts]] and gunboats. Chinese merchants were ordered to remove all of the silk and tea from Guangzhou to impede trade, and the local populace was barred from selling food to the British ships on the river.<ref>Bernard, Hall (1844) p. 369</ref> On 16 March a British ship approaching a Chinese fort under a flag of truce was fired upon, leading to the British setting the fort on fire with rockets. These actions convinced Elliot that the Chinese were preparing to fight, and following the return of the ships of the Broadway expedition to the fleet, the British [[Battle of Canton (March 1841)|attacked Guangzhou]] on 18 March, taking the Thirteen Factories with very few casualties and raising the [[Union Jack]] above the British factory.<ref name="Dillon-2010" /> The city was partially occupied by the British and trade was reopened after negotiation with the ''Cohong'' merchants. After several days of further military successes, British forces commanded the high ground around Guangzhou. Another truce was declared on 20 March. Against the advice of some of his captains, Elliot withdrew most of the Royal Navy warships downriver to the Bocca Tigris.<ref name="McPherson-2013" /><ref name="Fay-2000i" />

[[File:Canton from the Heights.jpg|thumb|Sketch of British soldiers occupying the high ground above Guangzhou in 1841]]
In mid-April, [[Yishan (official)|Yishan]] (Qishan's replacement as [[Viceroy of Liangguang]] and the Daoguang Emperor's cousin) arrived in Guangzhou. He declared that trade should continue to remain open, sent emissaries to Elliot, and began to gather military assets outside Guangzhou. The Qing army camped outside of the city soon numbered 50,000, and the money earned from the reopened trade was spent repairing and expanding Guangzhou's defences. Concealed artillery batteries were built along the Pearl River, Chinese soldiers were deployed in Whampoa and the Bocca Tigris, and hundreds of small river craft were armed for war. A bulletin sent from the Daoguang Emperor commanded the Qing forces to "Exterminate the rebels at all points", and orders were given to drive the British from the Pearl River before reclaiming Hong Kong and driving the invaders out of China altogether.<ref>McPherson, Carruthers (2013) p. 59</ref> This order was leaked and became widely circulated in Guangzhou among foreign merchants, who were already suspicious of Chinese intentions after learning of the Qing military build-up. In May many ''Cohong'' merchants and their families left the city, raising further concerns about a renewal of hostilities. Rumours spread that Chinese divers were being trained to drill holes in the hulls of British ships, and that fleets of fire rafts were being prepared for deployment against the Royal Navy.<ref>Bernard, Hall (1844) p. 435</ref> During the build-up, the Qing army was weakened by infighting between units and lack of confidence in Yishan, who openly distrusted Cantonese civilians and soldiers, instead choosing to rely on forces drawn from other Chinese provinces.<ref name="Lovell-2015">Lovell, Julia (2015).&nbsp;''The Opium War: Drugs, Dreams, and the Making of Modern China''. The Overlook Press.&nbsp;{{ISBN|1468311735}}.</ref>{{page needed|date=November 2021}} On 20 May, Yishan issued a statement, asking the "people of Canton, and all foreign merchants who are respectfully obedient, not to tremble with alarm and be frightened out of their wits at the military hosts that are gathering around, there being no probability of hostilities." The next day Elliot requested that all British merchants evacuate the city by sundown, and several warships were recalled to their positions in front of Guangzhou.<ref>McPherson, Carruthers (2013) p. 60</ref>

On the night of 21 May the Qing launched a coordinated night attack on the British army and navy.<ref name="MacPherson-1843" />{{better source needed|reason=only primary source provided from one side|date=February 2022}} Artillery batteries hidden in Guangzhou and on the Pearl River (many of which the British believed they had disabled earlier) opened fire, and Qing soldiers retook the British Factory. A large formation of 200 fire rafts connected by a chain was sent drifting towards the British ships at Guangzhou, and fishing boats armed with [[matchlock]]s began to engage the Royal Navy. The British warships were able to evade the attack, and stray rafts set Guangzhou's waterfront on fire, illuminating the river and foiling the night attack. Downriver at Whampoa the Chinese attacked the British vessels at anchor there and attempted to prevent ships from reaching Guangzhou. Having suspected an attack, and as a consequence delaying his own offensive, Major General Gough consolidated the British forces at Hong Kong and ordered a rapid advance upriver to Guangzhou. These reinforcements arrived on 25 May, and the British counter-attacked, taking the last four Qing forts above Guangzhou and bombarding the city.<ref name="MacPherson-1843" />

