A New Movie about Vietnam-China Battle on Bach Dang River in 938 AD

As continued from previous post about new historical paintings in the wake of current VN-China clashes in SCS (Paracel and Spratly islands), there is a new multiplication movie about this famous battle more than 1,000 years ago...

1. Some pics from Movie: 1) The work has been done by a group of 6 youngsters and got a strong national resonance; 2) King Ngo Quyen devised the tactics to defeat enemy; 3) He was very good in water battle (and sometime China just forgot it !); 4) The South Han King son and his general; 5) The Chinese flotila (maybe better for full-scale battle); 6) Ngo Quyen selected the place and under-water secret weapons to fight Chinese big ships (remember Red Cliff battle in 'Three Kingdoms' !); and 7) The total defeat on the river.


2. Video Clip, for about 7' (Regretfully only in VN !)




3. More Pro Art Works about the battle:

4. History:
At the Battle of Bach Dang River in 938 the Vietnamese forces, led by Ngo Quyen, defeated the invading forces of the Southern Han state of China and put an end to centuries of Chinese imperial domination in Vietnam. It took place at the Bach Dang River, near Halong Bay in northern Vietnam.

In 937, Liu Yan (Vietnamese: Lưu Nham), the Southern Han ruler, took the chance to intervene in Vietnam again after the death of the Annam Lord Protector Duong Dinh Nghe. He had been foiled by Duong Dinh Nghe in 931, but now that Duong Dinh Nghe was dead, he thought the time was ripe for another attempt. He placed his own son, Liu Hongcao ( Vietnamese: Lưu Hoằng Tháo), in command of the expedition, naming him "Peaceful Sea Military Governor" and "King of Giao." He hastily assembled an army at Sea Gate, where he personally took charge of the reserve force. He ordered Liu Hongcao to embark the army and sail to Giao.

By the time Liu Hongcao arrived in Vietnamese waters with the Southern Han expedition, Liu Hongcao's plan was to ascend the Bach Dang River and to place his army in the heart of Giao Chau before disembarking; the Bach Dang was the major riverine route into the Red River plain from the north.

Ngo Quyen anticipated this plan and brought his army to the mouth of the river. He had his men plant a barrier of large poles in the bed of the river. The tops of the poles reached just below the water level at high tide and were sharpened and tipped with iron. When Liu Hongcao appeared off the mouth of the river, Quyen sent out small, shallow-draft boats at high tide to provoke a fight and then retreat upriver, drawing the Chinese fleet in pursuit. As the tide fell, the heavy Chinese warboats were caught on the poles and lay trapped in the middle of the river, whereupon they were attacked by Ngo Quyen's forces. More than half the Chinese were drowned, including Liu Hongcao. When news of the battle reached Sea Gate with the survivors, Liu Yan wept openly. He collected what remained of his army and returned to Canton. This victory ended China's long domination of Vietnam and began a period of Vietnam's independence until the conquest by Ming China.

Ngo Quyen's tactic would later be copied by Tran Hung Dao in a battle at Bach Dang River against the Mongols in 1288.