Battle of Xiaoting

Battle of Xiaoting
	Part of the Three Kingdoms period
Date	July 221 – July 222 AD
Location	Yiling, Hubei
Result	Decisive Wu victory
Belligerents
Eastern Wu	Shu Han
Commanders and leaders
Lu Xun	Liu Bei
Strength
160,000+	40,000+
Casualties and losses
Tens of thousands	Tens of thousands

The Battle of Xiaoting (猇亭之戰), also known as the Battle of Yiling (夷陵之戰), is a battle in 222 during the Three Kingdoms period in China. It was fought between Shu Han and Eastern Wu in the plains of Yiling. The decisive battle here halted Liu Bei's invasion of Wu and eventually led to his death.

Background

Liu Bei, enraged at the execution of his sworn brother Guan Yu at the hands of the Kingdom of Wu in 219, led an attack force to the plains of Yiling. In Romance of the Three Kingdoms, it was dramatized by Luo Guanzhong to be 750,000 soldiers. Days before the Shu Kingdom mobilized its forces to attack Wu, Zhang Fei, the other sworn brother of Liu Bei, was assassinated by his own subordinates in retribution for treating them unfairly. The fact that these conspirators fled to Wu further enraged Liu Bei, who attacked Wu blindly against his officers' advice. The ablest of Shu's generals and the best troops were committed to this one campaign of retribution, with the exception of Zhuge Liang, who was left in charge of the domestic affairs of Shu, and Zhao Yun, who was ordered to look after logistics.

The battle

Contrary to the dramatization of the Romance of the Three Kingdoms in which Kingdom of Shu had an impressive 750,000 strong army and enjoyed five to one numerical advantage over Kingdom of Wu, the actual number of troops Kingdom of Shu could gather was far less inferior in real life: the total number Shu troops deployed in this battle was just barely over 40,000 and in contrast, Kingdom of Wu gathered a total of more than 160,000 troops and enjoyed nearly four to one numerical advantage over Kingdom of Shu. The insufficient number of troops was one of the reasons that doomed Liu Bei's attempt to retake Jingzhou, and eventually caused his downfall and death.

Order of battle

Kingdom of Shu: Liu Bei's plan was to be carried out in several fronts and stages, with the vanguard force of Shu tasked to strike deep into the enemy territory at Yidao (夷道) while the naval force was to take Yiling (夷陵) at the shore of Yangtze River. Huang Quan's job was to guard the flank of the attacking force from possible attacks from the Kingdom of Wei. Additionally, Zhao Yun was stationed at Jiangzhou (江州) as backup, while Zhuge Liang stayed behind at Chengdu to help Liu Shan to take care of domestic affairs.

Commander-in-Chief: Liu Bei
Frontline commander (Da Du, 大督): Feng Xi
Vanguard: Zhang Nan (张南)
Naval commander: Wu Ban
Deputy naval commander: Chen Shi
Zhenbei (镇北) General: Huang Quan

The total Shu force deployed in Wu was in excess of 40,000, and additional forces were mobilized in Shu, though they did not have the opportunity to participate in the battle.

Kingdom of Wu: Realizing its survival is at stake, Wu was thoroughly prepared and deployed its best commanders to defend important cities, and mobilized the largest concentration of troops available. Though Lu Xun was eventually ordered to take the overall command of Wu troops, this did not happen until the second half of the battle, and Lu Xun was originally deployed as one of the many commanders.

Command-in-Chief: Lu Xun (Second half of the battle)
Zhengwei (振威) General Pan Zhang defending Zigui (秭归)
General Lu Yi (陆议) defending at Wu (巫) county
General Li Yi (李异) defending Ba (巴) Mountain
General Liu A (刘阿) defending Xing (兴) Mountain
Naval commander Song Qian (宋谦) defending Zhijiang (枝江)
Zhengxi (镇西) General Lu Xun defending Yiling (夷陵) (First half of the battle)
Andong (安东) General Sun Huan defending Yidao (夷道)
Zhaowu (昭武) General Zhu Ran defending Jiangling (江陵) with the help of general Han Dang
Jianwu (建武) General Xu Sheng defending Danyang (当阳)
Suide (绥德) General Zhuge Jin defending Gong'an (公安)
Jianzhong (建中) General Luo Tong defending Chanling (孱陵)
Pingwu (平武) General Bu Zhi defending Yiyang with the help of General Xianyu Dan (鲜于丹)
Sun Quan stationed at Wuchang for support

Each general of Wu usually had around 10,000 troops under his command, and some of them had forces double the usual strength. The total Wu force that participated in the battle totaled in excess of 160,000, thus ensuring the numerical superiority over its enemy. This proved to be one of the important factors in Wu's final victory.

