Battle of Tot Dong

The Battle of Tot Dong (Tot Đồng) was a battle between the Ming Dynasty and Dai Viet during the Lam Sơn uprising. The Vietnamese forces under command of Le Loi inflicted a horrible defeat upong Ming generals Liu Shan and Wang Tong. Afterwards, Wang Tong was captured and Liu Shan executed.

Background

Dai Viet became independent from China following the Battle of Bach Dang River (938). In 1405, the Chinese Ming Dynasty invaded Vietnamese and quickly occupied it. Soon, wealthy landowner Le Loi began a rebellion against the Chinese. Le Loi set up a guerrilla base in the mountains, from which he attacked isolated Chinese garrisons. The Emperor of China considered making peace, but his imperial advisors encouraged him to send an army under command of General Liu Shan numbering 100,000 troops to attack the Vietnamese and supress the revolution.

Battle

In 1426, the army of a Chinese general named Wang Tong arrived in the Red River Delta. However, Vietnamese forces were able to cut supply lines and control the countryside, leaving Chinese presence totally isolated in the capital and other citadels. During this period, General Nguyễn Trãi sought to undermine the resolve of the enemy and to negotiate a favorable peace by sending a series of missives to the Ming commanders.^[1] In the battle, Le Loi used his elephants to rout the cavalry, while the rest of the Ming Chinese forces fled for their lives. The Battle of Tot Dong was the decisive battle of the uprising.

Aftermath

The Chinese general, Liu Shan, was captured and executed by the Vietnamese. Then the Vietnamese lured the Chinese army into Hanoi where it was surrounded and destroyed in a series of battles. All told, the Chinese army lost over 70,000 men. Also, Wang Tong agreed to give Vietnam independence in order to be freed by Le Loi, who declared himself emperor the following year.

References

• RG Grant: Battle: A Visual Journey Through 5,000 Years of Combat