Battle of Bạch Đằng (1288)

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Battle of Bạch Đằng (1288)
Part of the Mongol invasions of Vietnam
Date 1288
Location Bạch Đằng, Đại Việt
Result Đại Việt Victory
Belligerents
Đại Việt Yuan Mongol Army
Yuan Mongol Navy
Commanders
Trần Hưng Đạo
Trần Khánh Dư		 General Omar
Strength
10,000+ 7,000+
Casualties and losses
4000-4500 killed 6000 killed, hundreds captured, more than 400 ships destroyed
v • d • e
The Mongol Invasions

The Battle of Bạch Đằng took place near Ha Long Bay in present-day Vietnam, it was part of the Third Mongol Invasion (1287-88). It went down as one of the greatest victories in Vietnamese history.

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[edit] The plan

In 1288 after the evacuation from the capital Thăng Long or present-day Hà Nội, Đại Việt's Grand Commander Trần Hưng Đạo decided to launch an offensive against the Mongolians on the Bạch Đằng river and immediately set to organise the battle.

The Bạch Đằng river ran through Yen Hung district (Quảng Ninh) and Thuy Nguyen (Hải Phòng) before reaching the sea. This is where the well-known battle of Ngô Quyền against the Nanhan took place in 938 A.D. It was from March, Trần Hưng Đạo was already there to prepare the battlefield. He borrowed the same tactic that Ngô Quyền used against the Chinese in 938. He studied the tidal law, had beds of stakes planted under the water and arranged ambushes in a unified plan of campaign.

[edit] The battle

As was foreseen, the Mongolians in Thăng Long suffered an acute shortage of food. Without any news about the supply fleet Toghan found himself in a tight corner and had to order his army to retreat to Vạn Kiếp. This was when Đại Việt's Army began the general offensive by recapturing a number of locations occupied by the Mongol invaders. Groups of partisans were given orders to harass the enemy in Vạn Kiếp, putting them at a loss. Toghan had to split his army into two and retreat.

In early April the supply fleet led by Omar and escorted by infantry fled home along the Bạch Đằng river. As bridges and roads were destroyed and attacks were launched by Đại Việt's troops, the Mongols reached Bạch Đằng. Đại Việt's small flotilla engaged in battle and pretended to retreat. The Mongols eagerly pursued Đại Việt troops and fell into their pre-arranged battlefield. Thousands of Đại Việt's small boats from both banks quickly appeared, fiercely launched the attack and broke the combat formation of the enemy. Inflicted with a sudden and strong attack, the Mongols tried to withdraw to the sea in panic. Hitting the stakes, their boats were halted, many of which were broken and sunken. At that time, a number of fire rafts quickly rushed toward them. Frightened, the Mongolian troops jumped down to get to the banks where they were dealt a heavy blow by a big army led by the Trần king and Trần Hưng Đạo.

The Mongolian supply fleet was totally destroyed. Omar was captured.

At the same time, Đại Việt's Army made continuous attacks and smashed to pieces Toghan’s army on its route of withdrawal through Lạng Sơn. Toghan risked his life making a shortcut through forests to flee home.

[edit] Legacy

The two weak but war-like Vietnamese states, Annam and Champa, accepted Kublai Khan as their overlord later. The Battle of Bạch Đằng went down as one of the greatest victories in Vietnamese military history and is a well-known event in Vietnam. Vietnam was the only country in the world then that successfully defeated the Mongol Hordes and their invasion three times in a row.

In 1959 during excavation works in Yen Giang commune, Vietnamese archaeologists found the sharpened stakes that were used during the campaign in 1288.

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