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First Sino–Kazakh War

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The First Sino–Kazakh War (Chinese: 第一次清哈戰爭; Kazakh: Бірінші Цин-қазақ соғысы), also known as the First Qing–Kazakh War, or in Kazakhstan as the Qing [Chinese] invasion of Kazakh Khanate, was a 1756 Qing military campaign, commanded by Khadak (northern column) and Dardane (western column), aimed at capturing Amursana

First Sino–Kazakh War
Part of the Ten Great Campaigns and Sino-Kazakh Wars

A Battle of the Qing Emperor Qianlong's Army with the Kazakhs, Giuseppe Castiglione
Date1756
Location
Eastern and southeastern Kazakh Steppe, including modern-day Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Xinjiang (China), Western Mongolia, and Dzungaria borderlands
Belligerents
Kazakh Khanate
Dzungar Khanate		 Qing dynasty
Commanders and leaders
Ablai Khan
Amursana
Qabanbai Batyr
Kojaibergen Batyr
Abulpeiz		 Qianlong Emperor
Dardan
Khadakh
Fude
Zhaohui

Background

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Dzungar leader Amursana. His familial tie (as son-in-law) to Ablai Khan would prove to be the cause that triggered the war between Qing China and Kazakh Khanate.

At the beginning of spring 1755, a large army of the Qing Empire, numbering around 200,000 troops, invaded the territory of the Dzungar Khanate. In the summer of the same year, Qing forces conquered Dzungaria. After its fall, the Oirat noble Amursana led a popular liberation movement against Qing rule; however, not all Oirat feudal lords recognized his supreme authority, which led to internal conflicts.[1]

Abandoned by his allies with only 200 warriors, Amursana went into hiding in the steppes under Ablai Sultan[1]. At the Qing court, the question arose of how to deal with the Kazakh khanates and how to prevent Kazakh rulers from participating in the liberation movement of the Turkic and Mongol peoples of Central Asia. Political contacts were established between the Middle Zhuz and the Qing.[1]

Before the grand preparations for war against Dzungaria, imperial China closely monitored the claimants to the throne of the Dzungar Khanate. Agents and Oirat defectors were well informed about the role of the Kazakh rulers, primarily Sultan Ablai, who had invaded Dzungaria throughout the winter and spring of 1755.[1]

After Dawachi’s defeat and flight to Eastern Turkestan, and the elimination of the Dzungar Khanate as a state entity, the emperor instructed the command on two possible solutions to the “Kazakh question”:[2]
1) Diplomatically attempt to force Kazakh detachments to leave Dzungaria.
2) Compel them to recognize the suzerainty of the Bogd Khan. In case of resistance, use Qing troops against the Kazakh forces.

In the summer, Qing envoys arrived at Ablai’s court with a manifesto demanding the withdrawal of Kazakh troops. In response, in order to establish diplomatic contacts, Ablai sent an embassy to the Qing court, which in Beijing was interpreted as an expression of the Kazakhs’ willingness to recognize dependence on the Qing dynasty. However, subsequent events dispelled the illusions of the Qing emperor Qianlong.[3]

When Amursana’s location became known to the Qing command, an embassy was sent to the camps of Sultan Ablai demanding the surrender of the deposed Dzungar khuntaiji. The Kazakh sultan refused to comply with this demand and marched to meet the Qing forces with a militia from the Middle Zhuz, supported by units of the Junior Zhuz under the command of Yeraly Sultan.[4]

Course of war

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The embassy sent to the camps of Ablai received a categorical refusal to hand over the Oirat refugees.[4][5] Following this, the Qing government ordered the northern and southern armies to advance in two columns into the Kazakh steppes.[5] In response, Ablai assembled a militia of warriors from the Middle and Senior Zhuz, along with supporters of Amursana, and moved to confront the Qing forces. Later, Kazakhs from the Junior Zhuz under Sultan Yeraly came to reinforce them.[5][6] Bloody battles ensued between the Kazakh forces and the numerically superior Qing troops.[4]

Official Chinese sources, based on reports from Qing commanders, claimed successful campaigns and sought to portray military operations favorably. However, according to Russian accounts, the summer campaign of 1756 met with mixed success[7]. Reports from the Siberian governor V. A. Myatlev to the Collegium of Foreign Affairs indicated that a Kazakh force of about 10,000 inflicted several heavy defeats on Qing troops at Kalmyk Tologa and along the Ayaguz River.[7]

Nevertheless, the vastly superior Qing forces, along with the reluctance of many sultans and elders of the three zhuzes to fight the invaders, compelled Ablai, Yeraly, and other military leaders to retreat.[8] Due to the deteriorating military-political situation, some Kazakh nobles petitioned the Russian administration to allow their families and property to pass behind the Russian fortification line.[7] The Russian government preferred to maintain neutrality and did not intervene in Qing operations in Dzungaria and the Kazakh steppes.[9]

