The Battle of Chibi was a major naval battle fought on the Yangtze River in 208 AD between the allied fleet of Sun Quan and Liu Bei and the vast armada of Cao Cao. Cao Cao and an 800,000-strong invasion force attempted to destroy his rival warlord Liu Bei, who fled to the court of fellow southern warlord, Sun Quan and formed a hasty alliance to defend the Southlands from northern tyranny. The ensuing naval battle saw the Allied strategists, Zhou Yu and Zhuge Liang destroy Cao Cao's fleet through several ploys, including using the infiltrator, Pang Tong to have Cao Cao chain his ships together, waiting for strong winds, and launching a massive fire attack on Cao Cao's fleet. The fire attack destroyed Cao Cao's navy, which was then destroyed in the ensuing battle. Cao Cao narrowly escaped the battle due to the intercession of Liu Bei's sworn brother, Guan Yu, who owed his life to Cao Cao for the kindness shown to him between the Battle of Xu Province in 200 and his return to his brother's side after the Battle of Guandu. The battle confined Cao Cao to northern China, while Sun Quan secured his position in Jiangdong and Liu Bei began to carve out his own domain in the southwest, heralding the rise of the Three Kingdoms.
Background[]
In 208 AD, the Han prime minister and northern warlord, Cao Cao received permission from Emperor Xian of Han to lead a vast army of 500,000 troops south to subdue his rival warlord Liu Bei, who had taken shelter with the warlord Liu Biao in Jing Province.
Liu Biao died of illness before Cao Cao could invade, and his son Liu Cong was manipulated by his advisors into peacefully surrendering to Cao Cao, who gained the services of Jing Province's 50,000 horsemen, 150,000 infantry, 80,000 marines, and seven thousands of ships under the generals Cai Mao and Zhang Yun.
Cao Cao and his now 830,000-strong army prepared to strike a killing blow against the now-fugitive Liu Bei, but, with the help of his brave and loyal generals, Liu Bei was able to evade Cao Cao's pursuit at the Battle of Changban and escaped from Jiangling to Jiangdong, where he sought the assistance of the fellow southern warlord Sun Quan. With the help of his strategist Zhuge Liang, Liu Bei was able to convince Sun Quan to form an alliance to protect the Southlands from Cao Cao's tyranny, and, emboldened by the support of Zhou Yu and Lu Su, Sun Quan declared war on Cao Cao.
Liu Bei and Sun Quan's armies combined to number 50,000 troops, and Zhou Yu also amassed a navy to face Cao Cao's armada. Cao Cao then sent a messenger to Zhou Yu, hoping to persuade him to surrender.
Battle[]
Cai Mao and Zhang Yun's failures[]
Cao Cao's fleet at Chibi.
After having Cao Cao's messenger put to death and his letter shredded before it was even opened, Zhou Yu decided to move. Gan Ning was to lead the vanguard, supported by Han Dang and Jiang Qin; Zhou Yu would lead the center body in support.
Cao Cao sent out his admirals Cai Mao and Zhang Yun to the meeting of the three rivers at Chibi, where battle was met. Gan Ning killed Cai Mao's brother Cai Xun with an arrow, and the navally-experienced forces of Sun Quan flanked the inexperienced sailors of Cao Cao's navy, slaughtering them. When Cao Cao blamed the defeat on his admirals, they convinced him to organize a naval camp on the riverbank.
The next day, Zhou Yu sent out spy ships to reconnoiter Cao Cao's fleet, and Cai Mao and Zhang Yun failed to destroy them. Cao Cao was again angry, but Jiang Gan volunteered to convince his childhood friend Zhou Yu to surrender. Zhou Yu welcomed his old friend into his tent and drank, and he purposefully let Jiang Gan see falsified letters purported to be from Cai Mao and Zhang Yun in which the two admirals promised to defect to Wu.
The next morning, Jiang Gan returned to Cao Cao and told him of Cai Mao and Zhang Yun's treason, bringing the false letters with him. Cao Cao then had his two admirals executed for treason, but, after Cao Cao thought over the matter, he realized that he had been tricked. He then made Mao Jie and Yu Jin the new commanders of the naval camp.
