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"Ever Victorious Army" () was a small imperial army that fought rebels in late-19th-century China. It was directed and trained by Europeans. The Ever Victorious Army fought for the
Qing dynasty The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing, was a Manchu-led Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China and an early modern empire in East Asia. The last imperial dynasty in Chinese history, the Qing dynasty was preceded by the ...
against the rebels of the
Nian A ''nian'' beast () is a beast in Chinese mythology. According to Chinese mythology, the ''nian'' lives under the sea or in the mountains. The Chinese character ''nian'' more usually means "year" or "new year". The earliest written sources that re ...
and
Taiping Rebellion The Taiping Rebellion, also known as the Taiping Civil War or the Taiping Revolution, was a civil war in China between the Qing dynasty and the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom. The conflict lasted 14 years, from its outbreak in 1850 until the fall of ...
s. Though the Army was only active for a few years, from 1860 to 1864, it was instrumental in putting down the Taiping Rebellion. It was the first Chinese army which was trained in European techniques, tactics, and strategy.


History


Origins

The Ever Victorious Army had its beginnings as a force formed under the command of Frederick Townsend Ward in 1860. The Ever-Victorious Army repulsed another attack on Shanghai in 1862 and helped to defend other treaty ports such as Ningbo. They also aided imperial troops in reconquering Taiping strongholds along the Yangtze River. Qing forces were reorganised under the command of
Zeng Guofan Zeng Guofan, Marquis Yiyong (; 26 November 1811 – 12 March 1872), birth name Zeng Zicheng, courtesy name Bohan (), was a Chinese statesman and military general of the late Qing dynasty. He is best known for raising and organizing the Xiang ...
,
Zuo Zongtang Zuo Zongtang (左宗棠, Xiang Chinese: ; Wade-Giles spelling: Tso Tsung-t'ang; November 10, 1812 – September 5, 1885), sometimes referred to as General Tso, was a Chinese statesman and army officer of the late Qing dynasty. Born in Xian ...
and
Li Hongzhang Li Hongzhang, Marquess Suyi ( zh, t=李鴻章; also Li Hung-chang; February 15, 1823 – November 7, 1901) was a Chinese statesman, general and diplomat of the late Qing dynasty. He quelled several major rebellions and served in importan ...
, and the Qing reconquest began in earnest. By early 1864,
Qing The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing, was a Manchu-led Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China and an early modern empire in East Asia. The last imperial dynasty in Chinese history, the Qing dynasty was preceded by the ...
control in most areas was reestablished. Townsend Ward introduced what were for the time radical ideas involving force structure, training, discipline, and weaponry (though there are historians who question whether his lieutenant and confidant
Li Hongzhang Li Hongzhang, Marquess Suyi ( zh, t=李鴻章; also Li Hung-chang; February 15, 1823 – November 7, 1901) was a Chinese statesman, general and diplomat of the late Qing dynasty. He quelled several major rebellions and served in importan ...
was also responsible for some of the then-unique ideas that forged the Ever Victorious Army). He believed in a more flexible command structure, and that well trained, disciplined, mobile units could defeat larger forces lacking these qualities. Following several early victories, the Qing dynasty officially bestowed the title "Ever Victorious Army" on the corps in March 1862.Carr, 1995


Composition

The new force originally comprised about 200 mostly European mercenaries, enlisted in the Shanghai area from sailors, deserters and adventurers. Many were dismissed in the summer of 1861, but the remainder became the officers of 1,200 Chinese soldiers recruited by Ward in and around Songjiang (
romanized In linguistics, romanization is the conversion of text from a different writing system to the Roman (Latin) script, or a system for doing so. Methods of romanization include transliteration, for representing written text, and transcription, ...
at the time as "Sungkiang"). The Chinese troops were increased to 3,000 by May 1862, all equipped with Western firearms and equipment by the British authorities in Shanghai. Throughout its four-year existence the Ever Victorious Army was mainly to operate within a thirty-mile radius of Shanghai.


Tactics

The Ever Victorious Army numbered around 5,000 soldiers at its height. It often defeated rebel forces which were numerically much larger because it was better armed, better commanded, and better trained. It was the first Chinese army to incorporate western style training and tactics, modern weaponry, and most important, the concept of light infantry units which could move faster than their opponents.


Change in command

Following Ward's death in September 1862 after the Battle of Cixi, command of the Ever Victorious Army passed, after a short period of time, to
Charles George Gordon Major-general (United Kingdom), Major-General Charles George Gordon Companion of the Order of the Bath, CB (28 January 1833 – 26 January 1885), also known as Chinese Gordon, Gordon Pasha, Gordon of Khartoum and General Gordon , was a British ...
, known as "Chinese" Gordon. Under Gordon the Ever Victorious Army, in collaboration with the Chinese Imperial forces, would fight some of the final and decisive battles that ended the
Taiping Rebellion The Taiping Rebellion, also known as the Taiping Civil War or the Taiping Revolution, was a civil war in China between the Qing dynasty and the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom. The conflict lasted 14 years, from its outbreak in 1850 until the fall of ...
. Li Hongzhang said of Gordon: "What a sight it is for tired eyes, what an elixir for a weary heart to watch this Englishman fight. Planning by day, executing by night, planning by night, executing by day; he is a glorious fellow."


