Siege of Busan
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| The Siege of Busan Castle | |||||||
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| Part of Imjin War | |||||||
 The Siege of Busan Castle |
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| Belligerents | |||||||
| Japanese Army | Korean Garrison | ||||||
| Commanders | |||||||
| So Yoshitoshi | Chŏng Pal† Yi JungHyun Pak Hong |
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| Strength | |||||||
| at least 15,000 men | at least 8,000 soldiers | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| Unknown | between 8,500 - 30,000 (depending on various accounts) | ||||||
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The Siege of Busan was a battle fought at Busan on April 13th-14th, 1592, between Japanese and Korean forces. Along with Tadaejin, Busan was the site of the first battle in the Imjin War. This battle marked the beginning of a long, terrible war on the Korean peninsula.
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[edit] Prelude
To establish a bridgehead and control Busan shores, a strategy was planned based on So Yoshitoshi's local knowledge. It consisted of dividing their forces and leading simultaneous attacks against the main castle, and subsidiary harbour forts of Tadaejin and Seopyeongpo.
Early on the morning of April 13th (according to Lunar Calendar) May 24, 1592 (Gregorian Calendar), So Yoshitoshi attacked within the main city walls of Busan, while Konishi Yukinaga led the assault on the harbour fort of Tadaejin.
The Japanese overwhelmed the Korean defences by scaling the walls under cover of the arquebuses. This new technology destroyed the Koreans on the walls. Again and again the Japanese would win battles with arquebuses (Korea would not begin to train with these protomuskets until the Korean General Kim Shi-min forged them at a Korean armory).
The Koreans retreated to the second line of defence after the surprise attack of So Yoshitoshi. General Jeong Bal (Hangul: 정발, Hanja :鄭撥) regrouped the Korean archers and counterattacked. By now, the Koreans had retreated to the third line of defence. After hours of fighting, the Koreans ran out of arrows. The Japanese were taking losses and regrouped to attack again.
General Jeong Bal was shot and killed. Morale fell amongst the Korean soldiers and the main castle was overrun at around 9:00 in the morning--nearly all of Busan's fighting force was killed. The Japanese massacred the remaining garrison and noncombatants. Not even animals were spared. Yoshitoshi ordered his soldiers to loot and burn valuable items.
The Japanese army now occupied Busan. For the next several years Busan would be a supply depot for the Japanese. The Japanese continued to supply troops and food across the sea to Busan until Korean Admiral Yi Sun-sin attacked Busan with his navy.
[edit] Aftermath
With the fall of Busan Castle, the First Division of the Japanese Army completed its first objective, but there was one more thing to do to secure their bridgehead, because a few miles to the north of Busan lay the fortress of Dongnae. Early next morning, So Yoshitoshi led his wearied troops to attack the mountain fortress of Dongnae. These series of lightning-like attacks marked the beginning of the Seven Year War.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- Stephen Turnbull, "Samurai Invasion - Japan's Korean War 1592-1598", Cassel & Co, 2002