Borrowing Arrows and Huang Gai's "treachery"[]
Lu Su assured Zhou Yu that he would easily be able to outwit and defeat Cao Cao, but Zhou Yu grew paranoid about Zhuge Liang, whom he feared could still outsmart him. He decided to engineer Zhuge Liang's execution by challenging him to an impossible task. He asked Zhuge Liang to gather 100,000 arrows for the battle within ten days, lest he be executed for failure; Zhuge Liang then boasted that he could retrieve the arrows in three days.
Zhuge Liang and Lu Su prepared 20 large boats filled with dummy soldiers made of straw and hay, and he sent the boats towards Cao Cao's fleet during a great fog. Zhuge Liang then beat the attack drums, and Cao Cao's panicked soldiers showered the boats with arrows.
Zhuge Liang and Lu Su enjoyed tea inside of the cabin as the ships were stuffed with arrows, and, by the time that they returned to base, the boats had brought back 100,000 arrows, defeating Zhou Yu's ploy. Shortly after, both generals agreed that the best strategy for defeating Cao Cao's fleet would be a fire attack.
Pang Tong observing Cao Cao's fleet.
Meanwhile, Cao Cao's strategist Xun You organized a ploy meant to undermine the Allied fleet; Cai Mao's brothers Cai Zhong and Cai He were sent to Zhou Yu and pretended to surrender, intending to assassinate him and Zhuge Liang. However, as the defectors came with their families, Zhou Yu was sure that they were only pretending to desert, so he decided to manipulate them.
He had Huang Gai whipped in front of them, and he then sent Huang Gai to Cao Cao as a deserter, having him feign discontent with Zhou Yu. Kan Ze presented Huang Gai to Cao Cao, and, upon returning to his camp, he and Gan Ning pretended to express a desire to join Cao Cao, causing Cai Zhong and Cai He to report this to Cao Cao as well.
Cao Cao distrusted the situation and sent Jiang Gan to investigate, and Jiang Gan seemingly convinced Zhou Yu's officer Pang Tong to defect, as Pang Tong claimed that Zhou Yu was conceited and blocked him from being promoted. Pang Tong convinced Cao Cao to chain his ships together to reduce the seasickness of his soldiers, and Xu Shu nearly exposed Pang Tong's plan, but Pang Tong convinced Xu Shu to remember Liu Bei's kindness and to not ruin his plan.
Xu Shu then spread rumors that Han Sui and Ma Teng were preparing to march on Xuchang, allowing for him to lead 3,000 troops to Xiliang; this gave Xu Shu the ability to escape from Cao Cao's fury.
Cao Cao's plan[]
After all of the ships were chained together, Cao Cao readied his fleet: Mao Jie and Yu Jin led the central naval squadron, Zhang He led the leading squadron, Lu Qian led the rear squadron, Wen Ping commanded the left squadron, and Li Tong commanded the right squadron.
Meanwhile, on the shore, Xu Huang commanded the horsemen, Li Dian led the vanguard, Yue Jin led the left wing, Xiahou Dun led the right wing, Xiahou Dun and Cao Hong commanded the reserve, and Xu Chu and Zhang Liao led the general staff.
Cao Cao ignored Cheng Yu's advice that his chaining of the ships would render his fleet vulnerable to a fire attack, and he allowed Jiao Chu and Zhang Neng to take 20 ships and 500 marines to raid Zhou Yu's fleet and prove themselves adept at naval warfare; Wen Ping was sent to support them with 30 ships. Han Dang and Zhou Tai led out 5 ships each to attack Cao Cao's flotilla, and Han Dang killed Jiao Chu in one thrust, while Zhou Tai slew Zhang Neng.
Zhou Yu then recalled his ships before they could fight Wen Ping's force, and he then fell ill and was forced to retire to his sickbed.
Wind prayer and attack preparations[]
Zhuge Liang then conceived a plan to built an altar and pray for southeast winds, hoping to use the winds to make the fire attack more potent. As Zhuge Liang prayed, Huang Gai prepared 20 fire ships for the attack, and, when Zhuge Liang succeeded in calling in the winds, Zhou Yu sent Ding Feng and Xu Sheng with 100 men each to assassinate Zhuge Liang, fearing his powers. However, Zhao Yun prevented them from tracking down Zhuge Liang, threatening to slay them.
