On August 5, the two armies set out from Huaiyuan and Wuhe counties to launch an attack on Suzhou. On August 6, the First Army first captured Mengcheng and arrived in southwest of Suzhou on August 8. The 15th Army successively captured Lingbi and Hong County, and on August 9, they also arrived in Suzhou. On August 10, they launched a full-scale attack on Suzhou.
It is an important position in Suzhou in Xuzhou. Therefore, among the areas outside Xuzhou, Suzhou has the strongest troops, with a defender of 15,000, including 1,000 soldiers from the Shenyong Camp. In addition to the Shenyong Camp, there are also 1,000 other musket soldiers and more than 40 cannons. The city defense facilities are also very good, the city wall is tall and thick, and the river protection is more than seven meters wide, and it is not deep. There are also many fortifications built in the city.
After receiving Shang Shan's promise, the guard general Teshha also ordered to defend the city to death. He must hold on for three days and reinforcements would arrive. However, what Teshha did not expect was that Suzhou did not hold on for even a day.
The Bian River is south of Suzhou, so the Chinese army launched an attack from the east and west directions of Suzhou. The First Army was responsible for attacking the east gate of Suzhou. With the order of the commander Su Jianlin, forty heavy artillery immediately launched a fierce bombardment on the city walls of Suzhou. Although the Qing army braved the artillery fire of the Chinese army, they also set up artillery on the city walls and tried their best to fight back, the firepower of the two sides was too different, and the range was not at the same level. Soon the Qing army's firepower was suppressed by the Chinese army.
Then, under the cover of artillery fire, the Chinese army launched a ground attack on Suzhou. The first one was dispatched was the 27th Battalion, and launched ten bridge-building vehicles, and Furuan built bridges on the moat. The 32nd Battalion paid cover. However, as the Chinese army soldiers approached the moat, the Qing army's musket soldiers hiding at the battlements on the city immediately launched fierce shooting at the Chinese army. At the same time, many bombs such as Li Tianlei were dropped from the city walls, attempting to blow up the bridge-building vehicles being laid.
The Chinese Army soldiers built bridges and fought back. After half an hour of fierce fighting, they finally built seven bridges on the moat.
Immediately afterwards, the Chinese army sent a blasting team to blast the city walls of Suzhou, but the walls of Suzhou were indeed very strong. The Chinese army carried out two consecutive blasts. Although several large pits were blown up on the city walls and cracked like spider patterns, the walls of Suzhou were still not blown up. On the third time, another blasting team blasted the east gate of Suzhou. As a result, this blasting was very successful, completely blowing up the east gate of Suzhou. The commando immediately followed up, passed through the city gate, and launched an attack into the city.
But the Qing army was also prepared for this. The defense line was piled up with sand bags behind the city gate. After the Chinese army exploded the city gate, the Qing army's musketeers, archers, etc. immediately retreated behind the defense line, and fired muskets and bows together, fighting hard to block the Chinese army's attack.
Moreover, the city gate hole was too narrow, and only six or seven soldiers could be connected at a time. The Chinese army's superior forces could not be fully expanded. Therefore, they were blocked by the Qing army in the city gate hole and could not advance into the city. At the same time, the Qing army on the city wall also launched an attack on the Chinese army under the city, helping the Qing army in the city to firmly guard the city gate hole.
Although the soldiers of the Chinese Army were very brave and tenacious, fearing life and death, and launched four or five improvements to the Qing army in a row, the conditions on the battlefield were indeed too unfavorable to the Chinese army. As a result, every attack was repelled by the Qing army. On the contrary, nearly 200 Chinese Army soldiers were killed inside and outside the city gate. The battle was also shady.
At this moment, Cui Fuming, a soldier of the Chinese Army, pushed a blasting vehicle that ignited the lead and rushed into the city gate. Although the Qing soldiers also shot desperately, several projectiles penetrated the baffle of the blasting vehicle and hit Cui Fuming's body, Cui Fuming still gritted his teeth and insisted on pushing the blasting vehicle to the front of the Qing army's defense line. With a loud explosion, Cui Fuming and more than ten Qing soldiers were also blown to pieces and died together, but the Qing army's defense line at the city gate was finally blown open.
The Chinese Army's assault team immediately used Cui Fuming's life to break through the city gate and rushed into Suzhou City. At this time, the battle also turned into street fighting. The soldiers of both sides met with short blades and started a fierce battle in the city. But after breaking through the city gate, the Chinese Army's support troops could also continue to enter the city from outside the city. The Qing army gradually could not hold on and could only fight and retreat, and the battle was constantly entering the city of Suzhou City.
At this moment, the 15th Army that attacked the West Gate also broke through the defense of the Qing army and entered Suzhou City. The two Chinese armies successfully met at the intersection in the center of the city, and the resistance of the Qing army basically disappeared.
Seeing this, the defender Taishiha knew that the general situation had gone and Suzhou could no longer be defended, so he had to take the remaining troops out of Suzhou from the northern city and chase Xuzhou. The Chinese army then chased for a while, chased for more than twenty miles, and chased him to Fuli Bridge by the Jushui River.
But although Fuli Bridge is a stone bridge, its width is limited. The Qing army rushed to cross the bridge and fled, and many Qing soldiers were squeezed into the Sui Shui River and drowned. Then the Chinese army also chased Fuli Bridge, and the Qing soldiers blocked the south of the bridge could only surrender. The Chinese army occupied Fuli Bridge.
The battle of Suzhou was the first decisive battle between the Chinese army and the Qing army in the Central Plains, ending with the complete victory of the Chinese army. The Chinese army not only captured Suzhou City, but also wiped out more than 5,000 Qing soldiers and captured more than 6,000 prisoners. The loss of the Chinese army was to kill 872 people and injured 655 people. However, the guard of Suzhou, Taishiha, took the lead. After crossing Fuli Bridge, he finally fled back to Xuzhou.
Shang Shan from Xuzhou was not only surprised when he learned that Suzhou had fallen, but he didn't expect that Suzhou would not be defended for a day. At the same time, in the north of Xuzhou, Peixian, Pizhou, Suqian and other places were also captured by the Chinese army. The Qing army also withdrew to the south bank of the Yellow River, while the Chinese army was looking for a boat to cross the river. Therefore, although the retreat work in Xuzhou City was not fully prepared and the supplies were not fully loaded, Shang Shan also decided not to delay and gave up Xuzhou overnight and retreated to Guide Mansion.