During the late morning of 6th May 1869 the Chinese forces stopped their advance for the day and made camp. UNION cavalry noted their exact positions and reported to command. The Chinese were about five miles from the dug in UNION armies. Just after dark 12 battalions of UNION heavy artillery opened a long range heavy fire on the Chinese positions. This bombardment continued all night causing heavy casualties and much disruption to the Chinese army. Dawn on 7th May found the Chinese still under fire as they broke camp and advanced expecting to meet the UNION army within a couple of miles having assumed they were under field artillery fire. After advancing 4 miles they came under intense UNION field artillery fire and the Chinese realised they had at last reached the UNION army. As they tried to bring forward their artillery the UNION bombardment increased to such an intensity that the Chinese commander recognised he had to get his forces out of the hurricane of fire. He immediately ordered a full scale charge on the UNION positions.
A tidal wave of Chinese troops flooded across the prairie towards UNION positions about a mile away. As they came closer the heavy machine guns of 12 UNION Heavy Weapons battalions opened fire along with a tornado of repeating rifle fire from the entrenched infantry. Chinese casualties were immense as they struggled to move forward. The advance soon petered out as Chinese soldiers sought shelter from the blizzards of fire behind rocks or sage brush or in folds in the ground. The Chinese commander saw that his troops could neither advance nor retreat yet to remain where they were would see them wiped out fairly quickly. He ordered his artillery forward to provide covering fire to enable the infantry to fall back. The Chinese artillery batteries bravely moved up to within half a mile of the UNION lines. Casualties among gun teams and gunners were huge but some guns did come into action sending their solid cannon balls hurling at the UNION forces. Immediately the Chinese infantry started to fall back leaving the prairie strewn with dead and wounded.
UNION field artillery and heavy machine guns took the Chinese artillery under fire and soon reduced them to only a few scattered remnants who now tried to escape too. The UNION fire proved too much however as gun teams were shot down and were unable to recover any of the Chinese guns. However the sacrifice of the Chinese artillery did enable their infantry to fall back out at least out of rifle range. The whole Chinese force now started a straggling retreat while still remaining under UNION artillery fire although this was now diminishing as ammunition supplies were used up. UNION forces had yet to perfect the resupply of ammunition during combat, a learning point noted by the UNION commander.
UNION field artillery and heavy machine guns took the Chinese artillery under fire and soon reduced them to only a few scattered remnants who now tried to escape too. The UNION fire proved too much however as gun teams were shot down and were unable to recover any of the Chinese guns. However the sacrifice of the Chinese artillery did enable their infantry to fall back out at least out of rifle range. The whole Chinese force now started a straggling retreat while still remaining under UNION artillery fire although this was now diminishing as ammunition supplies were used up. UNION forces had yet to perfect the resupply of ammunition during combat, a learning point noted by the UNION commander.
As the Chinese forces retreated in grave disorder, UNION cavalry were set in pursuit. In addition the UNION armies to the south west were ordered to advance north and inflict further punishment on the Chinese. With UNION cavalry shooting down stragglers and dust clouds being seen to the south the Chinese commander saw that his forces would soon come under attack from that direction. He urged his soldiers to fall back as quickly as possible. The retreat became a rout with soldiers throwing away anything that impeded their escape, even their weapons. Such vehicles as they had were left behind as well as the few artillery guns still remaining. Over the next four days the Chinese retreat continued with growing desperation. UNION cavalry hovered on all sides of the Chinese columns picking off stragglers. The Chinese general realised that his troops had no chance of regaining Chinese territory. He therefore order his troops to stand fast and surrender. White flags appeared throughout the Chinese columns. The Chinese general and his staff moved out from the mass of desperate soldiers and he formally surrendered to a UNION cavalry Lt. Colonel.
On the battle field and along the path taken by the retreating Chinese, UNION medical teams worked around the clock treating vast numbers of Chinese wounded. UNION Pioneers dug many mass graves and filled them. UNION supply trains caught up with the huge mass of surrendered Chinese soldiers and started issuing food and water to the now desperate masses. A great victory had been won by the UNION which suffered only 59 casualties in total. However they now held some 90,000 captured Chinese soldiers and had no plan of what to do with them.
In the meantime UNION cavalry had moved west towards the Chinese border and had started intercepting Chinese supply columns heading east. The wagon drivers offered little or no resistance. Under orders not to take any more prisoners the cavalry released the drivers and told them to return home while the wagons were burned. Word of a catastrophic defeat soon reached the Chinese high command who immediately mobilised thousands of soldiers and started them moving towards the border. Before long more information came to hand as to the extent of the disaster . The Chinese could scarcely believe that their whole invasion force had been either destroyed or captured. Clearly the UNION army had vastly greater strength than the Chinese had ever imagined. It was decided not to send reinforcements over the border but to await developments.
Meantime the UNION armies had continued their advance to the border bringing with them the surrendered Chinese soldiers. The Chinese general was released and was sent ahead with some staff to open negotiations with the Chinese government for the return of the prisoners. The UNION had determined that returning 90,000 heavily defeated soldiers would do more to persuade the Chinese government that further fighting was pointless than the UNION retaining the prisoners at great expense in supplies and secure accommodation. Although the Chinese government had little appetite for having thousands of badly beaten soldiers returning it had no choice but to agree to accept them On the morning of 9th June the Chinese prisoners started marching back over the border into China.
Following such a spectacular victory and defeat both sides now had to consider their next moves.
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