1853, Taiping Army sent troops to the west during the Northern Expedition. The strategic purpose of the Western Expedition is to ensure Tianjing, seize the three military strongholds of Anqing, Jiang and Wuchang, control the middle reaches of the Yangtze River and develop the forces in South China. From 1 June, 853 to1June, 855,1year, the Western Expeditionary Army continued to fight for a year and a half and achieved great victory. However, after encountering the stubborn resistance of the Xiang army, the battlefield situation in Hubei and Jiangxi was extremely unfavorable to the Taiping Army.

In this situation, Shi Dakai led his troops to the Western Expedition battlefield in June 1855+0, and fought fiercely with Xiang in Hukou, Jiangxi Province, defeating Xiang and winning, thus reversing the Western Expedition.

1June, 853, Lai and Zeng Tianyang led more than 20,000 Taiping rebels back to Jiangxi and began the Western Expedition. The progress of the Western Expedition Army is extremely smooth. 10 In June, Anqing, an important town on the north bank of the Yangtze River, was occupied, and Hu Yihuang immediately took over here to direct the Western Expedition War. Lai led Zeng Tianyang to command more than 10,000 people under Kai Wing Lam to March into Jiangxi. On June 24th, he advanced to Nanchang and surrounded the city. The siege failed because of the tight defense of the Qing army. On September 24, Taiping and others withdrew from Nanchang, and captured Jiujiang on September 29. Kai Wing Lam led some troops to station. Later, the Western Expedition Army was divided into two branches. A group led by Hu Yihuang and Zeng Tianyang, based in Anqing, crossed northern Anhui and conquered Luzhou (now Hefei), an important town in northern Anhui, in 1854. Capturing vast areas of Anhui has provided important human and material resources for the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, which has important strategic significance.

The other branch, led by Wei Jun and Shi Xiangzhen, traveled from Jiujiang to Jiangxi, set out from Hankou and Hanyang from June 1853 to June 10, and soon retreated to Huangzhou due to insufficient troops. Zeng Tianyang led the troops to help and defeated the Qing army in Huangzhou. The Western Expedition Army took three grams of Hankou and Hanyang, and then took Wuchang in June 1854. In April, the Taiping rebels who entered Hunan occupied Yuezhou again and defeated the Xiang army. However, in Xiangtan World War I, the Taiping Army suffered heavy casualties. In July, Xiang captured Yuezhou.

In August, Zeng Tianyang died in the Battle of Chenglingji. On June+10, 5438, Xiang Army and Hubei Qing Army counterattacked Wuhan, and Wuchang and Hanyang successively fell. In October, Xiang army advanced to Jiujiang. The situation is very unfavorable to Taiping Army. In order to defeat Xiang's attack, Shi Dakai, the wing king who presided over the military affairs of the Western Expedition, was stationed in Hukou from Anqing to take command.

After Shi Dakai arrived at Hukou, in view of the overwhelming situation and the superiority of the navy, he decided to stick to the main points and wait for an opportunity to retreat. The specific deployment is: Shi Dakai is at Hukou, Kai Wing Lam still leads the troops to defend Jiujiang, and Luo Outline leads the troops to defend Meijiazhou.

Xiang army first concentrated on attacking Jiujiang. By 65438+10.9, the total strength of the Qing army besieging Jiujiang reached10.5 million. From June 65438+ 10, 14, Taqib and Hu Linyi led an attack on the west gate of Jiujiang, and from June 65438+ 10, 18, they launched an all-round attack, causing a large number of casualties of the Xiang army and never entering the city again. Therefore, Zeng Guofan changed his policy, leaving Taqibu to continue to besiege Jiujiang, and sent Hu Linyi and Luo Zenan to Helmet Mountain (now Ash Mountain), 4 kilometers south of Meijiazhou, in an attempt to take Meijiazhou first and occupy the peripheral points of Jiujiang. On October 23rd, 65438/KLOC-0, Xiang Army launched an attack on Meijiazhou. With strong fortifications, Taiping Army fought bravely, wiped out hundreds of enemies and repelled the attack of Xiang Army.

The attack on Jiujiang and Meijiazhou failed. Zeng Guofan decided to attack Hukou instead, in an attempt to break the water camp of Taiping Army in Poyang Lake and cut off foreign aid, and then attack Jiujiang.

