Why did the Vietnamese defeat the powerful army of Qin Shihuang?

Thanks to proper military tactics, the ancient Vietnamese defeated the large invaders of the Qin Dynasty, laying the foundations for military art thousands of years later.

The resistance against the invaders of the Qin Dynasty at the end of the third century BC was the first large-scale territorial war of Vietnamese people. Although confronted with the most powerful invaders in the world at that time, thanks to a unique and appropriate military tactic, our ancestors defeated completely the large army of the Qin by General Do Thu command.

and conspiring to invade our country

After the reunification of China in 221 BC to the throne of the Emperor, Qin Shihuang on the one hand strengthened the feudal government inside, on the other hand constantly launched invasion wars to expand the territory outside. .

According to the Hoai Nam Tu book of the Han Dynasty, to invade the land of the ancient Vietnamese, annexed to China, Qin Shihuang sent General Shu Shu to carry the army, divided into 5 divisions to the south to invade our country. These troops, according to Chinese and Vietnamese histories, recorded 500,000.

At that time, after centuries of civil war in the country, military thinking in China was very developed. The blacksmith of the Qin Dynasty could create high-level swords and iron objects. Their potential could mobilize hundreds of thousands of troops for a military operation.

Portrait of Qin Shihuang - the first emperor of China.

Many types of war weapons are continuously invented, upgraded and typical such as the ladder of clouds used to destroy the city, the types of crossbow bowls, and weapons continue to be improved, bringing about higher efficiency. Military doctrines were formed, many of the French troops of To Vu, Ngo Khoi and Ngo Tu were born. According to many historians, Han's military art reached the highest level in the world at that time.

Meanwhile, Vietnamese people are still in the tribal period, the level of development is still very limited, the main items are still in bronze. Experiencing some wars, but mainly on small scale. Military potential, the ability to organize battlefields cannot mobilize hundreds of thousands of people at the same time.

Military art helps the Vietnamese defeat the Qin army

The historical documents of this period show the correlation between the Vietnamese forces and the large army of invaders of Qin Shihuang, but the Vietnamese still win thanks to the proper military tactics with the war. 'guerrilla', 'taking a lot of enemies' during the resistance period.

According to Dai Viet Su Ky Toan Thu, before the initial strength of the Qin army, 'Vietnamese people all went to the forest, stayed with animals, no one would let the Qin troops catch'. It is not a run for fear, failure, that's how to fight the enemy.

Vietnamese people retreated to the forest to avoid the early strength of the Qin army, did not want to fight big, did not organize a war when it was not beneficial. According to Hoai Nam Tu's book, after going to the forest, 'they put together the exhausted people to become generals for the day and to hide, the night came to fight the Qin army'.

Clearly, this is a resilient, intelligent and organized war. Vietnamese people have known to rely on the social structure of the chieng-chieng, their existing tribes, to take advantage of the mountainous terrain to persist in the long-term resistance, fight small, fight at night to consume troops. the enemy, eliminating the source of food for the enemy.

According to Sima Qian's historical record, the tenacious and persistent resistance of the Vietnamese people made the Qin army 'great and lacking food, soldiers stationed in useless land, unable to move, and not completed.' The invaders were increasingly cornered into a state of tension, the danger came as desperate.

Chinese historians must admit for three consecutive years, the Qin army should not rest 'men in armor, women must transport, suffering does not live. People have to tie their necks on trees along the way. Dead people overlap '.

Realizing that the enemy was exhausted in both spirit and strength, the new Vietnamese gathered their forces, under the command of talented and typical leaders, Thuc Phan , our army organized a great fight to destroy the enemy force. , smashing the invasion of the Qin army, killing General Shu Shu, causing the Qin army to lose their heads, step by step.

According to Hoai Nam Tu's book, the losses of the Qin army were enormous. After Qin Shihuang's death, the Qin Dynasty was under the reign of Qin Nhi The forced to retire in 208 BC. The Vietnamese anti-Qin resistance war won brilliantly.