August 21, 1645 · Jiangsu (Yangtze Delta) Theater
August 21, 1645
The small city of Jiangyin became the site of one of the fiercest acts of resistance in the entire conquest. When the Qing issued the Queue Order — forcing all Chinese men to adopt the Manchu hairstyle by shaving the front of their heads on pain of death — the people of Jiangyin revolted under the leadership of a former Ming official, Yan Yingyuan. For eighty-one days, the citizens held out against vastly superior Qing forces, repelling multiple assaults. When the city finally fell, the Qing massacred virtually the entire population.
Commanders