Battle of Ngọc Hồi-Đống Đa

Battle of Ngọc Hồi-Đống Đa

Fuk'anggan and Sun Shiyi defeated the Vietnamese at Thọ Xương's river in 1788
Date1788 – 1789
LocationVietnam
Result Qing Dynasty defeat; Qing forces retreated from Vietnam; the Lê dynasty was superseded by the Tây Sơn dynasty, independent Vietnam was reserved
Belligerents
Qing dynasty Qing Empire
Lê dynasty
Tây Sơn dynasty
Commanders and leaders
Qing dynasty Sun Shiyi
Qing dynasty Xu Shiheng 
Qing dynasty Shang Weisheng 
Qing dynasty Zhang Chaolong 
Qing dynasty Li Hualong 
Qing dynasty Wu Dajing
Qing dynasty Cen Yidong 
Lê Chiêu Thống
Hoàng Phùng Nghĩa
Nguyễn Huệ
Phan Văn Lân
Ngô Văn Sở
Nguyễn Tăng Long
Đặng Xuân Bảo
Nguyễn Văn Lộc
Nguyễn Văn Tuyết
Đặng Tiến Đông
Phan Khải Đức 
Nguyễn Văn Diễm
Nguyễn Văn Hòa
Strength
20,000 Lê dynasty supporters
Qing records mentioned 15,000 Qing troops (including porters)
The Chronicle of Greater Vietnam mentioned 200,000 - 290,000 Qing troops.
100,000 (50,000 regulars, 20,000 newly recruited militia)
Casualties and losses
At least 30,000 were killed
3,400 were captured
8,000+

Battle of Ngọc Hồi-Đống Đa (Vietnamese: Trận Ngọc Hồi - Đống Đa; Chinese: 清軍入越戰爭) was fought between the Tây Sơn dynasty of Vietnam and the Qing dynasty of China in Ngọc Hồi and Đống Đa in northern Vietnam from 1788 to 1789. It is considered one of the greatest victories in Vietnamese military history.[1]

Background

For most of the history, Vietnamese kings sometimes recognized the Chinese Emperor as their feudal lord, while ruling independently in their own land. This had been the case throughout the reign of the Later Lê dynasty.

However, the Tây Sơn uprising broke out in 1771, and the Lê dynasty was overthrown by the Tây Sơn army in 1787. The last emperor, Lê Chiêu Thống, fled to China and appealed to the Qianlong Emperor of the Qing Empire for help. In 1788, a large Qing army was sent to Vietnam, in order to restore Lê Chiêu Thống to the throne.

Battle

Sun Shiyi, the Qing Viceroy of Liangguang, was appointed as commander in chief. According to Draft History of Qing, the total number of Qing troops was about 200,000-290,000 (Qing records mentioned 15,000 troops, including soldiers and porters) which were recruited from Guangdong, Guangxi, Yunnan and Guizhou provinces.

In October, the Qing armies began their invasion. On November 19, Thăng Long (modern Hanoi) was captured by Qing forces. The Vietnamese retreated to Tam Điệp mountains; from there they sent a messenger to Phú Xuân (modern Huế), appealing to Nguyễn Huệ for help.

Nguyễn Huệ was proclaimed the Quang Trung Emperor, and recruited 100,000 volunteers in Nghệ An Province. Then he gathered his forces in the countryside around Thăng Long which had been taken by the Qing forces. He launched a surprise attack against the Qing forces while they were celebrating the Chinese New Year festival of the year 1789. Most of Chinese soldiers were unprepared, so were disastrously defeated by the Tây Sơn army in Ngọc Hồi and Đống Đa (part of modern Hanoi). Qing generals Xu Shiheng, Shang Weisheng, Zhang Chaolong and Cen Yidong were killed in action. Nguyễn Huệ recaptured Thăng Long, and Sun Shiyi and Lê Chiêu Tông fled back to China. Many Qing soldiers and porters drowned while crossing the Red River.

Aftermath

Although Nguyễn Huệ won this battle, he eventually submitted himself as vassal of the Qing Empire and agreed to pay tribute annually. Battle of Ngọc Hồi-Đống Đa was considered one of the greatest military victories by Vietnamese people, but was also considered one of "Ten Great Campaigns" during the reign of the Qianlong Emperor by the Chinese.

See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Battle of Ngọc Hồi-Đống Đa.

References

  1. Spencer TuckerVietnam Page 20 1999 "Quang Trung promised to treat humanely all Chinese who surrendered and many did so.53 The Vietnamese know this series of victories as the Victory of Ngọc Hồi-Đống Đa, the Emperor Quang Trung's Victory over the Manchu, or the Victory of Spring 1789. It is still celebrated as the greatest military achievement in modern Vietnamese ..."
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