The Study from the Perspective of Engineering History about the Battle of Bacca Forts between China and Britain Armies

Abstract

By February 1841, there had a very important battle between the Chinese and British armies at Bocca Tigris Forts. Six forts on the second line of defense of its fell only one day, and the "escape" of the garrison soldiers became the main theme. Admial Kwan died of a bullet wound, and his chest was fought with bayonet. The Chinese and British armies were engaged in artillery warfare here. The Qing court essentially let a naval force with the main function of "controlling thieves and preventing barbarians" , using the "decaying" weapon compared with the British army, to resist the invasion of the strongest European navy in the world, the failure was inevitable. The essence of the war was so, Originally the Qing dynasty built it for coastal defense and piracy, but during the canton system, it was reduced to the Huangpu port’s gateway.The reason why the Qing army as a side of justice was powerless to resist aggression in this war can be explained from the three aspects of engineering thought, national system and comprehensive national strength.