Battle of Jao Modo

Battle of Jao Modo
Part of Dzungar–Qing War
The location of the battle within modern Mongolia.
Date 1696 Location Mongolia, southwest of Ulaanbaatar Result Qing victory
Belligerents
Qing dynasty	Dzungar Khanate
Commanders and leaders
Kangxi Emperor Sun Sike (Sun Ssu-k'o)	Galdan Boshugtu Khan
Strength
50,000[1]	30,000[1]
Casualties and losses
Unknown	8,000

The Battle of Jao Modo, also known as the Battle of Zuunmod, literally "Battle of the Hundred Trees", was one of the expeditions by the Qing dynasty against the Dzungar Khanate to prevent the Dzungars from becoming a threat to the Qing Empire. Jao Modo, the sinified form of Zuunmod (Mongolian: Зуунмод), is about 60 kilometres (37 mi) southwest of the capital Ulaanbaatar, and is now the administrative center of Töv Province. The battle took place in early May 1696 on the Terelj River outside the town of the same name,^[1] and concluded with Qing victory.

Battle

In the second half of the 17th century, the nomadic warriors of the Oirat tribes in Outer Mongolia found a skilled military leader, Galdan Boshugtu Khan. They launched an assault on the Khalkha Mongols which destroyed their forces and gave the Dzungar Khanate control of Mongolia. In China, the Qing imperial court feared the rise of a new Mongol Empire and decided to take preemptive action ; however, an earlier campaign failed to defeat the Oirats. In 1696 three Chinese armies marched westwards into Mongolia. The Qing ruler, the Kangxi Emperor, personally led an army across the Gobi Desert, achieving a remarkable feat of logistical organization to keep them adequately supplied for an 80-day journey, while the other two armies attempted to trap the Dzungars. Galdan, concealed with his army in the Hentei Mountains, decided not to engage the largest, central, column. Instead he moved south and met the smaller but still superior western column in battle at Zuunmod.^[1] The Qing seized a mountain so as to gain a more commanding possession for their artillery, dissuading Oirat troops from attacking. At noon Galdan sent all his troops at the centre of the Qing forces, hoping to break their army. The Qing threw dismounted cavalry into the melee, but nonetheless the centre began to collapse. Suddenly, a detachment of Manchu cavalry hit the Oirat camp from behind, capturing their supplies. As the Oirats wavered, the Qing launched a massive counterattack supported by artillery, and the Dzungars fell back. Now encircled, the Dzungars were destroyed.^[2] Galdan's wife, Anu, led a counterattack which enabled her husband to escape, but the Oirats had been destroyed.

References