First stage

Initially, generals of Wu had significantly underestimated enemy's tenacity due to their numerical superiority. As the advancing Shu enemy took regions including Zigui (秭归), Wu (巫) county, Ba (巴) Mountain, and Xing (兴) Mountain, the Wu forces that ventured out their fortifications to engage the enemy were nearly annihilated. The initial defeat of Wu forced Sun Quan to adopt Lu Xun's strategy and name Lu Xun the overall commander. Realizing that Shu forces were mostly infantry, much better in mountainous terrain than the Wu marines, Wu forces continued the stratagem by the Wu commander Lu Xun to sacrifice land in return for time in order to wait for the opportunity to counterattack at the most opportune moment.

By January 222, Wu forces continued to retreat, letting Yiling (夷陵) be taken by Shu marines lead by Wu Ban and Chen Shi while at the same time, Liu Bei moved his headquarters forward to Zigui (秭归). Liu Bei did not stay at his new headquarters for long as Shu forces continued to make significant progress and pushed into the heart of Wu. However, this was just another result of Wu commander Lu Xun's plan to sacrifice land in return for time. By February 222, the vanguard of the Shu force reached deep behind enemy lines at Yidao (夷道) and badly mauled the defending Wu force in engagements outside the city. Sun Huan and his surviving Wu troops retreated behind the city walls and a stalemate was reached. Meanwhile, the main force of Shu led by Liu Bei reached Xiaoting (猇亭), where Lu Xun made his last stand. With Wu forces no longer retreating another stalemate was reached.

As the supply lines from Chengdu grew longer, the Shu troops grew weary. As they advanced into Wu, the terrain became flatter, giving the Wu cavalry and navy a great advantage over the tired Shu infantry. Liu Bei deployed his troops in over 50 camps along the 350 km line from Wuxia (巫峡) to Yiling (夷陵), while his vanguard force was another 150 km further away isolated at Yidao (夷道). The tide turned in favor of Wu. Lu Xun, the competent young strategist who was given command of the Wu forces at the second half of the Battle of Yiling, was well aware that the opportunity was not yet ready, and Wu must continue to wait. This was much to the dismay of most generals of Wu. While many of Wu's older officers questioned putting such a youth in charge, Lu Xun had been hand-picked by the ruler Sun Quan as the successor to previous Wu commander Lu Meng and Lu Xun's strategy was accepted before he reached his new post.

Since the beginning of March, 222, under Lu Xun's direction, the Wu forces refused to fight anymore in mountainous terrain and stayed in their forts, thus taking away Shu's battlefield advantage. As Shu's supplies dwindled, the summer came on. Summer in those regions was extremely hot that year, and killed off many plants and shrubs, as Yiling was right on the Yangtze River next to a great forest. Liu Bei's forces were camped right outside the forest when Lu Xun reached his command, and soon the summer heat started affecting morale. The morale of Shu troops dropped further when Liu Bei's planned ambush failed: Liu Bei's 8,000+ troops were hiding in valleys under the command of Wu Ban, while the old and weak ones were sent to challenge Wu forces, in the hope of luring Wu forces out of their forts to the ambush. However, Lu Xun was smart enough to ignore the trap and Shu forces only wasted more valuable supplies in the unsuccessful deployment.

Second stage

Lu Xun then adopted a waiting strategy similar to the one Sima Yi would later use against Zhuge Liang during the Northern Campaigns. Since the beginning of March, 222, Liu Bei's men challenged and taunted Lu Xun to send his forces out beyond his walls, but Lu Xun ordered his gates shut and refused to meet the taunts. Heat waves plagued Liu Bei's men during the standoff, and Liu Bei finally had to move his entire army, against Ma Liang's advice, into the forest for shade, in the dead heat of summer. Liu Bei's fatal error was exploited shortly after in July 222 when Lu Xun's saboteurs crept behind Liu Bei's camp through the use of the navy and set the entire Yiling camp on fire. The woods, fueled by dead plants and dry air, erupted into wildfires that could not be put out, and as Liu Bei's men rushed for the water, Wu archers shot them down. Furthermore, when Shu attempted a counterattack, Pan Zhang's forces rushed forward, breaking the lines as they reformed, making retaliation impossible.

