The Qing army didn’t dare to fight the British army with bayonets? Take a look at how the Qing army charged in hand-to-hand combat recorded by the British Army.

As long as the failure of the Opium War is mentioned, there seems to be a cognitive habit:

In the past, when it was said that the Qing army could not defeat the British army, it was said that the Qing army could not defeat the British army with their swords and spears. He was shot in a queue because he was using a foreign military gun.

Later, it was said that the Qing army could use shotguns and cannons to shoot back and forth with the British army; but the Qing army had low combat effectiveness and was always defeated by the British bayonet charge.

The former statement, thanks to many film and television dramas, naturally has a bit of a "legend" meaning; the latter statement is only relatively reliable, but it is a bit overkill.

When the Qing army fought against the British army, it was indeed impossible to risk their lives with swords and spears. Instead, they relied on forts to fire cannons at each other; but as for whether they fought hand-to-hand with the British army and were defeated by the British bayonet charge, That's another story.

Let me list a few examples, first of all some examples of hand-to-hand combat recorded in the Qing Dynasty:

In July of the 20th year of Daoguang's reign, during the Battle of Xiamen, after the British army shelled the coastal forts of Xiamen, Login rushed to the fort, and the two sides started a hand-to-hand fight, and the Qing army also took the head.

Deng Tingzhen, the governor of Zhejiang and Fujian at that time, reported on the war situation. One of the sentences said: "The guard general Chen Shengyuan stabbed a Baiyi man with a spear and died."

Officer Chen Sheng Yuan, during a hand-to-hand fight with the British army, stabbed a lobster soldier to death with a spear.

Afterwards, Daoguang praised Chen Shengyuan alone: ??"I guarded Chen Shengyuan, and I was promoted to the capital department first." Chen Shengyuan turned over with a spear.

In the battle of Tai Kok and Sha Kok forts, Lieutenant General Chen Liansheng died in close combat and martyred his country. People at that time wrote poems to praise:

"The thugs swarmed towards the male, and the swords fell at hand-to-hand combat. The swords chopped off the male's limbs randomly, but the male's body was destroyed even though he was distracted."

You Look at the horrific scenes of hand-to-hand fighting.

In 1841, during the Dinghai Defense Battle, the three general soldiers fought bloody battles with the British army for six days and nights. Among them, Ge Yunfei's troops fought hand-to-hand with the British army:

"Leading two hundred soldiers, he walked into the enemy with a knife. "In the middle, the fight lasted for two miles, and there was no chance of killing him." In the end, he died tragically. The "Manuscript of Qing History" used the word "killing with gunfire".

Let’s talk about the hand-to-hand combat recorded by the British army:

In June 1842, during the Battle of Wusongkou, the British army attacked the Wusongkou Fort and saw this scene:

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"The Chinese army (Qing army) bravely ran out from the position, brandishing the spears in their hands, and fought fiercely with Watson's (British army officer) troops."

It was the Qing Dynasty The army took the initiative to launch a hand-to-hand charge, and the weapons and equipment they used were spears. Because the British army had already attacked the fort, they could only fight in close combat.

This was a brutal hand-to-hand battle. The British army had no choice but to charge with hand-to-hand combat.

"Watson's team also began to charge towards the enemy, but as the enemy (Qing army) held their position, the two armies once again engaged in hand-to-hand combat with spears and lances (bayonets)."

The hand-to-hand combat was carried out twice, and finally ended with the death of all the Qing troops. The British army concluded:

"Having seen everything with my own eyes, the Chinese soldiers (Qing troops), with their tenacious No one who has the fighting spirit and determination to defend their positions can refuse to fully respect the bravery of the Chinese soldiers (Qing army)."

This may be what I want to say to those Qing soldiers. These are the words of people who are always beaten to death by British bayonets, because you have never seen the bravery of the Qing army with your own eyes.

By the way, the above-mentioned Qing army was a subordinate of Chen Huacheng, the admiral of the Jiangnan Navy.

The above British military records are selected from "The Voyage and Operations of the Ship Vengeance" written by Bernard, a British officer who participated in the battle.

In June 1842, during the Battle of Zhapu, after the British army attacked the fort, hand-to-hand combat broke out between the two armies: "An old officer and his soldiers bravely fought hand-to-hand with our army twice, each time After being repulsed for the first time, he would gather his men and come again." In the end, they all died in battle.

This is the Eight Banners Army under Chang Xi, the deputy commander of Zhapu.

In the end, the old Eight Banners officer was wounded and captured, but he refused to receive treatment from the British army and left his last words: "If you (the British army) are willing to receive my thanks, please write a letter Tell my respected emperor that I have died on the front line and shed my last drop of blood."

He eventually died.

Aren’t these words from the old officer more touching than telling the head of state, “What the hell am I doing?”

Anyway, every time I see it, I am shocked.

The above is selected from "Records of the British Army's Late Operations in China" written by British officer Lillo.

As for the more frequent and more intense Zhenjiang defense battles, there is no need to go into details.

I just want to clarify the "truth" that the Qing army was defeated by bayonets.