Song navy defeats Jin at Tangdao

1161

Using explosive fire-bombs launched from trebuchets and rammed warships with iron prows, a Song fleet destroyed a much larger Jin invasion flotilla in the Shandong straits. The battle, coupled with Caishi in the same year, thwarted the Jurchen plan to conquer the Southern Song by sea. The twin victories preserved the Southern Song dynasty for another century and demonstrated that naval power could compensate for the loss of the northern cavalry plains.