Black Flag Army

The Black Flags were a splinter remnant of the Taiping Rebels that crossed the border from Guangxi province of China into Upper Tonkin, in the Empire of Annam, in the 1880s.

Related Topics:
Taiping Rebels - Guangxi - China - Tonkin - Annam

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Under their leader Liu Yongfu (Vietnamese Luu Vinh Phuoc), they were of use to the Annamite government in suppressing the indigenous tribes that populated the hills between the Red and Black Rivers; consequently, the Annamite court bestowed official rank on Liu Yongfu. The Black Flags also harassed European shipping, mainly French, travelling up the Red River; this harassment led to the dispatch of a French expeditionary force under Commandant Henri Rivière in 1881 and precipitated the Sino-French War. The Black Flags cooperated with Chinese forces during this war, most famously besieging a battalion of the French Foreign Legion at Tuyen Quang.

Related Topics:
Liu Yongfu - Luu Vinh Phuoc - Red - Black River - Henri Rivière - 1881 - Sino-French War - French Foreign Legion - Tuyen Quang

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