Model of a warship by Dai Viet. Shown in Keo Pagoda, Thái Bình Province, Việt Nam
While Vietnam was a Mongol tributary from 1258, Qubilai Khan’s effort to integrate Vietnam into the Yuan Empire resulted in a great defeat.
In 1225 Tran Thu Do (d. 1264) placed his nephew Tran Nhat Quynh (posthumous title, Tran Thai Tong, r. 1225.58, d. 1277) on the throne, ending the Ly dynasty (1009.1225) and beginning the Tran (1225.1400). The Tran strictly separated civil and military functions and furthered the bureaucratization of administration with an examination system based on Confucian, Buddhist, and Taoist (Daoist) classics.
When the Vietnamese imprisoned Mongol envoys sent from YUNNAN to find a route to attack the Song, the Mongol general Uriyangqadai (1199.1271) and his son AJU invaded in December 1257 with 3,000 Mongols and 10,000 Yunnanese Yi tribesmen. After the Mongols routed the Vietnamese and massacred the inhabitants of the capital, Thanh Long (modern Hanoi), Thai Toong abdicated in March 1258 in favor of his son Quang Binh (posthumous title, Tran Thanh Tong, r. 1258.78, d. 1291). Thanh Tong paid tribute to Uriyangqadai, who had quickly evacuated Vietnam to escape malaria.
After QUBILAI KHAN’s election as khan in 1260, Thanh Tong, enfeoffed as prince of Annam, sent tribute every three years and received a DARUGHACHI (overseer). By 1266, however, a standoff developed, as Thanh Tong sought to return to a loose tributary relationship while Qubilai demanded full submission to Mongol rule. The remoteness of communications through Yunnan, however, delayed armed conflict.
By winter 1278.79, with the conquest of South China, Qubilai ordered Mongol Yuan troops stationed along Vietnam’s borders. Vietnam’s new ruler, Tran Nhat Huyen (posthumous title, Tran Nhan Tong, r. 1278.93, d. 1308), resisted renewed Mongol demands for personal attendance at court but dispatched his uncle Tran Di Ai as hostage. In 1281 Qubilai tried to enthrone Di Ai as prince of Annam in place of Thanh Tong, but the plan failed miserably.
In summer 1284 Qubilai appointed his son Toghan to conquer Cham-pa, south of Vietnam. That December the Yuan general Sodu (d. 1284), defeated in Cham-pa, proposed the occupation of Vietnam as the key to pacifying all Southeast Asia, and Toghan was ordered to implement this plan. While Nhan Tong considered surrender, Prince Hu’ng .Dao (1213.1300) rallied his troops, who all tattooed their arms with “Death to the Mongols.” After defeating Prince Hu’ng Dao’s army, Toghan, with Sodu and Li Heng and naval forces under ‘Umar Ba’atur, reoccupied Thang Long in June 1285, while the Vietnamese court fled. As the Yuan troops advanced down the Hong (Red) River, however, Prince Quang Khai counterattacked at Chu’o’ng Du’o’ng, forcing Toghan to evacuate Vietnam, while Prince Hu’ng Dao’s armies annihilated the isolated vanguard at Tay Ket (near modern Hu’ng Yen), killing Sodu and Li Heng. The next March Qubilai enfeoffed Nhan Tong’s younger brother Tran Ich Tac, who had defected to the Yuan, as prince of Annam, but hardship in the Yuan’s Hunan supply base aborted Qubilai’s planned invasion. Finally, in 1287 Toghan invaded with 70,000 regular troops, 21,000 tribal auxiliaries from Yunnan and Hainan, a 1,000-man vanguard under Abachi, and 500 ships under ‘Umar and Fan Ji. Toghan reoccupied Thanh Long, but the Vietnamese captured the Mongol supply fleet and defeated the navy at Bach-Dang River (near modern Haiphong), forcing Toghan to evacuate in March 1288. Abachi and Fan Ji died in the bloody retreat, and ‘Umar was captured. Qubilai angrily banished Toghan to Yangzhou for life.
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The Battle of Bạch Đằng, which took place at the Bach Dang River, near Ha Long Bay in present-day northern Vietnam, was a battle between Đại Việt and the invading army of the Yuan Dynasty. It’s considered part of the Third Mongol Invasion (1287-88).
In 1288 after the evacuation from the capital Thăng Long (present-day Hanoi), Đại Việt’s Grand Commander Trần Hưng Đạo decided to launch an offensive against the Mongolians on the Bạch Đằng River and immediately set to organize the battle.
The Bạch Đằng River ran through Yen Hung district (in Quảng Ninh province) and Thuy Nguyen (in Hai Phong) before reaching the sea. This is where the well-known battle of Ngô Quyền against the Southern Han (Nanhan) took place in 938 A.D. It was from March, Trần Hưng Đạo was already there to prepare the battlefield. He borrowed the same tactic that Ngô Quyền used against the Chinese in 938. He studied the tidal lore, had beds of stakes planted under the water and arranged ambushes in a unified plan of campaign.
As was foreseen, the Mongolians in Thăng Long suffered an acute shortage of food. Without any news about the supply fleet, Prince Toghan found himself in a tight corner and had to order his army to retreat to Vạn Kiếp. This was when Đại Việt’s Army began the general offensive by recapturing a number of locations occupied by the Mongol invaders. Groups of partisans were given orders to harass the enemy in Vạn Kiếp, putting them at a loss. Toghan had to split his army into two and retreat.
In early April the supply fleet led by Omar and escorted by infantry fled home along the Bạch Đằng river. As bridges and roads were destroyed and attacks were launched by Đại Việt’s troops, the Mongols reached Bạch Đằng. Đại Việt’s small flotilla engaged in battle and pretended to retreat. The Mongols eagerly pursued Đại Việt troops and fell into their pre-arranged battlefield. Thousands of Đại Việt’s small boats from both banks quickly appeared, fiercely launched the attack and broke the combat formation of the enemy. Inflicted with a sudden and strong attack, the Mongols tried to withdraw to the sea in panic. Hitting the stakes, their boats were halted, many of which were broken and sunk. At that time, a number of fire rafts quickly rushed toward them. Frightened, the Mongolian troops jumped down to get to the banks where they were dealt a heavy blow by a big army led by the Trần king and Trần Hưng Đạo.
The Mongolian supply fleet was totally destroyed. Omar was captured.
At the same time, Đại Việt’s Army made continuous attacks and smashed to pieces Toghan’s army on its route of withdrawal through Lạng Sơn. Toghan risked his life making a shortcut through forests to flee home.
While Nhân Tông was willing to pay tribute to the Yuan, relations again foundered on the question of attendance at the Yuan court, and invasion plans continued. Qubilai’s successor, Emperor Temür (1294–1307), finally recognized the futility of these plans and released all detained envoys, settling for Vietnam’s traditional loose tributary relationship, which continued to the end of the Yuan. Prince Hu’ng -Dao’s command of the resistance became legendary in Vietnamese history.
