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Warmatrix

War Matrix - Battle of Battle of Red Cliffs

Roman Decline 120 BCE - 480 CE, Battles and sieges

Red Cliff by Wu Yuanzhi, inspired by the battle
Red Cliff by Wu Yuanzhi, inspired by the battle
The Battle of Red Cliffs, also known as the Battle of Chibi, was one of the largest naval battles ever fought. It was made popular by Luo Guanzhong's historical novel 'Romance of the Three Kingdoms', though that account is largely fictional.
In the early 3rd century CE the Han dynasty, ruling China, was in decline. Cao Cao, a chancellor of the Han, started to carve out an empire for himself in northern China, the state of Cao Wei. In 208 CE, after securing his northern borders, he switched his attention southward, attempting to re-unite all former Han territory under his rule.
The key to success was control of the Yangtze river, where three rival warlords blocked him: Liu Biao, Sun Quan and Liu Bei. They had been fighting among each other and now were confronted by Cao Cao's strong northern army. Liu Biao was driven from his Jing province and soon after died, being succeeded by his son Liu Cong. Cao Cao captured Jiangling, gaining a naval base and a fleet. The southern warlords contemplated their position, put their differences aside and formed an alliance, headed by Sun Quan.
Cao Cao's army and fleet were the largest, possibly 100,000 - 150,000 men, 1/3 of them former troops of Liu Biao, who had been pressed into service. The southerners fielded some 50,000 men, better trained and accustomed to naval warfare and the southern climate. Many of these men were used as mariners on ships.
The southern fleet sailed upstream to Red Cliffs, where they encountered Cao Cao's vanguard. That army was decimated by disease and quickly driven back. In an effort to reduce seasickness among his men, who were mostly landlubbers, Cao Cao chained his ships together. But the southerners sent a large number of fire ships at them, which wreaked havoc among the northern fleet. Seeing that the battle was lost, Cao Cao ordered his remaining ships destroyed and started a retreat along the Huarong road, which led through marshy land that was made even more difficult by heavy rains. Narrow passages, mud, disease and the chase given by the southern allies caused many casualties. Cao Cao's army might have been destroyed there, except for stubborn defense of its rearguard.
Following the battle, the southern warlords took some territory north of the river, but quickly fell out with each other again. Cao Cao was still licking his wounds in the north and the war descended into a stalemate. The resulting division between north and south China would endure for a several centuries, until the rise of the Sui dynasty.
Looking back on the battle, it seems that Cao Cao trusted too much on his advantage in numbers. But he pressed his men to hard, both on land and on water, making them vulnerable to exhaustion, seasickness and infectious diseases.