Zhou Yu was unfazed, and he sent Taishi Ci with 2,000 troops to Huangzhou to cut Cao Cao's communications with Hefei. Gan Ning was also sent to burn Cao Cao's supply depot (backed up by 3,000 troops under Lu Meng), Ling Tong and 4,000 troops headed to Yiling to attack as soon as Gan Ning signalled him, and Dong Xi and 3,000 troops went to Hanyang to ambush Cao Cao's forces on the Han River. A sixth division of 3,000 troops under Pan Zhang was then sent to support Dong Xi.
Meanwhile, Han Dang, Zhou Tai, Jiang Qi, and Chen Wu each took command of 300-ship squadrons with 25 fire ships each, and Zhou Yu and Cheng Pu (guarded by Ding Feng and Xu Sheng) boarded a capital ship to supervise the battle. Lu Su, Kan Ze, and the advisors were left to guard the main camp. Sun Quan himself then appointed Lu Xun to command the vanguard.
Meanwhile, Zhuge Liang met with Liu Bei and Liu Qi at Xiakou, and Liu Bei sent Zhao Yun with 3,000 troops to prepare an ambush on Cao Cao as he would retreat up the Jingzhou road to Xuchang. Zhang Fei was then sent with 3,000 troops to cut the road to Yiling at the Hulu Valley; Mi Zhu, Mi Fang, and Liu Feng were given command of three squadrons, and Lu Qi was sent to secure Wuchang.
Liu Bei was sent to Fankou to supervise his army's progress, and Zhuge Liang reluctantly sent Guan Yu to block Cao Cao's escape on the Huarong Road, with Guan Yu volunteering to sign a pledge that, if he let Cao Cao escape due to past friendship, he would be dealt with militarily.
Guan Yu, Guan Ping, and Zhou Cang thus set out with 500 troops to guard the Huarong Road. Sun Qian and Jian Yong were then left in command of Xiakou. Zhou Yu then had Cai He executed and sacrificed to his battle flag, and he set his plans in motion.
Fire attack[]
Zhou Yu rallying his officers.
Huang Gai and his squadron then approached Cao Cao, who initially welcomed him as the defector. However, Cheng Yu warned him that Huang Gai might be an enemy agent, and Cao Cao sent out Wen Ping to halt his fleet. Wen Ping was shot in the left arm with an arrow, and Huang Gai's twenty fire ships rammed into Cao Cao's naval camp, where the winds helped the fires engulf the entire fleet. Bombs and fireships collided with Cao Cao's fleet from all sides, creating a great inferno. Zhang Liao rescued Cao Cao from the fire attack, and he wounded Huang Gai in the shoulder with an arrow as he attempted to pursue Cao Cao. Han Dang then saved Huang Gai from drowning, and Cao Cao withdrew with an incalculable loss of troops. Gan Ning was then guided to Cao Cao's main by Cai Zhong, who still believed that he would defect to Cao Cao. Gan Ning slew Cai Zhong before signalling Lu Meng and his force to join in the assault on Cao Cao's camp.
Cao Cao's Escape[]
Cao Cao during his escape.
Gan Ning set the forest on fire, and Cao Cao and Zhang Liang fled through the forest with a small party of horsemen. Mao Jie and Wen Ping then joined them with another cavalry force. Xu Huang repelled Lu Meng and Ling Tong's ambushes, and Cao Cao sent Ma Yan and Zhang Zi with 1,000 troops to clear the road ahead. Gan Ning slew both of the enemy generals, and Lu Xun and Taishi Ci sprung their own ambushes on Cao Cao's forces. Zhao Yun captured Xu Huang and Zhang He's banners as Cao Cao fled towards Jiangling, and he decided to use the Hulu Valley. Zhang Liao, Xu Huang, and Xu Chu thwarted Zhang Fei's ambush, and Cao Cao decided to push on to Jingzhou. Guan Yu halted Cao Cao at the Huarong Road, but he allowed Cao Cao and his former brother-in-arms Zhang Liao to pass by due to their former friendship.
Aftermath[]
Cao Cao lamented Guo Jia's death a year earlier, believing that, had he still been alive, he might have won the battle. He had Xiahou Dun hold Xiangyang as Zhang Liao, Li Dian, and Yue Jin were sent to hold Hefei and Cao Hong was sent to hold Yiling and Jiangling. Meanwhile, Zhuge Liang ordered that Guan Yu be put to death, but Liu Bei interceded on behalf of his brother and remitted the sentence. Liu Bei and Sun Quan then focused on attacking Nanjun to press the attack against Cao Cao's confused forces.