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The naval Battle of Caishi (采石之战) took place in 1161 and was the result of an attempt by forces of the Jurchen Jin to cross the Yangtze River, thus beginning an invasion of Southern Song China.
The Song navy consisted primarily of paddlewheel ships, which were faster and more maneuverable than the Jin ships, providing the Song with a great advantage. They hid their fleet behind the island of Jinshan, and brought them out at the signal of a mounted scout atop the island's peak. The Song then bombarded the invaders with traction trebuchets, launching "thunderclap bombs", which were soft-cased explosives filled with lime, which would create a noxious cloud when the fuses went off and broke the soft cases. The Jin were so badly defeated that the Jin Emperor was assassinated by his own men.
[edit] References
- Fighting Ships of the Far East 1 - "China and Southeast Asia 202 BC - AD 1419" (2002) Turnbull, Stephen. Oxford: Osprey Publishing.