The Qing army fled in panic when the city heights were taken, and the British pursued them into the countryside. On 29 May a crowd of around 20,000 villagers and townspeople attacked and defeated a foraging company of 60 Indian [[sepoy]]s in what became known as the [[Sanyuanli Incident]], and Gough ordered a retreat back to the river. The fighting subsided on 30 May 1841, and Guangzhou came fully under British occupation.{{sfnb|Wakeman|1966|pp=11–14}}<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=J9Q1AAAAMAAJ ''Bulletins and Other State Intelligence'']. 1841 p. 686</ref><ref name="Dillon-2010" /> Following the capture of Guangzhou, the British command and the governor-general of Guangzhou agreed to a cease-fire in the region. Under the terms of the limited peace (later widely referred to as "The Ransom of Canton"), the British were paid to withdraw beyond the Bogue forts, an action they completed by 31 May.{{sfnb|Wakeman|1966|pp=11–14}} Elliott signed the peace treaty without consulting the British army or Navy, an act which displeased General Gough.<ref>Rait (1903) p. 193</ref>

The defence of Guangzhou was declared a diplomatic success by Yishan. In a letter to the emperor, he wrote that the barbarians had begged "the chief general that he would implore the great emperor in their behalf, that he would have mercy upon them, and cause their debts to be repaid them, and graciously permit them to carry on their commerce, when they would immediately withdraw their ships from the Bocca Tigris, and never dare again to raise any disturbance."<ref>Rait (1903) p. 203</ref> However, General Yang Fang was reprimanded by the emperor for his agreeing to a truce rather than forcefully resisting the British.<ref>Dillion (2010) p. 156</ref> The emperor was not informed the British expedition had not been defeated and was very much intact. The imperial court continued to debate China's next course of action for the war, as the Daoguang Emperor wanted Hong Kong retaken.<ref>Rait (1903) pp. 204, 205</ref>

=== Central China ===
[[File:HMS Wellesley and Squadron in Hong Kong.jpg|thumb|HMS ''Wellesley'' and the British squadron sailing from Hong Kong for the attack on Xiamen in 1841]]Following their withdrawal from Guangzhou, the British relocated the expeditionary force to Hong Kong. Just as with the Chinese commanders, the British leaders debated how the war should be continued. Elliot wanted to cease military operations and reopen trade, while Major General Gough wanted to capture the city of Amoy and blockade the Yangtze River.<ref>Rait (1903) p. 204</ref> In July, a typhoon struck Hong Kong, damaging British ships in the harbour and destroying some of the facilities the expedition was building on the island.<ref>Rait (1903) p. 202</ref> The situation changed when, on 29 July, Elliot was informed that he had been replaced as Superintendent by [[Henry Pottinger]], who arrived in Hong Kong on 10 August to begin his administration. Pottinger wanted to negotiate terms with the Qing for the entire country of China, rather than just the Pearl River, and so he turned away Chinese envoys from Guangzhou and gave permission for the expeditionary force to proceed with its war plans. Admiral [[Sir William Parker, 1st Baronet, of Shenstone|William Parker, 1st Baronet of Shenstone]] also arrived in Hong Kong to replace [[Humphrey Fleming Senhouse]] (who had died of a fever on 29 June) as the commander of the British naval forces in China. It was agreed by the British commanders that combat operations should be moved north to put pressure on Peking, and on 21 August the fleet sailed for Amoy.<ref>Rait (1903) 203–208</ref> [[File:18th Royal Irish at Amoy.jpg|thumb|left|British troops at the [[Battle of Amoy]], 1841]] On 25 August, the British fleet entered the [[Jiulong River]] estuary and arrived at Amoy. The city was prepared for a naval assault, as Qing military engineers had built several artillery batteries into the granite cliffs overlooking the river. A purely naval assault was considered too risky by Parker, prompting Gough to order a combined naval and ground attack on the defences. On 26 August British marines and regular infantry under the covering fire of the Royal Navy flanked and destroyed the Chinese defences guarding the river. Several large British ships failed to destroy the largest of the Chinese batteries, which withstood over 12,000 cannonballs being fired at it,<ref>Rait (1903) p. 212</ref> so the position was scaled and [[Battle of Amoy|captured by the British infantry]]. The city of Amoy was abandoned on 27 August, and British soldiers entered the inner town where they blew up the [[citadel]]'s powder magazine. 26 Chinese junks and 128 cannons were captured, with the captured guns being thrown into the river by the British. As Lord Palmerston wanted Amoy to become an international trade port at the end of the war, Gough ordered that no looting be tolerated and had officers enforce the death penalty for anyone found to be plundering. However, many Chinese merchants refused to ask for British protection out of fear of being branded as traitors to the Qing dynasty. The British withdrew to an island on the river, where they established a small garrison and blockaded the Jiulong River. With the city empty of any army, peasants, criminals, and deserters looted the town. The Qing army retook the city and restored order several days later, after which the city governor declared that a victory had been won and 5 British ships sunk.<ref>''Frontier and Overseas Expeditions From India'', vol. 6, p. 382</ref><ref name="Bernard-1847" />{{page range too broad|date=September 2021}}<ref>Rait (1903) pp. 208–218</ref>{{page range too broad|date=September 2021}}

