Generals Millot and Briére de L'Isle entered Bacninh, and the troops comprising this division continued to pour into the town and citadel during the afternoon. The town of Bacninh consists for the most part of one or two long streets, all the houses of which, as well as the buildings in the citadel, were entirely deserted, quarters were therefore easily found, even for the large force which accompanied the three generals.
I had hoped to have entered Bacninh with General Negrier's staff, but the detention of the gunboats at the second barrier rendered this impossible, as The Times correspondent and myself were forced to get to the front by means of a native boat, accompanying the gunboats. On the 13th early, a portion of the barrier was broken down, and together with the small gunboat Carubine and the ambulance launch King-nam we succeeded, after considerable difficulty in getting up to Lai-cau, whence we immediately marched on to Bacninh.
Lai-cau, the landing place for Bacninh, on the Song-cau, is only a small military station, and it was here that a number of the Chinese regulars were probably quartered. The road from here to Bacninh is a fairly good one, and winds between three hills of some hundred foot in height which were well fortified and would have given considerable difficulty in storming had the Chinese stood their ground at all. The town is of very much the same character as the village of Lai-cau, not an Annamite town at all, but simply a collection of soldiers' quarters. Outside, to the south-east, a semicircle of small detached forts have been erected, evidently recently, and here again a stand might have been made by the Chinese, had any real defence been attempted. When we entered the town the streets were crowded with soldiers. General Briére's brigade was then on its way in, and extended in a long line far out into the plain, the balloon, which had been used during the march, for taking observations, floating in the air a couple of hundred feet above the heads of the rear guard.
Near the entrance to the citadel we found the quarters of the Quang, or chief military mandarin, and, both here, and in some of the neighbouring houses, we saw quantities of ammunition, Snider cartridges and explosive shells. Numbers of Chinese uniforms, light blue and dark blue with red letters and facings, were lying about in all directions. Very little damage had been sustained by the buildings, as the town and citadel had been occupied with little or no opposition. A few dead bodies of Chinese who had remained behind too long were to be seen both outside and inside the walls. These appeared to be, for the most part, either boys or old opium smokers. In all probability about forty or fifty Chinese were killed at the taking of the place. The three Generals took up their quarters in the citadel in the large building which goes by the name of the King's Pagoda.
With the exception of a few Annamite coolies and old women, no inhabitants were to be seen, though I was informed on good authority that there had been a few days before, not less than 25 thousand men in and around the place. Of these some ten or twelve thousand were Chinese regular troops, while the remainder were made up of Tonquinese and Chinese irregulars. I believe, however, that no Black Flags at all were among the garrison.
On the following day I saw three batteries of Krupp guns which were captured in the citadel. They were mounted for field service and were of about 24 inches calibre. They were quite new and in good condition and looked as if a shot had never been fired from them.
On the 14th preparations were made for a forward move on the part of the troops, and at an early hour on the morning of the 15th General Negrier started from the other side of the river with a force of about three thousand men on the road to Langson, while General Briére de L'Isle with another column of about the same strength set out on a march to Thai-nguyen. I was informed by General Millot, who remained in charge of Bacninh, that it was intended to occupy Thai-nguyen at once, but that General Negrier would not probably, for the present at least, go on to Langson, which is some eighty miles from Bacninh, but was to make a reconnaissance in force to see if the retreating Chinese army would make a stand on the road to the frontier. The General expected that no opposition would be encountered this side the frontier. General Negrier, who occupied Bacninh alone on the evening of the 12th, and who has throughout the operations done his share of the work well and promptly, was naturally much chagrined at the failure of the river flotilla to get up to Lai-cau in time, as the plan for cutting the Langson and Thai-nguyen roads and forcing the Chinese troops to fight was thus entirely frustrated. Judging from the appearance of the barrier and the means at the disposal of Commandant Morel Beaulieu I believe that if a vigorous attempt had been made on the first arrival of the gunboats the position might have been forced and some, if not all, of the vessels pushed on to Lai-cau in time to turn the retreating army. But pluck and energy were scarcely to be expected from the officer commanding the flotilla, who has on more than one occasion since last June, distinguished himself by an utter want of the qualities most necessary in a naval or military commander.
The question as to what will be done next, now that Bacninh is in the hands of the French, is one not easily answered. That Bacninh was garrisoned by a regular Chinese army, armed, equipped and paid by the Chinese Government, is now a matter proved without doubt, though it would appear probable that orders had been issued to the mandarin commanding to evacuate the post. A march across the frontier into the valley of the West River is spoken of as possible, but this would certainly require a large additional force. If China cannot be brought to terms it will be necessary to establish a line of military ...
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