Battle of Red Cliffs
Part of the wars of the Three Kingdoms
The traditional site of Chìbì, north of Wulin
Date Winter, 208 Location Chì Bì (Red Cliffs), Chang Jiang (Yangtze River) Result Decisive Sun Quan and Liu Bei victory
Combatants
Cao Cao	Sun Quan, Liu Bei
Commanders
Cao Cao	Zhou Yu, Cheng Pu, Liu Bei
Strength
Tens of Thousands; Historically 120,000- 350,000+ (In the novel, 830,000)	Estimated as 50,000-70,000
Casualties
unknown, though it is almost their entire force, including all of their ships	unknown

The Battle of Red Cliffs, otherwise known as the Battle of Chibi, (Traditional Chinese: 赤壁之戰; pinyin: chìbì zhī zhàn) was a decisive battle during the period of the Three Kingdoms in China. It took place in the winter of 208 C.E. between the allied forces of the southern warlords (Liu Bei and Sun Quan), and the northern warlord Cao Cao. Liu and Sun successfully frustrated Cao's effort to conquer the land south of the Yangtze River and reunify China. Despite being one of the most famous battles of Chinese history, descriptions of the battle differ widely on details; in fact, even the place of battle is still fiercely debated. The Three Kingdoms in 262, on the eve of the conquest of Shu. ... Photo of the traditional site of Chibi, north of Wulin, taken in 2003. ... hello my name is marco u ... Afternoon light on the jagged grey mountains rising from the Yangtze River gorge The Yangtze River or Chang Jiang (Simplified Chinese: ; Traditional Chinese: ; pinyin: )   is the longest river in Asia and the third longest in the world after the Nile in Africa and the Amazon in South America. ... For other uses, see Cao Cao (disambiguation). ... Sun Quan (孫權 pinyin: SÅ«n Quán) (182 - 252), son of Sun Jian, was the third ruler of the State of Wu and the founder of Kingdom of Wu, during the Three Kingdoms period, in China. ... This is a Chinese name; the family name is Liu. ... For other uses, see Cao Cao (disambiguation). ... Zhou Yu (175 - 210) was a famous militarist and strategist of Eastern Wu of the Three Kingdoms period of China. ... Cheng Pu was a veteran warrior skilled at using the serpent spear who served the Sun family for three generations. ... This is a Chinese name; the family name is Liu. ... The Three Kingdoms in 262, on the eve of the conquest of Shu. ... Combatants Yellow Turbans Han Dynasty Commanders Zhang Jiao Zhang Bao Zhang Liang He Jin Huangfu Song Lu Zhi Zhu Jun Dong Zhuo Cao Cao Strength 360,000 Various Casualties Unknown Unknown The Yellow Turban Rebellion, sometimes also translated as the Yellow Scarves Rebellion, (Traditional Chinese: ; Simplified Chinese: ; pinyin: ) was a... Combatants Anti-Dong Zhuo Coalition Dong Zhuo Commanders Yuan Shao Dong Zhuo The Campaign against Dong Zhuo (董卓討伐戰) in 190 was initiated by a coalition of regional officials hoping to end Chancellor Dong Zhuos influence in the ailing Han court in China. ... The Battle of Jie Bridge (Chinese: 界橋之戰, pinyin: Jièqiáo zhi zhàn) was a military engagement fought between Yuan Shao and Gongsun Zan in 191, at the beginning of the civil wars in China leading up to the fall of the Han Dynasty. ... Combatants Zhang Xiu Cao Cao Commanders Zhang Xiu Cao Cao The Battle of Wancheng (宛城之戰) was a historical battle fought in the later years of the Han Dynasty between the warlords Cao Cao and Zhang Xiu in 197. ... Combatants Cao Cao, Liu Bei Lü Bu Commanders Cao Cao, Liu Bei Lü Bu The Battle of Xiapi (下邳之戰) occurred in the winter of 198 between the forces of Lü Bu against the forces of Liu Bei and Cao Cao in the prelude to the Three Kingdoms period of China. ... Combatants Yuan Shao Gongsun Zan Heishan bandits Commanders Yuan Shao Gongsun Zan† Zhang Yan The Battle of Yijing (易京之戰) took part shortly before the fall of the Han Empire in China, which began the era known as the Three Kingdoms. ... The Battle of Guandu (官渡之戰) was a battle in Chinese history. ... Combatants Liu Bei Cao Cao Commanders Liu Bei Xiahou Dun The Battle of Bowang (博望之戰), more famously known as the Battle of Bowang Slope (博望坡之戰), was a battle fought near Fangcheng, Henan between the forces of Cao Cao and Liu Bei during the Three Kingdoms period in China. ... This article does not cite its references or sources. ... Combatants Cao Cao Ma Chao Commanders Cao Cao Ma Chao Strength  ? 100,000 Casualties  ?  ? {{{notes}}} The Battle of Tong Gate (潼關之戰) was a battle between Ma Chao and the warlord Cao Cao during the Three Kingdoms Era in China. ... This article does not cite its references or sources. ... Combatants Cao Wei Shu Han Commanders Xiahou Yuan† Liu Bei The Battle of Mount Dingjun (定軍山之戰) took place in year 219, during the Three Kingdoms period of China. ... This article does not cite its references or sources. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Between 225 and 230, the Kingdom of Shu (a Chinese state that existed during the Three Kingdoms period) undertook a military campaign in its southern territories after incidents of rebellion by local governors (Zhu Bao, Gao Ding and Yong Kai) and intrusions by the Nanman (southern barbarians). Nanman was located... The Northern Expeditions (北伐) were a series of five military campaigns launched by the state of Shu against the northern state of Wei from A.D. 228 to 234. ... The Battle of Jieting was a battle fought during the First Northern Expedition led by Zhuge Liang. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards and to make a clear distinction between fact and fiction, this article may require cleanup. ... Combatants Shu Han Cao Wei Commanders Zhuge Liang† Yang Yi, Fei Yi Sima Yi Strength 100,000 200,000 The Battle of Wuzhang Plains (五丈原之戰) is a famous standoff between the kingdoms of Wei and Shu in 234 A.D. during the Three Kingdoms period of China. ... Traditional Chinese characters are one of two standard sets of printed Chinese characters. ... It has been suggested that Pinyin_method be merged into this article or section. ... The Three Kingdoms in 262, on the eve of the conquest of Shu. ... hello my name is marco u ... This is a Chinese name; the family name is Liu. ... Sun Quan (孫權 pinyin: SÅ«n Quán) (182 - 252), son of Sun Jian, was the third ruler of the State of Wu and the founder of Kingdom of Wu, during the Three Kingdoms period, in China. ... For other uses, see Cao Cao (disambiguation). ... Afternoon light on the jagged grey mountains rising from the Yangtze River gorge The Yangtze River or Chang Jiang (Simplified Chinese: ; Traditional Chinese: ; pinyin: )   is the longest river in Asia and the third longest in the world after the Nile in Africa and the Amazon in South America. ...

