| Battle of Xiaoting | |||||||
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| Part of the Three Kingdoms period | |||||||
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| Belligerents | |||||||
| Eastern Wu | Shu Han, Tribal people in Wuling |
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| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| Lu Xun | Liu Bei, Shamoke |
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| Strength | |||||||
| 50,000 - 60,000 | ~100,000 - 120,000 | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| Unknown | 80,000[1] | ||||||
| Battle of Xiaoting | |||||||
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| Traditional Chinese | 猇亭之戰 | ||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 猇亭之战 | ||||||
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| Battle of Yiling | |||||||
| Traditional Chinese | 夷陵之戰 | ||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 夷陵之战 | ||||||
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The Battle of Xiaoting, also known as the Battle of Yiling and the Battle of Yiling and Xiaoting, was fought between the states of Eastern Wu and Shu Han in 222 during the Three Kingdoms period of Chinese history. The battle was most significant for the decisive Wu victory, which halted the Shu invasion and preceded the death of Shu's emperor Liu Bei in Baidicheng.
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In 219, Sun Quan's general Lü Meng invaded and annexed Liu Bei's territory in Jing Province. Guan Yu, the general appointed by Liu Bei to defend Jing Province, was captured after his defeat and executed on Sun Quan's order. Liu Bei was enraged by the sudden attack because Sun Quan was formerly his ally, and also due to his close relationship with Guan Yu.
In 220, Cao Pi forced Emperor Xian to abdicate in his favour, effectively ending the Han Dynasty and starting the state of Cao Wei. A year later, Liu Bei declared himself Emperor of Shu Han in Yi Province (covering the Sichuan Basin). Sun Quan had not declared himself emperor yet then, and his state was known as Eastern Wu. In 221, Liu Bei planned to attack Wu to retake Jing Province and avenge Guan Yu. However, many of his subjects, including Zhao Yun, opposed his decision, but Liu Bei ignored them.
As Liu Bei mobilized his troops in preparation for the attack on Wu, another of his generals, Zhang Fei, was assassinated by his subordinates Fan Qiang and Zhang Da. Zhang Fei was growing impatient with the preparations for war, so he imposed strict deadlines on Fan Qiang and Zhang Da, but his subordinates failed to meet the time limit. Zhang Fei disparaged them before warning them that they would be executed under military law if they foundered again. Out of fear, Fan Qiang and Zhang Da killed Zhang Fei while he was asleep, cut off his head, and defected to Eastern Wu.
Liu Bei was overwhelmed with grief over the loss of two of his generals who had accompanied since the beginning of his military career. Zhang Fei's death hardened his decision to attack Wu for revenge. Again, many Shu officials attempted to dissuade Liu Bei from attacking Wu but Liu dismissed their advice. Eventually, Liu Bei departed from his capital Chengdu with a large army and advanced towards Jing Province on both land and water (along the Yangtze River). He left his chancellor Zhuge Liang and crown prince Liu Shan to defend Chengdu.
Initially, Wu forces underestimated the enemy's tenacity due to their superiority in numbers. As the advancing Shu army captured regions including Zigui, Wu County, Mount Ba and Mount Xing, Wu forces that set out from their fortifications to engage the enemy were nearly all annihilated. The initial defeat made Sun Quan decide to adopt Lu Xun's strategy and appoint Lu as Grand Viceroy (de facto commander-in-chief of Sun Quan's forces).
Wu forces realised that the Shu troops were better versed in warfare in mountainous terrain as they were mostly ground troops. Thus, they decided to abandon their defenses at certain territories and retreat to vital positions and defend them instead. After that, they would hold on to those positions and wait for an opportunity to launch a counterattack.
In January, Shu naval forces led by Wu Ban and Chen Shi captured Yiling. Liu Bei built his headquarters in Zigui but did not stay there for long as his forces continued to make progress and push further into the heartland of Wu. In February, the Shu vanguard broke through enemy lines at Yidao and defeated the Wu defenders in engagement outside the city. The Wu general Sun Huan, who was guarding Yidao, retreated with his remaining troops into the city and held on to their positions until a stalemate was reached.
Meanwhile, the main Shu force led by Liu Bei reached Xiaoting and was unable to push any further as Wu forces led by Lu Xun held on firmly to their positions. With no further retreat by Wu forces, both sides reached at stalemate at Xiaoting.
As Shu troops ventured further into Wu territory, their supply lines from Chengdu lengthened and supplies took longer to arrive. They also became gradually weary and tired from battle. The terrain became flatter and the Shu infantry lost its advantage in mountainous terrain. Liu Bei deployed his troops in over 50 camps along the 350 km line from Wuxia to Yiling on the southern bank of the Yangtze River. His vanguard army was isolated 150 km away at Yidao. Wu forces thought that it was the best time to launch their counterattack but Lu Xun ordered them to hold on.
By March, most of the Wu forces have evacuated from mountainous terrain and held up in their fortifications on flat terrain. Summer soon arrived and the sweltering heat killed several plants and shrubs. Liu Bei's forces camped at Yiling were directly next to a forest so the heat became even more unbearable. Some Shu soldiers were affected by heatstroke. By then, the Shu army's morale had fallen significantly as compared to at the start of the campaign, as the troops were now weary and suffering from the intense heat.
