Editing Taiping Rebellion (section)

=== Qing forces ===
{{Main|Military of the Qing dynasty}}
[[File:Regaining the Provincial Capital of Ruizhou.jpg|thumb|upright=1.4|Qing forces retaking [[Run Prefecture]]]]

Opposing the rebellion was an imperial army with over a million regulars and unknown thousands of regional militias and foreign mercenaries operating in support. Among the imperial forces was the elite [[Ever Victorious Army]], consisting of Chinese soldiers led by a Western officer corps (see [[Frederick Townsend Ward]] and [[Charles George Gordon|Charles Gordon]]) and supplied by European [[arms companies]] like Willoughbe & Ponsonby.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Chappell |first=Jonathan |year=2018 |title=Some Corner of a Chinese Field: The politics of remembering foreign veterans of the Taiping civil war |journal=[[Modern Asian Studies]] |volume=52 |issue=4 |pages=1–38 |doi=10.1017/S0026749X16000986|url=http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/124690/2/13533187_Chappell_Corner_of_a_Chinese_Field_Accepted.pdf }}</ref>

A particularly famous imperial force was [[Zeng Guofan]]'s [[Xiang Army]]. [[Zuo Zongtang]] from [[Hunan]] province was another important Qing general who contributed in suppressing the Taiping Rebellion. Where the armies under the control of dynasty itself were unable to defeat the Taiping, these gentry-led [[Yong Ying]] armies were able to succeed.{{sfnp|Michael|1966|p={{page needed|date=April 2021}}}}

Although keeping accurate records was something imperial China traditionally did very well, the decentralized nature of the imperial war effort (relying on regional forces) and the fact that the war was a civil war and therefore very chaotic, meant that reliable figures are impossible to find. The destruction of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom also meant that the majority of any records it possessed were destroyed, the percentage of records said to have survived is around 10%.

Over the course of the conflict, around 90% of recruits to the Taiping side were killed or defected.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Deng |first=Kent G. |title=China's Political Economy in Modern Times: Changes and Economic Consequences, 1800–2000 |publisher=Routledge |year=2011 |series=Business & Economies}}</ref>

Aside from local militias, the organisation of the Qing army was:
* [[Eight Banners]] Army: 250,000 soldiers{{sfnp|Heath|1994|p=11}}
* [[Green Standard Army]]: 611,200 soldiers in 1851{{sfnp|Heath|1994|pp=13–14}}
* [[Xiang Army]] (Hunan): 130,000 soldiers{{sfnp|Heath|1994|p=16}}
* [[Huai Army]] (Anhui): 60,000–70,000 soldiers{{sfnp|Heath|1994|p=16}}
* [[Chu Army]]: 40,000 soldiers in 1864{{sfnp|Heath|1994|p=16}}
* [[Ever Victorious Army]]: 3,500–5,000 soldiers in 1862{{sfnp|Heath|1994|p=33}}