Battle of Lake Poyang The naval battle of Lake Poyang ( 鄱陽湖之戰 ) took place 30 August – 4 October 1363 CE and was one of the final battles fought in the fall of China ' s Mongol - led Yuan Dynasty . There were at this time a number of rebel groups who sought to topple the reigning dynasty ; the three most powerful were the Ming , the Han , and the Wu . The navy of the Ming , under Zhu Yuanzhang , met the Han navy , commanded by Chen Youliang , in Jiangxi Province on Lake Poyang , China ' s largest freshwater lake . Background . The battle of Lake Poyang began as an amphibious siege by the Han against the Ming - held town of Nanchang . The descriptions from the time seem to indicate the use of " lóu chuán " ( 楼船 , tower ship s ) , which were essentially floating fortresses , very tall and strong , but also relatively slow , and requiring deep water to sail . Nanchang defended itself well against the siege , the city ' s tall walls rendering the chief strength of the tower ships to no advantage ; the ground assault was repelled as well for some time . A Ming messenger managed to break through the Han fleet ' s blockade , getting out a call for help to Zhu Yuanzhang . The majority of the Ming forces , in particular its ships , were occupied at the time in fighting Zhang Shicheng ' s Wu Kingdom elsewhere , but Zhu nevertheless arrived with what force he could muster . These ships were , on average , smaller than the Han ships , which meant a disadvantage in size and strength , but also great advantages in speed , maneuverability , and viability in shallow waters . The summer sun had already caused the lake ' s water level to drop considerably , to the Ming ' s advantage . They sailed for nine days from Zhu ' s capital Nanjing to Nanchang , capturing the town of Hukuo along the way on 25 August . By the time the Ming fleet arrived , Chen Youliang , the Han commander , realised that Nanchang was not going to surrender soon , and so he redirected his focus on defeating the arriving Ming fleet . Knowing that his own fleet was suited more for siege than for naval combat , he hoped to finish the battle quickly , before the water levels sank any further . The battle . The Ming fleet divided itself into eleven squadrons , with the heavier ships at the centre ; a number of their warriors disembarked to bolster the Nanchang garrison . Following the Ming arrival , both fleets dropped anchor for the night . The fighting commenced the following morning , on 30 August . The core of the Ming fleet made a frontal assault on the Han ships , while some of the other squadrons moved to positions from which they could launch trebuchet s , fire ship s , and other explosives and the like . Though they managed to set more than twenty Han ships alight , their own flagship was set aflame by the Han . Zhu Yuanzhang rushed to extinguish the flames as the Han fleet concentrated all their attacks on his ship ; the situation quickly grew worse for Zhu as the ship hit a sandbar and stuck . The Han circled around and continued to attack with arrows and flame . However , the Ming fleet quickly came to the rescue of their commander , the waves created by their very movement shaking the flagship free . The lighter , smaller Ming ships became grounded several times more during the battle , due to their attempts to encircle the Han ships and to board their enemies ' ships ; the Han intentionally kept to the deeper waters and made no attempts of boarding attacks . That night the Ming ships were sent downstream a short way for repairs and regrouping . Zhu ' s plan had failed , but the battle was not over yet . The following day , the Ming discovered that the Han had rearranged their fleet into a solid line of heavy tower ships , with their smaller ships skirting the edges of the formation ; their ships were tied together by chains . The main action of that day ( 31 August ) involved the creation and launching of fire ships by the Ming . Small rafts and fishing boats were loaded up with bales of straw and gunpowder , set aflame , and launched toward the enemy fleet . Dummies with armour and weapons were placed on the fireships as well , to aid in confusing and tricking the enemy . Due to a favourable wind , and the tight formation of the Han fleet , the fire ships were very successful , and many Han ships were either destroyed or suffered extensive damage . After spending more than a full day repairing their ships , both fleets returned to battle two days later on 2 September . Seeing the consequences of a tight formation , Chen Youliang tried a more open formation . But this only allowed the Ming to execute their originally - intended grappling and boarding attacks . News came to Zhu Yuanzhang around this time that his ground forces had relieved Nanchang from the siege . The Ming fleet began to retreat to the mouths of the Yangtze and Gan River s , their defeat of the Han being all but complete . However , rather than retreating entirely , the Ming fleet remained for a month , blockading and watching the Han fleet . Neither commander wanted a war of attrition , and so there was little or no combat action for a month . On 4 October the final elements of the battle played out . The Ming employed fire ships once again , and at one point in the conflict Chen Youliang suffered an arrow through his skull and died . The Han surrendered shortly afterwards . Aftermath . Chen Youliang was succeeded by his son , Chen Li , who was lost to Zhu . The Ming victory here cemented their position as the leading rebel group , and the one that would take command when the Yuan Dynasty fell . When this happened five years later , Zhu Yuanzhang became the first Emperor of the Ming Dynasty .