Atlas of Battles

battle, nineteenth century

Third Battle of Nanking

Third Battle of Nanking was a battle fought on 14 March 1864 at Nanjing, in what is now People's Republic of China; it lasted 4 months. It was part of the Taiping Rebellion, which ran from 1851 to 1864. The recorded result: Qing victory; Mass scale summary execution, wartime rape, looting, and arson; End of the Taiping Rebellion. Recorded strength: 500,000+ Xiang Army against 370,000 defenders.

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Qing Troops reclaiming back Nanking.
Qing Troops reclaiming back Nanking.. Unknown 19th century, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
Fought14 March 1864lasted 4 months
WhereNanjing, People's Republic of China32.050N, 118.767E
OutcomeQing victory; Mass scale summary execution, wartime rape, looting, and arson; End of the Taiping Rebellion
BelligerentsQing dynastyagainstTaiping Heavenly Kingdom
Part ofTaiping Rebellion1851 to 1864

Where it sits in the Taiping Rebellion

Jintian Uprising, 1851Battle of Changsha, 1852Battle of Wuchang, 1852Battle of Nanjing, 1853Battle of Muddy Flat, 1854Battle of Sanhe, 1858Battle of Jiangnan (1860), 1860Battle of Shanghai, 1861Battle of Anqing, 1861Occupation of Ningbo, 1861Battle of Cixi, 1862Siege of Suzhou, 1863Third Battle of Nanking, 186418511864Third Battle of Nanking, 1864
13 placed engagements of the Taiping Rebellion in time order; taller ticks are more widely documented. Each tick is a link.

Record

Date14 March 1864
to 19 July 1864
PlaceNanjing, People's Republic of China
32.050N, 118.767E
KindBattle, nineteenth century
Strength500,000+ Xiang Army370,000 defenders
Casualties and losses10,000+ died of illness; 9,000+ killedZeng Guofan allege 100,000 Taiping soldier casualties; 200,000+ surrendered; 200,000–300,000 civilians massacred
Commanders
  • Zeng Guofan
  • Zeng Guoquan
  • Zhu Hongzhang
  • Hong Xiuquan
  • Li Xiucheng
Third Battle of NankingThird Battle of NankingBattle of NankingBattle of CaishiBattle of ChinkiangBattle of RuxuBattle of JianglingBattle of NankingBattle of CaishiBattle of ChinkiangBattle of RuxuHuainanHefeiWuxiSuzhouChangzhouHuzhouBengbuXuanzhou100 km32.050N, 118.767E
The recorded site, with the nearest other engagements in the atlas. Present-day coastlines, rivers and borders; towns from Natural Earth.

Nearest engagements

In the same war

Elsewhere in 1864

Third Battle of Nanking is one of 3,507 engagements of the 19th century in the atlas and one of 339 in present-day People's Republic of China.

Sources

Identity, coordinates, dates and the war from Wikidata Q7784779, released under CC0. Result, belligerents, commanders, strength and casualties from the infobox of the English Wikipedia article Third Battle of Nanjing, revision 1383021617, read 2026-11-14, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0; the article's text is not reproduced here. Present-day country and state from Natural Earth. Dates before 1582 follow the Julian calendar as recorded.