Battle of Julu

Infobox Military Conflict
conflict=Battle of Julu

caption=
partof=the Chu-Han contention
date=207 BC
place=Julu, Hebei
result= Decisive Chu victory
combatant1=Kingdom of Chu
combatant2=Qin Dynasty
commander1=Xiang Yu, Ying Bu
commander2=Zhang Han, Wang Li
strength1= 30,000+ Chu troops
80,000+ troops from other rebel principalities nearby, but might not have participated in the fighting
strength2= 300,000+
casualties1= Unknown, but relatively much smaller
casualties2= 100,000 were killed in battle
200,000 who surrendered were later buried alive
The Battle of Julu (巨鹿之戰 or 鉅鹿之戰) was fought in Julu (now in Xingtai, Hebei, China) in 207 BC primarily between Qin forces led by Zhang Han, and Chu rebels led by Xiang Yu. Xiang Yu emerged victorious, defeating a large Qin army with a small number of soldiers. This battle laid the foundation for the military decline of Qin, as the major Qin forces were eliminated here.

Background

In 207 BC, resurgent Qin general Zhang Han crossed the Yellow River to attack the Zhao state after eliminating Xiang Liang. There he defeated the Zhao army, and ordered Wang Li and She Jian to surround Julu with 200,000 men. Zhang Han garrisoned his additional 100,000 troops south of the city, and maintained a corridor to supply the forces surrounding the city.

For this, Mi Xin, Prince of Chu, sent Xiang Yu as the second-in-command to Song Yi in an expeditory force to relieve Zhao, while putting Liu Bang in command of another expeditionary force (which Xiang had wished to command) against Guanzhong, the heart of Qin itself. The prince also promised that whoever reached Guanzhong first would be made the King of Guanzhong.

Xiang had faced Zhang in battle before. However, in the last battle, Xiang had little luck against Zhang. Zhang was a capable general who was very good at manoeuvering his troops to unexpected places. At that time, Zhang took advantage of the large amount of supplies that the Qin army had, and avoided direct battle with Xiang. The Chu army had to chase the Qin army around, and the Qin army kept on escaping successfully. At the end, Xiang was unable to defeat Zhang, and the Chu army 's invasion progress was greatly delayed.

Transfer of power

Song Yi led the Chu army to Anyang and did not proceed any further for forty-six days. Xiang Yu was eager to avenge the death of his uncle Xiang Liang, and persuaded Song to attack. Song declined, saying the Qin and Zhao forces would wear each other out eventually, and insulted Xiang for being a brute without brains. Song went as far as to order that "anyone with barbaric, defiant, fame-seeking behaviour that leads to a violation of orders will be executed".

Xiang took extreme measures. In one morning, he surprised and assassinated Song, saying Song was actually plotting treason against Chu with Qi. The other generals, who were already intimidated by Song's lack of military capabilities, offered Song's command to Xiang, and Prince Xin was forced to retroactively approve it.

The battle

Xiang Yu first sent Ying Bu with 20,000 Chu men across the river to reinforce Julu, winning a few skirmishes. Xiang then led the remaining majority of the army across the river, sinking his own ships to make sure no one retreated from battle. Xiang then proceeded with 10,000 Chu troops with due haste to Handan, capital of Zhao, to meet up with his 20,000 troops up front.

At the time of his arrival at the battlefield, the city of Julu and the Zhao forces within had been nearly starved by the seizing Qin forces, under general Wang Li, the assistant to Zhang Han. Xiang understood the importance of reducing the Qin forces' effectiveness first, and he accomplished this by cutting off Wang's supply lines. He then ordered his forces to carry three days of supplies and destroy the rest—in other words, giving his forces no real possibility of retreating alive—before engaging Wang in battle. With cooking utensils and food supplies destroyed, the Chu troops knew that the only way for them to survive would be to defeat the Qin army and take supplies from them. As a result, Xiang's army was incredibly fierce, winning every skirmish outnumbered, as if "one Chu soldier can take on ten Qin soldiers".

