Battle of Guandu
| Battle of Guandu | |||||||
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| Part of the wars at the end of the Han dynasty | |||||||
 A map of the battle. It shows the movements during the battles of Boma and Yan Ford. Flanking attempts are not shown. Note that the Yellow River has changed course over the centuries and the places depicted are no longer at the same locations relative to the river. |
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| Belligerents | |||||||
| Cao Cao | Yuan Shao | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| Cao Cao Cao Hong |
Yuan Shao Chunyu Qiong Guo Tu |
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| Strength | |||||||
| ~40,000 | 110,000 | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| (Unknown) | ~70,000 | ||||||
| Battle of Guandu | |||||||
| Traditional Chinese | 官渡之戰 | ||||||
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| Simplified Chinese | 官渡之战 | ||||||
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| Transcriptions | |
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| Standard Mandarin | |
| Hanyu Pinyin | Guāndù Zhī Zhàn |
The Battle of Guandu was fought between the warlords Cao Cao and Yuan Shao in 200 AD in the late Eastern Han dynasty. The battle, which concluded with a decisive victory for Cao Cao, was a turning point in the war between the two warlords. It marked the beginning of Cao Cao's gradual reunification of northern China, which made possible the establishment of the state of Cao Wei in the Three Kingdoms period.
From 196 onwards, it became increasingly obvious that an armed confrontation between the warlords Cao Cao and Yuan Shao was inevitable. Yuan Shao was in control of the lands north of the Yellow River, namely the Hebei region, and had large and powerful armies under his command. Cao Cao controlled most of the lands south of the Yellow River and had the Emperor Xian with him in the new capital city of Xu. The warlords saw each other as the barrier to their individual ambitions to conquer and rule China. Thus, it seemed that a trial of strength between the two warlords was inevitable.
Some years before the battle, Yuan Shao's advisors Ju Shou and Tian Feng had foreseen that Cao Cao would become a threat to their lord in his ambition to dominate China. They advised Yuan Shao to start a campaign against Cao Cao when the latter was still building up his forces, but Yuan Shao ignored their advice as Cao Cao was still nominally his ally. Tension between Cao Cao and Yuan Shao started to build up after Cao Cao moved Emperor Xian from the old capital Luoyang.
The geographical position of Guandu (官渡; northeast of present-day Zhongmu County, Henan) made it a militarily strategic position. It was near Yan Ford (延津; north of present-day Yanjin County, Henan) on the Yellow River and laid on the road leading to the capital city Xu. Cao Cao recognized its strategic importance and in the autumn of 199, he stationed troops there and prepared fortifications. Other deployments along the frontline included Liu Yan (劉延) in Boma (白馬; near present-day Hua County, Henan), Yu Jin in Yan Ford, Cheng Yu in Juancheng (鄄城; near present-day Juancheng County, Shandong), and Xiahou Dun in Meng Ford (孟津; present-day Mengjin County, Henan). At the same time, Cao Cao sent Zang Ba to harass Qing Province (青州), which was governed by Yuan Shao's son Yuan Tan, to prevent his eastern flank from coming under attack.
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Wikipedia