The Song defenders were hungry, ill, and probably short of sleep after the blockade. One proposed explanation for their weak response is that earlier fighting had already drawn available troops to another part of the formation. Arrow volleys quickly cost seven ships and many soldiers. Those losses suggest the possibility that exhausted men were still rushing to their posts instead of sheltering behind the ships' raised castles. Weakened defenders then struggled in close combat, while the chains obstructed reinforcement and retreat. The failure of command compounds that explanation, leaving the success of the Yuan's attempted deception uncertain.
Notable Point · 1:13:14-1:15:36
Were the Song deceived or too exhausted to respond?
Hunger, illness, and troops displaced by earlier fighting offer an alternative explanation for the Song's weak response to the Yuan assault.