Battle of Boma | |||||||
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Part of the Guandu campaign | |||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||
Yuan Shao | Cao Cao | ||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||
Yuan Shao Yan Liang † | Cao Cao Liu Yan Guan Yu | ||||||
Strength | |||||||
~10,000 under Yan Liang [1] | Unknown, less than Yuan Shao |
Battle of Boma | |||||||
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Traditional Chinese | 白馬之戰 | ||||||
Simplified Chinese | 白马之战 | ||||||
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The Battle of Boma or Battle of Baima was the first of a series of battles that led to the decisive Battle of Guandu between the warlords Yuan Shao and Cao Cao in northern China in the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. Although Cao Cao won the battle and Yuan Shao lost his elite general Yan Liang,Cao eventually abandoned his position in Boma to entrench at the strategically important Guandu.
By the 190s,the Eastern Han dynasty had fractured into warlordism. After years of reconfigurations and annexations,northern China was divided along the Yellow River by two warlords:Yuan Shao to the north and his former ally Cao Cao to the south. As it became obvious that a confrontation was inevitable,the two warlords scrambled to gather their forces in defensive positions along the Yellow River.
At the time,Boma (白馬;near present-day Hua County,Henan) lay south of the river across from Liyang (黎陽;north-west of present-day Xun County,Henan),a major base for military recruits. [2] The crossing between Boma and Liyang was deemed to be of tremendous importance as a strategic link on the main north-south route between Yuan Shao and Cao Cao's territories. [3] Sometime between 8 September and 7 October 199,Cao Cao advanced to the vicinity of Liyang in a probing action [4] and stationed Liu Yan (劉延),the Administrator of Dong Commandery,at Boma. [5] The position at Boma allowed Cao Cao's forces to overlook the vital ford while serving as a first line of defence against Yuan Shao's forces. [5] However,Cao Cao had set his sights on a concentrated confrontation at the topographically advantageous city of Guandu (官渡;northeast of present-day Zhongmu County,Henan) to the south, [6] thus the purpose of defending Boma was only to delay enemy advances across the river. [5]
Cao Cao also placed Yu Jin at the nearby Yan Ford (延津;north of present-day Yanjin County,Henan) with 2,000 troops [7] and went back to the capital at Xu City to make further battle preparations. [8] He returned to his battle command at Guandu after putting down Liu Bei's rebellion in Xu Province sometime between February 3 and March 2,200. [9]
Between March 3 and April 1,200,Yuan Shao sent his general Yan Liang with Guo Tu and Chunyu Qiong across the river to attack Liu Yan's position at Boma,while Yuan stayed behind at Liyang with the main army to give the impression that he was crossing the river. [10] Earlier,Yuan Shao's advisor Ju Shou had objected to letting Yan Liang lead the attack,saying that Yan Liang was brave but impatient and unable to manage the task alone,but Yuan Shao ignored his advice.
Liu Yan's small garrison of troops at Boma apparently offered some stubborn resistance,as the siege dragged on for at least 32 days until May,prompting Cao Cao to lead troops in relief of Boma. If Cao Cao had previously considered the position expendable,then Cao Cao might have been motivated by the time gained by the resistance as well as the need to repair the damage in men,supplies and morale. [10]
As Yuan Shao's forces at Liyang was numerically superior to Cao Cao's forces,Cao Cao's strategist Xun You suggested seeking to split Yuan Shao's forces using a diversionary tactic and take out the less capable Yan Liang. Cao Cao adhered to this plan and marched towards Yan Ford as if trying to cross the river to attack Yuan Shao's rear. Reacting to this apparent threat,Yuan Shao split off his men in Liyang and came west along the northern bank of the river,thus falling for the feint. Rapidly,Cao Cao led light troops east toward Boma,and engaged a startled Yan Liang some ten li west of the outpost. Cao Cao sent Zhang Liao and Guan Yu (now supporting Cao Cao after Liu Bei was defeated in Xu Province) to lead the vanguard. Noticing Yan Liang's standard from afar,Guan Yu charged through thousands of enemy troops toward Yan Liang,killed him with a stroke,decapitated him,and returned with Yan's head. Thus the siege of Boma was broken. [1]
After the victory at Boma,Cao Cao considered the outpost at Boma untenable and evacuated its population to the west towards Yan Ford. With that,Yuan Shao finally crossed the river in pursuit,attacking the baggage train along the southern bank of the river. In what was to become the Battle of Yan Ford,the plundering party was lured into an ambush set up by Cao Cao,killing another of Yuan Shao's famed generals,Wen Chou. Thus Cao Cao was able to deal a devastating blow to the enemy's morale [11] and retreat back to Guandu unmolested, [12] where Cao Cao had prepared for the eventual showdown.
