阻絕線 Blockade

  1884年8月5日，法軍第一次進犯基隆，為防範法艦入侵淡水，清軍開始在淡水河口最窄處，從八里挖子尾到滬尾對岸，開始將載滿石塊的戎克船鑿沈河底，並部署水雷，構成一道阻絕線。

到了8月29日傳來福州被轟消息，閩江艦隊幾遭殲滅，引起震撼，滬尾清軍加緊沉船塞港和布雷作業。10月2日滬尾砲戰後，當天晚上法砲艇Vipére搭載水路技師Renaud和水雷官Merlin等人到淡水河口偵察航道及阻絕線未果。翌（3）日，Vipére砲艇再率兩艘小艇前往偵查該阻絕線，當小艇試圖打撈阻絕線上的游標和電線時，被陸上守軍發現，立即通知水雷營引爆水雷，以致小艇附近水面發生猛烈爆炸並激起浪花。

終究，這道阻絕線有效阻擋了法國軍艦，也算是滬尾之役清軍致勝的關鍵之一。（文：張建隆）

  The French attacked Keelung for the first time on August 5, 1884. To prevent a French incursion into Tamsui, the Qing defenders began sinking junks filled with rocks at the narrowest point of the Tamsui River mouth between Bali’s Waziwei and Hobe(Tamsui) on the other side. Sea mines were also deployed to build a blockade.

   When word was received on August 29 that Fuzhou had been bombarded and the Minjiang Fleet virtually annihilated, the news sent shockwaves through the community and the Qing garrison at Hobe stepped up their efforts with blockade ships and sea mines. After the artillery battle at Hobe on October 2, the French gunboat Vipére with port engineer Renaud, sea mine officer Merlin and others aboard made an unsuccessful attempt to scout the navigation channel and blockade. The next day (October 3), the Vipére and two launches attempted to clear the channel. When a launch tried to recover the buoys and electric cable on the blockade, they were discovered by the defenders on the shore and the Sea Mine Camp was notified. The detonation of sea mines almost caught one of the launches.

   The blockade was ultimately successful in blocking the French warships and can be considered to have played a crucial role in the Qing victory at the Battle of Tamsui. (Text: Chang Jian-long)