In Britain, changes in Parliament resulted in Lord Palmerston being removed from his post as Foreign Minister on 30 August. [[William Lamb, 2nd Viscount Melbourne]] replaced him, and sought a more measured approach to the situation in China. Lamb remained a supporter of the war.<ref>Hoiberg. pp. 27–28</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Tsang |first=Steve Yui-Sang |title=A modern history of Hong Kong |publisher=I. B. Tauris |year=2011 |isbn=978-1-84511-419-0}}</ref>{{page needed|date=September 2021}}

In September 1841, the British transport ship ''[[Nerbudda (ship)|Nerbudda]]'' was shipwrecked on a reef off the northern coast of Formosa after a brief gunnery duel with a Chinese fort. This sinking was followed by the loss of the brig ''Ann'' on another reef in March 1842. The survivors of both ships were captured and marched to southern Taiwan, where they were imprisoned. 197 were executed by Qing authorities on 10 August 1842, while an additional 87 died from ill-treatment in captivity. This became known as the [[Nerbudda incident]].<ref>Bate, H. Maclear (1952). ''Reports from Formosa'' New York: E. P. Dutton. p. 174.</ref>

[[File:Second taking of Chusan.jpg|thumb|500px|The British forces invasion and [[Capture of Chusan (1841)|Second Capture of Chusan]]]]
October saw the British solidify their control over the central Chinese coast. Zhoushan had been exchanged for Hong Kong on the authority of Qishan in January 1841, after which the island had been re-garrisoned by the Qing. Fearing that the Chinese would improve the island's defences, the British began a military invasion. The British attacked the Qing on 1 October. The battle of the [[Capture of Chusan (1841)|Second Capture of Chusan]] ensued. The British forces killed 1500 Qing soldiers and captured Zhoushan. The victory reestablished British control over Dinghai's important harbour.<ref>MacPherson 1843, pp. 216, 359.</ref>{{better source needed|reason=only primary source provided from one side|date=February 2022}}

On 10 October, a British naval force [[Battle of Chinhai|bombarded and captured]] a fort on the outskirts of [[Ningbo]] in central China. A battle broke out between the British army and a Chinese force of 1500 men on the road between the town of Chinhai and Ningbo, during which the Chinese were routed. Following the defeat, Chinese authorities evacuated Ningbo and the empty city was taken by the British on 13 October. An imperial cannon manufactory in the city was captured by the British, reducing the ability of the Qing to replace their lost equipment, and the fall of the city threatened the nearby [[Qiantang River]].<ref>MacPherson 1843, pp. 381–385</ref><ref>Hall & Bernard 1846, p. 260</ref> The capture of Ningbo forced the British command to examine their policy towards occupied Chinese territory and prizes of war. Admiral Parker and Superintendent Pottinger wanted a percentage of all captured Chinese property to be turned over to the British as legal prizes of war, while General Gough argued that this would only turn the Chinese population against the British, and that if property had to be seized, it should be public property rather than private. British policy eventually settled that 10% of all property captured by the British expeditionary forces would be seized as war loot in retaliation for injustices done to British merchants. Gough later stated that this edict would compel his men to "punish one set of robbers for the benefit of another."<ref>Rait (1903) pp. 236–240</ref>

Fighting ceased for the winter of 1841 while the British resupplied.<ref name="Luscombe">{{Cite web |last=Luscombe |first=Stephen |title=The British Empire, Imperialism, Colonialism, Colonies |url=http://www.britishempire.co.uk/forces/armycampaigns/asia/china/opiumwar.htm |access-date=30 May 2017 |website=www.britishempire.co.uk}}</ref> False reports sent by Yishan to the emperor in Beijing resulted in the continued British threat being downplayed. In late 1841 the Daoguang Emperor discovered that his officials in Guangzhou and Amoy had been sending him embellished reports. He ordered the governor of [[Guangxi]], [[Liang Chang-chü]], to send him clear accounts of the events in Guangzhou, noting that since Guangxi was a neighbouring province, Liang must be receiving independent accounts. He warned Liang that he would be able to verify his information by obtaining secret inquiries from other places.<ref>Waley 1958, p. 73</ref> Yishan was recalled to the capital and faced trial by the imperial court, which removed him from command. Now aware of the severity of the British threat, Chinese towns and cities began to fortify against naval incursions.<ref name="Lovell-2015" />{{page needed|date=November 2021}}<ref name="Peyrefitte-1792" />{{page range too broad|date=September 2021}}

