When it comes to the Qing Dynasty, most people first think of the humiliating image of repeated defeats and land reparations, but in modern times, the Qing government has not all failed in the fight against foreign enemies, and there have been very few victories, and the Second Battle of Dagukou is one of them.
This battle was a rare military victory in the late Qing Dynasty, which caused a great sensation at that time and made the Chinese people very excited. However, this victory was short-lived, and in the third Battle of Dagukou, the Qing army suffered another defeat. Brushing aside the fog of history, let us explore how the Qing army achieved this glorious battle in the Second Battle of Dagukou!
In 1858, during the Second Opium War, the Qing government and Britain and France signed the Treaty of Tianjin in Tianjin, which was signed under the threat of cannons of Britain and France, which made the Qing emperor very dissatisfied. Therefore, after the signing of the treaty, the Qing government began to strengthen the construction of coastal defense, and also restored the establishment of the Haikou Water Division directly under the haikou, and stationed more than 4,000 troops on the Dagukou defense line. Moreover, the Qing government also recruited more than 50,000 soldiers in Tianjin Prefecture and coastal counties, and for a time the coastal defense force was greatly enhanced.
In addition to adding coastal defense troops, the Qing government rebuilt the forts at Dagukou, adding many heavyweight cannons compared to the first Battle of Dagukou. In addition, the Qing government also equipped the Defenders of Dagukou with the more advanced muskets at that time, and also formulated corresponding reward and punishment measures to encourage soldiers to practice gun use skills.
Eventually, under the attention of the Qing government, a Defender of Dagukou with sufficient troops, strong fire support, and high training enthusiasm was formed.
On the other hand, Britain and France, because in the First Battle of Takukou, the Anglo-French coalition army achieved a huge victory, they became proud and complacent, thinking that the Qing army was still as vulnerable as before. This mentality of light enemies laid the groundwork for their next fiasco.
Fast forward to June 1859, Britain and France united again, under the pretext of exchanging treaty texts with the Qing government in Beijing, leading more than 20 ships of various types, and more than 2,000 allied troops drove outside the Dagu Pass.
The Qing government at that time told the British and French envoys that they could go to Beijing to exchange treaties, but they could not drive these warships into Dagukou, nor could they lead so many troops to land, and they could only bring a small number of entourage to Beijing. However, this reasonable demand was rejected by Britain and France, and the British minister insisted that these warships be allowed to enter The Dagu Pass, threatening to drive directly to the vicinity of Beijing through the White River and escort the envoy into Beijing by force. He tried to use the cannon of the ship to force his way through the Dagukou again.
But what the British and French allies did not expect was that the Qing army at this time was no longer the Qing army more than a year ago. At this time, the Qing army not only added forts at Dagukou, but also carried out strict training for the defenders. And in terms of troop strength, the Qing government stationed 4,000 people at Dagukou, which was also twice as large as the British and French allies.
In the face of the unreasonable demands of Britain and France, the prince of Horqin, who was in charge of supervising the important affairs of coastal defense, SangGelinqin, confidently expressed his resolute opposition. After being refused by the monk Gelinqin, Britain and France immediately revealed their true colors and prepared to seize the navigation rights of the White River by force and force the warship into the Dagu Pass.
At dawn on June 25, 1859, after several days of trials, the Anglo-French commander Hebu led 12 warships to the Taku Pass in an attempt to cover the anglo-French landing and capture the fort through the powerful firepower of the warships. whereas
When the British and French coalition forces carried out activities to clear obstacles in the water, the Qing troops stationed at Takukou had been holding back, and when the British and French coalition forces approached the forts, they suddenly launched an attack, and for a time all the forts released fierce artillery fire, and the British and French coalition forces suffered heavy losses in an instant. And in the subsequent landing operation of the Anglo-French coalition, the Qing army also carried out a fierce counterattack.
In this battle, the Qing army defenders Shi Rongchun and Long Ruyuan were pioneers and soldiers, and they were killed in battle, inspiring the Qing army to kill the enemy bravely. Moreover, in the course of the battle, many nearby villagers have delivered food and materials to the defenders, supporting the military operations of the Qing army with practical actions, which has boosted morale to a certain extent. The bravery of the defenders and the strong support of the people increased the fighting strength of the Qing army. In the end, the Qing army at Dagukou defeated the Anglo-French coalition army with strong ships and cannons, repelled the Anglo-French coalition army with minimal damage, and won the final victory of the battle, and the Anglo-French coalition army had to retreat in a hurry.
In this battle, the British and French allies suffered 463 casualties and lost 10 ships, while the Qing army only suffered 32 casualties, and the Dagukou Fort was not greatly damaged. In the face of the British and French allies armed with stronger weapons, the Qing army achieved such a victory, which was undoubtedly a huge victory.
Looking back at this glorious Battle of Dagukou, the most important reason why the Qing army was able to achieve such a great victory was the correct command of the commander of this battle, Senggelinqin.
Before the Second Battle of Takukou, Senggelinqin actively prepared for the battle, laying a solid foundation for the victory of this battle. In the course of the battle, Senggelinqin responded calmly and correctly, using tactics correctly, and waiting for the ships of the British and French coalition forces to enter the effective supply range of the Dagukou Fort before ordering the firing of artillery, which gave full play to the role of the Dagukou Fort.
Moreover, the defenders and forts at Dagukou were finally implemented under the vigorous promotion of the monk Gelinqin. In the process of training soldiers in the usual way, sanggelinqin paid great attention to motivating the soldiers' enthusiasm for training, and rewarded soldiers who were proficient in the use of guns and cannons. It was precisely because of these measures of the monk Greenqin that the Qing army could fully exert the powerful firepower of the Dagukou Fort and beat the Anglo-French coalition army to a pulp.
At this stage, both Britain and France were caught up in colonial wars, with British troops pinned down in India and French forces busy invading Annan. Therefore, at this time, Britain and France could not take out extra troops to attack China. But even so, the commander-in-chief of the Anglo-French army proudly demanded that the warship enter the Dagu Pass, and after being refused, tried to force the entry. In the end, the Anglo-French coalition also paid a heavy price for their arrogance.
The most important thing about a unit is not the number of troops, nor the weapons and equipment, but the belief in fighting heroically. Historically, there have been many examples of weak victories over strong battles, and the key reason is to look at the morale of a unit. In the Battle of Dagukou, the Qing army fought an anti-aggression war, defending its own country and defending its own people, so in this war, the Qing army fought far more heroically than the British and French allies.
After the First Battle of Dagukou, the Qing government began to attach importance to coastal defense, making the coastal defense force of Dagukou much stronger than the first Battle of Dagukou. The correct command of the monk Greenqin in this battle and the courageous killing of the qing army generals have greatly improved the combat strength of the Qing army. Coupled with the fact that the Qing army still had an absolute superiority in troop strength, this created such a huge victory.
The victory in this war swept away the humiliation since 1840, and also made britain, France and other powers clearly realize that China had sufficient strength and potential to invade China aggressively, and it would inevitably pay a huge price. Unfortunately, the victory of this battle was only a short-lived victory after all, and the backward late Qing army was always difficult to save this last dynasty from danger in the torrent of history. In order to ensure the true fruits of victory, only "national strength" can be achieved.
Text/Leyu
Reference: "Analysis of the Reasons for the Victory of the Defense of Dagukou in 1859", Andy Chen