In the fourth year of Yuanfeng (1081), the Northern Song Dynasty launched a large-scale military operation called the Battle of Lingzhou in the Song Dynasty, mobilizing more than 300,000 troops.
However, despite the strength of the army, the confidence of the Northern Song rulers failed to translate into victory.
The three-way army retreated without a fight, and although the remaining two roads besieged Lingzhou City, the grain and grass were intercepted by the Tanguts, and at the same time, the Xixia army also broke the Yellow River embankment to flood the Song army, which eventually led to heavy losses for the Song army and returned defeated.
The battle showed that even with great military strength, it is difficult to achieve victory without strategy and preparation.
What is the reason for this battle of Lingzhou, which was determined to be won by the Northern Song Dynasty before the war, but ended with the loss of the Song army? According to the "History of the Song Dynasty: Xia Guoxia", the Tangut people adopted the correct strategy and tactics, and successfully implemented the strategy of "fortifying the wall and clearing the wilderness".
The veteran's advice was: "There is no need to refuse them, just hold their positions, clear the battlefield, let them penetrate deep into our side, and then concentrate the elite troops in Ling and Xia, send light cavalry to cut off their supplies, and the army without food will naturally be unable to fight." ”
Empress Dowager Liang followed the advice of the veteran, and as a result, the Song army returned in vain.
Although the strength is strong, it is difficult to transport grain and grass from afar. Therefore, they chose to hold the city and clear the surrounding area, while at the same time sneaking up on the Song army's grain delivery team in order to achieve a quick victory.
The logistical supply difficulties of the Northern Song army itself were the biggest reason for the defeat of the Song army in the Battle of Western Xia.
The three-way army was forced to turn back due to lack of food and grass, and it can be said that it was defeated without a fight; Although the other two roads arrived in Lingzhou on time, they fell into the predicament of running out of grain and grass due to the cutting off of the grain route, and finally returned defeated.
At the same time, the soldiers and soldiers who transported grain and grass for the Fifth Route Army died and fled in large numbers during the journey. Therefore, although it was important for the Western Xia to have a correct strategy and flexible tactical application, the stability of logistics and supply was also the key to determining the outcome of the war.
The dilemma of logistical supply was a key factor in the crushing defeat of the Song army, so what was the reason for this dilemma?
First of all, the number of the Song Dynasty's army was huge, and the number of troops in this battle was as high as more than 300,000, which meant that a huge amount of food needed to be consumed every day.
According to the records of "History of the Song Dynasty: Xia Guoxia", in the Song-Xia War in the fourth year of Yuanfeng, the Song Dynasty mobilized the Seventh Army, 30,000 Dong Yu soldiers, 60,000 Wang Zhongzheng, 87,000 Gao Zunyu, 50,000 Liu Changzuo, and 93,000 Gen Troops, totaling nearly 300,000 people.
Li Xian of Xihe Road led 30,000 people to organize seven other teams in addition to Dong Yu, the Qiang people, the number of which is unknown.
Wang Zhongzheng of Hedong Road sent 60,000 troops, Gao Zunyu of Huanqing Road sent 87,000 troops, Liu Changzuo of Jingyuan Road sent 50,000 troops, and Fuyan Road Chongge sent 93,000 troops, totaling 320,000 troops, far exceeding the scale of the Song-Xia War during the Song Renzong period 40 years ago.
In the battle of Sanchuankou in the first year of Renzong Kangding (1040), the total number of soldiers and horses on the five routes of the Northern Song Dynasty was less than "more than 10,000 foot horses".
The 300,000 grains and grass of the Renzong Dynasty posed a huge challenge to the logistics capacity of the Northern Song Dynasty.
In addition, the Northern Song Dynasty army penetrated deep into the enemy's territory, making logistics more difficult. After the Battle of Qigou Pass in the third year of Yongxi, the Northern Song Dynasty turned its foreign war to active defense.
This is because the Northern Song Dynasty lacked the geographical advantages of the Great Wall and the grasslands in the early days of the founding of the country, and could not form cavalry. The long-term policy of "guarding the inside and the outside" also caused the Northern Song Dynasty to lose many wars against nomads such as the Dangxiang and the Khitan, and finally had to adopt a defensive posture.
Most of the military activities in the history of Song Taizong's stills were mainly based on short-distance rapid movement between cities, and the dependence on logistics supplies was not high. However, the appearance of the battle of Lingzhou in the fourth year of Song Xia in Yuanfeng broke this convention.
In this battle, the Northern Song army took the initiative to attack and penetrated deep into the enemy's territory, which was undoubtedly a great challenge to the Song army's long-distance logistics and supply capabilities.
Compared with the previous battles of Sanchuankou, Haoshuichuan and Dingchuanzhai, this campaign had stricter requirements for the Song army, and it was necessary to have strong logistical supply capabilities.
Through the analysis of the four-year battle of Lingzhou in Yuanfeng, we can see the reason why the Northern Song Dynasty army was determined to lose troops in the battle.
Among them, the Northern Song Dynasty mobilized too many troops, and the number of troops and the actions deep into the enemy's territory far exceeded the maximum carrying capacity of the logistics supply system.
This led to the inability of the Fifth Route Army to receive timely logistical supplies, which ultimately led to the disadvantage of the siege. In addition, the Western Xia also broke the embankment of the Yellow River, flooded the Song army, and cut off the Song army's grain route.
Taken together, these factors led to the great defeat of the Song army. Regarding the relationship between Song Renzong and Empress Dowager Liu, it is actually more complicated and exciting in history, and it can even be said to be more attractive than the legendary tanuki changing the prince.