Battle of Mayi

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Battle of Mayi
Part of the Sino-Xiongnu War
Date June, 133 BC Location Shuozhou, Shanxi Result Abort
Belligerents
Xiongnu	Han Dynasty
Commanders
Junchen Shanyu	Wang Hui Han Anguo Li Xi Li Guang Gongsun He
Strength
100,000 cavalry	270,000 infantry at Mayi, 30,000 infantry at Dai Prefecture
Casualties and losses
None	None, other than the capture of a low-profile outpost leader

v • d • e Sino-Xiongnu War Mayi – Mobei – Loulan – Jushi – Zhizhi – Yiwulu – Ikh Bayan

The Battle of Mayi (馬邑之戰) was an aborted ambush operation by the Han Dynasty against the invading Xiongnu forces. This urged the long-term war between the Han Dynasty and Xiongnu, and henceforth marked a beginning of offensive policies adopted by the Han court.

Contents 1 Background 2 The Ambush 3 Aftermath 4 References

[edit] Background

After the humiliating defeat of Emperor Gao in the hands of Modu Shanyu at Baideng in 200 BC, the Han Dynasty was forced to resort to political appeasement in order to decrease the scale of Xiongnu hostilty. However, despite the periodic gifting and heqin ("marriage alliance"), border townships and villages were still ravaged by the nomads, as the prosperous Chinese land never failed to attract Xiongnu raids.

After seven decades, Han Dynasty had built up its strength. Unlike his predecessors, Emperor Wu, Han's seventh emperor, would no longer tolerate this situation. Although he maintained a policy of peace early in his reign, ideas of how to finally strike back a major blow against the Xiongnu were beginning to be formulated.

[edit] The Ambush

In 133 BC, at the suggestion of Wang Hui, the minister of vassal affairs, Emperor Wu had his generals set a trap for the Xiongnu Shanyu at the city of Mayi. A powerful local trader/smuggler, Nie Wengyi, would deceptively claim to Junchen Shanyu that he had killed the local magistrate and was willing to offer the city to the Xiongnu. The plan was to entice the Shanyu's forces into advancing on Mayi so that a 300,000-strong Han forces hidden around the area could ambush them.

The plan failed, ironically, because the Han ambush was set up too excessively. When the Shanyu bought the bait and moved in for a raid on Mayi, he saw fields full of cattle but with no herdsmen. Feeling increasingly suspicious, the Shanyu ordered his men to halt advance. Xiongnu scouts then captured a Han soldier from a local outpost, who disclosed the entire plan to the Shanyu. In shock, the Shanyu then withdrew quickly before the Han forces could act. Wang Hui, the mastermind behind the entire operation, hestitated and ordered not to give pursuit. As a result, neither side suffered any casualties.

[edit] Aftermath

Back at the imperial court, Wang Hui's political enemies blamed him for the plan's failure and his reluctance to pursue to retreating Xiongnu army, despite that Wang could not possibly defeat the Xiongnu army even if he did pursue — the Han forces were scattered at the time and Wang himself led only 30,000 troops, too outnumbered to stop the Xiongnu from retreating to the steppe. After being imprisoned and awaiting trial, Wang Hui bribed the powerful prime minister Tian Feng (Emperor Wu's uncle) in hopes to obtain a parole. Emperor Wu however, still refused to spare Wang, who then committed suicide in prison.

Though border military clashes already continued for decades between the two sides, this "battle" ended the de jure "peace" between the Han and Xiongnu. The ambush operation revealed the Han Dynasty's hawkish stance, and the "marriage/gift for peace" policy was officially abandoned. For the next few years, Xiongnu would tune up their border attacks, further solidifying the cause of pro-war factions and their control in the Han court.

Before the Battle of Mayi, there were two main encounters between the Chinese and the Xiongnu. During the Warring States Period, General Li Mu of the State of Zhao defeated the Xiongnu by luring them deep inside Zhao territory and ambushing them. Similarly, General Meng Tian of the Qin Dynasty drove the Xiongnu north for 750 km and built the Great Wall to guard against future raids. The Battle of Mayi lies along the same line of operation; the traditionalist Chinese strategy is to lure the Xiongnu into suitable land inside Han territory where the Han army, composed of almost all infantry and chariots, will have the terrain advantage against the Xiongnu cavalry. The result of the battle made Emperor Wu realize the difficulty for Han infantry to achieve superiority against the more mobile Xiongnu cavalry. This led to a change in Han strategy and the hastened the development of an effective Han cavalry. In future campaigns, the Han dynasty went from a defensive stance to an offensive strategy of launching expeditions deep into Xiongnu territory.

The failure of the Mayi operation also prompt Emperor Wu to reconsider his choice of staffs. Disappointed at the inefficiency of existing generals, Emperor Wu began to look for younger generations of military hopefuls capable of offensive anti-cavalry warfare. This led to the rise of famous new-generation tacticians like Wei Qing and Huo Qubing, and decline in favour for traditional commanders like Li Guang.

[edit] References

• Ban Gu et al., Hanshu. Beijing: Zhonghua Shuju, 1962. ISBN 7-101-00305-2
• Sima Guang, comp. Zizhi Tongjian. Beijing: Zhonghua Shuju, 1956. ISBN 7-101-00183-1