For his efforts,Guan Yu was enfeoffed with the rank of marquis. However,thinking that by killing Yan Liang he had done Cao Cao a great service and repaid Cao Cao's generosity,Guan Yu left behind all he had received from Cao Cao with a note of parting and returned to Liu Bei. Cao Cao,in admiration of Guan Yu's loyalty,did not allow his generals to give pursuit. [13]
The Battle of Boma was mentioned in Chapter 25 of the 14th-century historical novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms as follows:
With some 100,000 men as the vanguard,Yan Liang attacked Liu Yan at Boma. Answering Liu Yan's repeated requests for aid,Cao Cao launched 150,000 men split into three prongs to relieve Boma. Guan Yu,who had recently pledged service to Cao Cao and was the subject of many rewards by Cao Cao,wanted to participate in the battle against Yan Liang to repay Cao Cao's generosity,but Cao Cao did not think it was necessary to use Guan Yu yet. Cao Cao personally led 50,000 men to engage Yan Liang,but was awed by Yan's arrays of elite troops. Song Xian (宋憲) and Wei Xu (魏續),two former generals under LüBu,each volunteered to duel Yan Liang,but were both killed in a short time. Xu Huang also rode out to challenge Yan Liang,but he came back defeated after 20 bouts. Both armies ceased battle for the day.
As suggested by his advisor Cheng Yu,Cao Cao then hesitantly summoned Guan Yu,fearing that the latter would leave him once he had repaid his kindness. The next day,as Yan Liang's army lined up on the battlefield,Guan Yu sat with Cao Cao on a hilltop and looked down. From afar he saw Yan Liang under the army standard. Leaping onto his steed,the Red Hare,Guan Yu galloped straight into the enemy ranks,which broke before him like waves before a swift vessel. Before Yan Liang could fight back,he was struck down by Guan Yu. Guan severed Yan Liang's head,tied it to the neck of his steed,and rode back unhindered. Yan Liang's men became demoralized and fell into chaos,providing an opportunity for Cao Cao to attack. The battle of Boma was thus won with uncountable enemy dead and much plundering of supplies.
Sun Ce, courtesy name Bofu, was a Chinese military general, politician, and warlord who lived during the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. He was the eldest child of Sun Jian, who was killed during the Battle of Xiangyang when Sun Ce was only 16. Sun Ce then broke away from his father's overlord, Yuan Shu, and headed to the Jiangdong region in southern China to establish his own power base there. With the help of several people, such as Zhang Zhao and Zhou Yu, Sun Ce managed to lay down the foundation of the state of Eastern Wu during the Three Kingdoms period.
The Battle of Guandu was fought between the warlords Cao Cao and Yuan Shao in 200 AD in the late Eastern Han dynasty. Cao Cao's decisive victory against Yuan Shao's numerically superior forces marked the turning point in their war. The victory was also the point at which Cao Cao became the dominant power in northern China, leading to the establishment of the state of Cao Wei in the Three Kingdoms period.
Xu Huang, courtesy name Gongming, was a Chinese military general serving under the warlord Cao Cao in the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. He later served in the state of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms period under the first two rulers, Cao Pi and Cao Rui, before his death at the start of Cao Rui's reign. Xu Huang is best noted for breaking the siege at the Battle of Fancheng in 219 by routing the enemy commander Guan Yu on the field.
Yuan Shao, courtesy name Benchu (本初), was a Chinese military general, politician, and warlord who lived in the late Eastern Han dynasty. He occupied the northern territories of China during the civil wars that occurred towards the end of the Han dynasty. He was also an elder half-brother of Yuan Shu, a warlord who controlled the Huai River region, though the two were not on good terms with each other.
