Mongol Forces Cross the Yangtze to Attack Song

Timeline

1. 1254Shanchan (Shanchan) · YunnanIn spring 1254, Kublai Khan led the main force north, leaving general Uriyangkhadai to continue operations in Yunnan. In autumn, Uriyangkhadai captured Dali's secondary capital Shanchan and captured King Duan Xingzhi, extinguishing the main Dali polity. The Mongols thus completed a grand strategic encirclement of Southern Song from the southwest, laying the groundwork for later eastward advance along the Yangtze waterways to destroy Song.
2. 1254Lizhou (Guangyuan) — lower Jialing River · SichuanMöngke Khan ordered deputy commander-in-chief Tiege Huoluchi, Wang Dechen, and others to lead armies into Sichuan, moving south along the Jialing River and upper Yangtze waterways, attempting to break through Southern Song's Sichuan defenses and travel east downriver to join forces with Mongol troops from Yunnan. The Mongols used surrendered generals as guides, reaching Langzhou, Shunqing, and other places, exerting military pressure on Hezhou and Diaoyu Fortress.
3. 1254Diaoyu Fortress · Hechuan DistrictSouthern Song generals Wang Jian, Cao Shixiong, and others led troops to repel the Mongol attack led by Tiege Huoluchi and Wang Dechen in June. In July, Wang Jian was promoted to Xingyuan commander-in-chief and concurrently Hezhou prefect, becoming garrison commander of Diaoyu Fortress. Song forces successfully halted the Mongols' eastward advance along the Jialing-Yangtze using the mountain-fortress defense system, but Sichuan's defensive weakness of outward strength and inward frailty was exposed.