1855 65438+ 10. On October 3rd, before the Xiang Army's land division crossed south, the Xiang Army's navy division led by Li and Li had arrived at Hukou, which was divided into two rivers, the inner and outer rivers of Poyang Lake. In view of the advantages of Xiang navy and its difficulty in winning, Luo outline decided to use the method of consuming the enemy. On the night of October 8, 65438/KLOC-0, more than one ship loaded with firewood, gunpowder and grease 100 was set on fire in the downstream, followed by gunboats, and the Xiang Navy was attacked by gunfire. Because the Xiang army came prepared, it failed to achieve much success. Since then, the Taiping Army has often harassed the enemy with similar tactics, making the enemy exhausted. Taiping Army also set up several wooden buildings on the surface of Poyang Lake, surrounded by a wooden city and a neutral watchtower. Artillery emplacements were installed on the wood, which formed a corner with the defenders on both sides of the strait, tightly blocked the mouth of the lake, and repeatedly repelled the invasion of the Xiang navy. 65438123 October, Xiang navy division took the opportunity of the land division to attack Meijiazhou, damaging the Taiping Army's position at the mouth of Poyang Lake. Shi Dakai and Luo played along briefly, and ordered his men to transport sand and gravel in big ships, scuttle in the water, and block the channel, leaving only a pass to block the cable near the west bank. On October 29th, 65438/kloc-0, Xiao Jiesan, the naval battalion officer of Xiang Army, attempted to clear Taiping warships in Poyang Lake, and rashly led more than 20 canoes such as sampans/kloc-0, carrying 2,000 soldiers, and rushed into the lake until it was above Dagutang. By the time we got back to Hukou, the Taiping Army had built two pontoons by boat, connecting the base cards and blocking the way out. Xiangshui division was divided into two parts: 100 more agile boats were trapped in Poyang Lake; The heavy and heavy ship was blocked in the middle of the river, and the advantages of the cooperation between the big and small ships of Xiang Navy were lost. Taiping Army took advantage of this favorable opportunity, that is, in the evening, with dozens of boats, besieged Xiang ships moored in the Yangtze River, and sent paddles into the camp of Xiang Navy to burn the enemy ships. Thousands of Taiping rebels on the shore also launched rocket launchers to cooperate with the attack. Because there is no boat to protect the Hunan ship, it is difficult to resist. As a result, dozens of ships were destroyed, and the rest retreated to the river near Jiujiang.

On the same day of Hukou's victory, Qin Rigang, Wei Jun and Chen Yucheng of Jiangbei marched westward from Susong, Anhui Province, defeating Liu Fucheng of the Qing army and occupying Huangmei.

On February 2, Luo Outline sent his troops to occupy Xiaochikou on the other side of Jiujiang. Zeng Guofan ordered Hu Linyi and Luo Zenan to attack Jiujiang from Hukou, and stationed in the official card folder on the south bank. In order to further attack the Xiang navy, Luo Outline took advantage of the situation and led a brigade to cross the river to Xiaochikou on February 1 1. In the middle of the night, Kai Wing Lam, with more than one hundred canoes from Jiujiang and Luo Outline from Xiaochikou, attacked the Xiang navy division moored in the river again, concentrated it with gunpowder nozzles, burned a large number of enemy ships and seized Zeng Guofan's ship. Zeng Guofan fled by boat in advance, and then went to Lu Ying in Luo Zenan. He was so angry that he was ready to commit suicide, but Luo Zenan and others stopped him. Since then, Zeng Guofan has retreated to Nanchang.

The victory of Taiping Army in Hukou shattered Zeng Guofan's attempt to capture Jiujiang and attack Jinling, reversed the passive situation on the battlefield of the Western Expedition, and became another turning point in the Western Expedition. After the defeat of Xiangtan, the Western Expedition Army abandoned Yuezhou and lost to Wuhan, and gradually retreated to Jiujiang and Hukou. The situation is very unfavorable. On the other hand, due to the attack of the Xiang army, the Taiping Army was forced to shorten the front line and concentrate its troops, thus eliminating the weakness that the front line was too long and the troops were scattered some time ago. In addition, Shi Dakai visited the front, strengthened leadership, and prepared the necessary premise for turning defeat into victory. Although the Xiang army has won successively, there are hidden factors of failure: because of the large number of prisoners, its fighting spirit is getting weaker and weaker;

Because of repeated battles and victories, pride underestimates the enemy; Because of the long distance and the distance from the rear supply base, the supply transportation is becoming more and more difficult. It is in this case that Shi Dakai and others stuck to the main points to exhaust the enemy, took advantage of the favorable terrain, seized the favorable opportunity tactfully and decisively, and then immediately took the initiative to attack, and achieved a major victory in hitting the Xiang navy and changed the situation on the battlefield of the Western Expedition.