Battle of Penghu

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Battle of Penghu
Date 1683 Location Penghu, Taiwan Result Decisive Qing victory Capitulation of Kingdom of Tungning to the Qing Empire
Belligerents
Qing Dynasty	Kingdom of Tungning
Commanders
Shi Lang	Liu Guoxuan
Strength
600+ ships 100,000 soldiers	200+ ships 40,000 soldiers
Casualties and losses
7,000 soldiers	15,000 soldiers

The Battle of Penghu (traditional Chinese: 澎湖海戰) of 1683 is where the admiral Shi Lang of Qing attacked the fleet of Kingdom of Tungning in Penghu. Both parts possessed more than 200 warships. Liu Guoxuan was outmanuevered by Shi Lang, whose forces outnumbered him three to one. Liu Guoxan surrendered when his flagship ran out of shells and fled to Taiwan. The loss of Penghu resulted in the Zheng Keshuang's surrender to Qing.

[edit] Prelude

By 1683, Emperor Kangxi of the Qing Dynasty has stopped all attempts of negotiations with Taiwan. He sent Admiral Shilang with a force of nearly 100,000 men and 600 warships to invade the island. Shilang attempted to attack Penghu before a major hurricane would strike but was driven back by Liu Guoxuan. After the hurricane, Shilang regrouped his forces and was ready to strike again.

[edit] The Battle

Shilang divided his force into several smaller fleets. Most of them were sent to attack Liu and his Penghu Defense fleet. However a small detachment was sent to go around the battle and land directly on the island where Liu's base is located. However Liu was prepared for his and positioned archers and cannons on the beaches, followed by troops to stop the Qing advance.

A few days before the battle, Shilang had bought cannons from the Dutch and so his ships were better armed. During the battle, the Qing fleets smashed into Liu's force and broke up his formation. The defenders still fought bravely. The Qing ships were larger, better armed, and had more shells and within an hour, most of the Tungning ships were at the bottom of the ocean. However the remaining ships continued to fight.

In the end, the Tungning ships ran out of shells but hand to hand combat still continued. When his flagships ran out of shells, Liu ordered the remaining ships to surrender, ending the battle.

[edit] The Land Battle

As the battle at sea raged on, almost 60,000 Qing soldiers rushed ashore under the cover of cannon fire. The defenders used their cannons and arrows to stop the Qing forces but there were simply too many. Led by several skilled generals, the Qing forces broke through Liu's defenses and attacked his base. The victorious Qing forces burnt it down and raised the Qing flag on the highest flagpole.

[edit] Aftermath

After surrendering, Liu was about to commit suicide, but he was stopped by Shilang. They had a brief talked about the battle and Liu was released. With the destruction of Liu's fleet, Penghu surrendered ad Tungning soldiers deserted in droves. It became obvious to the court on Taiwan that they were now defenseless. A few days later, Zheng Keshuang and his court formally surrendered to the Qing Empire, ending the Tungning kingdom.