Battle of Bach Dang River (938)

Battle of Bạch Đằng (938)
Part of Sino-Annamese War
Date 938 Location Bạch Đằng, Vietnam Result Decisive Ngo Quyen Victory Tĩnh Hải quân period end Ngô dynasty proclaimed
Belligerents
Ngo Quyen	Kieu Cong Tien (governor of Tĩnh Hải quân; early 938) Southern Han (later 938)
Commanders and leaders
Ngô Quyền	Kiều Công Tiễn † Liu Yan Liu Hongcao †
Strength
150,000+[citation needed]	100,000+[citation needed]
Casualties and losses
90,000-100,000 killed[citation needed]	About half killed, thousands captured. Prince Liu Hongcao killed in action.

History of Vietnam

2879–258 BC Hồng Bàng dynasty 257–207 BC Thục dynasty 207–111 BC Triệu dynasty 111 BC–39 AD 1st Chinese domination 40–43 Trưng sisters 43–544 2nd Chinese domination 544–602 Early Lý dynasty 602–905 3rd Chinese domination 905–938 Autonomy 939–967 Ngô dynasty 968–980 Đinh dynasty 980–1009 Early Lê dynasty 1009–1225 Lý dynasty 1225–1400 Trần dynasty 1400–1407 Hồ dynasty 1407–1427 4th Chinese domination 1407–1413 • Later Trần dynasty 1428–1788 Later Lê dynasty 1527–1592 • Mạc dynasty 1545–1787 • Trịnh Lords 1558–1777 • Nguyễn Lords 1778–1802 Tây Sơn dynasty 1802–1945 Nguyễn dynasty 1858–1945 • French imperialism from 1945 Republic Related topics Champa Dynasties 192–1832 List of monarchs Economic history Prehistoric cultures

At the Battle of Bạch Đằng River in 938 the Vietnamese forces, led by Ngô Quyền, defeated Kiều Công Tiễn, governor of Tĩnh Hải quân, and allied Southern Han state of China and put an end to the Autonomy period after the third Chinese domination of Vietnam. It took place at the Bach Dang River, near Halong Bay in northern Vietnam.

In 937, Liu Yan (Chinese: 劉龑; Vietnamese: Lưu Nham), the Southern Han ruler, took the chance to intervene in Vietnam again after the death of the Annam Lord Protector Dương Đình Nghệ. He had been foiled by Dương Đình Nghệ in 931, but now that Dương Đình Nghệ was dead, he thought the time was ripe for another attempt. He placed his own son, Liu Hongcao (Chinese: 劉弘操; Vietnamese: Lưu Hoằng Tháo), in command of the expedition, naming him "Peaceful Sea Military Governor" and "King of Giao." He hastily assembled an army at Sea Gate, where he personally took charge of the reserve force.^{[citation needed]} He ordered Liu Hongcao to embark the army and sail to Giao.

By the time Liu Hongcao arrived in Vietnamese waters with the Southern Han expedition, Liu Hongcao's plan was to ascend the Bạch Đằng River (白藤江) and to place his army in the heart of Giao Chau before disembarking; the Bạch Đằng was the major riverine route into the Red River plain from the north.

Ngô Quyền anticipated this plan and brought his army to the mouth of the river. He had his men plant a barrier of large poles in the bed of the river. The tops of the poles reached just below the water level at high tide and were sharpened and tipped with iron. When Liu Hongcao appeared off the mouth of the river, Quyen sent out small, shallow-draft boats at high tide to provoke a fight and then retreat upriver, drawing the Chinese fleet in pursuit. As the tide fell, the heavy Chinese warboats were caught on the poles and lay trapped in the middle of the river, whereupon they were attacked by Ngô Quyền's forces. More than half the Chinese were drowned, including Liu Hongcao. When news of the battle reached Sea Gate with the survivors, Liu Yan wept openly. He collected what remained of his army and returned to Canton. This victory ended China's long domination of Vietnam and began a period of Vietnam's independence until the conquest by Ming China. Ngô Quyền's tactic would later be copied by Trần Hưng Đạo in a battle at Bạch Đằng River against the Mongols in 1288.

See also

• Battle of Bạch Đằng (981)
• Battle of Bạch Đằng (1288)

External links

• Spears offer insight into early military strategy