Structure

The infantry of the Ever Victorious Army was organised into battalions, usually referred to during the period of Gordon's command as regiments. By 1864 there were six regiments numbering between 250 and 650 men. Each comprised six companies, with a nominal establishment of two foreign officers, seven Chinese non-commissioned officers and up to 80 Chinese privates. There was one Chinese interpreter per regiment, although commands were given exclusively in English which had to be learnt by rote.


Bodyguard

Ward created a separate Bodyguard of Filipinos numbering 200–300. Under Gordon this force comprised a company of foreigners (including both Africans and Europeans) and 100 handpicked Chinese soldiers.


Artillery

By 1863 the Ever Victorious Army included a separate artillery arm, comprising six batteries of Heavy and Light Artillery. Each had an establishment of five foreign officers, 19 Chinese non-commissioned officers and 120–150 Chinese gunners.


River-boat fleet

Ward bought and chartered a flotilla of about twelve armed paddle steamers, supported by 30–50 Chinese gunboats. Under Gordon this small navy dwindled to two steamers, subsequently increased to six. Both steamers and gunboats were fitted with 9- or 12-pounder bow-guns. The largest vessel was the '' Hyson'', which was 90 feet long and carried a 32-pounder gun as well as a 12-pounder howitzer.


Uniforms

According to the ''North China Herald'', the Bodyguard wore blue uniforms with scarlet facings and green shoulder straps bearing unit identification in Chinese characters. Artillerymen wore light blue uniforms with red facings and trouser stripes. Infantry wore dark green in winter dress with red facings and shoulder straps in regimental colours. In summer all branches wore white uniforms with scarlet facings. All units wore green turbans.


End of the Ever Victorious Army

Gordon's stringent discipline led to an increase in desertions and several small scale mutinies. Accordingly, by June 1863 the force had declined in numbers to 1,700 men. In the final year of its existence, the Ever Victorious Army was largely recruited from former Taiping rebels who had been taken prisoner and persuaded to change sides. By April 1864 the Army had become less effective and had suffered several setbacks. It was disbanded in May 1864 with 104 foreign officers and 2,288 Chinese soldiers being paid off. The bulk of the artillery and some infantry was transferred to Chinese Imperial forces.


Literary allusions

Robert Jordan James Oliver Rigney Jr. (October 17, 1948 – September 16, 2007), better known by his pen name Robert Jordan," Robert Jordan" was the name of the protagonist in the 1940 Hemingway novel ''For Whom the Bell Tolls'', though this is not how the n ...
named the Seanchan army in his ''
Wheel of Time The wheel of time or wheel of history (also known as '' Kalachakra'') is a concept found in several religious traditions and philosophies, notably religions of Indian origin such as Hinduism, Jainism, and Buddhism, which regard time as cyclical ...
'' fantasy series after the Ever Victorious Army. Ward turns up in
George MacDonald Fraser George MacDonald Fraser (2 April 1925 – 2 January 2008) was a Scottish author and screenwriter. He is best known for a series of works that featured the character Harry Paget Flashman, Flashman. Over the course of his career he wrote eleven n ...
's fictional '' The Flashman Papers'' series novel '' Flashman and the Dragon'' as a Yangtze opium smuggler (apocryphal) and as the leader of the embryonic Ever Victorious Army. In the time-travel novel '' This Is How You Lose the Time War'' by
Amal El-Mohtar Amal El-Mohtar (born 13 December 1984) is a Canadian poet and writer of speculative fiction. She is the editor of ''Goblin Fruit'' and reviews science fiction and fantasy books for the ''New York Times Book Review'' and is best known for the 2019 ...
and
Max Gladstone Max Gladstone (born May 28, 1984) is an American fantasy author. He is best known for his 2012 debut novel ''Three Parts Dead'', which is part of '' The Craft Sequence'', his urban fantasy serial ''Bookburners'', and for co-writing '' This Is How Y ...
, the character Red refers to Blue and the Ever Victorious Army burning down a palace.


Notes


Further reading

* Carr, Caleb. "The Devil Soldier" ''MHQ: Quarterly Journal of Military History'' (Spring 1992) 4#3 pp 48–55, on Frederick Townsend Ward * Carr, Caleb. ''The Devil Soldier: The American Soldier of Fortune Who Became a God in China'' (1995). on Frederick Townsend Ward. * Heath, Ian. ''The Taiping Rebellion 1851–66'': * Smith, Richard J. ''Mercenaries and Mandarins: The Ever-Victorious Army in Nineteenth Century China'' (1978)


External links

{{Qing dynasty topics Military history of the Qing dynasty Military units and formations of the Qing dynasty Mercenaries Military units and formations established in 1860 Military units and formations disestablished in 1864 1860s in China 1860 establishments in China Taiping Rebellion