page_title: Ngô dynasty
section_title: Battle of Bạch Đằng River
hierarchical_section_title: Ngô dynasty / Background / Battle of Bạch Đằng River
caption_attribution_description: 中文: 后唐 &#160;&#160; Later Tang 後唐 &#160;&#160; Wu 吳 &#160;&#160; Jingnan 荆南 &#160;&#160; Chu 楚 &#160;&#160; Annam &#160;&#160; Southern Han 南漢 &#160;&#160; Wuyue 吳越 &#160;&#160; Min 閩 Dachanghe 大長和;
context_page_description: The Ngô Dynasty was the first Vietnamese dynasty after the Third Chinese domination of Vietnam. It was founded by Ngô Quyền and was succeeded by the Dinh dynasty.
  Around 930, as Ngô Quyền rose to power, northern Vietnam was militarily occupied by the Southern Han and was treated as an autonomous province and vassal state of Later Tang Dynasty, referred to as Tĩnh Hải quân. Every year the Jiedushi of Tĩnh Hải quân had to pay tribute to its Chinese master in exchange for peace and political support. At the beginning of the 10th century, China was domestically plagued and weakened by civil war during what is known as the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period. The Chinese were preoccupied with these civil struggles and lost their grip on Tĩnh Hải quân periodically. Tĩnh Hải quân took advantage of this opportunity and proclaimed its independence and seceded from China. Under the rule of Lord Protector Dương Đình Nghệ, the Tĩnh Hải quân state initiated a full blown military campaign for independence.
context_section_description: Ngô Quyền (897–944) was Dương Đình Nghệ's most loyal general and son-in-law. He served under Dương Đình Nghệ's command and married one of his daughters. After the murder of father-in-law, Ngô Quyền sought revenge. He launched an attack and defeated Kiều Công Tiễn in 938. The latter, before his death in battle with Ngô Quyền, sent an emissary to Southern Han court to ask for military re-enforcement. The Southern Han state's emperor then sent an army to the South land to assist Kiều Công Tiễn in 938. However, Ngô Quyền's forces were tipped off over the advancing Southern Han army and therefore he quickly mobilized his forces and strategically stationed them in key battle sites.
  To defeat the Southern Han army coming to supply aid to his rival, Ngô Vương cleverly planted iron spikes underneath the Bạch Đằng River and timed the attack of the Southern Han navy. The attack began during high tide to conceal the spikes beneath the water. After the Vietnamese held the enemy in check for hours, the tides receded and the spikes impaled the Chinese armada. The Vietnamese forces followed this impalement with ferocious fire attacks, which annihilated hundreds of giant warships. The Southern Han navy and the Prince of Southern Han were killed in the battle. This tactic was repeated again during the Trần Dynasty by Trần Hưng Đạo against the third Mongol invasion of 1288.
caption: Later Tang dynasty and Tĩnh Hải Quân, 923-936.
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