1841 (Nov 24), from Macao to London, First Opium War letter written after the end of the Second Battle of Chusan and the Battle of Chinhai.
1841 (Nov 24), from Macao to London, First Opium War letter written after the end of the Second Battle of Chusan and the Battle of Chinhai. A very good letter to have described the military developments following the Second Battle of Chusan. The letter described the following: “…… I send you yesterday paper containing an account of the proceedings in the North which are now at a standstill for want of reinforcements on a more vigorous and destructive system of warfare than has hitherto been practiced in China. I cannot understand why we can’t treat these [exactly] Chinese like any other enemy. Having carried in the towns they take, only fritters away the forces in the most wretched way, whereas if they would only burn & pillage a few cities the enemy would see the necessity for coming forward with [terms]. The Army has all the will but his hands are tied by the feebleness and vacillating measures in the Cabinet at home. Until minds were changed, no doubt and union in their hands, England ought not to require such blood sacrifices as the Government pretends of the troops. – As I always thought, and appears from accounts received this morning from India, that throwing away the lawfulness of the [Treaties], the Chinese had at last thrown off the mask, and anticipated by the Celestial Majesty, is about to involve us in a war……” This letter has suggested that the military operations in Northern China at the time have stalled. The writer criticized the restrained British strategy so far, arguing that a harsher, more destructive approach would have compelled quicker Chinese submission. The writer advocated burning or pillaging cities to force negotiations instead of dispersing troops. The writer further blamed the weakness and indecision in the British Cabinet for prolonging the conflict and causing unnecessary losses. After the Second Battle of Chusan in Oct 1841, a critical military move by the British forces in the First Opium War is to shift their strategy and embarked on a decisive course of military actions to re-take, reoccupy Chusan. That formed a base making the British to eventually move from Chusan into Nanking to end the First Opium War.
