While Kublai Khan’s invasions of Japan are his most famous foreign ventures, his dreams
of conquest were not restricted to the land of the rising sun. In southeast Asia, Vietnam,
Myanmar and Indonesia were all subject to the wrath of the Great Khan. But there as
well Mongol forces failed to achieve the great successes they had seen earlier in the century.
In this video we will discuss an invasion as fascinating as that against Japan – the
Mongol invasion of Vietnam.
Shoutout to the Ridge for sponsoring this video! The Ridge raises the standard of everyday
things like backpacks, chargers and wallets into sleek tools for better living. Their
flagship product, The Ridge Wallet, was launched on Kickstarter in 2013 and now sits in the
front pockets of over a half-million men and women. We carry so much pointless stuff in
our leather bifolds, that they often resemble suitcases, while The Ridge helps you carry
less, but always have what you need! Even if your current wallet was a gift from a loved
one, you got to try the Ridge Wallet as it is nothing like a traditional wallet. It comes
in Titanium, carbon fiber and over a dozen styles ensuring that there is a good fit for
everyone. The Ridge has 30 thousand 5-star reviews, lifetime warranty and free returns!
Get 10% off Ridge Products today —WITH FREE WORLDWIDE SHIPPING AND RETURNS—by going
to ridge.com/KNG, that’s ridge.com/KNG and use code “KNG” Link in description!
13th century Vietnam was divided into two states, Dai Viet in the north, known as Annam
to the Chinese, and Champa in the south. Dai Viet was the first to encounter Mongol armies
in 1258 . In an effort to open a southern front against the Song Dynasty, Kublai conquered
the Kingdom of Dali in Yunnan, and his general Uriyangqadai, son of the famous Subutai, led
an army into Dai Viet. With fighting limited to the mainly level uplands and the Red River,
Mongol cavalry easily overcame Vietnamese forces. Dai Viet’s new King in 1258 sought
to avoid further conflict by sending ambassadors, hostages and tribute. While successful, Uriyangqadai
found that Vietnam’s climate and the tropical disease wreaked havoc on men and horses used
to more moderate climates. Not long after, Champa also agreed to pay
tribute to the Great Khan, and relations were cordial over the following years. However,
Kublai began asking for both monarchs to submit to him in person and confirm their allegiance,
which both put off in favour of continued tribute missions. By 1279, the fall of the
Song Dynasty now brought the Yuan Empire to the borders of Vietnam, making their refusal
less acceptable, as was their housing of fleeing Song officials.
Of greater interest to Kublai though, was the economic power of Champa. Positioned on
valuable maritime trade routes, Kublai saw Champa as key to controlling south-east Asian
trade. With the failure of its king, Indravarman VI, to submit to Kublai in person in 1280,
and the imprisonment of Yuan envoys in 1282, Kublai had his pretext for war. Striking at
Champa first had the added benefit of putting Dai Viet in a vice grip between Yuan China
and an occupied Champa, and would hopefully bring it to heel as well.
In December 1282, Sogetu, a hero of the final war against the Song Dynasty and governor
of Fujian, departed with 5,000 men, drawn from former Song territory , aboard a hundred
transport ships, arriving near the Cham capital of Vijaya in February 1283. After brief resistance,
Vijaya fell to Sogetu, who found that King Indravarman and Prince Harijit had fled into
the mountains. A month was wasted in fruitless negotiation
with Cham envoys, and in March Sogetu took his army to attack Indravarman, but was ambushed
and driven back with heavy losses. Retreating back to the coast where he made landfall,
he cleared land to plant rice to feed his men, sent envoys to the Khmer Empire who were
detained and sent messages to the Yuan court for aid.
Initially, the court’s response was slow, still planning for a third invasion of Japan,
and it was not until March 1284 when an army of 20,000 was dispatched to aid Sogetu, joining
him in his march up the coast to take Thuan-chau and Hoa-chau.
By August 1284 the Yuan court had received maps showing the land routes through Dai Viet
to Champa, and it was declared that Kublai’s son Toghon would lead a force overland to
assist Sogetu. Dai Viet was ordered to help supply this army, but they refused, and came
to the conclusion that this was a pretext for a Yuan conquest of Dai Viet. Under Prince
Tran Hung-Dao they began preparing their armies. In January 1285, Prince Toghon lead his army
in six columns over the border from Yunnan into Vietnam. The forces sent against Toghon
were quickly overcome, and captured ships allowed them to cross the Phu-Luong River
in February. Sogetu was meanwhile marching north, the two
commanders undertaking a great pincer movement on Dai Viet. Prince Hung Dao divided his forces
to try and prevent Sogetu from linking up with Toghon, but Sogetu overwhelmed them,
capturing 400 renegade Song officials. By the time he linked up with Toghon, the Prince
had constructed a full river fleet, placed under the command of Omar, and together undertook
a full offensive against Dai Viet, Omar driving its King out to sea, while Toghon and Sogetu
captured the capital, Hanoi. With Hanoi’s seizure, the Yuan experienced
their final success of this campaign. In Hanoi their forces and supply lines were overextended,
running low on food while heat and disease took their toll, and suffered a defeat at
Hamtu Pass in June, where an important commander was killed by poisoned arrows.