Background

By 208, the Duke of Wei, Cao Cao, controlled all of the North China Plain. He completed a successful campaign against the Wuhuan in the winter of 207, thus securing his northern frontier. Almost immediately afterward, his army turned south in the autumn of 208, aiming to eliminate his main southern rivals swiftly. Meanwhile, Liu Biao, Governor of Jing province, died in that year and his successor meekly surrendered. The North China Plain (Chinese: 华北平原; Pinyin: Huáběi Píngyuán), also called the Central Plain (Chinese: 中原; Pinyin: Zhōngyuán), is based on the deposits of the Huang He (Yellow River) and is the largest alluvial plain of eastern Asia. ... The Wuhuan (traditional Chinese: 烏桓; simplified Chinese: 乌桓; pinyin: Wūhuán) were a nomadic people who inhabited northern China, in what is now the provinces of Hebei, Liaoning, Shanxi, the municipality of Beijing and the autonomous region of Inner Mongolia. ... Liú Biǎo (劉表 142 – 208) was the governor of the Jing province in China towards the end of the Han Dynasty. ...

Liu Bei, then at garrison at Fan (modern Xiangfan), quickly fled south with a large refugee population following him. He was pursued by Cao Cao's elite cavalry, and was surrounded at the Battle of Changban. Liu further fled east to Xiakou, where he liaised with Sun Quan's emissary Lu Su. Liu's main advisor Zhuge Liang was sent down the Yangtze to negotiate a mutual front against Cao Cao with the state of Wu. Zhuge Liang's eloquence and Wu's chief commander, Zhou Yu's support finally persuaded Sun Quan, to agree on the alliance against the northerners. Sun Quan sent Zhou Yu, Cheng Pu, and Lu Su to aid Liu Bei against Cao Cao. Xiangfan (Simplified Chinese: 襄樊; Pinyin: ) is a prefecture-level city in Hubei province, Peoples Republic of China. ... This article does not cite its references or sources. ... Wuchang (Chinese: ; pinyin: Wǔchāng) is one of the three towns, together with Hankou and Hanyang, which are included in modern day Wuhan, the capital of the Hubei province, in China. ... Lu Su (鲁肃) was an advisor for the kingdom of Wu during the Three Kingdoms period of ancient China, having taken over the position from Zhou Yu. ... This is a Chinese name; the family name is Zhuge (諸葛). Zhuge Liang (181 - 234) was one of the greatest Chinese strategists of the Three Kingdoms era, as well as a statesman, engineer, scholar, and inventor. ... Wu may refer to: Wu (Chinese word) Wu (region), a region in China, associated with: Wu (linguistics), a subdivision of spoken Chinese spoken in the Wu region State of Wu, a state in the Wu region during the Spring and Autumn Period Kingdom of Wu, a state in southeastern China... Zhou Yu (175 - 210) was a famous militarist and strategist of Eastern Wu of the Three Kingdoms period of China. ... Cheng Pu was a veteran warrior skilled at using the serpent spear who served the Sun family for three generations. ...