In the spring of 1842 the Daoguang Emperor ordered his cousin [[Yijing (prince)|Yijing]] to retake the city of Ningbo. In the ensuing [[Battle of Ningpo]] on 10 March, the British garrison repelled the assault with rifle fire and naval artillery. At Ningbo the British lured the Qing army into the city streets before opening fire, resulting in heavy Chinese casualties.<ref name="BSI-1842b">''Bulletins of State Intelligence''&nbsp;1842, pp. 578, 594</ref><ref name="Waley 2013 p. 171">[[Arthur Waley|Waley, Arthur]]&nbsp;(2013) p. 171</ref><ref>Lenton Robbren. [http://www.tibet.cn/info/history/t20050316_18450_1.htm "Tibetan Expeditionary Force participating in the Opium War"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140714142143/http://www.tibet.cn/info/history/t20050316_18450_1.htm |date=14 July 2014 }}.   China Tibet Information Center.</ref> The British pursued the retreating Chinese army, [[Battle of Tzeki|capturing]] the nearby city of [[Cixi City|Cixi]] on 15 March.<ref>''Bulletins''&nbsp;1842, p. 601</ref>

The important harbour of [[Zhapu]] was captured on 18 May in the [[Battle of Chapu]].<ref name="Ref-1" /> A British fleet bombarded the town, forcing its surrender. A holdout of 300 soldiers of the [[Eight Banners]] stalled the advance of British army for several hours, an act of heroism that was commended by Gough.<ref>Rait 1903, p. 264</ref><ref name="BSI-1842">''Bulletins of State Intelligence''&nbsp;1842, p. 918</ref>

=== Yangtze campaign ===
With many Chinese ports now blockaded or under British occupation, Major General Gough sought to cripple the finances of the Qing Empire by striking up the Yangtze River. 25 warships and 10,000 men were assembled at Ningbo and Zhapu in May for a planned advance into the Chinese interior.<ref name="Hall-1846">Hall & Bernard 1846, p. 330</ref> The expedition's advance ships sailed up the [[Yangtze]], and captured the emperor's tax barges, a devastating blow that slashed the revenue of the imperial court in Beijing to a fraction of what it had been.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fKG5VcYPtp0C&q=british+capture+emperor+tax+barges&pg=PA240 |title=War: The Definitive Visual History |publisher=Penguin |year=2009 |isbn=978-0-7566-6817-4}}</ref>

[[file:British troops capture Chin-Keang-Foo.jpg|thumb|British troops [[Battle of Chinkiang|capture Zhenjiang]] in the last major battle of the war, 21 July 1842]]
On 14 June, the mouth of the [[Huangpu River]] was captured by the British fleet. On 16 June, the [[Battle of Woosung]] occurred, after which the British captured the towns of [[Wusong District|Wusong]] and [[Baoshan District, Shanghai|Baoshan]]. The undefended outskirts of [[Shanghai]] were occupied by the British on 19 June. Following the battle, Shanghai was looted by retreating Qing bannermen, British soldiers, and local civilians. Qing admiral [[Chen Huacheng]] was killed while defending a fort in Woosong.<ref>''Bulletins of State Intelligence'' 1842, pp. 759, 816</ref><ref name="Rait-1903a">Rait 1903, pp. 267–268</ref><ref name="Hall-1846" />

The fall of Shanghai left the vital city of [[Nanjing]] vulnerable. The Qing amassed an army of 56,000 Manchu bannermen and Han Green Standards to defend Liangjiang Province, and strengthened their river defences on the Yangtze. However, British naval activity in Northern China led to resources and manpower being withdrawn to defend against a feared attack on Beijing.<ref>Granville G. Loch. [https://archive.org/details/closingeventsca01lochgoog The Closing Events of the Campaign in China: The Operations in the Yang-tze-kiang and] treaty [https://archive.org/details/closingeventsca01lochgoog of Nanking]. London. 1843 [2014]</ref> The Qing commander in Liangjiang Province released 16 British prisoners with the hope that a ceasefire could be reached, but poor communications led both the Qing and the British to reject any overtures at peace.<ref>Rait 1903. p. 266.</ref> In secret, the Daoguang Emperor considered signing a peace treaty with the British, but only in regards to the Yangtze River and not the war as a whole. Had it been signed, the British forces would have been paid to not enter the Yangtze River.<ref>Academy of Military Sciences, "History of Modern Chinese War" Section VII of the British invasion of the lower reaches of the Yangtze River. Military Science Press.</ref>