Toghon, seeing their position was untenable, decided to call a full retreat back to Yuan
territory. So swiftly was this done that Toghon somehow failed to inform Sogetu of the retreat,
who suddenly realized he was left isolated deep in enemy territory. Hurriedly he forced
his way north, but the Vietnamese harried him the entire way until at Ssu-ming on the
Yuan border, his army was surrounded, and Sogetu was killed in the fighting.
This was a disastrous end to the campaign, and Kublai was so furious he refused to allow
Toghon back to the capital. By 1286 Kublai had finally given up on invading Japan, but
frustrated by failures, and his mind increasingly clouded by drink and depression, he ordered
a third invasion of Dai Viet. Special care was taken for this in vasion. A pretender
to the throne of Dai Viet was found to hopefully encourage dissension, and great effort was
taken to prevent the logistical issues of the previous campaign.
Supply ships were ordered from all along the southern Chinese coast, to ferry troops and
provide the food necessary for the great army being assembled: 70,000 Mongol, Jurchen and
Northern Chinese, 6,000 troops from Yunnan, 1,000 former Song soldiers, 17,000 Loi people
from the island of Hainan, for a total of 94,000 men, not including the crews of the
500 warships and transports. Toghon was placed in overall command again, his final chance
to redeem himself before his aging father. In October 1287, the Yuan army set out, splitting
into two major forces: 18,000 were taken by Omar and Fan Yi aboard ships sailing along
the coast, while Toghon took the main army overland. A third force of 6,000 traveled
west of the main army to act as a diversionary force. In December the main army crossed the
border in two columns and defeated several Dai Viet forces, marching to Van-Kiep on the
Bach-Dang River to await the arrival of Omar’s fleet, who arrived after fighting off a Vietnamese
navy. Despite early success, neither force had brought much food, expecting to be supplied
by the transport fleet. Toghon waited for the supply fleet until the
end of January 1288, but unbeknownst to him, much of supply fleet was blown off course
by a storm, and the rest were attacked by the Vietnamese navy. With food supplies running
low, Toghon marched on to Hanoi, hoping to resupply there. The city fell without opposition
in February, but to their horror they found there wasn’t a grain of rice left within:
the defenders had stripped it in their flight. The increasingly desperate Yuan forces went
to great effort to gather food, until learning of the disaster which befell the supply fleet.
Toghon ordered the army back to stockades they had constructed at Van-Kiep, and by the
end of March, his men on the verge of starvation, he ordered a general retreat back to China.
With the Yuan forces reaching wit’s end, the Vietnamese attacked. Their route north
was harried by continual ambushes and the destruction of roads and bridges to hamper
their movements. Toghon grew so worried he boarded a warship for the return.
On April 9th, 1288, Omar’s fleet was sailing past the mouth of the Bach-Dang river, when
a group of Vietnamese ships, commanded by Prince Hung-dao, sailed out to meet him at
high tide. Eager for some sort of victory, Omar took a portion of the fleet and attacked,
the Vietnamese quickly routing before the Yuan warships. Yet as they proceeded upriver
after the Vietnamese fleet, the trap was sprung: wooden stakes placed along the river bottom
impaled the larger Yuan vessels and tore apart their hulls as the tide receded. With the
Yuan ships immobilized, the Vietnamese turned about and attacked: helpless, many Yuan soldiers
jumped into the river, drowning or picked off by the arrows of Dai Viet, and Omar was
captured. Another fleet commander, Fan Yi, attempted to rescue Omar, but his vessels
were surrounded and boarded, with Fan Yi himself killed in the fighting. 400 ships were captured
by day’s end, and the victory was followed up a few days later when the supply fleet
finally arrived, turned into the Bach-Dang river and was itself captured.
When Toghon learned of the rest of the fleet’s destruction, he abandoned trying to return
via warship, and unable to take the main roads due to traps and patrols, rode hard through
side routes all the way back into China. Most of the great army was left to be destroyed
in the wilderness. 1288 proved to be a total fiasco for the Yuan.
Only a few years after the destruction of the great armada off the shores of Kyushu,
another fleet and army were destroyed with little to show for it. Toghon was sent into
political exile after both disastrous campaigns. While Bach-Dang was a masterfully executed
victory by Prince Hung-Dao, Dai Viet and Champa had suffered terribly over both campaigns,
and both kingdoms, to avoid another invasion, began sending tribute and recognized Kublai’s
authority. Today, Bach-Dang is a highly celebrated episode
in Vietnam’s history; the tactics and strategy of Hung-Dao were studied by the Vietnamese
during the Vietnam war. Such lessons were lost on Kublai and he attempted more invasions,
which we are going to cover soon, so make sure you are subscribed to our channel and
pressed the bell button. We would like to express our gratitude to our Patreon supporters
and channel members, who make the creation of our videos possible. Now, you can also
support us by buying our merchandise via the link the description. This is the Kings and
Generals channel, and we will catch you on the next one.