Battle of Guanzhong (1861)
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| Battle of Guanzhong (1861) | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Belligerents | |||||||||
.svg){kind=small} Qing Dynasty | Taiping Heavenly Kingdom | ||||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
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Capt.-Gen. Dor lonare † |
Cmdr. Chen Decai
Vice Cmdr. Lai Wenguang | ||||||||
| Strength | |||||||||
| 200,000 Green Standard Army, 50,000 Xiang Army | 180,000 Taipings, series wins to supply over 250,000 troops | ||||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||||
| Unknown; Capt. Gen. Dor lonare was Killed in action | Unknown; | ||||||||
The Battle of Guanzhong (Chinese: 關中攻防戰) occurred during the Taiping Revolution that took place in October 1861.[1] When Taiping's Western Army was defeated at Wuhan, they lost their connection with their capital of Nanjing. Former Western Army Commander Chen Yucheng then decided to resupply at Guanzhong. Some of their soldiers were troops who once fought for the Nian Rebellion, so Yucheng decided not to provide them with supplies, as he was uncertain of their loyalty.
On August 22 the Xianfeng Emperor of the Qing Dynasty died at age 30. Gen. Guan Wen ordered the stationary Green Standard Army, consisting of 500,000 men, to move to Eastern Henan to guard the capital at Beijing.
However, the campaign began to look like an ambush to Chen. His uncle Chen Decai did not obey Chen's orders. In November Chen Decai directed an offensive in southern and western Henan that he easily won. The attack created a long front for the Taiping Western Army. At the time Chen Yucheng commanded only the remaining 50,000 of the Taiping Western Army and guarded its tail, but was surrounded by the 150,000-strong Qing army in Hefei.
When Chen Decai discovered it had been a trick he went back to save Chen Yucheng, but was too late. Chen Yucheng and his entire force were destroyed in May 1862.