<P> During the reign of the Qianlong Emperor in the mid-late 18th century, they launched the Ten Great Campaigns resulting in victories over the Dzungar Khanate and the Kingdom of Nepal; the Manchus drove the Gurkhas out of Tibet and only stopped their chase near Kathmandu . After the demise of the Dzunghar Khanate, the Manchu authority in Tibet faced only weak opposition . In 1841, the Sino - Sikh war ended with the expulsion of the Sikh army . </P> <P> A British officer said of Qing forces during the First Opium War, "The Chinese are robust muscular fellows, and no cowards; the Tartars desperate; but neither are well commanded nor acquainted with European warfare . Having had, however, experience of three of them, I am inclined to supposed that a Tartar bullet is not a whit softer than a French one ." Manchus are called "Tartars" in the text . </P> <P> Southern Chinese coolies served with the French and British forces against the Qing: "The Chinese coolies entertained in 1857 from the inhabitants of South China, renegades though they were, served the British faithfully and cheerfully before Canton, and throughou the operations in North China in 1860 they likewise proved invaluable . Their coolness under fire was admirable . At the assault of the Peiho Forts in 1860 they carried the French ladders to the ditch, and, standing in the water up to their necks, supported them with their hands to enable the storming party to cross . It was not usual to take them into action; they, however, bore the dangers of a distant fire with the greatest composure, evincing a strong desire to close with their compatriots, and engage them in mortal combat with ther bamboos.--(Fisher .)" </P> <P> During the Taiping Rebellion (1850--1864), the rebel forces led by able generals such as Shi Dakai were well organized and tactically innovative . After the rebel armies defeated Manchu generals in a series of battles, the Qing government allowed armies made up of foreigners, such as the Ever Victorious Army, and eventually responded by forming armies mainly composed of Han Chinese, and under Han Chinese commanders such as Zeng Guofan, Zuo Zongtang, Li Hongzhang and Yuan Shikai . Examples of these armies were the Xiang Army and the Huai Army . The Qing also absorbed bandit armies and Generals who defected to the Qing side during rebellions, such as the Muslim Generals Ma Zhan'ao, Ma Qianling, Ma Haiyan, and Ma Julung . There were also armies composed of Chinese Muslims led by Muslim Generals like Dong Fuxiang, Ma Anliang, Ma Fuxiang, and Ma Fuxing who commanded the Kansu Braves . Local officials could also take command of military affairs, such as the father of Yang Zengxin during the Panthay Rebellion . </P>

How many years passed between the boxer rebellion in china and the russian revolution