The allied defeat of Cao Cao at Red Cliffs prevented northern unification of China and laid the territorial foundation for the Three Kingdoms period.
Key Facts
- Date
- Winter of 208–209 AD
- Theater
- Yangtze River, China
- Battle type
- Decisive naval engagement
- Outcome
- Allied (Sun Quan & Liu Bei) victory
- Three Kingdoms period
- 220–280 AD
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
Following the collapse of stable Han central authority, the northern warlord Cao Cao sought to reunify China by marching a numerically superior force southward to subjugate the rival warlords Sun Quan and Liu Bei, who controlled territories south of the Yangtze River.
The allied forces of Sun Quan, Liu Bei, and Liu Qi engaged Cao Cao's fleet in a naval battle on the Yangtze River during the winter of 208–209 AD. Despite being outnumbered, the allies defeated Cao Cao's forces, halting his southward advance and preventing him from conquering lands beyond the Yangtze.
The allied victory ensured the survival of Sun Quan and Liu Bei's regimes, left them in control of the Yangtze, and established defensible borders that later became the territorial bases of the states of Shu Han and Eastern Wu during the Three Kingdoms period (220–280 AD).
Belligerents & Mobilization Analysis
Side A
1 belligerent
Sun Quan, Liu Bei, Liu Qi.
Side B
1 belligerent
Cao Cao.