Atlas of Battles

battle, major, ancient

Battle of Guandu

Battle of Guandu was a battle fought in AD 200 at Guandu, in what is now People's Republic of China. It was part of end of the Han dynasty, which ran from AD 189 to AD 220. The recorded result: Cao Cao victory. Recorded strength: About 40,000 against ~110,000.

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English: Map of the Battle of Guandu Chinese: 官渡之戰示意圖 繪制作:竹圍牆 Also referenced are: de Crespigny, Rafe. "To Establish Peace: being the Chronicle of the Later Han dynasty for the years 189 to 220 AD as
English: Map of the Battle of Guandu Chinese: 官渡之戰示意圖 繪制作:竹圍牆 Also referenced are: de Crespigny, Rafe. "To Establish Peace: being the Chronicle of the Later Han dynasty for the years 189 to 220 AD as . Guanduzhizhan.png: User Zhuwq on zh.wikipedia derivative work: Deadkid dk (talk) 02:40, 10 July 2009 (UTC), CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
FoughtAD 200
WhereGuandu, People's Republic of China34.907N, 114.620E
OutcomeCao Cao victory
BelligerentsCao CaoagainstYuan Shao
Casualties and losses~8,000and~80,000
Part ofend of the Han dynastyAD 189 to AD 220

Where it sits in end of the Han dynasty

Battle of Yangcheng, AD 191Cao Cao's invasion of Xu Province, AD 193Battle of Xiapi, AD 199Battle of Guandu, AD 200Battle of Cangting, AD 201Battle of Qi Mountains, AD 214AD 191AD 214Battle of Guandu, AD 200
6 placed engagements of end of the Han dynasty in time order; taller ticks are more widely documented. Each tick is a link.

Record

DateAD 200 (year precision)
PlaceGuandu, People's Republic of China
34.907N, 114.620E
KindBattle, ancient
StrengthAbout 40,000~110,000
Casualties and losses~8,000~80,000
Commanders
  • Cao Hong
  • Guo Jia
  • Xun Yu
  • Cheng Yu
  • Xun You
  • Zhang Liao
  • Chunyu Qiong
  • Guo Tu
  • Tian Feng
  • Ju Shou
  • Shen Pei
  • Yan Liang
Battle of GuanduBattle of GuanduBattle of ChengpuSiege of Kaifeng (1232)Battle of XinzhengBattle of SuiyangBattle of BiBattle of ChengpuBattle of XinzhengBattle of SuiyangBattle of BiHezeJiningXinxiangAnyangJiaozuoPingdingshanJinchengPuyang100 km34.907N, 114.620E
The recorded site, with the nearest other engagements in the atlas. Present-day coastlines, rivers and borders; towns from Natural Earth.

The ground today

Relief of the ground around the site of Battle of Guandu
Relief within about 10.0 km of the site, contours every 5 m. Copernicus DEM GLO-30, ESA.
Satellite view of the site of Battle of Guandu today
The same ground from Sentinel-2 on 2024-10-23. Contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data 2024.

The recorded site stands at about 72 m; within 10.0 km the ground runs from 61 to 100 m, 39 m of relief, gently rolling country and today it is 82% cropland, 13% water, 2% grassland.

cropland: 82%water: 13%grassland: 2%tree cover: 2%cropland 82%water 13%grassland 2%tree cover 2%
west to east, 10.0 km72 to 86 mnorth to south, 10.0 km68 to 94 m
Elevation from the Copernicus DEM GLO-30 (ESA, Airbus); land cover from ESA WorldCover 2021 (CC BY 4.0), within about 5 km of the recorded site. Computed, not recorded.

Nearest engagements

In the same war

Elsewhere in AD 200

Battle of Guandu is one of 34 engagements of the 2nd century in the atlas and one of 448 in present-day China.

Sources

Identity, coordinates, dates and the war from Wikidata Q1057910, released under CC0. Result, belligerents, commanders, strength and casualties from the infobox of the English Wikipedia article Battle of Guandu, revision 1371239964, read 2026-11-14, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0; the article's text is not reproduced here. Present-day country and state from Natural Earth. Dates before 1582 follow the Julian calendar as recorded.