Battle of Shanhai Pass
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Battle of Shanhai Pass | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the Manchu conquest | |||||||||
 An old Chinese illustration |
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| Belligerents | |||||||||
| Qing Dynasty Wu Sangui |
Shun Dynasty | ||||||||
| Commanders | |||||||||
| Dorgon Wu Sangui |
Li Zicheng | ||||||||
| Strength | |||||||||
| 125,000 - 150,000 men | 100,000 men | ||||||||
The Battle of Shanhai Pass (山海关之战), fought in Shanhaiguan, China in 1644, was the decisive battle leading to the formation of the Qing Dynasty in China. Qing leader Dorgon, along with former Ming general Wu Sangui, defeated rebel Li Zicheng's forces, allowing Dorgon and the Qing to rapidly conquer Beijing and replace the Ming Dynasty.
[edit] Prelude
As the Ming Dynasty faltered and the Qing threat grew, Ming emperors saw the strategic values of Shanhaiguan, and frequently massed troops at the pass, sometimes reaching to the staggering number of 130,000 to 150,000 men. The Manchus attacked Shanhaiguan frequently, but to no avail.
In 1643, Manchu Emperor Hong Taiji died suddenly, leaving behind a six year-old son. His uncle Dorgon took power, and upon seeing the Ming Dynasty in shambles, personally led the Manchu & Mongol armies of the Eight Flags, consisting of around 150,000 men, to begin the conquest of Ming Dynasty on April 9, 1644. On April 11, upon hearing of Li Zicheng's conquest of Beijing and his overthrow of Ming, Dorgon decided to take the route north of Shanhaiguan.
During this time, the commander of the Shanhaiguan garrison, Wu Sangui, received an emergency summons from the Emperor concerning the desperate situation in Beijing. He began to march back towards Beijing with his 40,000 men, but stopped halfway once he learned of the news that Beijing had fallen. Wu then turned back to Shanhaiguan.
Li knew that Wu was a threat, and sent former Ming general Tang Tung with 8000 men and several tens of thousands of silver taels to Shanhaiguan to entice Wu to surrender. Wu agreed, handed Shanhaiguan to Tang, and began to march towards Beijing to see Li. Halfway during the march, Wu learned from his family members that his father, Wu Xiang, was beaten by Li's forces, and his concubine Chen Yuanyuan was taken by Li's general Liu Zhongwen.
Enraged, Wu turned back to Shanhaiguan and defeated Tang in a surprise attack, killing almost all of Tang's forces. Li then sent another general Bai Guangun to attack Shanhaiguan, but met defeat. On April 13, Li decided to attack Shanhaiguan personally with 100,000 men. Knowing that he could not withstand Li's forces, Wu contacted Dorgon, requesting emergency assistance from the Manchus on April 19. On April 20, Dorgon received the message and immediately swung more than 100,000 men down to Shanhaiguan, reaching the Pass at dawn of April 21.
[edit] Battle
Li arrived at Shanhaiguan on April 19, and immediately issued a demand for unconditional surrender from Wu. Li also forced Wu's father, Wu Xiang, to call for his son to surrender. Wu refused, and Li immediately set his plans to action. Using Tang Tung's 20,000 men to move up around the Pass to the left side, Li was able to have men at Shanhaiguan's north, west and east gates. Li's forces continued its relentless assaults, and soon the Stone River defense line was breached. Wu's forces used catapults to beat back the assault upon the gates. Meanwhile, Li's forces on the north used height as their advantage, inflicting numerous casualties.
At the dawn of the second day of the battle, a part of Wu's forces were forced to surrender. At this time Dorgon's forces arrived 15 kilometers, and eventually reached a town merely 1 kilometer from the Pass. During its way, the Qing forces were able to crush Tang's 20,000 men, creating a gap in Li's left flank. Nevertheless, the situation in the Pass was fast becoming dire for Wu, and Dorgon and the various Manchu princes did not dare to enter the Pass, but decided to observe the situation from Weiyuan City. Wu hurriedly sneaked out of the Pass that night, and met with Dorgon, offering to shave his head to signal his willingness to become a Manchu officer. Dorgon decided to aid Wu. On dawn, April 22, both Li and Wu unleashed their full forces upon each other. During a crucial period, Dorgon, upon Wu's signal, sent 80,000 men through the wide-open gates of Shanhaiguan upon Li's surprised and exhausted forces. Routed, Li killed Wu's father and fled west to Beijing.
[edit] Aftermath
Qing and Wu's forces continued to pursue Li with vigor, and soon reached the smoking city of Beijing. Li Zicheng had crowned himself Emperor on April 29, but retreated from the city of April 30. Manchu forces entered Beijing successfully, and began its reign as the Qing, what was to be the last imperial dynasty of China.
