In the previous video in our series covering
the medieval Japanese Invasions of Korea,
Toyotomi Hideyoshi’s forces began their
campaign with stunning success, and the Japanese
pushed north through the peninsula with relative
ease.
As the samurai lords neared the Joseon capital,
they must have felt confident of total victory
and everlasting glory for themselves and Japan.
However, things are almost never that easy,
and the Korean resistance was only just beginning.
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The news of Shin Rip’s defeat at Chungju
caused panic in Seoul, and with no army to
defend it, the Korean court decided to flee,
despite the pleas of the populace.
Konishi’s decisive victory angered his rival
commander Kato even more.
Some sources claim that Konishi was initially
against the war, and possibly to damage Hideyoshi’s
position even warned the Korean court about
the invasion, and now was moving quickly to
erase any evidence of his betrayal.
After almost coming to blows, the two daimyos
took the separate paths to Seoul.
Konishi’s route was easier, looping north
and west where the Han River was not a decisive
obstacle.
At the same time, Kato took a shorter route
directly north, but where the river was at
its widest.
After performing this river crossing with
considerable ingenuity, Kato was shocked upon
seeing the banners of his rival flying over
the city’s battlements.
He had been beaten again by mere hours, with
both arriving on June 12th.
Kuroda Nagamasa and his third contingent,
as well as Ukita Hideie’s 10,000 arrived
on June 16th, 1592.
The Korean capital itself was occupied with
little bloodshed.
The Korean court evacuated to Pyongyang, and
according to some sources, angered by their
king’s abandonment of them, the angry citizens
burned many of the royal residences.
Now that the capital had been taken, the Japanese
armies set out to consolidate their gains.
The countryside was pillaged largely without
resistance.
However, some Korean forces were still in
the field.
When the Japanese started raiding the area
called Yangju directly to the north of Seoul,
commander of the minor Korean unit decided
to use their complacency against them.
The Japanese started pillaging Yangju, and
at that point, the Koreans appeared near the
village.
This drew the attention of the invaders, and
a group of them moved against the Koreans,
who upon contact dropped their weapons and
started running towards the nearby mountains.
They were chased by the Japanese, but it was
a trap – as soon as the enemy entered the
mountain pass, the Koreans hiding here surrounded
and destroyed this unit.
Although the invaders lost only around 100
troops in this minor battle, it improved the
morale of the Korean armies, and forced the
daimyos to be more careful in their raiding.
Konishi and Kato - bitter rivals to the end
- were split up again, their contingents marching
to quell the northwestern Pyongan province,
and the far northeastern province of Hamgyong
respectively.
Both were expected to reach the Chinese frontier
at the Yalu and Tumen rivers during their
expeditions.
Furthermore, an 11,000 strong third contingent
would seize Hwanghae province, stopping short
of Konishi’s far-flung venture.
14,000 men of the fourth contingent would
march east to quell the eastern coastal lands
of Gangwon while 25,100 troops of the fifth
would subdue the west coast province of Chungcheong.
15,700 soldiers of the sixth division set
out for the bypassed Cholla province, while
30,000 men of the seventh would hold the crucial
beachhead province of Kyongsang.
Finally, Ukita Hideie’s 10,000 would hold
Seoul itself and the neighboring Kyonggi province.
Hideie himself was appointed by Hideyoshi
as an interim supreme commander.
Japanese consideration now turned to logistics
and supply.
However, when Kato moved his troops to the
north, he found that the Koreans under Gim
Myeongwon had forced-marched their army to
block the Japanese on the opposite side of
the Imjin river.
Although the Japanese had 20 thousand troops
and outnumbered the Koreans almost 2:1, the
latter were in a great position to defend.
The rains had flooded the river, making the
crossing even more difficult for Kato.
Before the Japanese approached the area, Gim
had already burned the nearby forests and
moved all of the boats in the area to the
north coast.
He knew that reinforcements were on the way,
and was planning on waiting in his excellent
defensive stance.
