The Taiping Army once frightened the Qing court, but why did they fail in the end?

In the history of the Taiping Rebellion, the Northern Expedition and the Western Expedition are undoubtedly glorious periods. The Western Expedition defeated the Hunan Army camp, and Zeng Guofan was almost forced to commit suicide. The Northern Expedition reached all the way to Zhili, shocking the entire Qing court. So, why did such an ambitious Northern Expedition end in failure? Please listen to my analysis below.

1. The battle line is too long and imbalanced

Lin Fengxiang and Chen Kaifang, who led the Northern Expeditionary Army, can be said to be good generals. They led more than 20,000 people all the way northward and fought to the Jinghai County and Duliu Town near Tianjin are only more than 200 miles away from Beijing. The Northern Expeditionary Army traveled through several provinces, its strength expanded to 40,000, and its journey spanned 4,000 to 5,000 miles.

At the same time as the Northern Expedition, the Western Expedition and the anti-encirclement war outside Tianjing were also launched at the same time. This made the Taiping Army's front line too long, resulting in their insufficient mobile forces and neglecting each other. Among them were affected The largest one is the northern battlefield.

Originally, according to the original plan, there should be a support army to support the northern battlefield, but because the battle line was too long and unsustainable, the support army became an empty talk. In the end, Lin Fengxiang, Chen Kaifang and others had to fight in Duliu. The defense in Zhen and Jinghai areas turned from offense to defense, which gave the Qing army a chance to breathe and also deprived itself of the best opportunity to attack.

Imagination of Li Kaifang

2. The recruits were undisciplined and had low combat effectiveness

In the constant war, veterans with combat experience were killed one after another, so Lin Feng Xiang and Chen Kaifang had to recruit new recruits. However, the new recruits were undisciplined, disobedient, and timid during battle. After breaking the city, they often robbed property and then fled in groups.

This phenomenon not only existed in the Northern Expeditionary Army of Lin Fengxiang and Chen Kaifang, but also in Qin Rigang's supporting army. When the new soldiers encountered enemy resistance, they often turned around and retreated southward. Then they were routed by the Qing army and suffered heavy losses. As Qin Rigang's support failed, the plan to aid the North died.

Lin Fengxiang stills

3. The Qing army’s tactics matched the weather

Facing the aggressive Taiping Army, the Qing army adopted the tactics of “strengthening the wall and clearing the field” and “clearing the field” "Iron Wall" combined tactics. It cut off the Taiping Army's food and grass supplies, divided the Taiping Army into small pieces, gradually devoured them, and relied on Senggelinqin's cavalry to pursue and annihilate them.

At this time, the severe cold weather added difficulties to the Taiping Army. Under the severe cold, the Taiping Army lacked food and clothing. Tens of thousands of people died in battle and froze to death. In the end, they had to rely on wild vegetables and trees. Skin makes a living. The combat effectiveness is greatly weakened.

In the end, Lin Fengxiang was captured and died of torture, and Li Kaifang died in battle. However, this Northern Expedition gave the Qing army a strong psychological shock. However, after that, the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom began to concentrate on running the south and never conducted a Northern Expedition again.

Qing Army General Seng Gelinqin

IV. Summary

In this Northern Expedition, the Taiping Army did not have a clear strategic goal and was only fighting for the sake of war. The battle lasted for two years and finally the entire army was annihilated. There were major strategic issues and minor tactical issues, which together led to the defeat of the Northern Expedition.