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Southern Song Naval Warfare System
The Southern Song built a naval system on the Yangtze and southeast coast combining tower ships, sea-falcon ships and firearms, which sustained the s…
Timeline
- 1127–1140Jiankang (present-day Nanjing) · JiangsuAfter relocating the capital, the Southern Song set up naval camps along the Yangtze, organizing tower ships, fast galleys and sea-falcon ships into layered squadrons, combined with ballistae and early firearms, forming a defense system based on the waterways.
- 1271–1276Middle and lower Yangtze · Middle and lower YangtzeAs the Mongols advanced south, the Southern Song navy imposed and broke blockades on the Han and Yangtze channels; warships were commonly armed with thunderclap bombs, fire bombs and other firearms, fighting in coordination with shore defenses.
- 1279Yashan (Yamen, Xinhui, Guangdong) · GuangdongZhang Shijie drew up a thousand warships in the Yamen waters, linking them with iron chains for a fixed defense; attacked by the Yuan fleet and fire attacks, the entire force was destroyed, ending the Southern Song naval warfare system.
Sources
- 宋史·兵志 — 脱脱等 (1977)
- The Cambridge History of China, Volume 5: The Sung Dynasty and Its Precursors, 907–1279 — Paul Jakov Smith; Denis C. Twitchett (2009)