On 14 July, the British fleet on the Yangtze began to sail up the river. Reconnaissance alerted Gough to the logistical importance of the city of [[Zhenjiang]], and plans were made to capture it.<ref>"The Count of Aberdeen to Sir Henry Pudding" The Jazz "History of the Chinese Empire" (Chinese translation) vol. 1, pp. 755–756.</ref> Most of the city's guns had been relocated to Wusong and had been captured by the British when said city had been taken. The Qing commanders inside the city were disorganised, with Chinese sources stating that over 100 traitors were executed in Zhenjiang prior to the battle.<ref>(3) Part 5 "Diary of the Grass". Shanghai Bookstore. 2000. {{ISBN|7-80622-800-4}}.</ref>{{page needed|date=September 2021}} The British fleet arrived off of the city on the morning of 21 July, and the Chinese forts defending the city were blasted apart. The Chinese defenders initially retreated into the surrounding hills, causing a premature British landing. Fighting erupted when thousands of Chinese soldiers emerged from the city, beginning the [[Battle of Chinkiang]].{{citation needed|date=November 2022}}
[[File:98th Foot at Chinkiang.jpg|thumb|Fighting at Zhenjiang]]
British engineers blew open the western gate and stormed into the city, where fierce street to street fighting ensued. Zhenjiang was devastated by the battle, with many Chinese soldiers and their families committing suicide rather than be taken prisoner.<ref name="Ref-1" /><ref name="Elliott-1990" /> The British suffered their highest combat losses of the war (36 killed) taking the city.<ref name="Rait-1903a" /><ref name="Michie-2012" />{{page needed|date=September 2021}}<ref name="BSI-1842" />

After capturing Zhenjiang, the British fleet cut the vital [[Grand Canal (China)|Grand Canal]], paralysing the [[Caoyun system]] and severely disrupting the Chinese ability to distribute grain throughout the Empire.<ref>John Makeham (2008). p. 331</ref><ref name="Rait-1903a" /> The British departed Zhenjiang on 3 August, intending to sail to Nanking. They arrived outside the [[Jiangning, Nanjing|Jiangning District]] on 9 August, and were in position to assault the city by 11 August. Although explicit permission to negotiate had not yet been granted by the emperor, Qing officials inside the city agreed to a British request to negotiate.<ref>Waley (1959) p. 197.</ref>

=== Treaty of Nanking ===
{{Main|Treaty of Nanking}}

On 14 August a Chinese delegation led by the Manchu high court official [[Keying (official)|Keying]] and Llipu departed Nanking for the British fleet. Negotiations lasted for several weeks as the British delegation insisted the treaty be accepted by the Daoguang Emperor. The court advised the emperor to accept the treaty, and on 21 August the Daoguang Emperor authorised his diplomats to sign the peace treaty with the British.<ref>[http://www.tqxz.com/lssj_readme.asp?id=177 Treaty Chinese humiliating first – the signing of the "Nanjing Treaty"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080424122428/http://www.tqxz.com/lssj_readme.asp?id=177 |date=24 April 2008 }}. Chinese history theyatic networks. [2008-08-31]. Chinese source, used for dates only.</ref><ref>"Opium War" Volume 5. Shanghai People's Publishing House. 2000: 305 pages.</ref>{{page needed|date=December 2021}} The First Opium war officially ended on 29 August 1842 with the signing of the [[Treaty of Nanking]].<ref name="Greenwood">Greenwood ch.4</ref>{{page needed|date=September 2021}} The document was signed by officials of the British and Qing empires aboard {{HMS|Cornwallis|1813|6}}.<ref name="Hbs-2017">{{Cite web |title=After the Opium War: Treaty Ports and Compradors |url=https://www.library.hbs.edu/hc/heard/treaty-ports-compradors.html |access-date=26 May 2017 |website=www.library.hbs.edu}}</ref>
[[File:The Signing of the Treaty of Nanking.jpg|thumb|700px|center|{{center|Oil painting depicting the signing of the Treaty of Nanking.}}]]

=== Technology and tactics ===

==== British ====
The British military superiority during the conflict drew heavily on the strength of the Royal Navy.<ref name="victorianweb-1839" />

British warships carried more guns than their Chinese opponents and were manoeuvrable enough to evade Chinese boarding actions. Steam ships such as the ''[[Nemesis (1839)|Nemesis]]'' were able to move against winds and tides in Chinese rivers, and were armed with heavy guns and [[Congreve rocket]]s.<ref name="victorianweb-1839">{{Cite web |title=The Nemesis – Great Britain's Secret Weapon in the Opium Wars, 1839–60 |url=http://www.victorianweb.org/history/empire/opiumwars/nemesis.html |access-date=30 May 2017 |website=www.victorianweb.org}}</ref> Several of the larger British warships in China (notably the third-rates HMS ''Cornwallis'', [[HMS Wellesley (1815)|HMS ''Wellesley'']], and [[HMS Melville (1817)|HMS ''Melville'']]) carried more guns than entire fleets of Chinese junks.<ref name="Hall-1846" />{{Primary source inline|date=November 2022}} British naval superiority allowed the Royal Navy to attack Chinese forts with very little risk to themselves, as British naval cannons out-ranged the vast majority of the Qing artillery.<ref name="Hall-1846" />{{Primary source inline|date=November 2022}}

