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| Battle of Baideng | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
 Xiongnu |
 Han dynasty | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
|
Modu Chanyu |
Emperor Gaozu | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| 20,000-40,000 | 320,000 | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| heavy | Less than Xiongnu | ||||||
The Battle of Baideng (白登之戰) was a military conflict between Han China and the Xiongnu in 200 BC. Han Dynasty of China invaded the territory of the Xiongnu in 200 BC attempting to subjugate them. However the Xiongnu united their forces under Modu Shanyu and surrounded the Han emperor Gaozu in Baideng. The siege was only relieved after seven days when the Han royal court, under Chen Ping's suggestion, sent spies to bribe Modu's wife.
In an alternate account, Grousset says that the Xiongnu invaded Chinese Shanxi and besieged Taiyuan. Gaozu broke the siege and chased the Xiongnu north, but was blockaded by them on the Baideng plateau near Datong in far northern Shanxi.
Background
Having ended the civil war, Emperor Gaozu attempted to fortify the northern defenses previously built by General Meng Tian. On the other hand, the Huns, taking advantage of the civil war, had captured bases in the south of the difficult Gobi Desert, and they did not want to lose this place.
Modu Chanyu formed an army from the nomadic coalition he had just formed and crossed the Chinese border. The operation looked like a simple plunder, but Modu Chanyu, a true tactician, had his main goal to intimidate his own people, the nomads he subjugated and the Chinese. With the booty to be obtained, he would both ensure the loyalty of the other tribesmen in the coalition, frighten them with his power, and show a golden stick to the Chinese who started to mobilize in the north (in the south according to the Huns).
The daring emperor, Liu-pang/Gao-zu, decided to respond to Modu Chanyu's move.
Attack of the Huns
Under his adventurous appearance, Modu Chanyu was a cautious strategist, being careful not to get trapped inside China. He besieged Mai Fortress, the most important point in China's northern defense. The defender of the castle was Han Hsin, a relative of the emperor (not Han Xin, the famous general who lived in the same period). When the prince lost hope of help, he surrendered and entered the service of Modu Chanyu.
Modu Chanyu had achieved his goal and succeeded in provoking Emperor Liu-pang/Gao-zu. The Emperor set up a huge army and moved north to fend off the Hun threat.
Modu Chanyu pulled his army into the mountains, while attacking left and right, plundering everything that belonged to the Chinese. He made the Emperor follow him by creating the impression of a ragged raider, in fact what he had been doing all along was luring the Chinese army into a trap.
Tactics
The entire Hun army consisted of cavalry and they were prepared for the cold as they came from the continental climate in the north. He had gloves and clothes suitable for winter conditions. The Chinese soldiers, on the other hand, were infantry recruited from the common people and fell into the grip of the cold while chasing the Huns across the high mountains. The fingers of thousands of Chinese archers froze, and a significant portion of China's military force was rendered incapable of combat.
This was the first piece of Modu Chanyu's trap.
Modu Chanyu quickly pulled back his cavalry, giving the impression that he was "escaped from the hands of the Chinese". The emperor was alarmed, for he had two options before him. Either he would let the Huns go, or he would simply take the fast troops with him and go after the Huns. Emperor Gaozu chose the second path, which was risky.
The Chinese army was split in two, and the Emperor pursued the Huns at the head of a small but fast unit.
The Battle and Siege
Modu Chanyu, who was retreating, suddenly stopped and attacked the Chinese. The Chinese were stunned by this unexpected move, they encountered the Huns in front of Baideng Fortress and suffered a heavy defeat.
The Battle of Baideng is the first example of the "fake retreat" tactic used by nomads throughout history.
The emperor retreated to the castle in panic. He hoped to rally his troops and assess the situation, but the Huns seized the opportunity and surrounded the fort. Mete divided his army into four divisions and kept all the exits of the castle.
The presence of the armies is uncertain. The total strength of the Chinese army was over 300,000, but it is not known how much of the vanguard was trapped in the fort with the Emperor. Although Chinese historians write that the number of the Hun army was 400,000 , this number is greatly exaggerated, since the total population of the nomads would not be enough to raise such an army, and since each soldier had at least two horses and these horses would be scattered around the castle and fed with grass during the siege, the size of the Hun army should have been roughly limited by the amount of meadows. Accordingly, the number of the Hun army must be between 20,000 and 40,000.
