Prelude
In August, 1858, took Luzhou , and Imperial governor of Hunan-Guangdong Guam Wing ordered Li Xubin to counter attack by taking cities / towns of Tongcheng, , and Taihu . Imperial Jiangning General Du Xing’a and Li Xubin consequently led over ten thousands troops consequently attacked Anhui from Hubei. On September 22, 1858, imperial troops took Taihu . Afterward, Li Xubin led eight thousand troops to continue the attack northward. On September 27, 1858, Li Xubin’s imperial army took , on October 13, 1858, imperial force took Tongcheng, and on October 24, 1858, imperial army took . After leaving behind two thousand troops to guard the newly conquered towns, on November 3, 1858, Li Xubin led the remaining six thousand imperial troops to the outskirt of Sanhe Town , around 25 km southeast of .
Sanhe Town was located on the western shore of Lake Chao, and an important barrier of Luzhou and also an important transportation hub to supply provisions for both and Luzhou and Nanjing. Originally lacked any city wall, the Taiping Army constructed a new wall and in addition, built a total of nine forts outside the newly built city wall. The Taiping commander in charge of defending Sanhe Town was Wu Dinggui . On October 24, 1858, Chen Yucheng had just succeeded in taking Liuhe and received the news that Sanhe Town was besieged by the imperial troops. Realizing the importance of the town, Chen Yucheng decided to reinforce Sanhe and asked Hong Xiuquan to send Li Xiucheng to strengthen the Taiping reinforcement force. Chen’s request was granted. Nearby regions‘s Nien Rebellion to send 40,000 troops to strengthen the Taiping reinforcement force,too.
Battle
On November 7, 1858, imperial troops attacked Taiping army’s forts in three fronts:
*6 battalions attacked Taiping forts in the regions of Henan Boulevard and Mouse Trap
*3 battalions attacked Taiping forts in the region of Water Buddhist nunnery and Crystal Buddhist nunnery
*2 battalions attacked Taiping forts in the region of Zhujiayue
*2 battalions personally led by Li Xubin acted as reserve of the attacking forces.
After heavy casualties on both sides, Taiping army abandoned all nine forts and retreated to the safety behind the city wall. On November 7, 1858, Chen Yucheng’s force reached Sanhe and camped in Golden Ox Town, just south of Sanhe Town. A week later, Li Xiucheng’s force also reached Sanhe Town, and camped in the region of White Stone Mountain . The Taiping army in Sanhe region totaled more than 100,000 and Li Xubin’s staff officers suggest that the imperial force must withdraw to Tongcheng temporarily since there were only six thousand of them. Li Xubin refused and subsequently moved all of his forces into the newly taken forts to take defensive positions.
Realizing the enemy had numerical superiority and he could not hold out for long, Li Xubin decided to launch a preemptive strike against Chen Yucheng’s force. At the night of November 15, 1858, seven battalions of imperial force were sent to attack Taiping army at Golden Ox Town under the cover of darkness, but unbeknown to the imperial troops, Taiping army had already laid an ambush for them. On the dawn on November 16, 1858, the imperial army clashed head on with the vanguard of Chen Yucheng’s Taiping army, which lured the entire seven battalions of imperial army into the pre-laid ambush. Chen Yucheng’s force ambushed and killed half of the seven battalions of the imperial force, and surrounded the remainders. Li Xubin sent out another four battalion for the rescue and personally led several dozen charges against the Taiping army positions, but all were beaten back with heavy loss.
Taiping army under Li Xiucheng’s command went out to support Chen Yucheng and Wu Dinggui ’s Taiping army behind the city wall also went out of the town to attack imperial army. Li Xubin had to retreat back to the forts with surviving imperial troops and attempted to hold their position and wait for reinforcement but 15,000 Green Standard Army delay never show. However, the imperial army was severely weakened and seven out of nine forts fell in short time, with the fort where Li Xubin’s headquarter was located also besieged. As Li Xubin attempted to breakout, he was killed in the fierce battle,Zeng Guofan’s first younger brother Zeng Guofar was also killed, both Li and Zeng missed their bodys, and by November 18, 1858, the battle ended when the last resistance stopped.
Aftermath
After their victory at Sanhe, Chen Yucheng and Li Xiucheng continued their offensive southward, and imperial army had to abandon and withdrew to Tongcheng, but on November 24, 1858, Li’s and Chen’s Taiping troops took Tongcheng. Imperial force under the command of Jiangning General Du Xing’a besieging Anqing was risking being cutting off from behind, and the siege had to be abandoned on November 27, 1858 and the imperial army withdrew to Xiusong via Shipai . Taiping army subsequently retook and Taihu .
Outcome
The imperial defeat at Sanhe was a major setback, not only the newly conquered towns were lost again, the siege of Anqing was also crushed. In addition, the Taiping army also expanded their territory as the result of its victory. The six thousand strong imperial force was the crack troop, whose loss would take long time to recover and thus would have severe impact on future operations against Taiping army.
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