British soldiers in China were equipped with [[Brunswick rifle]]s and [[Brown Bess musket|rifle-modified Brown Bess muskets]], both of which possessed an effective firing range of 200–300&nbsp;metres.<ref name="Opiumwar blog-2014">{{Cite web |date=22 November 2014 |title=Warfare technology in the Opium War |url=https://opiumwarexhibition.wordpress.com/2014/11/22/warfare-technology-in-the-opium-war/ |access-date=30 May 2017 |website=The Opium War, 1839–1842}}</ref>{{better source needed|reason=this is a wordpress blog that uses total war center, a forum dedicated to a strategy video game, as a source|date=November 2021}} British marines were equipped with [[percussion cap]]s that greatly reduced weapon misfires and allowed firearms to be used in damp environments. In terms of gunpowder, the British formula was better manufactured and contained more sulphur than the Chinese mixture.<ref name="Opiumwar blog-2014" />{{better source needed|reason=this is a wordpress blog that uses total war center, a forum dedicated to a strategy video game, as a source|date=November 2021}} This granted British weapons an advantage in terms of range, accuracy and projectile velocity. British artillery was lighter (owing to improved [[forging]] methods) and more manoeuvrable than the cannons used by the Chinese. As with the naval artillery, British guns out-ranged the Chinese cannon.{{citation needed|date=March 2020}}

In terms of tactics, the British forces in China followed doctrines established during the [[Napoleonic Wars]] that had been adapted during the various colonial wars of the 1820s and 1830s. Many of the British soldiers deployed to China were veterans of [[British conquest of India|colonial wars in India]] and had experience fighting larger but technologically inferior armies.<ref>Jackson, Major Donovan (1940). ''India's Army''. London: Low, Marston. pp. 1–8. {{ISBN|8187226374}}</ref> In battle, the British [[line infantry]] would advance towards the enemy in columns, forming ranks once they had closed to firing range. Companies would commence firing volleys into the enemy ranks until they retreated. If a position needed to be taken, an advance or charge with [[bayonet]]s would be ordered. [[Light infantry]] companies screened the line infantry formations, protecting their flanks and utilising skirmishing tactics to disrupt the enemy.<ref name="Luscombe" /> British artillery was used to destroy the Qing artillery and break up enemy formations. During the conflict, the British superiority in range, rate of fire, and accuracy allowed the infantry to deal significant damage to their enemy before the Chinese could return fire.<ref>Kim Joosam "An Analysis of the Process of Modernization in East Asia and the Corresponding changes in China and Japan after the Opium Wars", ''Asian Study'' 11.3 (2009). ''The Korean Association of Philippine Studies''. Web.</ref>{{full citation needed|reason=cites web without url|date=November 2022}} The use of naval artillery to support infantry operations allowed the British to take cities and forts with minimal casualties.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Welcome to Zhenhai coast defence history museum |url=http://www.zhkhfsg.com/en/about.asp |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304054623/http://www.zhkhfsg.com/en/about.asp |archive-date=4 March 2016 |access-date=30 May 2017 |website=www.zhkhfsg.com}}</ref>{{failed verification|date=September 2021}}<ref name="Hederic">Hederic, p. 234</ref>{{Failed verification|date=September 2021}}

The overall strategy of the British during the war was to inhibit the finances of the Qing Empire, with the ultimate goal of acquiring a colonial possession on the Chinese coast. This was accomplished through the capture of Chinese cities and by blockading major river systems.<ref name="Cone">Cone, Daniel. [http://history.emory.edu/home/documents/endeavors/volume4/Cone.pdf An Indefensible Defense:The Incompetence of Qing Dynasty Officials in the Opium Wars, and the Consequences of Defeat] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170828210706/http://history.emory.edu/home/documents/endeavors/volume4/Cone.pdf |date=28 August 2017 }}.</ref> Once a fort or city had been captured, the British would destroy the local arsenal and disable all of the captured guns.<ref name="Hederic" />{{Failed verification|date=September 2021}} They would then move on to the next target, leaving a small garrison behind. This strategy was planned and implemented by Major General Gough, who was able to operate with minimal input from the British government after Superintendent Elliot was recalled in 1841.<ref>Hoiberg. pp. 28–30</ref> The large number of private British merchants and East India Company ships deployed in [[Singapore]] and the India colonies ensured that the British forces in China were adequately supplied.<ref>''Bulletins of State Intelligence'' 1841, p. 348</ref><ref name="Farooqui-2005" />{{page needed|date=September 2021}}
<gallery class="center" widths="355px" heights="355px">
File:Attack on war junks.jpg|A Royal Navy steamship destroying a Chinese junk with a Congreve rocket. Lightly armoured Chinese warships were decimated by heavy guns and explosive weaponry.
File:Joss House, Chapoo 1842.jpg|British line infantry advancing on a Chinese position.
</gallery>