A rockslide at Ma'an Hills dealt the final blow when out of the original 50+ Shu camps in the 350 km stretch, over 40 were destroyed. As Liu Bei narrowly escaped with his life to Baidicheng (White Emperor City) with less than a thousand men, the remaining surviving camps were forced be set ablaze by retreating Shu troops themselves in order to deter the pursuing Wu army. The isolated vanguard of Shu force at Yidao (夷道) 150 km further away from Yiling (夷陵) also completely perished at the same time while Shu commander Huang Quan with his surviving force of 318 calvaries at the northern shore were forced to surrender to Kingdom of Wei as they were cut off. Most of capable Shu commanders were killed in the battle. Only Wu Ban and Chen Shi, the commanders of Shu naval forces, managed to escape back to Shu.

Afterwards, the stress of the crushing defeat and the loss of his beloved generals took their toll. Extremely ill at the age of 63, Liu Bei's life ended at Baidicheng. Ma Liang, Liu Bei's military adviser for the Wu Retribution Campaign and the person who advised him not to camp in the forest, later died in an uprising in Wu Ling.

Aftermath

The Battle of Yiling in 222 sealed Shu-Han's fate as most of the entire army was killed or captured in a period of 2 days. Thereafter Shu-Han's power was directed by Zhuge Liang, who eventually established ties with the Eastern Wu.

The prestige of such a victory established Wu as the undisputed ruler of southern Jingzhou. Lu Xun, the young general who defeated Liu Bei, won recognition throughout the land as a great strategist. This battle marked the beginning of Lu Xun's illustrious career within the Wu hierarchy, culminating in his becoming the Prime Minister of Wu.

Liu Bei's death also led to the ascension of his less capable son Liu Shan, who would eventually lead Shu-Han to defeat.

Fictional events

In Romance of the Three Kingdoms, the Wu general Gan Ning is slain by the barbarian king Shamoke, who was asked to participate by Liu Bei.
The elderly Shu general Huang Zhong is also killed in battle by an arrow fired by the Wu general Ma Zhong.
In reality, General Gan Ning and General Huang Zhong had both passed on before the campaign took place. Gan Ning died of illness (rumored to be dysentery) and Huang Zhong most likely died of old age or illness.
The Wu general Zhu Ran wasn't slain by Zhao Yun while pursuing Liu Bei. As a matter of fact, Zhu Ran outlived Zhao Yun.
Pan Zhang wasn't killed by Guan Xing (who was a civil administrator, not a general), but rather died of illness. *Similarly, the Wu generals Xie Jing, Li Yi, and Tan Xiong were not slain by Guan Xing and Zhang Bao (who, likewise, is not recorded to have participated in any battles).
Prior to the battle, Ma Zhong wasn't slain by Mi Fang. Further, Mi Fang, who had defected to Wu while serving Guan Yu, never attempted to return to Liu Bei's service, but served Wu until his death.
Zhuge Liang was never opposed to the Wu campaign, but stayed behind to defend Chengdu. Zhao Yun did oppose the campaign, however.
The numbers in the novel are greatly exaggerated for Shu, stating that Liu Bei gathered around 750,000 troops including troops from the western Qiang tribe.
Also, Lu Xun was trapped in Zhuge Liang's Stone Sentinel Maze while in pursuit of the fleeing Liu Bei. He was guided out by Huang Chengyan, Zhuge Liang's father-in-law, who explained the array to Lu Xun. Lu Xun then exclaimed that he can never top the genius of Zhuge Liang. While such a maze is rumored to exist, there is no proof that Lu Xun ever needed to pass through it.

In Popular culture

In the Dynasty Warriors series for the Playstation 2, the Battle of Xiaoting, called the Battle of Yiling in the game, is a major turning point in the story. Players can follow history and burn the Shu camp to gain an advantage. The Stone Sentinel Maze also is a nuisance to players as the minimap is disabled upon entering.

References

Luo, Guanzhong Romance of the Three Kingdoms