Three Kingdoms: Army Lists 190-202 CE for De Bellis Antiquitatis 3.0

Table of Contents

I. Introduction

II. Further Reading

III. Miniatures

IV. Painting Reference

V. Camp/ BUA

VI. History

VII. Army Lists

I. Introduction

The original DBA army lists for the Three Kingdoms era of China’s Late Han Dynasty have inaccuracies and glosses over how different the armies were as minor warlords turned into powerful rulers. It’s been about a year and a half worth of work, and I’ve done my academic best to give the fairest representation to these armies in DBA form. I’m always open to discussion, questions, and feedback. This is one of my favorite time periods, and I’m glad to share what I’ve learned (or fix what I messed up).

The list covers just the Central, Northern, and Northeastern Warlords from 190-202. I will provide a guide for further reading, which miniatures to use, and painting references.

II. Further Reading

Imperial Warlord: A biography of Cao Cao by Rafe de Crespigny

Fire over Luoyang: A History of the Later Han Dynasty 23-220 AD by Rafe de Crespigny

A Biographical Dictionary of Later Han to the Three Kingdoms (23-220 AD) by Rafe de Crespigny

Generals of the South: History of Wu by Rafe de Crespigny

The Annals of Wei by Yang Zhengyuan trueorigin.gumroad.com/l/weiji

The Layman’s Guide, a three kingdoms military history blog classicalamateur.wordpress.com/

Dragon’s Armory dragonsarmory.blogspot.com/2020/11/castle-doctrine-chinese-house-castles.html

Serious Trivia Three Kingdoms Lets Talk Lore Series

The Han Abolition of Universal Military Service by Mark Edward Lewrs

“Goose File” Formation: What Did It Look Like? by Tsang Shui-lung and David A. Graff

III. Miniatures

Little Corporeal’s Lurkio Line

Lurkio should be your main line, using them for 3Kn, Cv, Lh, 3/4Bd, 3/4Wb, 3/4Cb and Bw, 5/7Hd. CWg are command chariots, and can be bought through Lurkio or Essex’s website.

Essex’s Chinese Lines Han and Northern Southern Dynasties

Essex’s Chinese Lines Han and Northern Southern Dynasties can help add some diversity to your Lurkio line above, although Essex is slightly smaller than Lurkio’s, their Ji armed cavalry are perfect for Ts’ao Ts’ao’s Leopard cavalry unit as well as their sword infantry.

Khurasan Miniatures Sung and T’ang Chinese

Khurasan has a stone thrower in their Sung Chinese line that could work for your artillery, while their T’ang line has a bolt thrower you could use as well.

My Own Miniature Line

I have designed some miniatures for 3D printing as well. The files include siege towers, rams, cities, settlements, gate blockers, and a few other.

IV. Painting Reference:

Below is a Taiwanese artist that has done work for some of Japan’s military history magazines, and he has some of the most accurate representations of Three Kingdoms soldiers.

V. Camp/ BUA Guide:

Dragon’s Armory’s blog post about fortifications in the Late Han.

VI. The Armies of the Central and Northern Warlords 190-202 CE

Before the three states of Wei, Wu, and Shu-Han, many warlords vied for supremacy and power of the Han emperor. The country of China had been wrecked by famine and plague, and its warlords’ armies showed. Population and food supply were some of the main concerns of the warlords in 190-200s. It’s stated by Wei Shu, that armies were so short on provisions and grain they didn’t have plans for the end of the year. going on to say the armies that were destroyed by lack of supplies were “utterly uncountable.”1 Yuan Shu’s army at Jiang and Huai gathered and gave out cattails and a type of mollusk to the army. While Yuan Shao’s army once relied on mulberries to survive.2 The circumstances could be even more extreme, as accounts of cannibalism were numerous. Neighborhoods are described as desolate as people ate each other.

Armies were centered around a core of retainers serving great families, local warlords, or officials. These retainers could be family members, men of the gentry clans, or powerful local bullies. Training in arms, therefore, could have been in their “formal education or self-taught due to repeated acts of violence.”3 Retainers and their followers relied more on the size of their followings and the weakness of their victims to achieve victory. During the early stages of the Civil War, most troops were neither disciplined nor well-trained.4 The exception is capable officers. They possibly drilled and trained their soldiers. Examples are Dian Wei’s and Gao Shun’s elite shock troops. But the majority of the army consisted of an “assembly of incoherent bodies of men. . . training, equipment, and leadership varied.”5

Battles of the time were decided with a decisive charge that relied on weight and force rather than formations and maneuvers. Battles that would drag out caused confusion and disruption in the armies. Sometimes allowing a smaller force of retainers to spearhead an attack, and if successful, be followed up with a general attack, routing the opposing army. A tactic like this was achieved “through shock of surprise.”6 As the violence of the attack could shock and breach a line or kill an opposing commander, causing fear and confusion to spread through an army quickly. Ambushes could easily have a similar effect to an opposing force, allowing small groups to defeat much larger ones.7 Circumstance and self-interest greatly impacted the morale of the battlefields, as no religion, empire, or state held these groups together, and trust within was limited at best.8

VII. Army Lists

Central Warlords- Ts’ao Ts’ao, Yuan Shu, Tao Qian, Liu Bei, Kong Rong, Kong Zhou, Liu Dai, Lu Bu (194-199), Zhang Xiu, Han Fu, Yuan Shao (190-199)

Terrain Type: Arable

Aggression: 1

1xGeneral (Cv, 3Kn, CWg*, or CP)

1x Cavalry Retainers or on foot Retainers (Cv, Lh, 3/4Bd , 4Wb, or Sp)

1x Retainers (3/4Bd, 4Wb or Sp)

1xTrained Crossbow (4Cb or 4Bw)

4x Levy Infantry (3Wb or 7Hd. If Zhang Xiu ½ 3/4Ax)

3x Levy Crossbow (3Cb or 3Bw)

1x Levy Infantry or Artillery (3Wb, 7Hd, or Art)

Northern Warlords- Liu Yu, Yuan Shao (199-202), Zhang Yan

Terrain Type: Arable

Aggression: 1

1x General (Cv, 3Kn, CWg*, or CP)

1x Cavalry Retainers or on foot Retainers (Cv, Lh, 3/4Bd, 4Wb, or Sp)

1x Retainers (3/4Bd, 4Wb, or Sp)

1x Trained Crossbow (4Cb or 4Bw)

2x Levy Infantry or Heishan Bandits. If Zhang Yan (3Wb or 7Hd. If Zhang Yan all 5Hd)

3x Levy Bow or Crossbow (3Cb or 3Bw)

1x Levy Infantry or Artillery. Only if Yuan Shao, Towers ( 3Wb , 7Hd, or Art. If Yuan Shao WWg)

2x Nomadic Horse (Lh)

Northeastern Frontier Warlord- Gongsun Zan (190-199)

Terrain Type: Arable

Aggression: 1

1x General (Cv, 3Kn, CWg*, or CP)

3x White Horse Fellows and Nomadic Horse Archers (Lh)

1x Retainers (3/4Bd, 4Wb, or Sp)

1x Cavalry Retainers, Nomadic Horse, White Horse Fellows (Cv or Lh)

3x Levy Infantry or Black Mountain Bandits (3Wb , 7Hd, or 5Hd)

3x Levy Bow (3Cb or 3Bw)