==== Qing dynasty ====
China did not have a unified navy, instead allowing individual provinces to manage naval defenses.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Dreyer |first=Edward L. |title=Zheng He: China and the Ocean in the Early Ming Dynasty, 1405–1433 |year=2007 |publisher=Pearson |location=New York |page=180}}</ref> Although the Qing had invested in naval defences for their adjacent seas in earlier periods, after the death of the [[Qianlong Emperor]] in 1799, the navy decayed as more attention was directed to suppressing the [[Miao Rebellion]] and White Lotus Rebellion. These conflicts left the Qing treasury bankrupt. The remaining naval forces were badly overstretched, undermanned, underfunded and uncoordinated.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Po |first=Ronald C. |title=The Blue Frontier: Maritime Vision and Power in the Qing Empire Cambridge Oceanic Histories |year=2018 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-1108424615 |page=80}}</ref>

From the onset of the war, the Chinese navy was severely disadvantaged. Chinese war junks were intended for use against pirates or equivalent types of vessels, and were more effective in close range river engagements. Due to their ships' slow speeds, Qing captains consistently found themselves sailing towards much more manoeuvrable British ships, and as a consequence the Chinese could only use their bow guns.<ref>Bingham 1843, p. 399</ref>{{Primary source inline|date=March 2022}} The size of the British ships made traditional boarding tactics useless, and the junks carried smaller numbers of inferior weaponry.<ref name="BSI-1842b" />{{Primary source inline|date=November 2022}} In addition, the Chinese ships were poorly armoured; in several battles, British shells and rockets penetrated Chinese magazines and detonated gunpowder stores. Highly manoeuvrable steamships such as HMS ''Nemesis'' could decimate small fleets of junks, as the junks had little chance of catching up to and engaging the faster British steamers.<ref name="Hall-1846" />{{Primary source inline|date=November 2022}} The only western-style warship in the Qing Navy, the converted [[East Indiaman]] [[Porcher (1799 ship)|''Cambridge'']], was destroyed in the Battle of First Bar.<ref>Bingham (1843), p. 72.</ref>{{Primary source inline|date=March 2022}}

Apparently, the Chinese emperor was aware of this. In an 1842 edict he said:
<blockquote>... the invasion by the rebellious barbarians, they depended upon their strong ships and effective guns to commit outrageous acts on the seas and harm our people, largely because the native war junks are too small to match them. For this reason I, the emperor, repeatedly ordered our generals to resist on land and not to fight on seas ... When the enemy ships come, no resistance can be offered; when they go away no means of pursuit are available ... In my opinion what the rebellious barbarians rely upon is the fact that Chinese war junks are incapable of going out to sea to fight them.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Chang |first=T. T. |title=Sino Portuguese Trade from 1514 to 1644 |year=1934 |location=Leyden |page=120}}</ref></blockquote>
The defensive nature of the conflict resulted in the Chinese relying heavily on an extensive network of fortifications. The [[Kangxi Emperor]] (1654–1722) began the construction of river defences to combat pirates, and encouraged the use of western style cannons. By the time of the First Opium War, multiple forts defended most major Chinese cities and waterways. Although the forts were well armed and strategically positioned, the Qing defeat exposed major flaws in their design. The cannons used in the Qing defensive fortifications were a collection of Chinese, Portuguese, Spanish, and British pieces.<ref>McPherson, Carruthers (2013) pp. 53</ref> The domestically produced Chinese cannon were crafted using sub-par forging methods, limiting their effectiveness in combat and causing excessive gun barrel wear. The Chinese blend of gunpowder also contained more charcoal than the British mixture did;{{citation needed|date=August 2024}} while this made it more stable and thus easier to store, it also limited its potential as a propellant, decreasing projectile range and accuracy.<ref>{{harvp|Mao|2016|p=32}}</ref><ref name="Opiumwar blog-2014" />{{better source needed|reason=this is a wordpress blog that uses total war center, a forum dedicated to a strategy video game, as a source|date=November 2021}} Overall, Chinese cannon technology was considered to be 200 years behind that of the British.<ref>{{harvp|Mao|2016|p=27}}</ref>

Chinese forts were unable to withstand attacks by European weaponry, as they were designed without angled [[glacis]] and many did not have protected magazines.<ref name="Cone" /><ref name="Rait-1903b">Rait (1903) pp. 189, 231</ref> The limited range of the Qing cannon allowed the British to bombard the Qing defences from a safe distance, then land soldiers to storm them with minimal risk. Many of the larger Chinese guns were built as fixed emplacements and were unable to be maneuvered to fire at British ships.<ref name="PBS-2017">PBS.org, "''The Story of China; Age of Revolution''". Aired 7 November 2017. https://www.pbs.org/video/3001741892/</ref> The failure of the Qing fortifications coupled with the Chinese underestimation of the Royal Navy allowed the British to force their way up major rivers and impede Qing logistics.<ref name="Cone" /> Most notably, the powerful series of forts at Humen were well positioned to stop an invader from proceeding upriver to Guangzhou, but it had not been considered that an enemy would attack and destroy the forts themselves, as the British did during the war.<ref>Haijian, Mao (2016). ''The Qing Empire and the Opium War''. Cambridge University Press. {{ISBN|978-1107069879}}. p. 201</ref>

