<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="79" >Introduction:</h1>
The first Opium War, how badly it was lost, can be seen from a data, this is the casualty ratio of 600:1.
This exaggerated casualty ratio, which falls on every battle, also has data to be found.
In the first Battle of Xiamen, the Qing army lost 9 people, wounded 16 people, and the British army suffered 0 casualties.
In the Battle of Dinghai, the Qing army lost 16 casualties, wounded 13 people, and the British army suffered 0 casualties.
In the Battle of Dajiao Shajiao, the Qing army lost 283 people and wounded 462 people, and the British army suffered 38 casualties.
In the Battle of Humen, the Qing army lost 250 people and wounded more than 100 people, the general Guan Tianpei was heroically killed, and the British army was wounded 5 people.
In the Battle of Guangzhou, 446 Qing troops were killed and 8 British troops were wounded.
Subsequent casualties such as the Battle of Zhenhai, the Counter-Offensive in Eastern Zhejiang, and the Battle of Zhenjiang were roughly equal.
According to post-war statistics, the total casualties of the Qing army in the entire Opium War were 22,790, and the number of British casualties was 523 (69 killed), and the casualty ratio reached an exaggerated 44:1.
Is this really a contest between two vastly different armies? Not really!
(Battlefield Overview)
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="78" >: Compared with weapons, the Qing army is not absolutely inferior, and some still have the upper hand. </h1>
The world will think that this is a dimensional reduction strike, and the British military equipment is much stronger than the Qing army.
This seems reasonable, but it is very biased.
At that time, the Qing Dynasty was indeed closed to the world and lagged behind the world trend, but there were not many backward military equipment.
First, let's look at the cannon.
During the Opium War, both China and Britain used breech guns, and the number of artillery of the Qing army with the advantage of local combat far exceeded that of the British army. In fact, there is not much difference between the two in terms of technical level, and the gap is mainly in the manufacturing process.
At that time, the Industrial Revolution in Britain, the level of smelting exceeded that of the Qing Dynasty by a lot, and it could produce better steel, and the cast cannon was of course better, but it was the Qing artillery, because of the casting level problem, the blasting rate was very high, and the sealing was also very poor, because the airtightness was easy to explode, so it could only reduce the amount of gunpowder for safety.
In the end, the artillery was less powerful, the range was not as good as the British artillery, and the accuracy was also much worse.
Comparing the technical level and the level of technology, it can be seen that the British artillery did exceed the Qing army, but the quality was insufficient and the quantity was supplemented, and the British army had the advantage, but it did not occupy an absolute advantage.
(Artillery Comparison)
Second: let's look at the muskets.
According to the level of equipment technology, the mainstream muskets of the British army at that time were all front-loading flintlock muskets, and the maximum range of this gun was about 300 yards, about 270 meters, and the effective killing distance was about 80 yards and about 72 meters.
A British Army colonel once said of this gun:
If a soldier is hit and injured 150 yards (135 meters) away, his luck is very poor, and if he is hit 200 yards away, the odds are the same as shooting the moon.
In addition to the unscathed firing range and hit rate, the firing steps of this breech-loading flintlock musket are also very cumbersome.
According to the 1834 British army's own training manual, the most skilled soldiers, without pressure, the rate of fire is only 3 rounds / min, which is the limit speed of the British musket.
(British Musket Firing Steps)
After looking at the British muskets, we look at the clear army.
At that time, the equipment rate of Qing firearms was 70%, and it was already an army with hot and cold weapons, and there were two main types of muskets, bird guns and rifles, which technically belonged to the category of arquebusiers.
The range of the bird is said to be different, some say 100 meters, some say 150 meters. Whether it is 100 meters or 150 meters, the range of the British muskets is not much different, and the difference is mainly in the rate of fire. The rate of fire of the fire bolt is mostly 1 round per minute.
As for raising the gun, the range is much farther, it can hit a distance of 300 meters and has great power, but the action is very slow, and the rate of fire is also very slow.
In the comparison of muskets, the British army has an advantage in the rate of fire, but the advantage in range and power comparison is not obvious.
(The two armies are at war)
Finally: the Qing army also had the advantage of bows and crossbows.
Compared with immature musket technology, in fact, the crossbow range of that era was not low. The range of ancient crossbows can reach 300 meters, and the Song Dynasty car crossbow has the record of killing Liao generals thousands of meters away.
It can be seen that the crossbow was not outdated in that era!
This was also the key to the restoration of traditional longbowmen by many Britons in that era, and the manpower was more reliable.
The crossbow technology of the Qing Dynasty, according to the Yongzheng Emperor, was the strongest in all dynasties.
A well-trained archer who can accurately shoot enemies from a distance of 130 meters. And the firing speed of the crossbow is also faster than that of the musket, which can reach 3 to 4 times per minute, and the operation is simple, the only difference is that the requirements for archers are relatively high.
According to this data comparison, it can be seen that in the Opium War, if the Qing army gave strength to the archers, it is estimated that they could cause a lot of casualties to the British army.
So why is the Opium War so badly fought? The answer is for another reason!
(The Longbowman does not lose the musket)
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="77" > two: Tactical comparison, the Qing army is too bad. </h1>
At that time, the tactic used by the British military was the famous "line shooting" tactic in history.
