Battle of Fancheng
| date | Spring 219 |
|---|---|
| place | Fancheng (present-day Xiangyang , Hubei ) |
| output | Victory of the Wei |
| Parties to the conflict | |
|---|---|
| Commander | |
| Troop strength | |
| unknown | unknown |
| losses | |
|
unknown |
unknown |
Sishui Pass - Hulao Pass - Jieqiao - Guandu - Changban - Chibi - Tong Gate - Hefei - Dingjun - Fancheng - Xiaoting - Southern Campaign - Shiting - Jieting - Northern Expeditions - Wu Zhang Plain
The Battle of Fancheng ( Chinese 樊城之戰 / 樊城之战 ) took place in the spring 219 between the Chinese rich Shu Han and Wei in the context of the Three Kingdoms period instead. A second battle between Shu and Wu took place there shortly afterwards .
location
Fancheng District (now Xiangyang , Hubei Province ) was then under the control of the Wei. The key point of the province was the Fan Castle, a large fortress in the lowland of the Han Jiang .
Wei versus Shu
Initially, Guan Yu's attack was repulsed by Wei General Pang De . Therefore, Guan Yu had dams built around the castle and diverted the Han River, so that - intensified by the heavy rains - the castle was flooded. Cao Ren , the Wei commander, considered withdrawing, but his adviser Man Chong persuaded him to hold on. Guan Yu has now captured Wei generals Pang De and Yu Jin and tried to win them over. But Pang De strictly refused and was executed. Yu Jin feared for his life and was released by Guan Yu. Not long later, the reinforcements under Wei General Xu reached Huang Yangling and camped there to await further reinforcements. Guan Yu ignored Xu Huang and split his troops to attack Xiangyang as well. He let his vanguard advance very far so that they and Guan Yu's main army were far apart. Xu Huang then pretended to attack Guan Yu. This fell on the plan and withdrew. The news of Sun Quan's reinforcement reached both Cao Ren and Guan Yu. Guan Yu didn't know what to do, and Cao Cao himself led another reinforcement party. Xu Huang, meanwhile, attacked Sizhong, where he lured Guan Yu into an ambush. Guan Yu withdrew to his main camp, but was followed by Xu Huang, who stormed and destroyed the main camp. Xu Huang thus ended the siege of Fancheng and Guan Yu withdrew to the south.
Wu versus Shu
Wu troops allied with Wei arrived in Jing Province a few weeks later . Wu had formed this unique alliance to retake Jing Province from Shu. Mi Fang and Fu Shi Ren , the defenders of Jiangling and Gong'an , immediately surrendered to Lu Meng's invading forces . Guan Yu, who was withdrawing from Fancheng, reached these cities only a short time later and tried to retake them. His main camp was attacked again by Xu Huang and Guan Yu withdrew to Maicheng (麦 城, southeast of today's Dangyang, Hubei). Maicheng was quickly surrounded, but Guan Yu broke the siege with a few men and fled west. On the way, however, he was attacked and captured by Pan Zhang and Zhu Ran . Lu Meng executed Guan Yu, his son Guan Ping, and inspector Zhao Lei after they refused to defeat. With this he dealt a heavy blow to Shu, who without their legendary General Guan Yu could not hold their own at the Battle of Yiling ( 222 ).