At the start of the war the Qing army consisted of over 200,000 soldiers, with around 800,000 men being able to be called for war. These forces consisted of Manchu [[Bannermen (ethnic group)|bannermen]], the [[Green Standard Army]], provincial militias, and imperial garrisons. The Qing armies were armed with matchlocks and shotguns, which had an effective range of 100&nbsp;metres.<ref name="Opiumwar blog-2014" />{{better source needed|reason=this is a wordpress blog that uses total war center, a forum dedicated to a strategy video game, as a source|date=November 2021}} Chinese historians Liu and Zhang note that the Chinese soldiers "were equipped with sixty or seventy percent traditional weapons, of which the most important were the long lance, the side sword, the bow and arrow, and the rattan shield, and only thirty or forty percent [of their armament consisted of] gunpowder weapons, of which the most important were the matchlock musket, the heavy musket, the cannon, the fire arrow, and the earthshaking bomb and such things."<ref name="Andrade-2016">{{Cite book |last=Andrade |first=Tonio |author-link=Tonio Andrade |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1jRJCgAAQBAJ&q=liu+and+zhang+qing+military&pg=PA241 |title=The Gunpowder Age: China, Military Innovation, and the Rise of the West in World History |year=2016 |publisher=Princeton University Press |isbn=978-1-4008-7444-6}}</ref>{{page needed|date=September 2021}} Chinese soldiers were also equipped with halberds, spears, swords, and crossbows. The Qing dynasty also employed large batteries of artillery in battle.<ref name="Westminster-1903">{{Cite web |year=1903 |title=The life and campaigns of Hugh, first Viscount Gough, Field-Marshal |url=https://archive.org/stream/cu31924088002120#page/n269/mode/2up |access-date=3 June 2016 |website=archive.org |publisher=Westminster, A. Constable & Co.}}</ref>

The tactics of the Qing remained consistent with what they had been in previous centuries.<ref name="Andrade-2016" />{{page needed|date=November 2021}}<ref>[[Military of the Qing dynasty#CITEREFElliott2001|Elliott 2001]], pp. 283–284.</ref> Soldiers with firearms would form ranks and fire volleys into the enemy while men armed with spears and pikes would drive the enemy off of the battlefield.<ref>[[Military of the Qing dynasty#CITEREFElliott2001|Elliott 2001]], pp. 283–284, 300–303.</ref> Cavalry was used to break infantry formations and pursue routed enemies, while Qing artillery was used to scatter enemy formations and destroy fortifications.<ref>[[Qing dynasty#CITEREFCrossleySiuSutton2006|CrossleySiuSutton (2006)]], p. [https://books.google.com/books?id=EtNVMUx9qIIC&pg=PA50 50]</ref> During the First Opium War, these tactics were unable to successfully deal with British firepower. Chinese melee formations were decimated by artillery, and Chinese soldiery armed with matchlocks could not effectively exchange fire with British ranks, who greatly outranged them.<ref>Rait (1903) p. 228</ref><ref name="Luscombe" /> Most battles of the war were fought in cities or on cliffs and riverbanks, limiting the Qing usage of cavalry. Many Qing cannon were destroyed by British [[counter-battery fire]], and British light infantry companies were consistently able to outflank and capture Chinese artillery batteries.<ref name="Rait-1903b" />{{failed verification|date=November 2021}} A British officer said of the opposing Qing forces, "The Chinese are robust muscular fellows, and no cowards; the Tartars [i.e. Manchus] desperate; but neither are well commanded nor acquainted with European warfare. Having had, however, experience of three of them, I am inclined to suppose that a Tartar bullet is not a whit softer than a French one."<ref name="Westminster-1903" />

The strategy of the Qing dynasty during the war was to prevent the British from seizing Chinese territory.<ref name="Westminster-1903" /> This defensive strategy was hampered by the Qing severely underestimating the capacity of the British military. Qing defences on the Pearl and Yangtze rivers were ineffective in stopping the British push inland, and superior naval artillery prevented the Chinese from retaking cities.<ref name="Waley 2013 p. 171" /><ref name="China: The First Opium War" /> The Qing imperial bureaucracy was unable to react quickly to the prodding British attacks, while officials and commanders often reported false, faulty, or incomplete information to their superiors.<ref>Waley 1958, pp. 71–73</ref> The Qing military system made it difficult to deploy troops to counter the mobile British forces.<ref>{{harvp|Mao|2016|p=204}}</ref> In addition, the ongoing conflict with Sikhs on the Qing border with India drew away some of the most experienced Qing units from the war with Britain.<ref name="Rubin-1960" />{{page range too broad|date=September 2021}}

<gallery class="center" widths="355px" heights="355px">
File:Chinese soldiers with gingals.jpg|Chinese soldiers armed with a [[gingal]] during the First Opium War.
</gallery>