Battle of Woosung

Battle of Woosung
Part of the First Opium War
Battle of Woosung
Date 16 June 1842 Location Woosung River, Jiangsu, China Coordinates: 31°22′30″N 121°30′0″E / 31.37500°N 121.50000°E Result British victory
Belligerents
United Kingdom British East India Company	Qing China
Commanders and leaders
Hugh Gough William Parker	Chen Huacheng (KIA)[1]
Strength
14 ships[2]	19 ships[3] 4,000–5,000 troops[1]
Casualties and losses
2 killed[2] 25 wounded[2]	Hundreds killed or wounded[4] 250 guns captured[5]

The Battle of Woosung was fought between British and Chinese forces at the entrance of the Woosung River (present-day Huangpu River), Jiangsu province, China, on 16 June 1842 during the First Opium War. The British capture of the towns of Woosung (now Wusong) and Baoshan opened the way to Shanghai, which was captured with little resistance on 19 June.^[6]

Gallery

• 

  Map of the Woosung River, showing the Chinese batteries

• 

  Sketch of naval battle

• 

  Tomb of Admiral Chen, killed in the battle

Notes

1. Bulletins of State Intelligence 1842, p. 759
2. Bulletins of State Intelligence 1842, p. 816
3. Hall & Bernard 1846, p. 326
4. Hall & Bernard 1846, p. 329
5. Hall & Bernard 1846, p. 330
6. Rait 1903, pp. 267–268

References

• Bulletins of State Intelligence. Westminster: F. Watts. 1842.
• Hall, William Hutcheon; Bernard, William Dallas (1846). The Nemesis in China (3rd ed.). London: Henry Colburn.
• Rait, Robert S. (1903). The Life and Campaigns of Hugh, First Viscount Gough, Field-Marshal. Volume 1. Westminster: Archibald Constable.