About the Battle of Yiling
The Battle of Yiling was fought in 222 (2nd year of Zhangwu (Shu Han)) at Yiling and Xiaoting, Jing Province. Liu Bei invades Wu to avenge Guan Yu. The young Lu Xun holds out for half a year, then burns the Shu camps strung out for seven hundred li along the Yangtze. Liu Bei flees to Baidicheng, and dies there.
- Year
- 2222nd year of Zhangwu (Shu Han)
- Place
- Yiling and Xiaoting, Jing Province
- Era
- Three Kingdoms period
The two armies
Shu army Commander-in-chiefLiu Bei 73,0004 units 
Wu army Commander-in-chiefLu Xun 45,0004 units Troop strengthTotal of the units shown in 3D
Fought 73,000
Fought 45,000
Shu armyBy troop strength
- Liu Bei 劉備 Commander-in-chief 40,000
- Feng Xi 馮習 15,000
- Zhang Nan 張南 10,000
- Shamoke 沙摩柯 8,000
Wu armyBy troop strength
- Lu Xun 陸遜 Commander-in-chief 30,000
- Zhu Ran 朱然 5,000
- Han Dang 韓当 5,000
- Sun Huan 孫桓 5,000
Portraits are public-domain images from Wikimedia Commons (some are later imagined depictions).
How the battle unfoldedTimes follow the 3D clock
- Zhangwu 1, 7th monthCh. 1
MarchAvenge Guan Yu
In the 1st year of Zhangwu, Liu Bei, newly enthroned, overrode his ministers and resolved to lead the campaign against Wu, which had killed Guan Yu, in person. Zhang Fei was murdered by his own men on the eve of the march and his head carried off to Wu. Grief-stricken and furious, Liu Bei led tens of thousands down the Yangtze, took Wu and Zigui, and closed on Yiling.
- Zhangwu 2, 1st monthCh. 2
CampsSeven Hundred Li of Camps
Sun Quan of Wu sued for peace, but Liu Bei refused. The Shu army built dozens of camps along the mountains of the north bank, a line stretching seven hundred li. Cao Pi of Wei, hearing of it, is said to have remarked: "He who strings his camps through forest and hill will be beaten. Bei knows nothing of war."
- 2nd–6th monthsCh. 3
WaitingThe Young Commander-in-Chief
The Wu commander was Lu Xun, thirty-nine years old. The veteran generals sneered at "a mere scholar," but Lu Xun took up his sword, enforced discipline, forbade any sortie and sat tight at Xiaoting. The Shu army taunted him again and again; in the mountains at the height of summer its soldiers wearied and their spirit slackened. Half a year went by.
- Leap 6th month, nightCh. 4
FireBurn One Camp, Then Forty
In the leap 6th month Lu Xun first tested one camp, and, finding it could be done, ordered a night attack with every man carrying a bundle of straw. Fire was set to the dry mountain woods and ran on the wind through the Shu camps. More than forty camps burned in a single night, and the Shu army fell apart in flame and smoke.
- Next morningCh. 5
CollapseLiu Bei on Ma'an Mountain
Liu Bei climbed Ma'an Mountain and rallied his survivors, but the Wu army surrounded the hill on every side and stormed it. The Shu dead ran into the tens of thousands; Feng Xi, Zhang Nan and other commanders were killed, and the tribal king Shamoke fell too. Liu Bei slipped down the mountain by night and fled west, burning armour and baggage behind him to slow the pursuit.
- 8th monthCh. 6
BaidichengTo Yong'an
Liu Bei barely reached Baidicheng, renamed it Yong'an and stayed there. Lu Xun called off the pursuit: he had seen that Wei was watching his back. With this defeat, Shu's hope of recovering Jing Province was gone for ever.
- Zhangwu 3, 4th monthCh. 7
Last WordsThe Testament at Baidicheng
The following year Liu Bei fell ill, summoned Zhuge Liang from Chengdu and entrusted him with the future: "If my son is not worth serving, take the throne yourself." Then he died. Zhuge Liang renewed the alliance with Wu and chose the road of the northern campaigns. The fires of Yiling had fixed the shape of the Three Kingdoms for good.
In Ultra detailBattle Pass
The same scene in the standard quality and in Ultra detail. Drag the line to compare, and switch between "Wide" and "Close-up". Ultra detail adds rugged mountains, forests and rocks in 3D, rippling seas and rivers, rows in the fields and soldiers as figures. Chapter 1 of every battle can be watched in Ultra detail without the Battle Pass.
FAQ
What was the Battle of Yiling?
Liu Bei invades Wu to avenge Guan Yu. The young Lu Xun holds out for half a year, then burns the Shu camps strung out for seven hundred li along the Yangtze. Liu Bei flees to Baidicheng, and dies there.
When and where did the Battle of Yiling take place?
It took place in 222 at Yiling and Xiaoting, Jing Province (2nd year of Zhangwu (Shu Han)).
Who fought in the Battle of Yiling?
Liu Bei of the Shu army, Lu Xun of the Wu army were among the commanders.
Can I watch the Battle of Yiling in 3D?
Yes. This page plays a free three-minute 3D animated overview showing the deployments, the movements of each army and how the battle was decided.