Battle of Anqing

Overview

The Battle of Anqing (安慶之戰) was a prolonged siege of the prefecture-level city of Anqing in Anhui, China, initiated by Hunan Army forces loyal to the Qing Dynasty against the armies of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom. The siege began in September 1860 and ended on September 5, 1861, when imperial forces under the command of Zeng Guoquan breached the walls of the city and occupied it.

Overview adapted from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Significance

The Battle of Anqing was a prolonged siege lasting from September 1860 to September 5, 1861, in which Hunan Army forces loyal to the Qing Dynasty, under Zeng Guoquan, breached the walls of the prefecture-level city of Anqing in Anhui and occupied it. The Qing force of approximately 10,000 overcame a Taiping Heavenly Kingdom garrison backed by a relief force numbering around 20,000, commanded by Chen Yucheng. The fall of Anqing represented a significant reversal for the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, as the city was a strategically positioned prefecture in Anhui that the Taiping had held as part of their broader territorial control. Its capture by imperial forces under the overall direction of Zeng Guofan demonstrated the growing operational effectiveness of the Hunan Army and tightened Qing pressure on the Taiping heartland, contributing to the gradual contraction of Taiping-held territory that would characterize the later phase of the rebellion.

Forces & casualties

Commanders (3)