The Battle of Hutong was a military conflict between the

Tsardom of Russia The Tsardom of Russia or Tsardom of Rus' also externally referenced as the Tsardom of Muscovy, was the centralized Russian state from the assumption of the title of Tsar by Ivan IV in 1547 until the foundation of the Russian Empire by Peter I i ...

and the

Qing dynasty The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-speak ...

which occurred in the spring of 1654 on the

Songhua River The Songhua Postal Romanization, or Sunghwa River (also Haixi or Xingal, russian: Сунгари ''Sungari'') is one of the primary List of rivers of China, rivers of China, and the longest tributary of the Amur. It flows about from the Chang ...

Korean Korean may refer to: People and culture * Koreans, ethnic group originating in the Korean Peninsula * Korean cuisine * Korean culture * Korean language **Korean alphabet, known as Hangul or Chosŏn'gŭl **Korean dialects and the Jeju language ** ...

musketeers were also present from

Joseon Joseon (; ; Middle Korean: 됴ᇢ〯션〮 Dyǒw syéon or 됴ᇢ〯션〯 Dyǒw syěon), officially the Great Joseon (; ), was the last dynastic kingdom of Korea, lasting just over 500 years. It was founded by Yi Seong-gye in July 1392 and re ...

. It resulted in the retreat of

Russian Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including: *Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...

forces.

Background

In 1652,

Qing The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-speaki ...

troops led by Haise unsuccessfully attacked the Russian fort at Achansk. Two years later Qing forces returned and forced the Daur villages to relocate away from the

Amur River The Amur (russian: река́ Аму́р, ), or Heilong Jiang (, "Black Dragon River", ), is the world's List of longest rivers, tenth longest river, forming the border between the Russian Far East and Northeast China, Northeastern China (Inne ...

into the valley of the Songhua River, depriving the Russians of provisions. On 26 March 1654, 152 soldiers from Joseon under the leadership of Byeon Geup departed from

Hoeryeong Hoeryŏng () is a city in North Hamgyong Province, North Korea. It is located opposite Jilin Province, China, with the Tumen River in between. Sanhe (三合鎮), in Longjing City, is the closest Chinese town across the river. Hoeryŏng is the bir ...

. They joined the

Manchu The Manchus (; ) are a Tungusic East Asian ethnic group native to Manchuria in Northeast Asia. They are an officially recognized ethnic minority in China and the people from whom Manchuria derives its name. The Later Jin (1616–1636) and ...

forces at

Ningguta Ning'an () is a city located approximately southwest of Mudanjiang, in the southeast of Heilongjiang province, China, bordering Jilin province to the south. It is located on the Mudanjiang River (formerly known as Hurka River), which flows north, ...

after eight days of travelling. Faced with depleting supplies, the

Cossacks The Cossacks , es, cosaco , et, Kasakad, cazacii , fi, Kasakat, cazacii , french: cosaques , hu, kozákok, cazacii , it, cosacchi , orv, коза́ки, pl, Kozacy , pt, cossacos , ro, cazaci , russian: казаки́ or ...

abandoned their fortresses and ventured into the inner Amur valley where they encountered the Qing-Joseon forces.

Battle

On 27 April 1654,

Onufriy Stepanov Onufriy Stepanov (russian: Онуфрий Степанов) (died June 30, 1658) was a Siberian Cossack and explorer of the Amur River. For background see Russian–Manchu border conflicts. 1653: After Yerofey Khabarov’s arrest and departure to ...

and his men encountered the Qing-Joseon forces after sailing three days on the Songhua River. Stepanov had around 400 men and 39 ships while the Qing had 160 ships carrying roughly a thousand men. Despite the numerical disadvantage, the Russian ships were far larger than the opposing vessels, which were basically small boats. The largest ones could carry no more than 17 men. The two sides exchanged fire with the Russians winning out in the end. As the Russian forces chased after their fleeing enemies, they were ambushed by Korean musketeers entrenched on a hill overlooking the river. The Russians attempted to storm the Korean position, but fierce fusillades from the allied Manchu, Daur, and Korean forces inflicted heavy casualties, forcing them to retreat.

Aftermath

The Qing chased the Russian forces for three days, built an earthen fort on the Amur, and retreated to Ningguta by 13 June. Though diminished, Stepanov's forces continued to exert influence on the Amur for several years afterward. Anticipating another attack by the Qing, Stepanov rebuilt the Kamora fortress. On 16 February 1655, Qing commander Mingandali besieged Stepanov's forces. The Qing forces, 10,000 strong, failed to take the fortress and ran out of food, retreating the next month, but not before they had destroyed the Russian ships. At the same time, the Qing resettled the Daurs and

Duchers The Duchers (russian: дючеры or дучеры) was the Russian name of the people populating the shores of the middle course of the Amur River, approximately from the mouth of the Zeya down to the mouth of the Ussuri, and possibly even some ...

to the

Mudan River The Mudan River (; IPA: ; ) is a river in Heilongjiang province in China. It is a right tributary of the Sunggari River. Its modern Chinese name can be translated as the "Peony River". In the past it was also known as the Hurka or Hurha River ...

, depopulating the Amur region.

References

Bibliography

* . * * {{coord missing, Russia 17th-century battles Military history of Manchuria History of Siberia History of Amur Oblast Wars involving the Qing dynasty Battles involving the Tsardom of Russia Wars involving Joseon History of the Cossacks in Russia 17th-century military history of Russia China–Russia military relations Eight Banners