Battle of Red Cliff

Battle of Red Cliff The Battle of Chibi took place in the winter of the 13th year of Jian'an in the Eastern Han Dynasty (AD 208). It took place in the northwest of Chibi City in present-day Hubei Province. It was a classic battle in which a small number defeated a large number, which directly established the tripartite pattern of the Three Kingdoms. Before the war, Cao Cao unified the north after the Battle of Guandu. In 208, he led his army southward. Liu Cong surrendered in Jingzhou without a fight, and Liu Bei was defeated and retreated to Fankou. The surrender faction of Eastern Wu was dominant, and Lu Su and Zhou Yu advocated resistance to Cao. Zhuge Liang sent Chai Sang as an envoy to persuade Sun Quan to form an alliance because Cao's army was "tired, unaccustomed to water warfare, and the people were not attached to it." The coalition forces totaled 50,000, while Cao Cao claimed to have an army of 800,000, but in reality it was only more than 200,000. Cao's army failed in the first battle and retreated to Wulin to confront the coalition forces across the river. Huang Gai proposed a plan to feign surrender, and used ten Mengchong battleships loaded with oil and firewood to set fire to Cao's camp while taking advantage of the rare southeast wind in the middle of winter. Cao Cao's warships were connected, the fire spread to the water and land camps, and the men and horses suffered heavy casualties. Cao Cao retreated northward from Huarong Road in a hurry. After the war, Cao Cao gave up going south, Sun Quan consolidated Jiangdong, and Liu Bei seized the four counties of Jingzhou to gain a foothold, forming a three-part empire. This battle is a model of military, strategic and psychological warfare, and the artistic interpretation of "The Romance of the Three Kingdoms" has made it a household name. Details such as its time, location of Red Cliff, and the iron cables and ships are still controversial in later generations, but it is still the peak of ancient Chinese war history.