Ngoc Hoi - Dong Da: Glorious history of the nation

(Baonghean.vn) - 228 years ago, in the spring of the year of the Rooster 1789, the brave Tay Son army, under the command of the cloth-clothed hero Quang Trung - Nguyen Hue, launched a lightning-fast and fierce attack, defeating tens of thousands of Manchu troops commanded by Ton Si Nghi, liberating Thang Long citadel, regaining independence and freedom for the nation.

In 1789, the Tay Son army destroyed the Qing army in Ngoc Hoi - Dong Da, ending the resistance war against the Qing.

Going back in history, the Qing Dynasty, since its establishment, had planned to invade our country, but had not yet found an excuse to attack. Taking advantage of the reactionary feudal Le Chieu Thong's "bringing an elephant to trample on the grave" action, the Qing army invaded our country with a large expeditionary force of 200,000 troops.

Faced with internal and external enemies, realizing that the main danger was the feudal invaders from the north, Nguyen Hue held a ceremony to ascend the throne as Emperor, took the reign name Quang Trung, and quickly attacked the north. On January 15, 1789, Nguyen Hue and his army (after increasing the number of troops to 100,000) and a large elephant army of several hundred war elephants arrived at Tam Diep, joined forces with Grand Marshal Ngo Van So, and prepared to counterattack the Qing army.

Dong Da Mound Festival is held annually in Hanoi.

Knowing the enemy's plan and force arrangement, Quang Trung divided the Tay Son army into 5 main routes and on the night of the New Year's Eve (January 25, 1789), the main force commanded by Quang Trung crossed the Gian Thuy River, opening the great defeat of the Qing army. The enemy's outposts such as Gian Khau, Thanh Quyet, Nhat Tao... were defeated one after another. Not a single soldier escaped.

At midnight on the third day of the Lunar New Year (January 28, 1789), the Tay Son army secretly surrounded Ha Hoi fort (about 20 km from Thang Long), threatening the enemy and capturing tens of thousands of Qing soldiers. On the fourth day of the Lunar New Year (January 29, 1789), the Tay Son army approached Ngoc Hoi. At this time, the third army commanded by Grand Admiral Bao also gathered in the southwest of Ngoc Hoi, preparing to attack.

On the morning of the 5th day of the Lunar New Year (January 30, 1789), the Tay Son army suddenly attacked with a strong battle momentum like a rising tide and storm, destroying the ramparts and the entire defensive position on the southern side of Ngoc Hoi fort...

The second army, commanded by Admiral Dang Tien Dong, also launched a surprise attack on Dong Da garrison. With overwhelming momentum, the Tay Son army, with their pre-arranged formation, rushed straight into the enemy garrison, burned down the outer barracks, and quickly penetrated deep into the enemy command post. In just a moment, the number of Qing soldiers killed and wounded had reached 5,000.

Landscape of King Quang Trung Temple (Dung Quyet Mountain, Vinh City). Photo archive

Faced with a desperate situation and exhausted, Sam Nghi Dong had to hang himself right at the command post. Continuing the offensive, the Tay Son army took advantage of the victory, destroyed the Yen Quyet and Nam Dong forts, then quickly penetrated deep into Thang Long, at the same time threatening Ton Si Nghi's headquarters.

Quang Trung led the main army to continue attacking Ngoc Hoi fort and divided the war elephants into two wings, left and right, to attack the two flanks. The Tay Son army rushed forward, ignoring the enemy's cannons, arrows and smokescreens and completely destroyed Ngoc Hoi fort. The remaining Qing army fled towards Dam Muc but was completely destroyed by the third army commanded by Grand Admiral Bao.

At the headquarters located at Tay Long palace on the bank of Nhi river, Ton Si Nghi hurriedly crossed the pontoon bridge, heading north to escape. Dai Nam Chinh Bien Chronicle wrote: "Ton Si Nghi camped on the sandbank, upon hearing the news of defeat, he quickly rode his horse alone to flee north. Seeing this, the generals and soldiers scrambled to cross the bridge and flee, the bridge broke, they all rolled down into the river, killing tens of thousands of people, causing the river water to stop flowing."

Quang Trung Museum in Binh Dinh.

The great victory of the Ngoc Hoi - Dong Da battle demonstrated the excellent military art of the Tay Son army. It was the art of rapidly moving troops from Phu Xuan to the north; it was the art of strategic warfare and in each battle - it was the classical art of "main and flag". With this great victory, our nation under the leadership of Emperor Quang Trung Nguyen Hue crushed the Qing army's dream of invasion, completely liberated the capital Thang Long, and maintained national independence.

This victory also marked the official replacement of the Later Le Dynasty by the Tay Son Dynasty in governing the Northern region and in relations with the Qing Dynasty.

The Dong Da victory is a great feat of arms, of great historical significance and typical in the history of the Vietnamese people's resistance against foreign invaders.

Peace

(Synthetic)