In August 1756, a battle took place between the militia of Ablai Sultan and the troops of the Qing Bogdykhan, which ended in the defeat of the Kazakhs[10] who began to retreat to the Russian fortified lines. The Kazakh sultans appealed to the Russian authorities for protection from the pursuing Qing troops.[11] The Qing commanders optimistically reported to Beijing about their desire to see the matter through to the end while Ablai was in fear and the “Kazakhs were indecisive.”[12]

The Qing invasion, casualties, and resulting hardship affected the attitude toward Amursana. In the autumn of 1756, he fled from the Middle Zhuz and found refuge in the steppes of the Altai Uriankhai.[13] Persistent resistance from Ablai’s forces disrupted the plans of the Qing troops, commanded by Zeren. An imperial decree noted that Zeren, while leading the army, made mistakes and acted without a proper plan; he was later stripped of his rank and punished. Command of the western army was transferred to Dardane, and of the northern army to Khadak, but these commanders also failed to achieve success.[14]

Results

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Assessing the outcomes of the summer campaign of the Qing armies, the Manchus not only failed to compel the Kazakhs to withdraw from the anti-Qing movement of the peoples of Central Asia and surrender Amursana, according to Soviet historians Suleimenov R.B. and Moiseev V.A., but also suffered a series of defeats, barely managing to retreat their forces to the rear.[15] Amursana remained at large, and the Kazakh rulers did not demonstrate the expected loyalty to the Qing emperor, instead engaging in armed resistance against his forces.[16]

However, another point of view is also being voiced. Russian orientalist A.M. Pastukhov concludes that this account is not very credible. He believes that Kazakh envoys in Ust-Kamenogorsk attempted to create the illusion of victory among the Russian authorities by accompanying the retreating Qing troops and avoiding serious confrontation with them. On October 31, 1756, Bashkir elder Abdulla Kaskinov reported in Orenburg that after the Qing troops began withdrawing, Abylay was in serious condition and unable to walk. Amursana, however, was under the supervision of Abylay's men and never left his side. This conclusion is confirmed by the report of I. I. Neplyuev from October 8, 1756, which stated that “The Middle Kirghiz-Kaisak Horde, declaring the oppression currently being perpetrated by the Chinese army… towards the Uisk line, has approached and is asking for protection.”[17] Orientalist Pastukhov A.M. summarizes:

“Thus, at a time when the most influential and energetic feudal lord of the Middle Zhuz was seriously wounded, the Kazakh nomads were left without protection, and, most likely, were only able to observe the withdrawal of enemy troops.”

Soviet historians R. B. Suleimenov and V. A. Moiseev emphasize the role of Ablai, who proved to be an energetic and capable commander, displaying courage and valor. Under his leadership, the small Kazakh militia delivered sudden strikes from the rear and flanks and then disappeared instantly, preventing the Qing command from delivering a decisive blow or forcing the enemy to surrender. Dissatisfied with these failures, the Qing government recalled its top commanders. Zeren, Khadak, and Dardane were removed from their positions.[15]

Kazakh historian K. K. Abuev notes that the series of Qing invasions of Kazakhstan in 1756–1757 effectively ended in failure.[18]

See also

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References

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  1. 1 2 3 4 Suleimenov & Moiseev 1988, p. 55.
  2. ↑ Suleimenov & Moiseev 1988, p. 56.
  3. ↑ Suleimenov & Moiseev 1988, pp. 56–57.
  4. 1 2 3 Erofeeva 2014, p. 276.
  5. 1 2 3 Suleimenov & Moiseev 1988, p. 58.
  6. ↑ Abuev 2013, p. 104.
  7. 1 2 3 Suleimenov & Moiseev 1988, pp. 58–59.
  8. ↑ Suleimenov & Moiseev 1988, p. 59.
  9. ↑ Abuev 2013, p. 103.
  10. ↑ Уметбаев Т. Ш., Дудникова А. В. Две империи в начале борьбы за Центральную Азию (о некоторых проблемах в российско-китайских отношениях в XVIII веке после краха Джунгарского ханства) // Проблемы востоковедения. — 2015. — С. 22.
  11. ↑ Златкин И. Я. История Джунгарского ханства (1635—1758). — Москва: Наука, 1983. — С. 296. — 320 с.
  12. ↑ Кузнецов В. С. Цинская империя на рубежах Центральной Азии / Ответственный редактор В. Е. Ларичев. — Новосибирск: Наука, 1983. — С. 21. — 127 с.
  13. ↑ Suleimenov & Moiseev 1988, p. 60.
  14. ↑ Abuev 2013, pp. 104–105.
  15. 1 2 Suleimenov & Moiseev 1988, p. 61.
  16. ↑ Abuev 2013, p. 105.
  17. ↑ Пастухов А. М. Цинские походы в Казахстан (1756–1757 гг.) : [рус.] // Parabellum Novum. — 2022. — С. 85.
  18. ↑ Abuev 2013, p. 107.

Sources

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  • Abuev, Kadyrzhan (2013). "Sultan Ablai, Organizer of the Struggle Against Qing Aggression. Formation of Basic Principles of Kazakh–Chinese Relations". In Abuev K. K. (ed.). Ablai Khan: Contemporaries and Successors. Kokshetau: “Areket”. p. 308.
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