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introduction
The Taiping Rebellion was the pinnacle of the Chinese peasant uprising, which dealt a heavy blow to the Qing Dynasty rule and established the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, with its capital at Tianjing (present-day Nanjing).
At the beginning of the movement, the Taiping army was like a bamboo, taking half of the country, but in the later period, the decline was revealed, and it was finally pacified by the Qing court.
Zeng Guofan's Hunan army played an important role in this process.
In the battle to defend Tianjing, which decided the survival of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, the main forces of the two sides carried out a rare positional offensive and defensive battle at Yuhuatai.
Although the Taiping soldiers were mostly well-equipped in this battle, they were defeated. Why?
Let's unravel the mystery of the Battle of Yuhuatai together.
(Overview of the Taiping Rebellion)
1. Yuhuatai was overwhelmed for a long time, and the Taiping army retreated
After the "Tianjing Incident" in 1856, the vitality of the Taiping army was greatly damaged, and the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom turned from prosperity to decline.
Hong Xiuquan had no choice but to promote some young generals Chen Yucheng and Li Xiucheng, who had fought bloody battles with the Qing army for many years, to be the chief generals of each army.
In September 1861, Anqing, a strategic location of the Taiping Army, was lost, and Chen Yucheng was ensnared and killed. The capital of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom has lost its barrier and is suffering from an unprecedented crisis!
(Battle of Tianjing)
At this time, the main military force of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom was in the hands of Li Xiucheng.
In 1862, the Hunan army advanced by land and water, and Zeng Guoquan (the younger brother of Zeng Guofan) and Peng Yulin besieged Tianjing.
In October, Li Xiucheng led the army back to help and fought fiercely with the Hunan army at Yuhuatai.
Li Xiucheng and Li Shixian commanded more than 200,000 troops, equipped with a large number of foreign guns and artillery, and fiercely attacked the Hunan army.
At this time, the epidemic was prevalent in the Hunan army, but the epidemic did not hit the Taiping army, and the Taiping army's medical and health equipment and measures have been relatively complete and orderly.
(Taiping Army stills)
Zeng Guoquan commanded 30,000 people, but he was attacked by the plague, and his actual combat strength was only 8,000 people, and his medicine and food were not abundant.
The Taiping army besieged for 46 days, although more than 5,000 Hunan troops were killed and wounded, but failed to break through the position. In November, Li Xiucheng withdrew his troops.
In the Battle of Yuhuatai, the Taiping army had an advantage in strength and equipment, but failed to win, and the loss of less than 10,000 people actually retreated, which is incomprehensible. The reasons for this turned out to be many.
(The current Yuhuatai Scenic Area)
2. Reason 1, Zeng Guoquan, the general of the Hunan Army, commanded effectively
The factors for success or failure in the war can be analysed separately from the opposing sides.
The correct decision of a combat commander is an extremely important factor in winning a war.
On the Hunan side, Zeng Guoquan's effective leadership was an important reason for the victory of the Hunan army.
(Tsang Kwok-tsuen)
First, it advocates "both defense and suppression". Zeng Guoquan clearly knew where his disadvantage was, so he chose to focus on defense, supplemented by offense. Before the war, he led the army to spend four months building fortifications to recuperate. During the war, he also paid attention to preventing the enemy from digging tunnels and waiting for reinforcements. In choosing the timing of the battle, he was good at taking advantage of the fatigue and sleepiness of the Taiping army to surprise and achieve small-scale victories.
Second, focus on the back road. He paid special attention to the Taiping army's onslaught on the rear of the Hunan army. Remind the gatekeepers to be strict in their guards.
Third, the use of heavy bounties, skipping the level of protection and other means to boost the morale of the Hunan army. During the siege, he constantly encouraged the brave to die, and encouraged all kinds of actions that would benefit the situation of the battle through rewards. This move effectively supported the Hunan army's perseverance in the difficult situation.
(Qing army officials on patrol)
Fourth, conduct a deep assessment of oneself and at the same time have an accurate understanding of the external enemy situation. Zeng Guoquan was injured in a battle, but he still insisted on patrolling the city wall, leading by example and calming the morale of the army. He paid attention to coordinating the relationship between the army and the army, so that the soldiers and soldiers could treat each other as family, so that the Hunan army could work together to deal with the enemy.
(Detail of "Map of the Battle of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom")
Now that we know the factors for the victory of the Hunan army, let's continue to explore the actions of the Taiping army.
Third, the second reason is that the logistics support of the Taiping Army is not in place
The Hunan army has been building fortifications for a long time and has a home advantage.
If the Taiping army wanted to win the war, it must have absolute strength and sufficient logistical support, and it must be able to overwhelm the Hunan army in a stalemate, but it backfired.
In the later period of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, the loss of land increased, the ruling area shrank, and many important transportation arteries and water, land and grain routes were occupied by the Hunan army. The Taiping Army's sources of pay became increasingly scarce, and the supply situation became extremely difficult. This situation has further weakened the combat effectiveness of the army.
Li Xiucheng said in his self-report after his arrest that the war was in September and October of the lunar calendar, it was very cold, the army did not have winter clothes, and there was a lack of food supply, so he had to retreat after a long attack.
(Li Zicheng's own statement)
Fourth, the third reason, low morale is the key to the defeat of the Taiping army
Without strong strength or solid logistical support, high morale and tenacious perseverance, it is not impossible to defeat the enemy.
However, the Taiping army at this time did not have this kind of spirit.
In the course of frequent and intense wars, the Taiping army suffered a large number of attritions, and the experienced "old brothers" gradually decreased, while the source of new recruits continued to increase, but they often came by recruiting defectors and failed to receive strict training. As a result, the combat effectiveness of the army is declining, and morale is declining.
(Taiping Army stills)
In the Battle of Yuhuatai, the Hunan army and the Taiping army fought many times, and even the city wall was briefly lost, but the Hunan army finally held the gap.
The Taiping army launched several fierce offensives in an attempt to break through the Hunan army's defensive lines, but was never successful.
The Hunan army successfully survived this crisis and thwarted the Taiping army's sharp offensive.
The Taiping army gathered forces and engaged in a fierce confrontation with the Hunan army, resulting in the soldiers being exposed to enemy artillery fire and suffering heavy casualties.
However, there was no substantial progress in the battle, and the Taiping army was unable to break through the Hunan army's defensive line, and finally Li Xiucheng had to retreat in a hurry.
(Lee so-sung)
Therefore, the important reason why the Taiping army was still unable to defeat the old and weak Hunan army despite having superiority in equipment and numbers was that its morale was sluggish and its combat effectiveness declined.
Wang Minyun's "Hunan Military Chronicles" believes: "Gai Kou will be arrogant, but also self-respecting, and rabble, he does not know how to choose a general, and he is weaker than when he first started." This means that because the enemy generals are arrogant and indifferent to their own death, and because the army is disorganized and does not know how to choose a commander, it is weakened compared to the time of its first rise. This is the fatal weakness of the Taiping Army.
("Hunan Army Chronicles")
After the Battle of Yuhuatai, the situation galloped in a direction that was even more unfavorable to the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, and finally Tianjing fell, and the vigorous Taiping Heavenly Kingdom Movement came to an end. It is lamentable to think about the reasons for the defeat of the war.
Resources
Expo. Zeng Guo Yo Tianjing Yuki. Diss. Xiangtan University, 2010.