Battle of Haengju

The Battle of Haengju took place on 14 March 1593 during the 1592–1598 Japanese invasion of Korea. The Japanese attack failed to overcome Haengju fortress.

Siege of Haengju Fortress
Part of Japanese invasions of Korea (1592–1598)
Date 14 March 1593 Location On the Han River west of Hanseong, Joseon Korea 37°35′44″N 126°49′44″E Result Joseon victory
Belligerents
Joseon	Toyotomi Japan
Commanders and leaders
Gwon Yul	Ukita Hideie Konishi Yukinaga Kuroda Nagamasa Ishida Mitsunari Kobayakawa Takakage
Strength
2,300	30,000
Casualties and losses
?	110+ (likely much more since the Japanese took the dead back with them) or 10,000 dead and wounded
class=notpageimage| Battle location on a map of modern Seoul Battle of Haengju (South Korea)

Battle of Haengju
Hangul	행주대첩
Hanja	幸州大捷
Revised Romanization	Haengju Daecheop
McCune–Reischauer	Haengchu Taech'ŏp

The Koreans used the hwacha for concentrated fire against the Japanese.

Background

Gwon Yul was stationed at the fortress of Haengju, 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.

Battle

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.

Aftermath

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."

See also

• List of fortresses in Korea
• Japanese invasions of Korea (1592–1598)
• Gwon Yul

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External links

• Haengju Mountain Fortress
• 행주산성 Archived 2005-12-17 at the Wayback Machine
• 역사스페셜 – 승리를 이끈 하이테크 신무기