Battle of Wuchang
Battle of Wuchang | |
---|---|
Part of Wuchang, Hubei | |
Result | Wuchang and surrounding areas captured by Taiping |
The Battle of Wuchang occurred in 1852 during the
Background
In November 1852
The advance towards Wuchang took very deceptive maneuvers as to ward off pursuit from Qing forces. Taiping forces would embark onto land and abandoned their boats at one spot. Then they would unexpectedly to seize new fleets when they descend upon some unsuspecting river town. They also cut bridges as they passed them to delay pursuit, recruiting the boatmen along with their boats to check the advance of the Qing forces. In other cases they would deploy pontoon bridges to allow crossing of the river, then float them downstream to use again. Taiping forces advanced forward around three hundred miles in twenty-five days.
Battle
The Taiping army reached the
The Hubei governor[who?] ordered his garrison to burn all the homes outside the Wuchang city walls to give them clearer fields of fire. The residents of Wuchang were promised cash rewards for every Taiping soldier they captured, twenty ounces of silver for every male Taiping head with hair so long one can tell it belongs to a veteran soldier, and ten ounces for each Taiping head with the shorter hair of recent recruits to the rebel ranks.
City defenders blocked the city gates with earth and rocks, and created sunken listening posts to pinpoint the undermining of their walls to counteract
Aftermath
After hearing of a large Qing army to the north, the Taiping forces decided not to march directly towards Beijing, and instead headed east along the
Wuchang becomes one of the first major cities where Taiping social policies are implemented.
On October 14, 1854 Xiang Army led by Zeng Guofan recapture Wuchang and Hanyang for the Qing.[5][6] Then on April 3, 1855 the Taiping Western Expedition captured the area again. Finally Qing permanently regained control of the area on December 19, 1856.
References
- ^ Spence, Jonathan D. (1996). God's Chinese Son (Reprint ed.). W. W. Norton & Company.
- ^ The Taiping Rebellion By Shunshin Chin
- Spence, Jonathan D. (1990). The Search for Modern China.
- ^ Elleman, Bruce A. Modern Chinese Warfare, 1795-1989. p. 40.
- ^ Dillon, Michael. China: A Modern History
- ISBN 9780307271730.