Why didn't Guan Yu win Xiangyang and Fancheng?

Why didn't Guan Yu win Xiangyang and Fancheng?

The battle of Xiangfan in the traditional sense refers to Guan Yu's northern expedition to Xiangfan from Jingzhou in July 2 19. The battle of Xiangfan actually started as early as six months to a year ago, that is, from 2 18 to the beginning of 2 19, Liu Bei took part in the battle of Hanzhong.

This is because there is an obvious evidence that the boundary line between the three counties of Jingzhou guarded by Guan Yu and Nanyang county guarded by Cao Ren and Lu Chang should be near Dangyang, and Guan Yu had already appeared in Xiangfan during the Northern Expedition in July 2 19.

This shows that Guan Yu spent quite a long time before advancing northward, from Dangyang to the north. Judging from the fact that Guan Yu and the water army later entered the war, Guan Yu went hand in hand with the land and gradually advanced along the Hanshui River, waging war in Xiangfan. ?

Guan Yu should have 50,000 troops to launch the battle of Xiangfan, including all the troops transferred from Jingzhou to the north. Otherwise, it is impossible to form a siege of Xiangyang and Fancheng and defeat more than 30,000 people of the seven armies in the Forbidden City.

The deployment of Cao Wei's troops should be like this:

Xiangyang satrap Lu Chang guards Xiangyang city on the south bank of Hanshui River. Luchang has an army of about 3 to 4 thousand people. General Coss is stationed in Fancheng, which is located on the north bank of Hanshui River, separated by Hanshui River. At that time, it was called Mianshui, and Coss had about three or four thousand troops. Together with more than 30,000 troops of the Seventh Army of Yu Ban and Pound, the total strength of Cao Wei and Xiangfan in the first battle was about 40,000.

Guan Yu has 50,000 people and Cao Wei has 40,000 people. Guan Yu has no great advantage, but only a slight advantage. In addition, Guan Yu needs to besiege Xiangyang and Fancheng. These two cities were not captured until the end of the battle of Xiangfan. At the same time, Guan Yu also divided his troops against the seven armies of Ban and Pound. Finally, Guan Yu also has a water army active in Hanshui River. ?

Guan Yu has the advantage of overall strength, but in some fields, Guan Yu does not have any advantages. There are at least five or six thousand people around the ideal city, Xiangyang and Fancheng are surrounded, and Guan Yu must invest at least ten thousand people to attack the city.

If the water army is removed, Guan Yu will have about 35,000 troops to deal with Yu Ban and Pound, which is almost equivalent to the seven armies of Yu Ban and Pound. Guan Yu had no military advantage in the confrontation with Yu Ban. ?

Guan Yu was able to capture and defeat more than 30,000 men of the Seventh Army of Yu Ban and Pang De alive, relying on the right time, geographical location and people. The so-called weather is in the rainy season, and it never stops raining. The so-called strategy is that Guan Yu uses the weather correctly, and the weather is fair to both sides, depending on who will use it.

The so-called enemy's mistake is that Yujin and Pound camped without considering the influence of the weather on themselves, resulting in the camp being completely submerged. If Guan Yu must have an advantage, there is no doubt that Guan Yu's advantage is that he has a water army and water rights, while Wei Jun has no water army, or the water army was completely defeated by Guan Yu. ?

After Guan Yu captured more than 30,000 people including Yujin, Pound and Wei Jun, Guan Yu won a temporary absolute victory, and the battlefield situation was extremely favorable to Guan Yu. Before Cao Wei's reinforcements arrived, Guan Yu still failed to win Xiangyang and Fancheng, which is also the reason why Guan Yu finally failed.

Guan Yu did not capture Xiangyang, which was guarded by the road, and Fancheng, which was guarded by Coss. The main reason is that Lu Chang and Coss insist, and the secondary reason is that Guan Yu lacks siege methods. You should know that Xiangyang and Fancheng were absolute fortified cities at that time. Later, Mongolia attacked the Song Dynasty, and it took six years to attack Xiangyang alone.

Once Xiangyang and Fancheng don't attack, Guan Yu is doomed to failure. When Huang Xu led the soldiers of the 12th Battalion to support him, Guan Yu was already a spent force, and his failure was only a matter of time. Even without Lv Meng crossing the river in white, Guan Yu would fail.

Although Guan Yu captured more than 30,000 people in the Forbidden City, these 30,000 people did not add any advantages to Guan Yu, but became a burden to Guan Yu's army. They should be responsible for the food of these 30 thousand people and send people to guard them to prevent rebellion. These 30 thousand people became Guan Yu's disadvantage. Even if they are taken to the rear of Gangneung City, they are always time bombs. ?

When Huang Xu led more than 30,000 people against Guan Yu, Guan Yu's 50,000 soldiers had been in the war for more than three months. They are physically and mentally exhausted, lack food and have no reserves. Even if Huang Xu's 30,000 soldiers are recruits, I'm afraid Guan Yu's 50,000 soldiers are hard to win.

For soldiers, fighting depends on morale and morale. For more than three months, although Guan Yu has been reporting good news all the way, for the war, failing to capture Fancheng and Xiangyang is a failure or no progress. ?

Therefore, when Guan Yu's 50,000 exhausted soldiers faced Huang Xu's 30,000 new recruits, they were cowardly. In addition, the news that Lv Meng attacked Jingzhou from the rear made Guan Yu's Jingzhou army even more demoralized. If we can't capture these two cities, Guan Yu's situation is extremely dangerous, and he is in danger of being attacked by Wei Jun inside and outside and being wiped out by the whole army.

So it is not surprising that Guan Yu was defeated by Huang Xu. It is wise for Guan Yu to withdraw his troops, but it is unwise for Guan Yu to lead 50 thousand troops to recapture Jingzhou. Monroe didn't know that the encirclement had been set, just waiting for Guan Yu to take the bait. The final result was that all three counties in Jingzhou were occupied by Soochow, and 50 thousand Jingzhou troops died or surrendered, and Guan Yu died.