The Tactical Role of Rivers in Early Chinese Warfare

Abstract

This article aims to study the tactical role of rivers in early Chinese warfare. Rivers or, broadly speaking, waterways served not only as defensive barriers and offensive weapons but also for logistical purposes, which was particularly crucial for military campaigns in the regions of Central and South China with their abundant river networks. Furthermore, this article also analyzes a few early Chinese cases of shore-based river-crossing campaigns, in which rivers functioned as barriers in land warfare. Some tactics were thus developed to overcome and even make use of the landscape to achieve victory in battles.