Battle of Ningyuan

Battle of Ningyuan
Part of the Qing conquest of the Ming
The Jin army storming the city walls.
Date 1626 Location Xingcheng, Liaoning Result Ming victory
Belligerents
Later Jin	Ming dynasty
Commanders and leaders
Nurhaci (WIA) Hong Taiji Daišan Manggultai	Yuan Chonghuan Man Gui Zu Dashou Zhu Mei Zuo Fu
Strength
100,000-130,000	9000-10,000

The Battle of Ningyuan (simplified Chinese: 宁远之战; traditional Chinese: 寧遠之戰; pinyin: Níngyuǎn Zhī Zhàn) was a battle between the Ming dynasty and the Manchu Later Jin (later known as the Qing dynasty) in 1626. The Ming won this battle. This battle marked the temporary resurgence of the Imperial Ming army after a long series of defeats.

Before 1626, the Imperial Ming army had been very badly defeated by the Manchus. Part of the Imperial Ming army's new strategy of defense after defeat was to develop Ningyuan into a military stronghold. Yuan Chonghuan, with the support of Sun Chengzong, was seriously strengthening the defense of Ningyuan in anticipation of a Manchu attack.

After Sun Chengzong was replaced by a new commander, the new commander ordered all Ming Forces outside the Great Wall to retreat inside and abandon all land outside Shanhai Pass. Yuan Chonghuan objected stronglly and was thus left to command a lone army guarding Ningyuan (modern-day Xingcheng, Liaoning).

In 1626 Kundulun Khan Nurhaci, seeing all Ming forces leaving, decided to advance towards Ningyuan, personally leading a force of 100,000-130,000 (At least 60,000) (Nurhaci boasted an unrealistic 200,000).

Yuan Chonghuan had only 10,000 men under his command. He burnt everything outside Ningyuan and wrote an essay of defiance against Jin in his own blood; he also sent orders to guards at the Great Wall to execute any deserters from Ningyuan, thus greatly boosting the city's morale.

20 days later, the Jin army arrived and immediately attacked the city. However, after two days of intense fighting, the citizens and soldiers of Ningyuan inflicted heavy losses on the Jin forces and Nurhaci himself was wounded by cannon fire and decided to retreat.

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