May 1853 · Henan / Zhili Province Theater
May 1853
The Taiping leadership's most ambitious strategic gamble was a northern expedition to capture Beijing and overthrow the Qing government directly. Two commanders, Lin Fengxiang and Li Kaifang, led approximately 70,000 troops northward through Henan and into Zhili Province, reaching to within 100 miles of Beijing before stalling in the winter of 1853. Isolated from Nanjing by thousands of miles, unable to receive reinforcements due to logistical failures, and fighting in northern terrain very different from their southern experience, the expedition bogged down. A relief force sent in 1854 was unable to break through. The Qing commander Senggelinqin eventually surrounded and annihilated both forces — the northern expedition's army was destroyed over three years, with Lin Fengxiang captured and executed in 1855.
Commanders