Unfortunately for him, he didn’t have full
control, and half of the army was commanded
by the courtier Han Ung-in.
The battle of the Imjin river started on July
6th, 1592.
On the first day, the armies exchanged arrow
and cannon volleys, but as the distance between
two was significant, neither side suffered
much.
On the second day, the Koreans received 3000
cavalry reinforcements.
For Kato, it was clear that he had to do something
to make the enemy move, or otherwise his situation
would become untenable, so he ordered 3/4
of his army to retreat.
The experienced Gim has already seen this
tactic fighting the Jurchen in the north,
but inexperienced general Sin Hal was sure
that he was about to score a glorious victory,
and decided to attack.
Han Ung-in supported him, and even ordered
the execution of one of the generals who opposed
the attack.
Gim couldn’t let the army advance without
him, so had no choice but to join Sin Hal
when the latter started crossing the river.
Soon the entire Korean army was on the south
side of the Imjin river.
Showing no signs of resistance, the 5000 Japanese
started fleeing, which only encouraged Sin
Hal.
Both armies entered a mountainous area to
the south, and immediately after the Koreans
were deep enough, Kato gave the order: muskets
sent volley after volley into the pursuers.
The battle was over in a matter of minutes.
The Japanese lost almost no troops, while
more than 10 thousand Koreans were dead, with
only a portion of the cavalry managing to
flee back across the river.
Kato was now free to move north, but logistics
was still a huge problem for the invading
army.
With its task of ferrying eight armies now
complete, the 700-ship strong Japanese fleet
began probing west from Busan, along the treacherous
Korean south coast.
They were moving directly towards Cholla,
where the Yi Sun-shin held command.
The Korean navy as a whole was in a dire state,
as most of the vessels of Gyeongsang were
burned or scuttled.
The commander of the remaining ships, Won
Gyun went into hiding among the many coves
and inlets along Korea’s southern coast,
and sent a letter to Admiral Yi asking for
help.
But before he acted, Yi started gathering
intelligence on Japanese naval movements.
Moreover, he hoped to organise a united fleet
of 90 ships with other admirals in the area.
Some of Yi’s men were executed and their
heads were displayed to the others in order
to improve defeatist moods.
However on June 12th - the day Seoul fell
to Japanese ground forces - Yi was forced
to sail.
King Seonjo’s court issued orders for him
to unite his vessels with those of Won Gyun.
On June 13th, Yi Sun-shin led his fleet out
of Yeosu harbour.
It was made up of 39 fighting vessels - 24
large panoksons, 15 smaller decked hyeupson
fighting ships, and 46 lighter scout ships
known as ‘sea ears’.
After rendezvousing with Won at Dang’po,
Yi slowly sailed to the east.
As his makeshift navy rounded the edge of
Koje Island and began working its way north,
a scout ship approached them with a message
that a fleet of Japanese ships was at anchor
in Ok-po port.
This village was situated inside a large bay
not too far up the coast of Koje island, so
it was there that the first naval battle of
the war would be fought.
As Korean naval forces entered the bay, Yi
ordered his smaller ships to the flanks while
the heavier warships, including Yi’s flagship,
formed a line in the centre.
He sent a message to each of his captains,
warning them not to give way, but to ‘stand
like mountain castles’.
Then, he ordered an advance.
More than 50 enemy transports were at anchor
in front of Ok-po village.
Most were unmanned, ransacking the village
in search of loot and setting fire to houses.
Only when Korean ships neared them were they
seen by the Japanese, due to the fact that
smoke from the burning village obscured their
vision.
The Japanese hastily rushed back to their
ships, attempting to lift anchor and then
hugging the coast rather than heading for
the open sea.
Yi’s fleet attacked, engaging the Japanese
at a distance and encircling them before opening
fire with cannons and fire arrows to the beat
of their admiral’s war drum.
