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Taiping Rebellion.com 1850-71 |
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Taiping Rebellion.com 1850-71 |
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Weapons of The Taiping Army and the Qing forces
Taiping soldiers often wore bamboo hats in the summer, the officers wore head covering, with kings having jewels sewn in.
In the beginning the Taipings relied on swords, spears, jingals (a heavy musket mounted on a tripod, primitive hand grenades . Traps were often hidden in the ground such as bamboo spikes. Firecrackers were used to frighten and disorient the enemy. Stinkpots, An earthenware jar containing combustibles emitting a suffocating smoke. More modern weapons were purchased from foreigners, but supply was a problem, one of the reasons for the Eastern Offensive toward Shanghai. The Taipings were weak in cavalry, often depending on Nian rebel cavalry. Both the Taipings and Qing were master at making earthworks and defensive positions. The Taipings had many miners from Guangxi in their ranks, who were put to use to sap city walls.Besides the above-mentioned weapons, many men from the northern provinces were armed with the Tartar bow, which was a much more accurate shooting weapon than either matchlock or gingall.
Qing archers using the Tartar bow
The Qing forces were better supplied with cavalry, and the Mongol cavalry was used to good effect against the Taiping Northern Expedition . The Taipings usually did not employ cavalry, except at the battle which relived the siege of Nanjing in 1860
Organization of the Taiping Army
Each Taiping Wang or Prince has under his special control 100,000 people, including one army. Between the Wangs and generals of armies come nine descriptions of officers, ranking as ministers, and other great officers in charge of civil and military departments of state. The military organization and all the titles, are those used previous to the conquest of China by the Manchus. Each Taiping army, or keun, is composed f 13,125 officers and men, under the command of a general (keun-shwae), and is divided into five divisions (ying), front, rear, right, left, and center. A division musters 2,625 strong, commanded by a general of division (sze-shwae), and contains five leu, or regiments, the front, rear, left, right, and centre. A regiment is composed of 525 men and officers, commanded by a colonel (leu-shwae), and is divided into five tsuh, or companiesA company is composed of 104 men and officers, commanded by a captain (tsuh-chang) ; then come four lieutenants (leang-sze-ma), distinguished as the north, south, east, and west, each in command of four sergeants (woo- chang), and twenty privates (woo-tsuh). The lieutenants, and all above, have each a banner with his designation inscribed on it, which increases in size with the rank of the officer. Each division of an army is divided into three classes, or brigades. The first consists of bond fide Taipings, that is to say, all who are of more than six years' standing ; the second brigade, of acknowledged brethren, of more than three but less than six years' service ; while the third, and generally largest brigade, includes all new levies, and less than three years' service men.Attached to each division of guards (or the first class of the three brigade divisions) is one large black flag, and when this is advanced, the division is compelled to follow it upon pain of death, the rear rank men carrying drawn swords to decapitate any who might attempt to run. One of the wisest and most advantageous regulations of the Taiping army is, that officers of every grade could rise by merit alone ; a regulation highly beneficial, most of their leaders having proved very superior men ; among others the Chung-wang, who, unaided, rose by his brilliant attainments alone to the highest military rank. Until the appointment of Zeng Guofan, this was not the case in the Qing army, which had decayed greatly since conquering the Ming in 1644. To serve in the army had no prestige, and only those who dcould do nothing else sought army service. Many of the soldiers were addicted to opium and positions could be bought from the cash hungry Qing court .
Bribe offered by Viceroy Viceroy Siu Kwang sin, offered a bribe of silver and a top Mandarin position, but this was rejected by Xiuquan .The viceroy also had Xiuquan family tombs destroyed, to try to damage his prestige, to no real effect .
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