Battle of Jiangling (208)

Battle of Jiangling
Battle of Jiangling
Traditional Chinese	江陵之戰
Simplified Chinese	江陵之战
Hanyu Pinyin
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu Pinyin	Jiānglǐng Zhī Zhàn

Battle of Jiangling
	Part of the Red Cliffs campaign
Date	Winter of 208–209
Location	Jiangling County, Hubei, China
Result	Allied partial victory; Cao Cao manages to defend Xiangyang; Allies gain majority of Jing province
Belligerents
Sun Quan; Liu Bei	Cao Cao
Commanders and leaders
Zhou Yu; Cheng Pu; Han Dang; Lü Meng; Ling Tong; Zhou Tai; Gan Ning; Liu Bei; Guan Yu; Zhang Fei; Lei Xu	Cao Ren; Xu Huang; Niu Jin; Chen Jiao; Yue Jin; Li Tong; Wen Ping
Strength
40,000+	120,000+ (the troops Cao Ren had prior to the battle was more than that of Zhou Yu, and he received reinforcements from Yi Province, Xiangyang, Runan, Jiangxia, Dangyang, and numerous other cities controlled by Cao Cao.)

The Battle of Jiangling was fought by the allied forces of Sun Quan and Liu Bei against Cao Cao during the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. The battle was an integral part of the Red Cliffs campaign, and was fought immediately after the Battle of Yiling in 208, and the preceding engagement at Wulin (烏林; in present-day Honghu, Hubei) on land and the marine Battle of Red Cliffs where Cao Cao's navy was destroyed. Note that the battle at Wulin was a byproduct of the Battle of Red Cliffs, and they were not the same battle.

While the fighting around Jiangling County was vigorous, there were less fierce battles taking place in southern Jing Province. Unable to isolate Jiangling from its supporting cities (except those in Yi Province, see Battle of Yiling (208) for details), the campaign became a war of attrition, which resulted in enormous casualties for Cao Cao's side. After a year or so, Cao Cao could no longer afford the continuous losses in personnel and materiel, so he ordered Cao Ren to withdraw from Jiangling.^[7]

Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see the help page).

^ (曹仁分眾圍寧，寧困急，使使請救。諸將以兵少不足分) Sanguozhi vol. 54.
^ (益州牧刘璋始受徵役，遣兵给军。) Sanguozhi vol. 1.
^ ((乐进)后从平荆州，留屯襄阳) Sanguozhi vol. 17.
^ (刘备与周瑜围曹仁於江陵，别遣关羽绝北道。通率众击之) Sanguozhi vol. 18. (通) in this passage refers to Li Tong, who was the Administrator of Runan at the time.
^ ((文聘)与乐进讨关羽於寻口，有功，进封延寿亭侯，) Sanguozhi vol. 18. Wen Ping was the Administrator of Jiangxia by the time.
^ (建安十三年，从太祖征荆州。大军还，留宠行奋威将军，屯当阳。) Man Chong was given authority as acting General Who Demonstrates Bravery by Cao Cao specifically to lead troops in anticipation of Sun Quan's invasion, and was stationed at Dangyang with substantial number of soldiers.
^ (瑜、仁相守歲余，所殺傷甚眾。仁委城走。) Sanguozhi vol. 47.

[2] (曹仁分眾圍寧，寧困急，使使請救。諸將以兵少不足分) Sanguozhi vol. 54.

[3] (益州牧刘璋始受徵役，遣兵给军。) Sanguozhi vol. 1.

[4] ((乐进)后从平荆州，留屯襄阳) Sanguozhi vol. 17.

[5] (刘备与周瑜围曹仁於江陵，别遣关羽绝北道。通率众击之) Sanguozhi vol. 18. (通) in this passage refers to Li Tong, who was the Administrator of Runan at the time.

[6] ((文聘)与乐进讨关羽於寻口，有功，进封延寿亭侯，) Sanguozhi vol. 18. Wen Ping was the Administrator of Jiangxia by the time.

[7] (建安十三年，从太祖征荆州。大军还，留宠行奋威将军，屯当阳。) Man Chong was given authority as acting General Who Demonstrates Bravery by Cao Cao specifically to lead troops in anticipation of Sun Quan's invasion, and was stationed at Dangyang with substantial number of soldiers.

[8] (瑜、仁相守歲余，所殺傷甚眾。仁委城走。) Sanguozhi vol. 47.

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