Though Japanese arquebusiers attempted to
fire back, the distance meant that Yi’s
enemies could not attempt boarding actions,
and they were gradually destroyed one ship
at a time.
When this fleet had broken, its crewmen dead
or fleeing back to shore , five more ships
were spotted in the evening near Happo, four
of which were also destroyed by Yi. 26 ships
of the Japanese navy were destroyed on the
first day, without a single loss for Yi Sun-shin’s
armada.
The next morning, 13 additional Japanese ships
were spotted near Jinhae.
Yi once again destroyed 11 out of that number
without suffering any losses.
During these victories, Admiral Yi was often
amused by the exotic trophies taken from enemy
ships, particularly their elaborately ornate
helmets, which were sent to the king Seonjo
alongside the news of the victory.
The harrowing experience of civilians Yi encountered
after Ok’po further enraged him, providing
proof to him of Japan’s savagery.
The admiral then retreated back to Yeosu in
order to reorganise his forces.
These naval defeats made the Japanese realise
that the Korean navy was not yet defeated,
and they sent a force of ships to deal with
Yi in early July.
Being notified of this expedition to destroy
him, the admiral sailed east on July 8th with
only 23 warships.
He had discarded the smaller ‘sea ear’
scout ships and replaced them with something
altogether more formidable and far more famous
- the kobukson, otherwise known as the turtle
ship.
The turtle ship was twenty-eight metres long,
nine metres wide, and six metres high, making
it a fairly large ship for the time.
It sat low in the water, which allowed it
to come in under the massive Japanese castle
ships and blast their hulls with cannon fire
and archery.
A sloping roof of planks bristling with iron
spikes was also laid on top of the hull, encasing
the vessel like the shell of a turtle, hence
the name.
Around 15 of the advanced Korean cannons were
mounted on each of these ships, along with
a platform of archers.
With his ships ready for battle, Admiral Yi
sailed for Sacheon, where around 50 Japanese
ships were anchored, including 12 warships.
The Japanese troops were fortified on the
cliffs above the bay, where the Japanese commander
- Wakizaka Yasuharu - made his command post
. Though Yi realised that he could not risk
closing with an enemy which possessed such
fire support from the land, he also knew the
Japanese capacity for arrogance.
So, he sent a small force into the bay as
bait and then had it turn and retreat, as
though fleeing in terror.
Seeing this apparent display of weakness,
Yasuharu’s men ran down from the heights
and embarked on their ships, pursuing Yi’s
navy into the middle of the bay.
Witnessing the success of his lure, the Korean
admiral ordered an assault, with the invincible
turtle ships leading the advance.
They crashed into the middle of the enemy
formation and unleashed a storm of cannon
fire and arrows in all directions, causing
massive losses among the Japanese vessels.
The nimbler Korean vessels were also again
able to avoid Japanese boarding actions.
As his forces neared victory and the enemy
ships sank one at a time, Yi was hit by a
stray arquebus bullet in the shoulder, but
remained stoic.
After the enemy fleet had been destroyed,
Yi supposedly withdrew a knife and dug the
bullet out with it.
When the battle was over, every ship which
had pursued him lay burning on the sea or
sunk.
Victories kept on coming in the days after
Sacheon.
Firstly, at Dang’po , Admiral Yi defeated
a 21-ship strong Japanese fleet, once again
using his turtle ships to break apart and
wreak havoc within the enemy formation.
Soon after, the Koreans advanced on a 26 strong
anchored enemy armada at Danghangp’o . All
but one of the Japanese vessels were destroyed
after Yi lured them into the open and smashed
their battle line to pieces.
The land war was still not going well, but
Yi made sure the position of his realm was
supreme on the sea.
Back in Japan, Hideyoshi was livid at the
continued resistance of this small Korean
fleet, and angrily ordered his admirals Wakizaka
Yasuharu, Kato Yoshiaki, and Kuki Yoshitaka
to cease their useless inland plundering and
annihilate Yi Sun-shin.