It is an infantry tactic that looks very rigid, but is very effective.
This tactic was not unique to the British army, and when the Ming Dynasty army used muskets, it was used in this tactic, and when the Qianlong period attacked Dzungar, it also used this tactic.
This tactic was set up to match the level of musket technology at that time.
Under the specific shooting speed and shooting accuracy, the efficient queuing shooting tactic has become the optimal tactic.
So the tactics used are the same, why can't the Qing army fight so badly? The answer is that although the tactics are the same, the tactical ideas are different.
During the Opium War, the Qing army's queuing shooting tactics, tactical ideas still stayed at the level of the Ming Dynasty, roughly equivalent to the tactical level of the European Spanish phalanx era, and the British army's queuing shooting tactics, in addition to the definition of queuing, also mixed with linear tactics and various tactical formations.
(Queuing tactics of the Qing Dynasty)
This tactical formation mostly has the shadow of modern infantry tactics, and the British army's wheel gun salvo and tactical and changeable arms are not available to the Qing army. At that time, the Qing army, tactical thinking, has always been the musketeers as auxiliary troops, to the spearmen to cooperate with the battle, tactical thinking stagnated in the era of cold weapons, muskets in the eyes of the Qing army is only long-range firepower, not a single class.
Therefore, when the British army and the Qing army fought, the war scene was often like this.
When the Qing army was still firing a row of guns, the British army would often come to a round of gun salvo, and use intensive firepower to directly overturn the Qing army's platoon gun array. Seeing that there was a problem with the platoon of guns, the Qing army could only send cavalry to attack from the flank, and after the cavalry was dispatched, the British army would immediately change the formation and set up targeted tactics, so that the Qing cavalry did not have any temper.
The flexibility of tactical thinking allowed the British army to complete the war crushing without a clear advantage in equipment.
In addition to this, there is one factor that is particularly deadly.
(What kind of government and what kind of army)
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="76" > three: the organization of the comparison, the Qing army's will to fight is very weak. </h1>
The gap in equipment is not large, and although there is a gap in tactics, it is not a fatal problem.
In the Opium War, the most fatal problem of the Qing army was the weak will to fight, which was reflected in many battles.
For example, during the Battle of Humen, the Qing army relied on the advantage of strong forts, and was not at a disadvantage when fighting with the British army.
When the British army saw that the artillery bombardment did not seem to take advantage, they changed their tactics and directly sent infantry ashore to engage.
As soon as the British army came ashore, it counterattacked calmly in the face of the Qing army's platoon gun shooting, and used a round of gun salvo to crush the Qing army's will to resist.
The panicked Qing army was then beaten by the charging British army in hand-to-hand combat and abandoned its armor and fled in a daze.
As soon as the Qing army fled, the Battle of Humen came to an end, and the fear of hand-to-hand combat became the biggest weakness of the Qing army.
This is the root cause of the Qing army's combat effectiveness, that is, there is no spirit of sacrifice, and there is no courage, let alone defending the family and defending the country.
So why did the Qing army pull its crotch so much? Just look at the interpretation in a movie.
At the end of the 80s, there was a movie called "The Great Qing Artillery Team", which told about the situation of the Qing army.
The heroine played by Liu Xiaoqing, in order to eat mixed food, dressed as a man to go to The Dagu Fort to become a soldier. Most of the people who went to the fort with her to serve as soldiers had the same thoughts, counting on meager salaries to make ends meet, and never thought of fighting.
Coincidentally, as soon as she went to become a soldier, the enemy came, and the final scene can be imagined.
In the Qing Dynasty army at that time, the military system was eroded, the armament was in ruins, morale was low, the soldiers were eating and waiting to die, and the generals were incompetent and corrupt.
The poor combat effectiveness of the Qing army was never a simple weapon problem, but caused by corruption, incompetence, inefficiency, and insensitivity.
How can such an army fight a war?
(Poster of the Great Clearance Artillery Team)
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="68" > epilogue:</h1>
Was the British army really strong? In fact, they are not strong, but the Qing Dynasty is too weak, especially the courage to fight is too weak.
The British army was not invincible, and in the era of lobster soldiers, the British army still suffered heavy losses in Afghanistan and South Africa, and even the Zulus. In particular, in the Zulu War, the British army was beaten by the Indigenous Africans and suffered heavy casualties.
Why did all this happen?
The answer is simply to be brave and persistent!
The Afghans in the War of Resistance Against The British in Afghanistan, the South Africans in the Boer War in South Africa, and the indigenous peoples in the Zulu War, they all have the spirit of not being afraid of sacrifice. Especially in the Zulu War, the Zulu people really used the sacrifices of their predecessors and successors to run out of ammunition for the British army, and the British army ran out of ammunition and food, and only then did they suffer a major defeat.
If the Qing army had the courage to fight the Opium War at will, it would not have played a 45-to-1 exchange ratio.
What kind of government has what kind of army, 110 years after the First Opium War, in 1950, the Chinese Volunteer Army proved this with action and courage.
That year, the volunteer army thundered out, that year, a mouthful of fried noodles, a mouthful of snow, a rifle and a pair of legs, they lay down armed and toothed coalition forces, let the world know what is the Chinese army, what is the peak of light infantry, and what is the strength to stand up.