Cihou Fort or Cihou Battery () is a historic

fort A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...

in Cijin District, Kaohsiung,

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the northe ...

, formerly guarding northern entrance to Kaohsiung Harbor.

History

The first fortifications were built in 1720 when Taiwan was

ruled ''Ruled'' is the fifth full-length LP by The Giraffes. Drums, bass and principal guitar tracks recorded at The Bunker in Brooklyn, NY. Vocals and additional guitars recorded at Strangeweather in Brooklyn, NY. Mixed at Studio G in Brooklyn, NY ...

by the

Manchu The Manchus (; ) are a Tungusic East Asian ethnic group native to Manchuria in Northeast Asia. They are an officially recognized ethnic minority in China and the people from whom Manchuria derives its name. The Later Jin (1616–1636) and Q ...

-led

Qing Empire The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-speak ...

of China. After Japanese expedition in 1874, the Qing authorities constructed a modern fort, which in 1880 had new Armstrong's guns installed. It played no part in the

Sino-French War The Sino-French War (, french: Guerre franco-chinoise, vi, Chiến tranh Pháp-Thanh), also known as the Tonkin War and Tonquin War, was a limited conflict fought from August 1884 to April 1885. There was no declaration of war. The Chinese arm ...

; the fighting in Taiwan took place around Keelung and during

blockade A blockade is the act of actively preventing a country or region from receiving or sending out food, supplies, weapons, or communications, and sometimes people, by military force. A blockade differs from an embargo or sanction, which ar ...

French ships did not approach the port. Taiwan was ceded to Japan according to the

Treaty of Shimonoseki The , also known as the Treaty of Maguan () in China and in the period before and during World War II in Japan, was a treaty signed at the , Shimonoseki, Japan on April 17, 1895, between the Empire of Japan and Qing China, ending the First ...

in the aftermath of the

first Sino-Japanese war The First Sino-Japanese War (25 July 1894 – 17 April 1895) was a conflict between China and Japan primarily over influence in Korea. After more than six months of unbroken successes by Japanese land and naval forces and the loss of the p ...

. The local troops, however, fought on. On 12 October 1895, escadre commanded by admiral Arichi Shinanojo (cruisers ''Yoshino'', , , ''Yaeyama'', ''Saien'' (ex Chinese

Jiyuan Jiyuan () is a sub-prefecture-level city in northwestern Henan province, People's Republic of China. It borders the prefecture-level cities of Jiaozuo and Luoyang to the east and southwest respectively, as well as the province of Shanxi to the no ...

, captured in Weihaiwei) and corvette ''Hiei'') arrived at Takow (modern-day Kaohsiung) and prompted the foreigners to evacuate, as they would conduct the attack on the next day. The foreigners boarded gunboat HMS Tweed and two tugs and withdrew (only to return once the fight was over). At 7 am, 13 October, Japanese ships "opened fire on the Takow forts at a range of about 6,000 yards. For the first half-hour, the forts responded, but after this their guns were silent...The forts fired twenty four rounds, the best shot being from the 8-inch B.L. Armstrong guns in Apes' Hill fort, which struck the water about 500 yards from the ''Naniwa Kan''." The Japanese troops seized the forts in early afternoon, suffering no casualties (4 Chinese soldiers were killed). During the Japanese era the fort was not used. After World War II the hill was fortified by Chinese army: light gun and machine gun nests cut in the rock can still be found there. Qihou fort Kaohsiung english version

Construction

Planned by British engineer, H. W. Harwood, the fort consists of three parts: * fortified

barracks Barracks are usually a group of long buildings built to house military personnel or laborers. The English word originates from the 17th century via French and Italian from an old Spanish word "barraca" ("soldier's tent"), but today barracks are ...

, around rectangular square, with close-defence

parapet A parapet is a barrier that is an extension of the wall at the edge of a roof, terrace, balcony, walkway or other structure. The word comes ultimately from the Italian ''parapetto'' (''parare'' 'to cover/defend' and ''petto'' 'chest/breast'). ...

on the roof. Of the two gates, one leads to the battery, the other used to be a main southern gate. It bore a Chinese inscription, which could be translated as "Mighty blow to the South" – the characters for "mighty blow" were shot away by a shell from ''Yoshino''. The rest, still visible, serve as ironic remainder of history. *central command post Fort Qihou Gaoxiong battery

*main rectangular battery with four open emplacements (two facing west, one north and one south) for four Armstrong's 7 inch rifled muzzle-loaders (RML 7-inch 6½-ton), with

bunker A bunker is a defensive military fortification designed to protect people and valued materials from falling bombs, artillery, or other attacks. Bunkers are almost always underground, in contrast to blockhouses which are mostly above ground. T ...

s for crews. Magazines are located on the lower level. Steep slopes of the Cihou hill served as fort's natural scarps. Of the 19th-century fortification at the foot of the hill, only remainders are still visible.

References

Bibliography

* {{Forts in Taiwan 1720 establishments in Taiwan Buildings and structures in Kaohsiung Forts in Taiwan History of Taiwan Military installations established in 1720 National monuments of Taiwan Tourist attractions in Kaohsiung

History

Construction

See also

References

Bibliography