Background
The battle was fought as a pendant to the Lang Son Campaign (3 to 13 February 1885), in which the French captured the Guangxi Army's base at Lang Son.
On 16 February General Louis Brière de l'Isle, the commander of the Tonkin Expeditionary Corps, left Lang Son with Giovanninelli's 1st Brigade to relieve the Siege of Tuyen Quang. Before his departure he ordered General Oscar de Négrier, who would remain at Lang Son with the 2nd Brigade, to press on towards the Chinese border and expel the battered remnants of the Guangxi Army from Tonkinese soil. After resupplying the 2nd Brigade with food and ammunition, De Négrier advanced to attack the Guangxi Army at Dong Dang.
Read more about this topic: Battle Of Dong Dang
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