The forces from the other rebel principalities arrived a few days later. Still, despite Chu victories, no other relief force sent by other rebel principalities dared to engage the vast Qin forces, and Xiang attacked them alone. He fought nine engagements and destroyed the Qin supply corridor, crumbling the Qin forces. With losses mounting to over 100,000 men, Zhang Han was forced to retreat out of Julu, planning to defend Jiyuan until additional reinforcements arrived from the imperial palace. General Su Jue was killed in action, and Wang Li was captured. She Jian refused to surrender and set himself on fire.

urrender of Zhang Han

After the battle, all other rebel generals, regardless of whether or not they came from Chu, were so awed by Xiang that they voluntarily came under his command. This suddenly boosted Xiang's total army size in the whole country to 400,000 men. Xiang then prepared for a final confrontation with Zhang.

That confrontation would not happen, however. Before the battle, the Qin prime minister, the eunuch Zhao Gao, had become jealous of Zhang's success up to that point and was concerned that Zhang would replace him. As a result, he wanted to rid Zhang of his power. When Zhang tried to get reinforcements from the emperior, Zhao falsely accused Zhang, before the Qin emperor Qin Er Shi, of military failure and conspiracy with the rebels. Qin Er Shi trusted Zhao's story, and ordered Zhang executed for his recent failure in battle. Qin Er Shi also gave Zhao the commanding power over all of the remaining Chu forces. Before any action was taken, however, an insider from the palace informed Zhang of the emperor's wish to kill him.

Zhang had loyally fought for Qin for over 30 years, and he was greatly shaken by the emperor's decision. In the few days that Zhang was deciding whether to surrender to Xiang, or carry on with the retreat, Xiang overtook Zhang forces and preventing a retreat altogether. In fear and disappointment, in summer 207 BC, Zhang surrendered himself and his 200,000 men to Xiang without a fight. This was a surprise for Zhao, who had hoped to take command over Zhang 's forces. With this, the size of Xiang's army had reached about 600,000 men.

Live burial of Qin soldiers

But Xiang did not make use of this large army for long. Xiang was resentful of what the Qin army did to the civilians and of their fighting against him. So when his scout reported that they overheard some of the Qin soldiers not being happy to be in the Chu ranks, Xiang took action right away, without double checking the claims.

Xiang expressed fear of a revolt from the Qin forces. Again demonstrating his cruelty, Xiang buried the surrendering Qin army alive except for Zhang and a few other generals, and, ignoring Prince Xin's authority as his prince, made Zhang the Prince of Yong (a region within Qin proper (i.e., the former territory of Qin during the Warring States period before its expansion), modern central Shaanxi), even though he had not yet captured Qin proper. It was possible that Xiang had always wanted to kill the Qin forces out of his hatred for them, and he simply used the scout's claims as an excuse.

Aftermath

When Xiang had 600,000 men under his command, many Qin fortresses were ready to surrender to Xiang, as they saw no hope of winning. But when news of the live burial of 200,000 surrendered Qin troops reached these fortresses, all was changed. To the surviving Qin troops, Xiang was a cruel madman who would not let them live even if they surrendered unconditionally. As a result, they decided to hold their ground until the very end. Xiang faced fierce resistance all the way from the desperate Qin troops, as he made his way slowly to Guanzhong.

However for Qin, the defeat at Julu marked the end of its dynasty. After the battle, Zhao feared that Qin Er Shi would blame him for the major defeat. So Zhao forced Qin Er Shi to commit suicide and installed Qin Ziying onto the throne. Zhao then released about 100,000 prisoners, and tried to use them and the remaining soldiers to delay the advance of Chu. But that had minimal effect. Qin was doomed to fall.

While Xiang Yu was engaged in a series of battles, Liu Bang entered the unguarded Guanzhong. Qin Ziying, on the throne for 46 days, surrendered to Liu Bang at Xianyang, capital of Qin, marking the end of the Qin dynasty. Qin, at its height, was once considered the "Eternal Empire", and its quick fall after ruling the country for only 15 short years was unimaginable to many.

The Battle of Julu was a major victory for Xiang. His "smash (cooking) pots, sink boats" () tactic greatly increased the morale of the Chu troops, which was one of the most important factors in the victory. But after this battle, his cruelty cost him. Had he not killed the 200,000 Qin troops, he would have no problem beating Liu Bang to Guanzhong, and avoided the problems that came from it.

References

*Ssu-ma Ch'ien, "Records of the grand historian of China. Translated from the Shih chi of Ssu-ma Ch'ien by Burton Watson." New York: Columbia University Press, 1961, ISBN 0-231-08165-0

External links

*http://baike.baidu.com/view/15071.htm zh icon