Battle of Anqing
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Battle of Anqing | |||||||
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Part of the Taiping Rebellion | |||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||
Taiping Heavenly Kingdom | |||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||
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Chen Yucheng Ye Yunlai (叶芸来) † Wu Dincai (吴定彩) † | ||||||
Strength | |||||||
10,000+ Hunan Army soldiers[1] | 20,000+ garrisoned troops |
The Battle of Anqing (安慶之戰) was a prolonged siege of the prefecture-level city of
Anqing was strategically important as it allowed access to the lower reaches of the
In October 1860, the "Brave King",
Foreign intervention also strengthened the Qing position at Anqing. In a family letter dated June 13, 1861, Zeng Guofan ordered his own ships to monitor
As the protracted siege continued into the summer of 1861, the population of Anqing was increasingly starved and cannibalism was reported.[7] In late August, Chen Yucheng made a final desperate attempt to break the siege of Anqing, but was repelled at the Jixian Pass after vigorous fighting with Zeng Guofan's land and naval forces.[7] With his troops exhausted, Chen retreated on September 3, and two days later the city's walls were breached.
With Anqing in imperial hands, the Taiping lost their stronghold in central China. Zeng would establish Anqing as his new headquarters and use it to coordinate the imperial assault on the Taiping capital at Nanjing.
References
- ^ a b Platt (2012), p. 191
- ^ Hummel (1943), p. 743
- ^ The Taiping Heavenly Kingdom: Rebellion and the Blasphemy of Empire. Thomas H. Reilly
- ^ Platt (2012), p. 193
- ^ Zeng (2003), p. 870
- ^ Jen (1973), p. 426
- ^ a b Platt (2012), p. 215
Bibliography
- Hummel, Arthur W. Sr., ed. (1943). . Eminent Chinese of the Ch'ing Period. United States Government Printing Office.
- Jen, Yu-Wen (1973). The Taiping Revolutionary Movement. Forge Village, MA: Murray Printing Co.
- Platt, Stephen R. (2012). Autumn in the Heavenly Kingdom: China, the West and the Epic Story of the Taiping Civil War. New York, NY: Alfred A. Knopf. ISBN 9780307271730.
- Zeng, Guofan (2003). Zeng Guofan Quan Ji Jia Shu [The Complete Works of Zeng Guofan – Family Letters]. Vol. 2. Zhongguo Huaqiao Chubanshe.