Trịnh–Nguyễn War

Trịnh-Nguyen War (1623 - 1673) - A long war waged between the two ruling families in Vietnam.

Working Together

Both the Trinh and the Nguyen families were decended from close friends and aides to the hero-king Le Loi who freed Vietnam from Chinese rule and started the Le Dynasty in 1428. By 1520 a succession of weak or evil kings had brought the country into a state of civil war (see Le Dynasty's civil war). For the next 20 years the Trinh and Nguyen families fought as allies against the userper Mac Dang Dung. In theory, they both were fighting on behalf of the Le King (Lê Trang Tông) but in reality, the King was a figurehead with little or no power.

Working Apart

The prime mover in the period from 1525 onwards was Nguyen Kim. His daughter married the young head of the Trinh family Trinh Kiem. But in 1545, Nguyen Kim was assassinated. Trinh Kiem pushed the two sons of Nguyen Kim out of the court by giving them the southern-most province of Quang-nam to manage. The oldest brother, Nguyen Hoang, ruled with the title Tien-vuong. The ill-will between the two families dates from this time.

For the next 30 years, Nguyen Hoang ruled Quang-nam. He gradually asserted his control over the province and extended his control south into the remaining Champa lands. Periodically, he sent military forces north to help the Trinh in their long fight against the Mac Dynasty. In 1570 Trinh Kiem died and was succeeded by his second son Trinh Tung. Tung was a very vigorous leader and he captured Hanoi from the Mac king in 1572. However, the Mac King (Mac Mau Hiep) recaptured the city the next year. 20 years later, Trinh Tung, again captured Hanoi and executed the Mac king. The next year Nguyen Hoang went personally to the court, he brought money and an army to help destroy the remaining Mac armies.

Once the Mac were defeated, the Trinh became increasingly unhappy with the independece of Nguyen Hoang who ruled as an independent prince in the south. As a result of a revolt in Ninh Binh (instigated by the Trinh perhaps?), in 1600 the old Nguyen ruler broke relations with the Trinh court, but still acknowledged the Le king. Nguyen Hoang finally died in 1613 (after ruling for more than 60 years) and the new leader of the Nguyen, Nguyen Phuc Nguyen, began preparing for a war with the Trinh. He initiated friendly relations with the Europeans who were now sailing into the area. A foreign trading post was set up in Hoi An. By 1615 the Nguyen were producing their own bronze cannons with the aid of Portugese engineers.

The First Campaign

In 1620, Nguyen Phuc Nguyen officially refused to send taxes to the Court in Hanoi. Demands were made and refused and in 1622 open warfare broke out between the Trinh and the Nguyen.

While the Trinh ruled over a much larger and more populous territory, the Nguyen had several advantages. First, they were on the defensive. Second, the Nguyen were able to take advantage of their contacts with the Europeans, specifically the Portuguese, to purchase advanced European weapons and hire European military experts in fortifications. Third, the geography was favorable to them, as the flat land suitable for large organized armies is very narrow at this point of Vietnam; the mountains nearly reach to the sea.

The Nguyen built two massive fortified lines which streched a few miles from the sea to the hills north of Hue. They defended these lines against numerous Trinh offensives which lasted till 1673. The story from this time is that the great military engineer was a Vietnamese general who was hired away from the Trinh court by the Nguyen. This man is given the credit in Vietnam for the successful design of the Nguyen walls.

Against this the Trinh mustered an army of 100,000 men, 500 elephants, and 500 large ships (Dupuy "Encyclopedia of Military History" pg. 596). The initial attacks on the Nguyen wall was unsuccessful. The attacks lasted for several years.

Later Campaigns

In 1633 the Trinh tried an amphibious assault on the Nguyen to get around the wall. The Trinh fleet was defeated by the Nguyen fleet at the battle of Nhat-Le.

Sometime after 1635 the Trinh copied the Nguyen in getting aid from the Europeans. The Trinh hired the Dutch to make them cannons and some ships. In 1642 and 1643 the Trinh under Trinh Trang (?) attacked the Nguyen positions but were unable to make any gains. At sea, the Trinh were again defeated.

In 1643 Trinh Tong died and was succeeded by Trinh Lan. The Trinh staged yet another offensive under their new leader in 1648 but at the battle of Truong Duc, they were badly beaten by the Nguyen. This now left the door open for the Nguyen to finally go on the offensive.

Nguyen Offensive

The Nguyen, ruled now by Nguyen Phuc Tan, attacked in 1655 and occupied the province of Nghe An. Four years later they were forced out by a new Trinh army under Trinh Tac's command which beat the Nguyen twice in 1659. The Trinh effort to break the wall of the Nguyen failed once again in 1661.

The End of the Fight

Finally in 1672, the new Trinh Lord, Trinh Tac (Trinh Can?), made a last effort to conquer the Nguyen. The attack, like all the previous attacks on the Nguyen walls, failed. In 1673, the Trinh and the Nguyen finally agreed to end the fighting by making the Linh River the border between their lands. While the Nguyen nominally accepted the Le King as the ruler of Vietnam, the reality was, the Nguyen ruled the south, and the Trinh ruled the north. This division continued for the next 100 years. The border between the Trinh and the Nguyen was strongly guarded but peaceful.

See the Trinh Lords for more information about the Trinh.

See the Nguyen Lords for more information about the Nguyen.

Sources

Southeast Asia to 1875 by Sanderson Beck (downloaded May, 2006)
The Encyclopedia of Military History by R. Ernest Dupuy and Trevor N. Dupuy. Harper & Row (New York).
Coins of Vietnam - with short historical notes
Tay Son Web Site by George Dutton (out of time period but has a good map of historic Vietnam and a supurb bibliography).