Liu Bei planned an ambush which turned out to be a failure. He deployed 8,000 elite troops to lie in ambush in nearby valleys and sent Wu Ban to lead a weaker force to challenge and lure Wu forces out of their fortifications into the ambush. However, Lu Xun saw through Liu Bei's ruse and ordered his troops to ignore taunts from the enemy. It was said that he even ordered his troops to put wax into their ears. The failure of the ambush caused the Shu army's morale to plummet even lower.
Shu troops were suffering from the summer heat as the stalemate, which began in March, continued to progress. Liu Bei decided to shift his camp into the nearby forest for shade and shelter from the heat even though his adviser Ma Liang opposed his decision.
In July, Lu Xun knew that the time was ripe for the counterattack. He ordered saboteurs to encircle Liu Bei's camp by travelling on water with the navy. Once they were behind Liu Bei's camp at Yiling, the saboteurs set the camp on fire. The woods gradually became a fiery inferno within hours as wildfires fueled by dead plants and dry air erupted everywhere. As Shu soldiers rushed towards the Yangtze River for water to put out the fires, Wu archers lying in ambush shot them down. Shu forces attempted a counterattack, but Wu forces led by Pan Zhang broke through the lines they reformed and made retaliation impossible.
The Shu navy fared slightly better by barely managing an orderly retreat. Cheng Ji, a Shu official, personally led a group of men to cover the navy as it withdrew. Wu marine forces caught up with the rear guard of the Shu navy and engaged in battle. Cheng Ji and his men were surrounded by the Wu vanguard force but they managed to hold on by sinking the smaller enemy boats. However, they were eventually outnumbered when the bulk of the Wu navy arrived and were killed.
Shu forces lost over 40 of their original 50 camps on the 350 km line to a rockslide at the Ma'an Hills. Liu Bei attempted to reform and regroup his remaining forces at the hills to make a last stand. However, his troops were split up before they could regroup as one. Wu general Zhu Ran led an army of 5,000 to disrupt the lines and prevent Liu Bei from reforming. Lu Xun personally led an attack on Shu forces together with Xu Sheng and Han Dang, and succeeded in preventing Liu Bei from making his last stand. The entire Shu army was nearly wiped out at Ma'an Hills.
The remaining camps of the Shu army were set ablaze by retreating Shu soldiers to hinder Wu forces' pursuit. Meanwhile, the isolated Shu vanguard force at Yidao was also completely destroyed by Wu forces. Huang Quan managed to escape together with his deputy Pang Lin and 318 horsemen to the northern bank of the Yangtze River, where they were cut off from the rest of the Shu army, and eventually they decided to surrender to Wei.
Liu Bei fled to Zigui with Wu forces hot on his heels and the demoralised Shu troops were unable to hold their ground and kept retreating. During the withdrawal, Wang Fu, the Shu official in charge of Jing Province, was killed in the ensuing battle, but his death bought time for Liu Bei to continue retreating. Xiang Chong, who was stationed at Jing Province, managed to regroup the surviving Shu troops and lead them on an orderly retreat without them suffering any further great losses.
Xiang Chong also led Liu Bei safely to Yufu (present-day Fengjie County, Chongqing) and managed to repel any further attacks by pursuing enemy forces. Liu Bei was impressed with Xiang Chong and promoted him to the rank of viceroy. Eventually, reinforcements from Jiangzhou led by Zhao Yun arrived and a stalemate was reached before Wu forces decided to retreat, thus ending their counterattack. Of all the Shu commanders who participated in the battle, most of them were killed and only naval commanders Wu Ban and Chen Shi managed to return safely.
Liu Bei died a year later in the spring of 223 at Baidicheng from dysentery. He was succeeded by his crown prince Liu Shan, with chancellor Zhuge Liang and general Li Yan serving as regents.
The Battle of Xiaoting sealed the fate of Shu as a large portion of its armed forces were destroyed in the battle. Ever since then, Shu's military was not as powerful as it once was. After Liu Bei's death, Shu was ruled by chancellor-regent Zhuge Liang on behalf of the new emperor Liu Shan. Zhuge Liang sought to make peace with Wu and restore their alliance. This was achieved in 223.
On the other hand, the Battle of Xiaoting allowed Wu to establish its control over Jing Province after the victory. Lu Xun rose to fame for his role in the battle, and his victory marked the beginning of an illustrious career that led to his appointment as chancellor of Wu more than 20 years after the battle.
Liu Bei personally led the bulk of Shu's army out for the campaign, with his force amounting to more than 100,000. He was supported by his allies, the tribes along the five creeks further south of Jing Province, amongst them, the strongest was the Wuling tribal king Shamoke, who commanded warriors numbering tens of thousands; while the forces of Wu was anticipating a probable invasion from the state of Wei, and had the army split: the Wu forces in Xiaoting amounted to about 50,000.
The following are some fictional events related to the battle mentioned in Luo Guanzhong's historical novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms.
The battle is featured as a playable stage in Koei's video game series Dynasty Warriors, in which it is known as the "Battle of Yi Ling".