Aftermath
After the defeat at Baideng, the Han emperor abandoned a military solution to the Xiongnu threat. Instead, in 198 BC, the courtier Liu Jing (劉敬) was dispatched for negotiations. The peace settlement eventually reached between the parties included a so called Han "princess" given in marriage to the chanyu (called heqin 和親); periodic tribute of silk, liquor and rice to the Xiongnu; equal status between the states; and the Great Wall as mutual border. This treaty set the pattern for relations between the Han and the Xiongnu for some sixty years, until the Emperor Wu of Han decided to revive the policy to wage war against Xiongnu. The Han dynasty sent random unrelated commoner women falsely labeled as "princesses" and members of the Han imperial family multiple times when they were practicing Heqin marriage alliances with the Xiongnu in order to avoid sending the emperor's daughters.
See also
References
- Gumilyov, Lev (1960). Hunnu.
- ^ Chang, Chun-shu (2007). The Rise of the Chinese Empire, Volume 1: Nation, State, and Imperialism in Early China, ca. 1600 B.C. - A.D. 8. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press. p. 158. ISBN 978-0-472-11533-4.
- Nicola Di Cosmo, Antik Çin ve Düşmanları, s. 244.
- https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015068806333;view=1up;seq=190
- https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015068806333;view=1up;seq=190
- Rene Grousset, 'The Empire of the Steppes',1970/2008,page27,
- Chang, Chun-shu (2007).The Rise of the Chinese Empire, Volume 1: Nation, State, and Imperialism in Early China, ca. 1600 B.C. - A.D. 8 Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press. p. 158.
- Lev Gumilev, Hunlar, p. 82.
- Lo, Ping-cheung (2015). "11 Legalism and offensive realism in the Chinese court debate on defending national security 81 BCE". In Lo, Ping-cheung; Twiss, Sumner B (eds.). Chinese Just War Ethics: Origin, Development, and Dissent. War, Conflict and Ethics (illustrated ed.). Routledge. p. 269. ISBN 978-1317580973.
There were altogether nine marriages of Han princesses (fake or real) to the Xiongnu during these roughly 60 years (for a complete list of details, see Cui 2007a, 555). We will call this policy Heqin Model One, and, as Ying-shih Yu ...
- Qian, Sima (2019). Historical Records 史记: The First and Most Important Biographical General History Book in China. DeepLogic.
Liu Jing said: "The Han dynasty was just calm, the soldiers were exhausted by the fire, and the Xiongnu could not be ... If the majesty could not send a big princess, let the royal woman or the fake princess, he I will know that I will ...
- Chin, Tamara T. (2020). Savage Exchange: Han Imperialism, Chinese Literary Style, and the Economic Imagination. Harvard University Studies in East Asian Law. BRILL. p. 225. ISBN 978-1684170784.
In the Han- Wusun alliance (unlike the Han- Xiongnu heqin agreements) the gifts flowed in the proper direction, ... Thus, while Empress Lü transgressed the heqin marriage in having a false princess sent, Liu Jing's original proposal ...
- Chin, Tamara Ta Lun (2005). Savage Exchange: Figuring the Foreign in the Early Han Dynasty. University of California, Berkeley. p. 66, 73, 74.
Figuring the Foreign in the Early Han Dynasty Tamara Ta Lun Chin ... Emperor Han Wudi's military push to reverse the power relations between Xiongnu and Han stands in stark contrast to the original ... Xiongnu with a false princess .
- Mosol, Lee (2013). Ancient History of the Manchuria. X libris Corporation. p. 77. ISBN 978-1483667676.
... 孝文皇帝 sent a girl as a new wife for the Chanyu as a 'fake princess of Royal family' with a eunuch named '中行 ... The Han lured the Xiongnu chief deep into the China proper town called "馬邑," but Gunchen Chanyu realized the trap ...
Further reading
- Yap, Joseph P. pp 71–76. "Wars With The Xiongnu, A Translation From Zizhi tongjian" AuthorHouse (2009) ISBN 978-1-4490-0604-4
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