| Battle of Ruxukou | |||||||
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| Part of the wars of the Three Kingdoms | |||||||
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| Belligerents | |||||||
| Sun Quan | Cao Cao | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| Sun Quan | Cao Cao | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| 73,000 (estimated) | 400,000 (estimated) | ||||||
| Battle of Ruxukou (217) | |||||||
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| Traditional Chinese | 濡須口之戰 | ||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 濡须口之战 | ||||||
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| Battle of Ruxu | |||||||
| Traditional Chinese | 濡須之戰 | ||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 濡须之战 | ||||||
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The Battle of Ruxukou, also known as the Battle of Ruxu, was fought between the warlords Sun Quan and Cao Cao in 217 during the prelude to the Three Kingdoms period of Chinese history. Two years earlier, Sun Quan attempted to take control of Hefei fortress, but failed due to a sudden plague and the staunch resistance put up by Cao Cao's forces under Zhang Liao. Since then, Cao Cao had been making preparations for a counterattack on Sun Quan, and he personally led his navy to Ruxukou to fight a decisive battle.
This battle is not to be confused with another earlier battle (Battle of Ruxu (213)) that also took place at Ruxukou in 213, where Cao Cao defeated Sun Quan.
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Before Cao Cao's massive army arrived at the battlefield, Sun Quan's second-in-command, Lü Meng, had already started to strengthen the defense of Ruxu fort, and Dong Xi had the riverbank secured, leaving the transportation and retreat route open for Sun.
On the other hand, Cao Cao had his Hefei fortress operated as a front-line base, where he and Zhang Liao station their troops; in addition, Cao Cao ordered Zang Ba and Sun Guan to mobilize their "Qingzhou Corps" to the battlefield.
When Cao Cao pressed on Ruxu fort, Sun sent out Ling Tong, Xu Sheng and the likes to do battle. During the ensuing engagement, Sun Guan was killed in action, and Cao Cao temporarily waived the attack. The development was not as optimistic as Cao had expected, so he set up numerous camps across a river, and gestured a long-term war. Cao ordered Xiahou Dun to lead his "29 armies" from Juchao to the frontline; Xiahou Yuan was responsible for the supply to the "29 armies".
One night, a storm hit Ruxu bay, and Dong Xi drowned when he refused to abandon his ship, which sank to the bottom of the river. Not only was Dong Xi's death discouraging, natural disasters were regarded as bad omens in ancient China, so the morale of Sun Quan's army dropped. Facing the growing number of Cao Cao's troops, Sun Quan ordered his generals to maintain a line of defense, which Cao was never able to break.
The tide of battle turned heavily in Sun Quan's favor when Gan Ning led 100 men into Cao Cao's main camp under cover of nightfall and laid waste to the camp, throwing Cao's armies into confusion. Gan Ning and his unit left without any casualties, and the demoralized armies of Cao Cao withdrew from the battle.
Sun Quan forces |
Cao Cao forces |
The battle is featured as a playable stage in Koei's video game Dynasty Warriors 5: Xtreme Legends. If the player is playing on Sun Quan's side, he can use Gan Ning's night raids to win the battle. In earlier versions of the game, this battle is merged with the Battle of He Fei.