Interesting Light Cavalry officer's sabre model 1822. Curved blade with one hollow side and one gutter marked on the back Manufacture de Klingenthal 8bre (ou Xbre) 1825. The blade is engraved on one sideTONKIN-BAC.LE 24 June 1884 and attributed to "Lieutenant Durand" and on the other side "Ba-Clé 23-24 June 1884". Brass mounting with remains of gilding, watermarked horn stock, two-ring steel scabbard, no bumps. Total length 105.5 cm, blade 91 cm. Good condition, attic juice. The Bac Le ambush or Bac Le ambush is a confrontation that took place during the Tonkin expedition of June 1884 between Chinese troops of the Guangxi Army under the command of Wan Zhongxuan and a French column of the Tonkin Expeditionary Corps under the command of Lieutenant-Colonel Alphonse Dugenne, sent to occupy Lạng Sơn and other towns near the Chinese border. The French argue that their troops have been ambushed by the Chinese. The incident leads to the Franco-Chinese War (August 1884 - April 1885).