Battle of Penghu

Battle of Penghu
Date 1683 Location Penghu, Taiwan Result Decisive Qing victory Capitulation of Kingdom of Tungning to the Qing Empire
Belligerents
Qing Dynasty	Kingdom of Tungning
Commanders and leaders
Shi Lang	Liu Guoxuan
Strength
600+ ships 60,000 soldiers	200+ ships 20,000 soldiers
Casualties and losses
5,000 soldiers	12,000 soldiers (10,000 sailor and 2,000 marines, figures are probably exaggerated)

The Battle of Penghu (Chinese: 澎湖海戰) was a naval battle fought in 1683 between the Kingdom of Tungning based in Taiwan and the Manchu-led Qing Empire of China. The Qing admiral Shi Lang led a fleet to attack the Tungning forces in Penghu. Both sides possessed more than 200 warships each. The Tungning admiral Liu Guoxuan (劉國軒) was outmaneuvered by Shi Lang, whose forces outnumbered him three to one. Liu surrendered when his flagship ran out of ammunition and fled to Taiwan. The loss of Penghu resulted in the surrender of Zheng Keshuang, the last king of Tungning, to the Qing Empire.

Prelude

By 1683, the Kangxi Emperor of the Qing Empire had stopped all attempts at negotiation with Tungning. He sent Admiral Shi Lang with a force of nearly 100,000 men and 600 warships to invade Tungning. Shi Lang attempted to attack Penghu before a major hurricane would strike but was driven back by Liu Guoxuan. After the hurricane, Shi Lang regrouped his forces and was ready to strike again.

Battle

Shi Lang divided his force into several smaller fleets. Most of them were sent to attack Liu and his Penghu defence fleet. However a small detachment was sent to go around the battle and land directly on the island where Liu's base was located. However Liu was prepared for this and positioned archers and cannons on the beaches, followed by troops to stop the Qing advance.

A few days before the battle, Shi Lang had bought cannons from the Dutch and so his ships were better armed. During the battle, the Qing forces smashed into Liu's force and broke up his formation. The defenders still fought bravely. The Qing ships were larger, better armed, and had more ammunition and within an hour, most of the Tungning ships were at the bottom of the ocean. However the remaining ships continued to fight.

In the end, the Tungning ships ran out of ammunition but hand-to-hand combat still continued. When his flagship and commander Liu ran out of ammunition, the remaining ships surrendered, some of them burning for three day and nights. Many generals and soldiers refused to surrender but rather chose to drown as a show of loyalty to the former Ming dynasty, thus ending the battle.

Land battle

As the battle at sea raged on, almost 60,000 Qing soldiers rushed ashore under the cover of cannon fire. The defenders used their cannons and arrows to stop the Qing forces but there were simply too many. Led by several skilled generals, the Qing forces broke through Liu's defenses and attacked his base. The victorious Qing forces burnt it down and raised the Qing flag on the highest flagpole.

Aftermath

After surrendering, Liu was about to commit suicide, but he was stopped by Shi Lang. They had a brief talk about the battle and Liu was released. With the destruction of Liu's fleet, Penghu surrendered and Tungning soldiers deserted in droves. It became obvious to the court on Taiwan that they were now defenceless. A few days later, Zheng Keshuang and his court formally surrendered to the Qing Empire, ending the Tungning kingdom.

Coordinates: 23°23′24″N 119°31′48″E / 23.3900°N 119.5300°E