March 19, 1279 · South China Sea Theater
March 19, 1279
Kublai Khan's decades-long war to conquer the Southern Song dynasty ended in a great naval battle at Yamen, off the coast of Guangdong. The Mongol-Yuan fleet trapped and destroyed the Song fleet; with defeat certain, a loyal official leapt into the sea with the boy-emperor of Song in his arms, and tens of thousands of officials and soldiers reportedly drowned themselves rather than surrender.
Commanders