Battle of Imjin River (1592)
| Battle of Imjin River (1592) | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of Imjin War | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
 |
 | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
|
Gim Myeongweon I Il Yi Yang-won Yu Geukryang † Sin Hal † |
Katō Kiyomasa Konishi Yukinaga Kuroda Nagamasa | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| 10,000[1] | ? | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| ? | ? | ||||||
The Battle of Imjin River (Japanese: 臨津江の戦い) was a battle during the 1592 Japanese invasion of Korea. Gim Myeongweon's northern defense was defeated and the Japanese were able to cross over and invade northern Korea.
Background
The Joseon royal family left Hanseong for Pyeongyang on 9 June, a few days before the Japanese took the city on 12 June. When the Japanese arrived they found the city destroyed and in anarchy.[2]
The Japanese First, Second, and Third divisions left Hanseong 27 June and arrived at the Imjin River where 10,000 Koreans were amassed on the other side under Gim Myeongweon.[1]
Battle
Seeing that the Koreans would not budge, the Japanese forces conducted a false retreat to lure them into attacking. The Koreans took the bait and one inexperienced commander Sin Hal immediately ordered his men to cross the river and attack the Japanese. Yu Geuk-ryang tried to stop him, bu could not, and followed in the charge himself. Some of Han Un-in's veterans experienced in Jurchen tactics were reluctant to follow, suspecting it to be ruse, but they were silenced. Gim Myeongweon thought the attack was a bad idea but couldn't do anything since he did not have full control over the entire army.[3]
The Koreans pursued the enemies uphill and further south towards into a Japanese ambush. The Japanese fired on them and chased them to the river where they were slaughtered. Yu Geuk-ryang and Sin Hal were both killed. A civil official on the north bank of the river fled, and the soldiers thought he was Gim Myeongweon, so they dissolved and fled as well, abandoning the defense.[3]
Aftermath
The Japanese crossed the river by 7 July and took Gaeseong without a fight. Afterwards the three divisions split up. Konishi Yukinaga went north to Pyeongyang, Kuroda Nagamasa went west to Hwanghae, and Katō Kiyomasa headed northeast to Hamgyeong.[3]
In popular culture
This battle is celebrated in Activision's "Shogun: Total War" under "Imjin". The historical error in the game is that the Koreans have infantry forces only, while Japanese have balanced combined armed forces. Also the game shows the river having a bridge, which was not the case until the 20th century.
Citations
- 1 2 Hawley 2005, p. 217.
- ↑ Hawley 2005, p. 170.
- 1 2 3 Hawley 2005, p. 220.
Bibliography
- Alagappa, Muthiah (2003), Asian Security Order: Instrumental and Normative Features, Stanford University Press, ISBN 0-8047-4629-X
- Arano, Yasunori (2005), The Formation of a Japanocentric World Order, International Journal of Asian Studies
- Brown, Delmer M. (1948), "The Impact of Firearms on Japanese Warfare, 1543–1598", The Far Eastern Quarterly May 1948 (Volume 7, Number 3: pp. 236–53), Association for Asian Studies
- Eikenberry, Karl W. (1988), "The Imjin War", Military Review 68:2: 74–82
- Ha, Tae-hung; Sohn, Pow-key (1977), 'Nanjung Ilgi: War Diary of Admiral Yi Sun-sin, Yonsei University Press, ISBN 89-7141-018-3
- Haboush, JaHyun Kim (2016), The Great East Asian War and the Birth of the Korean Nation
- Hawley, Samuel (2005), The Imjin War, The Royal Asiatic Society, Korea Branch/UC Berkeley Press, ISBN 89-954424-2-5
- Jang, Pyun-soon (1998), Noon-eu-ro Bo-nen Han-gook-yauk-sa 5: Gor-yeo Si-dae (눈으로 보는 한국역사 5: 고려시대), Park Doo-ui, Bae Keum-ram, Yi Sang-mi, Kim Ho-hyun, Kim Pyung-sook, et al., Joog-ang Gyo-yook-yaun-goo-won. 1998-10-30. Seoul, Korea.
