Third Battle of Nanking

Part of the Taiping Rebellion

Date	March 14, 1864 – July 19, 1864
Location	Nanking, China
Result	Decisive Qing victory

Belligerents

Qing Dynasty

Taiping Heavenly Kingdom

Commanders and leaders

Zeng Guofan

Zeng Guoquan

Hong Xiuquan
Li Xiucheng

Strength

500,000+ Xiang Army

370,000 defenders + 30,000 hungry weakened troops

Casualties and losses

10,000+ died of illness
9,000+ killed

200,000+ killed
200,000+ surrendered

The Third Battle of Nanking was the last major engagement of the Taiping Rebellion, occurring in 1864 after the death of the king of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, Hong Xiuquan. There were probably more than a million troops in the battle and the Taiping army sustained 100,000 dead (and many more wounded) in the three-day clash. Following the defeat of the Taiping army the Imperial troops, commanded by Zeng Guofan, slaughtered much of the city's population. Nanking had been the capital of the Heavenly Kingdom and was known by the Taipings as Tianjing (Heavenly Capital--the name should not be confused with Tianjin, China's third largest city). This battle was the effective end of the Taiping army and Nanking was the last major Taiping city to fall back under Imperial control.

In June 1863 Qing Gen. Bao Chao took Jiufu Island (九洑洲) and the Taiping Army lost control of the entire northern shore of the Yangtze. Imperial Gen. Bao Chao subsequently led his force across the river and camped on the southern bank outside the Shence (神策) Gate of Nanking. In September 1863 Zeng Guofan's younger brother, Gen. Zeng Guoquan, attacked and took the Shangfang Bridge (上方桥) region southeast of the city and the Jiangdong Bridge (江东桥) region to the southwest. Zeng Guoquan continued his quest in the suburbs of Nanking, and by early November 1863 had succeeded in taking regions including Shangfang Gate (上方门), Gaoqiao Gate (高桥门), Shuangqiao Gate (双桥门), Qiqiaoweng (七桥瓮), Muling (秣陵) Pass and Zhonghe Bridge (中和桥). The Taiping Army had therefore lost all of its positions in the southwestern part of the Purple Mountain. By mid-November regions including Chunhua (淳化), Jiexi (解溪), Longdu (龙都), Hushu, Sancha Town (三岔镇) had fallen under the Qing army's control. At the same time the Imperial navy commanded by Imperial Adm. Peng Yulin (彭玉麟) and his deputy, Yang Yuebin (杨岳斌, also known as Yang Zaifu 杨载福), took important regions including Gaochun and Eastern Dam (Dong Ba 东坝) with the help of Bao Chao's forces. By late November the Taiping garrison at Lishui had surrendered to the Qing army. As a result, the Taiping army was evicted from the region within 50 miles of Nanking. On November 25, 1863, Zeng Guoquan and his subordinate, Gen. Xiao Qingyan (萧庆衍), deployed troops at the Ming Xiaoling. The only links to the outside left were the Shence and Taiping Gates.

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