Yan Liang was a military general serving under the warlord Yuan Shao during the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. He was slain by Guan Yu at the Battle of Boma.
Wen Chou was a military general serving under the warlord Yuan Shao during the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. His force was defeated by that of rival warlord Cao Cao in the Battle of Yan Ford and he was killed in the midst of battle.
The military history of the Three Kingdoms period encompasses roughly a century's worth of prolonged warfare and disorder in Chinese history. After the assassination of General-in-chief He Jin in September 189, the administrative structures of the Han government became increasingly irrelevant. By the time of death of Cao Cao, the most successful warlord of North China, in 220, the Han empire was divided between the three rival states of Cao Wei, Shu Han and Eastern Wu. Due to the ensuing turmoil, the competing powers of the Three Kingdoms era found no shortage of willing recruits for their armies, although press-ganging as well as forcible enlistment of prisoners from defeated armies still occurred. Following four centuries of rule under the Han dynasty, the Three Kingdoms brought about a new era of conflict in China that shifted institutions in favor of a more permanent and selective system of military recruitment. This ultimately included the creation of a hereditary military class as well as increasing reliance on non-Chinese cavalry forces and the end of universal conscription.
Yu Jin, courtesy name Wenze, was a Chinese military general serving under the warlord Cao Cao in the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. He joined Cao Cao in 192 around the start of the civil wars leading to the collapse of the dynasty, and fought in many of the campaigns which established the warlord's position as a central figure in that period. In 219, Yu Jin was tasked with leading forces to relief Cao Cao's general Cao Ren, who was being besieged in Fancheng by Liu Bei's general Guan Yu, but his armies were destroyed in a flood due to heavy rains. Yu Jin surrendered to Guan Yu and became a prisoner-of-war, but was transferred to the custody of another warlord, Sun Quan, after Sun Quan's forces captured Guan Yu's bases in late 219. Sun Quan treated Yu Jin like a guest and in 221 sent him back to the state of Cao Wei, which was founded in late 220 by Cao Cao's successor, Cao Pi, who ended the Eastern Han dynasty. Cao Pi pardoned Yu Jin and restored him to the position of a general. However, Yu Jin died later that year in regret after visiting Cao Cao's tomb, where he saw illustrations of the Battle of Fancheng depicting his surrender to Guan Yu.
Yue Jin, courtesy name Wenqian, was a military general serving under the warlord Cao Cao in the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. He was noted as much for his short stature as for his valour and ferocity on the battlefield. Yue Jin participated in most of Cao Cao's early military exploits, and gained multiple successes in the campaigns against Lü Bu, Liu Bei, remnants of the Yellow Turban rebels, and Yuan Shao and his associates. He was particularly praised as a capable vanguard, but his most famed accomplishment came with his supporting role in the defence of Hefei against Sun Quan's forces at the Battle of Xiaoyao Ford of 214–215.
Xun You, courtesy name Gongda, was a statesman who lived during the late Eastern Han dynasty of China and served as an adviser to the warlord Cao Cao. Born in the influential Xun family of Yingchuan Commandery, Xun You was recruited into the civil service by the general He Jin. When the warlord Dong Zhuo hijacked and controlled the Han central government between 189 and 192, Xun You plotted with four others to assassinate him but was discovered and imprisoned. Following his release after Dong Zhuo's death, he wanted to serve as the Administrator of Shu Commandery but eventually settled as an official in Jing Province.
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Ju Shou was an adviser serving under the warlord Yuan Shao during the late Eastern Han dynasty of China.
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The Battle of Yan Ford took place along the southern banks of the Yellow River in the late Eastern Han dynasty. The battle was closely preceded by the Battle of Boma, and was part of a series of engagements leading to the decisive confrontation between the rival warlords Yuan Shao and Cao Cao at the Battle of Guandu in 200. Following the death of one of Yuan Shao's elite generals, Yan Liang, in the previous battle, the death of another famed general Wen Chou in this battle greatly demoralised Yuan's army, which was heading towards Guandu.
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