The Taiping Rebellion

Known as the bloodiest conflict before World War II, this took place in Central China between the Imperialists (Qing Dynasty), i.e. the government, and Christian rebels.  As so often the case, I’m running off OMA, in this case, 275, The Taiping Rebellion 1851-66, and my old friend Wikipedia.

Rebels.  The Society of God-Worshippers in Kwangsi Province.  Hung Hsiu Chuan, their charismatic leader, founded the movement based on visions he had leading him to believe he was Jesus’ younger brother.   They started with large numbers of volunteers, then resorted to conscription, and even drafted children.  The Taipings generally grew their hair long.  Hung himself died of food poisoning in 1864 as the siege of Nanking entered its final phase.

Government.   This was the Chinese Qing (aka Manchu) dynasty, the last before the 1911 revolution.  Its regular army was the 8 Banners and Green Standard, plus a large number of militia and irregulars.  Morale was low, corruption high, and desertion high.  Retreat was not disgraceful, so the forces melted away whenever met with resistance.  Imperialist forces generally kept the long pigtails.

The rebels initially took Nanking by March 1853, and from there made efforts to take Peking and Shanghai, both of which were unsuccessful.  For their part, the Imperialists also tried to take Nanking, but their blockade was beaten several times.  After the Taiping attacks on Shanghai failed, the Qings took the offensive back to Nanking and finally managed to take the city in 1864.  Remaining Taiping forces kept the Qings busy until the last forces were wiped out in 1866. 

Weapons.  This was a transition period between medieval weapons – swords, spears, bows & arrows, crossbows, etc. – and firearms, breech loading matchlocks and pistols, even huge muskets, jingtalls.  Cannons and rockets were also used.

Charles “Chinese” Gordon & the Ever-Victorious Army.  Despite British conflict with the Qing during the Opium Wars, the Europeans in Shanghai were actually concerned about the Taipings and allied with the Qing against them.  Since Imperial forces were typically poorly equipped and trained, a strong nucleus of well-trained and equipped Chinese volunteers – officered by experienced Westerners – helped out immensely: the Ever-Victorious Army.  Initially led by an American, Frederick Ward, eventually Gordon took over.   His role in leading this army gained him the nickname “Chinese”.  He was later killed in a revolt in Sudan in 1885.

Death Toll.  The main distinction of this war was the horrendous death toll – 20-30 million dead - far above World War I (8 million) and only exceeded by World War II (50 million).   Although the actual armies weren’t that large, the forces attacked and conscripted civilians regularly, with many massacres on a regular basis; thus the majority of casualties were civilian.