- Kim, Ki-chung (1999), "Resistance, Abduction, and Survival: The Documentary Literature of the Imjin War (1592–8)", Korean Culture 20:3 (Fall 1999): 20–29
- Kim, Yung-sik (1998), "Problems and Possibilities in the Study of the History of Korean Science", Osiris, 2nd Series, Vol. 13, Beyond Joseph Needham: Science, Technology, and Medicine in East and Southeast Asia: 48–79. JSTOR
- 桑田忠親 [Kuwata, Tadachika], ed., 舊參謀本部編纂, [Kyu Sanbo Honbu], 朝鮮の役 [Chousen no Eki] (日本の戰史 [Nihon no Senshi] Vol. 5), 1965.
- Neves, Jaime Ramalhete (1994), "The Portuguese in the Im-Jim War?", Review of Culture 18 (1994): 20–24
- Niderost, Eric (2001), "Turtleboat Destiny: The Imjin War and Yi Sun Shin", Military Heritage 2:6 (June 2001): 50–59, 89
- Niderost, Eric (2002), "The Miracle at Myongnyang, 1597", Osprey Military Journal 4:1 (January 2002): 44–50
- Park, Yune-hee (1973), Admiral Yi Sun-shin and His Turtleboat Armada: A Comprehensive Account of the Resistance of Korea to the 16th Century Japanese Invasion, Shinsaeng Press
- Rockstein, Edward D. (1993), Strategic And Operational Aspects of Japan's Invasions of Korea 1592–1598 1993-6-18, Naval War College
- Sadler, A. L., "The Naval Campaign in the Korean War of Hideyoshi (1592–1598)", Transactions of the Asiatic Society of Japan Second Series, 14 (June 1937): 179–208
- Sansom, George (1961), A History of Japan 1334–1615, Stanford University Press, ISBN 0-8047-0525-9
- Sohn, Pow-key (1959), "Early Korean Painting", Journal of American Oriental Society Vol. 79, No. 2. (April – June 1959): 96–103. JSTOR
- Stramigioli, Giuliana (1954), "Hideyoshi's Expansionist Policy on the Asiatic Mainland", Transactions of the Asiatic Society of Japan Third Series, 3 (December 1954): 74–116
- Strauss, Barry (2005), "Korea's Legendary Admiral", MHQ: The Quarterly Journal of Military History Summer 2005 (Volume 17, Number 4: 52–61
- Swope, Kenneth M. (2006), "Beyond Turtleboats: Siege Accounts from Hideyoshi's Second Invasion of Korea, 1597–1598", Sungkyun Journal of East Asian Studies (Vol. 6, No. 2. 2006 Academy of East Asian Studies.: 177–206
- Swope, Kenneth M. (2005), "Crouching Tigers, Secret Weapons: Military Technology Employed During the Sino-Japanese-Korean War, 1592–1598", The Journal of Military History: 69, 11–42. Society for Military History
- Swope, Kenneth M. (2002), "Deceit, Disguise, and Dependence: China, Japan, and the Future of the Tributary System, 1592–1596", The International History Review' XXIV. 4: December 2002: 757–1008
- Swope, Kenneth M. (2009), A Dragon's Head and a Serpent's Tail: Ming China and the First Great East Asian War, 1592–1598, University of Oklahoma Press
- Turnbull, Stephen (2002), Samurai Invasion: Japan's Korean War 1592–98, Cassell & Co, ISBN 0-304-35948-3
- Turnbull, Stephen (2008), The Samurai Invasion of Korea 1592-98, Osprey Publishing Ltd
- Turnbull, Stephen (1998), The Samurai Sourcebook, Cassell & Co, ISBN 1-85409-523-4
- Villiers, John (1980), SILK and Silver: Macau, Manila and Trade in the China Seas in the Sixteenth Century (A lecture delivered to the Hong Kong Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society at the Hong Kong Club. 10 June 1980)
- Yi, Min-woong (2004), Imjin Wae-ran Haejeonsa: The Naval Battles of the Imjin War [임진왜란 해전사], Chongoram Media [청어람미디어], ISBN 89-89722-49-7