Siege
1593 siege
The Battle of Haengju took place on 14 March 1593 during the 1592–1598 Japanese invasion of Korea. The Japanese attack failed to overcome the fortress Haengjusanseong.
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Text from the Wikipedia article “Siege of Haengju”, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
The Battle of Haengju took place on 14 March 1593 during the 1592–1598 Japanese invasion of Korea. The Japanese attack failed to overcome the fortress Haengjusanseong.
Korean army general Gwon Yul was stationed at the fortress Haengjusanseong, a wooden stockade on a cliff over the Han River. Haengju posed a threat to Hanseong (modern Seoul and capital of Joseon) due to its proximity, so the Japanese attacked it in March.
The Japanese attack led by Konishi Yukinaga happened on 14 March 1593 with 30,000 men. They took turns attacking the stockade due to the limited space. The Koreans retaliated with arrows, cannons, and hwacha.
After three attacks, one with siege tower, and one where Ishida Mitsunari was wounded, Ukita Hideie managed to breach the outer defenses and reach the inner wall. However, he was wounded as well and had to fall back.
In the last attack Kobayakawa Takakage burned a hole through the fort's log pilings, but the Koreans managed to hold them back long enough for it to be repaired.
When the Koreans had nearly run out of arrows, I Bun arrived with supply ships containing 10,000 more arrows, and they continued to fight on until dusk when the Japanese retreated.
Aside from the defeat, the Japanese situation became even more tenuous after Zha Dashou led a small group of raiders to Hanseong, burning more than 6,500 tons of grain. This left the Japanese with less than a month of provisions.
After several negotiations with Shen Weijing, the Japanese abandoned Hanseong on 17 May 1593. What Li Rusong and Song Yingchang witnessed upon entering the city was a people who "looked like ghosts."
The battle is celebrated today as one of the three most decisive Korean victories (the other two being the 1592 Battle of Hansan Island and the siege of Jinju). Today, the site of Haengjusanseong has a memorial built to honor Gwon Yul.
Text from the Wikipedia article “Battle of Haengju”, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.