The advancing armies needed supplies and reinforcements,
but the Korean navy was stopping them.
At the time, Yasuharu’s 82 vessel fleet
was the only one ready for the upcoming fight,
and the proud daimyo chose to act alone.
He would gain the glory from crushing Yi.
The following morning - August 15th - Admiral
Yi deployed his fleet in a bay near the island
of Hansando.
Admiral Won wanted to just attack Yasuharu’s
fleet, but Yi refused.
Rather than meeting Yasuharu’s fleet in
the narrows of Kyonnaerang where Yi’s ships
might collide with one another, he sent six
panokson warships forward as bait for a trap.
When these ships emerged into visual range
of the enemy, they switched direction and
fled.
Predictably, the victory-hungry Japanese fleet
came barrelling in pursuit.
As they emerged into the open sea, the Korean
fleet spread into a semicircular Crane’s
Wing formation, light vessels on the flanks,
while the heavier ships formed a sturdy centre.
When everything was in place, Yi ordered a
charge.
Immediately the more nimble wings enveloped
all of Yasuharu’s vessels, darting in and
out whilst showering the enemy with cannon
fire and archery.
At the same time, the heavier centre - fronted
by three turtle ships - smashed directly into
the enemy formation.
Shooting from all sides, the monstrous turtle
ships tore many Japanese ships apart with
cannon, while the heavy panokson warships
stayed at a distance, using their advantage
in artillery to tear into the Japanese.
In particular, metal-cased fire bombs were
shot from mortars located on the decks of
panokson craft.
Only when the opposing ships were crippled
did the admiral give the order to board and
finish them off in melee.
After many hours of this drubbing, Yasuharu
realised he was defeated and fled to a fast
ship, barely managing to escape.
Two of his relatives - Wakizaka Sabei and
Watanabe Shichi’emon - were not so lucky,
and were killed in the fighting.
Of 82 Japanese vessels that had sailed through
Kyonnaerang that day, only 14 survived the
Battle of Hansando.
The two colleagues of Yasuharu whom he had
left behind before the battle - Yoshitaka
and Yoshiaki - were quickly informed of the
disaster.
They set sail immediately and reached Angolp’o,
where they ran into the battered remnants
of Yasuharu’s forces.
One day later on the 16th of August 1592,
favourable winds prompted Yi to follow his
defeated foe, arriving outside the Angolp’o
harbour and deploying his navy in the crane’s
wing formation once again.
This time he faced a total of 42 Japanese
warships at anchor, protected by their own
armaments, land fortifications on the nearby
coast, and shallow waters in the bay itself.
Yi first attempted to lure the Japanese out
with bait as he had many times before, but
the Hansando experience wisened his enemy
to that tactic, and it garnered no response.
Instead, the Korean admiral changed tactics,
arranging for a continuous relay of ship squadrons
to row into cannon range, unleash their destructive
artillery volleys on the Japanese and then
withdraw to safety.
This rolling bombardment was devastatingly
successful.
Almost all of the ‘pirates’, as Yi called
them, were killed, especially on the larger
craft which had been the primary targets.
Seeing that a few ships had been left undamaged,
Yi now called his vessels off.
Many Japanese had escaped to the nearby shore
and would probably wreak a terrible vengeance
on Korean civilians if their means of escape
was destroyed.
Aiming to avoid unnecessary suffering among
his people, the Joseon fleet withdrew to open
water for the night.
When they returned at dawn the following day,
all Japanese survivors had fled, and the local
inhabitants were unharmed.
Yi still had not lost a single vessel in combat.
At this point, Yi began to receive troubling
reports that ashigaru land armies were advancing
into Cholla, and consequently withdrew to
his base at Yeosu.
Though some Japanese prisoners had escaped
the admiral’s wrath, it was only a minor
speck on what had otherwise been a great naval
campaign.
Yi’s success was impressive.
He was beginning to strangle the life out
of Japan’s invasion, but his rise to become
the national hero of Korea was only just beginning,
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