Opposing forces

Meanwhile Cao Cao had captured the strategic centre and military depot of Jiangling, and harbored his massive fleet there. The combined Sun-Liu force sailed upstream to Red Cliffs, where they encountered Cao Cao's courier force. After a mild skirmish, both sides temporarily ceased activity - with Cao camped northern of the Yangtze River and the allies in the south. Cao Cao boasted a troop of 150,000 men*, this was probably true as there is no evidence to suggest some other figure, he also had a sizeable cavalry and naval division. Zhou Yu had around 30,000 marines whilst the exiled Liu Bei managed around 20,000. Jiangling is a city in Hubei, China. ...

In the novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms Cao Cao boasted a much larger force of 1 million men, however his true number (in the novel) was closer to 700,000-800,000 men. An illustration of the book Romance of the Three Kingdoms (Traditional Chinese: , Simplified Chinese: , pinyin: sānguó yǎnyì), written by Luó Guànzhōng in the 14th century, is a Chinese historical novel based upon events in the turbulent years near the end of the Han Dynasty, and the...

Battle

The decisive blow to Cao came shortly afterwards, though the sources vary on whether Liu or Sun struck it. The most detailed account comes from the biography of Zhou Yu, which details how the Sun commander Huang Gai planned an attack on Cao Cao with fire ships, by pretending to surrender to Cao Cao. The source tells of the devastation wrought in the Cao camp by the fires. In any case, a general order of retreat was given to Cao's troops, and it is likely that the northerners destroyed a number of their own ships during the retreat. There are hints that the northerners were at the time already plagued by disease and low morale. Huang Gai (黃蓋) was an officer of the Kingdom of Wu in during Chinas Three Kingdoms period. ... This article is not about the fireboats that fight fire Defeat of the Spanish Armada, 1588-08-08 by Philippe-Jacques de Loutherbourg, painted 1796, depicts Drakes fire ship attack on the Spanish Armada. ...

Many other sources indicate that a combination of Cao Cao's underestimation and Liu's deception resulted in the allies' victory in the Battle of Chibi (Red Cliffs). Cao Cao's generals and soldiers were mostly from cavalry and infantry, and almost none had any experience in battles on the water. Immersed in his victory over Wuhuan, Cao Cao simply assumed that superiority in number would eventually defeat the Sun and Liu navy (the ratio of the naval forces on the two sides are estimated as 120,000 to 50,000). He converted his massive infantry and cavalry army into a marine corps and a navy, which was his first tactical mistake. Even with only a few days of drills before the battle, Cao Cao's troops were already decimated by sea-sickness and lack of water experience, as many of his "fresh" crew could not even swim. Tropical diseases to which southerners had long been immune also plagued the soldiers of the north, and were out of control in Cao Cao's camps.

Extremely worried that his troops would be debilitated by the unfamiliar environment, Cao Cao decided to chain his entire fleet together with strong iron chains. Within days, sea-sickness was drastically decreased, as the ships would rock less when chained together. However, this seemingly beneficial act would eventually cause the destruction of the fleet.

At the same time, the commanders calculated that at this time of the year winds would only blow in the direction of northwest (which was called a southeastern wind). Cao Cao's fleet, which was anchored in the northwest relative to Sun and Liu's camps, was then thoroughly exposed to a fire attack. They bet on this South-eastern wind to even out the chances of the Sun and Liu's inferior forces. However, Cao Cao, unfamilar with the southern weather patterns, was unaware, since most of the season it was the northwestern wind that blew.

On the eve of the battle, Cao Cao realized that the southeastern wind disrupted his entire fleet movement, as his fleet could not advance against a wind blowing straight towards it. A general retreat order was issued, but as his fleet was chained tightly to one another, panic broke out and prevented the fleet from retreating effectively. The entire fleet of 2,000 was then trapped in the middle of the Yangtze river with restricted mobility.

In a desperate effort, Cao Cao called for an attack against the allied force. However, the arrows from Cao Cao's fleet could not reach Sun and Liu's fleets, as the Southeastern wind blew the arrows away from their designated targets. Cao Cao's strategies of overwhelming the Sun-Liu navies with boarding parties had failed as soon as the fleet was immobilized. The Wu forces, aided by the wind, launched arrows with fire tips at the hapless warships of Cao Cao. A combination of volleys of "fire arrows" and attacks of the "fire ships" led by Huang Gai eventually destroyed most of Cao Cao's ships. Then Sun Quan's main forces, on the southern side of the river, crossed the river while Liu Bei's forces marched towards Wulin, defeating Cao Cao's forces on the way. Seeing that the situation was hopeless, Cao Cao burnt his remaining ships and retreated towards Jiangling via Huarong. Huang Gai (黃蓋) was an officer of the Kingdom of Wu in during Chinas Three Kingdoms period. ... The current version of the article or section reads more like an advertisement than an encyclopedic article. ...

