Battle of Cầu Giấy (1883)

Battle of Cầu Giấy (Paper Bridge)
	Part of the Tonkin Campaign
	; Commandant Henri Rivière attempts to rescue a bogged French cannon at Paper Bridge.
Date	19 May 1883
Location	Cầu Giấy, near Hanoi, northern Vietnam (now part of urban Hanoi)
Result	Black Flag victory
Belligerents
French Third Republic	Black Flag Army
Commanders and leaders
Henri Rivière †; Berthe de Villers †	Liu Yongfu Hoàng Kế Viêm
Strength
550 men (marine infantry, sailors and artillery)	around 1,500 Black Flag soldiers
Casualties and losses
35 dead, 52 wounded, most officers killed 3 Guns Captured	approx 30 dead, similar number of wounded

The Battle of Cầu Giấy or Paper Bridge, fought on 19 May 1883, was one of the numerous clashes during the Tonkin Campaign (1883–86) between the French and the Black Flags. A small French force under the command of capitaine de vaisseau Henri Rivière attacked a strong Black Flag defensive position near the village of Cầu Giấy a few miles to the west of Hanoi, known to the French as Paper Bridge (Pont de Papier). After initial successes, the French were eventually enveloped on both wings, and were only with difficulty able to regroup and fall back to Hanoi. Rivière and several other senior officers were killed in the action.

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