Battle of Sarhu
1619 CE · Sarhu, Manchuria, China
The Battle of Sarhu was fought in 1619 CE in Sarhu, Manchuria, China between Later Jin (Manchus) vs Ming China and Joseon; decisive Later Jin victory; four converging Ming columns were defeated one at a time.
Battle of Sarhu: quick facts
- Date
- 1619 CE
- Location
- Sarhu, Manchuria, China
- Belligerents
- Later Jin (Manchus) vs Ming China and Joseon
- Commanders
- Nurhaci vs Yang Hao
- Result
- decisive Later Jin victory; four converging Ming columns were defeated one at a time.
- Era
- ⛩️ East Asia
- Quiz difficulty
- hard
What happened at the Battle of Sarhu?
The Battle of Sarhu was a decisive engagement in which the Manchu leader Nurhaci defeated a Ming punitive expedition that outnumbered his forces roughly three to one. The Ming commander split his 200,000-strong army into four columns that were to converge on the Manchu position, but Nurhaci concentrated his forces and destroyed each column in succession. The catastrophic defeat marked the beginning of the end for the Ming Dynasty and the rise of the Manchu Qing.
Did you know?
Nurhaci organized his Manchu forces using the Banner system, dividing his army into eight color-coded banners that served as both military units and administrative divisions for centuries afterward.
Sources and further reading
- Battle of Sarhu on Wikipedia for the full account, historiography and primary sources.
- How BattleGuess compiles and checks battle facts: see the About page.
Entry last reviewed 26 September 2026.