Due to famine, disease, and skirmishes along the way, many of Cao Cao's remaining forces perished. However, Zhang Liao and Xu Zhu soon came to the rescue and Cao Cao was safely escorted back to Jiangling. Cao Cao then retreated back north, leaving Cao Ren and Xu Huang to guard Jiangling, Man Chong in Dangyang, and Yue Jin in Xiangyang. Zhang Liao (169 – 222) was a military general under the powerful warlord Cao Cao during the late Eastern Han Dynasty and Three Kingdoms Period in ancient China. ... Xu Chu (许禇; style name: Zhongkang 仲康), was born in the village of Qiao (modern day Boxian, Anhui province). ... Cao Ren (168 – 223) was a military general under the powerful warlord Cao Cao during the late Eastern Han Dynasty and Three Kingdoms period in ancient China. ... This is a Chinese name; the family name is Xu Xu Huang (169 – 227) was a prominent general under the powerful warlord Cao Cao and his successor Cao Pi during the late Eastern Han Dynasty and Three Kingdoms Period in ancient China. ... Man Chong (满宠; ? – 242) was an officer of Cao Cao and later the Kingdom of Wei. ... Dangyang City, in Hubei Province, China, lies 70 km east of the Gezhouba Dam on the Yangtze River. ... An officer who joined Cao Cao early on in his quest for power (not to be confused with Yu Jin), he was a senior general holding a high rank. ... Xiangyang (Traditional Chinese: 襄陽, Simplified Chinese: 襄阳, pinyin: Xiāngyáng) was a Chinese city famous for the Siege of Xiangyang (1267-1273) by Mongol invaders. ...

Aftermath

By the end of 209, the command Cao Cao had established at Jiangling fell to Zhou Yu. Liu Bei, on the other hand, had gained territory by taking over the four commanderies south of the Yangzi River. He also occupied Cao Cao's Jingzhou, a strategic fortress on the Yangtze River that Wu claimed for itself. Jingzhou's location gave Liu Bei virtually unlimited access to the passage into Shu, important waterways into Wu, and dominion of the southern Yangtze River. Sun Quan was extremely bitter over his claims that Jingzhou belonged to him, and Liu-Sun ties were severed. The battle of Chibi was the only time that Shu and Wu successfully worked together to defeat the strongest of the three kingdoms, Wei. However, this battle left all three forces significantly weakened and so a power vacuum formed within China. While Cao Cao retreated to reform his army and retrain his troops, Liu Bei and Sun Quan continued quarreling for supremacy in the south. This endless fighting eventually led to their demise by giving Wei an easy opportunity to sweep through and conquer southern China many years later. Jingzhou (Simplified Chinese: , Traditional Chinese: ; pinyin: Jīngzhōu) is a city in the Hubei province of the Peoples Republic of China, on the banks of the Yangtze River (Chang Jiang). ... Sun Quan (孫權 pinyin: Sūn Quán) (182 - 252), son of Sun Jian, was the third ruler of the State of Wu and the founder of Kingdom of Wu, during the Three Kingdoms period, in China. ...

It is later claimed by some scholars that Zhuge Liang had planned this battle all along, calculating that Sun Quan's forces would be most weakened after the battle of Chibi so that Liu could take the advantage of expanding his territory. Zhuge Liang gave the fortress of Jingzhou to Guan Yu, who maintained and guarded it until his defeat in 219. Jingzhou (Simplified Chinese: , Traditional Chinese: ; pinyin: Jīngzhōu) is a city in the Hubei province of the Peoples Republic of China, on the banks of the Yangtze River (Chang Jiang). ...

Significance

Never again would Cao Cao command so large a fleet as he had at Jiangling, nor would similar opportunity to destroy his southern rivals again present itself. Therefore, the Battle of Red Cliffs and the capture of Jingzhou confirmed the separation of Southern China from the northern Yellow River valley heartland. The battle not only formally established the division of China to the Three Kingdoms, but also foreshadowed the north-south hostility of the later centuries. The Yellow River or Golden River (Traditional Chinese: ; Simplified Chinese: ; Hanyu Pinyin:  ; Wade-Giles: Hwang-ho, sometimes simply called the River in ancient Chinese) is the second longest river in China (after Yangtze River) and the seventh longest in the world. ...

See also

• Naval history of China
• The Battle of Red Cliff (film)