Battle of Mobei

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Battle of Mobei
Part of The Sino-Xiongnu War
Date January - June, 119 BC Location Orkhon Valley, Mongolia Result Decisive Han victory
Combatants
Xiongnu	Han Dynasty
Commanders
Yixixie Chanyu Worthy Prince of the East Zhao Xin	Wei Qing Huo Qubing
Strength
Entire available troop	100,000 cavalries, 100,000 above infantry and 140,000 horses
Casualties
c. 90,000 dead and 87 aristocrats captured	c. 20,000 cavalries dead and 110,000 horses lost

Sino-Xiongnu War
Mayi – Mobei – Loulan – Jushi – Zhizhi – Yiwulu – Ikh Bayan

The Battle of Mobei (漠北之戰), or north of the Gobi Desert, was a major campaign launched by the Han Dynasty on January, 119 BC, as a vanguard campaign into the heartland of the Xiongnus. The battle was a success for the Han, whose forces were led by Wei Qing and Huo Qubing. The forces were dispatched in two columns, taking the routes from Dingxiang and Dai, each commander set off with a force of 50,000 cavalry and infantry carriers for food supplies as rearguard. After encountering the 10,000 strong cavalry of Yixixie Chanyu, who eventually escaped under the protection of a few hundred cavalries. Wei Qing lead its way to the Khangay mountains and burned the Fortress of Zhao Xin to the ground at the Orkhon Valley. Another army led by Huo Qubing from Dai, marched as far as the Lake Baikal in pursuit of the Worthy Prince of the East, and destroyed 70,443 of them.

[edit] Aftermath

The costs of the victorious campaigns over ten years over the Xiongnu from 129 to 119 BC were enormous: new taxes had to be levied, and there was a ceasefire between the Han Dynasty and Xiongnu for seven years, which ended after a Xiongnu raid in 112 BC at Wuyuan.

[edit] References

• Ban Gu et al, Hanshu. Beijing: Zhonghua Shuju, 1962. ISBN 7-101-00305-2
• Sima Guang, comp. Zizhi Tongjian. Beijing: Zhonghua Shuju, 1956. ISBN 7-101-00183-1