Battle of Jieting

The Battle of Jie Ting (街亭の戦い) was a battle that was a part of Zhuge Liang's Northern Expeditions. It resulted in the death of Ma Su after he mistakenly camped at the top of a hill. Zhang He showed prowess in the battle and he was entrusted to defend the lands of Wei against Zhuge Liang's invading army.

Role in Games
In the Dynasty Warriors series the battle usually starts when Ma Su camps on top the mountaintop and Zhang He is sent to battle. In the fifth installment, the battle is easily won when using the Wei forces. The easiest way to win is capturing certain points of the mountain, then defeating Ma Su. While playing as Zhen Ji, Cao Pi will decide to become more of a "family man" and abandon the main camp, opting instead to follow his wife around the remainder of the stage, providing support for the player. When using the Shu Forces the battle will be a more challenge. The enemy force will try to surround Ma Su by destroying the bridge he uses to escape. The player should help Ma Su if he gets surrounded by Wei forces to ensure victory. Eventually Cao Pi will appear, defeating him will end the battle.

In the sixth installment the battle was removed but was re-added in the PlayStation 2 version of the installment as one of Ma Chao's and Zhang He's stories for their Musou Mode. In this version, Liu Bei will arrive as reinforcements if Ma Su survives the initial assault. For Wei's scenario, Sima Yi will lead the battle. The player is ordered to first capture the lower bases of the mountain. Afterwards, Wang Ping will begin to slowly move to Ma Su's aid. Eventually, Sima Yi's will send an archer unit to burn Ma Su's camp after which Liu Bei appears to support Ma Su. In Shu's version of the battle, Cao Cao will be the commander for Wei. Players need only to defend Ma Su until Liu Bei's arrival or morale will deflate rapidly. After his arrival, Liu Bei will order everyone to attack to Wei's main camp.

Historical Information
Jieting was a crucial region for the securing of supplies, and Zhuge Liang sent generals Ma Su and Wang Ping to guard the region. Ma Su went accompanied by Wang Ping but did not listen to his sound military advice. Relying purely on books of military tactics, he chose to 'take the high ground' and set his base on the mountains instead of in a city, ignoring Wang Ping and his advice to set up base in a valley well supplied with water. Wang Ping, however, managed to persuade Ma Su to give him command of a portion of the troops, and later Wang set up his base camp near Ma Su's camp, in order to offer assistance when Ma was in danger. Due to this tactical mistake, the Wei troops led by Zhang He encircled the hill and cut off the water supply to the Shu troops and attacked; later, Sima Yi's forces set fire to the hill. Wang Ping led his troops in an attempt to help Ma Su but the Shu army suffered a great defeat in which both the army and the fort were lost. Though he survived the battle, Ma Su feared punishment and attempted to flee. However, he was soon captured by Shu forces. The prefectures of Nan An, Tian Shui, and An Ding revolted to Zhuge Liang. Zhang He pacified all three.