France's war with China had ended in…

France's war with China had ended in early 1861, leaving the admirals Charner and Page free to return to Cochinchina and resume the campaign around Saigon.

A naval contingent of seventy ships under Charner (who is now in charge of all land and sea forces) and thirty-five hundred soldiers under the command of General de Vassoigne have been transferred from northern China to Saigon.

Charner's squadron is the most powerful French naval force in Vietnamese waters prior to the creation of the French Far East Squadron on the eve of the Sino-French War, from August 1884 to April 1885.

It includes the steam frigates Impératrice Eugénie and Renommée (Charner and Page's respective flagships), the corvettes Primauguet, Laplace and Du Chayla, eleven screw-driven dispatch vessels, five first-class gunboats, seventeen transports and a hospital ship.

The squadron is accompanied by half a dozen armed lorchas purchased in Macao.

These reinforcements eventually provide the allies with troops for tactical maneuvers at Saigon.

On February 24 and 25 1861, the French and Spanish successfully assault the Vietnamese siege lines, defeating marshal Nguyễn Tri Phương in the battle of Ky Hoa.

Nonetheless, the Vietnamese forces vehemently and skillfully defend their positions, which result in considerable allied casualties.