First Siege of Ulsan | |||||||
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Part of the Imjin War | |||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||
Korea and China | Japanese army | ||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||
Korea: Gwon Yul China: Yang Hao Ma Gui |
Katō Kiyomasa Mōri Hidemoto |
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Strength | |||||||
12,500 Koreans and 44,000 Chinese army[1] | 16,000 Kato's army[2] and 80,000 reinforcements[3] | ||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||
1,000 Koreans dead 4,800 Chinese dead[3][4] |
6,000-10,000 dead[3] |
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The Siege of Ulsan (Hangul: 울산성 전투, Hanja: 蔚山城戰鬪) was an unsuccessful Korean and Chinese attempt to capture Ulsan Castle from the Japanese late in the Imjin War. Korean and Chinese allied forces suffered heavy losses during the siege,[5][6] before long the allied forces were withdrawn when the garrison sallied forth with the arrival of a relief force.
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In 1597, Japanese attacked Korea again, but after suffering a series of defeats, Japanese troops retreated to the southern Gyeongsang province. Without provisions and reinforcements, the Japanese forces had to remain in the coastal fortresses (known as wajō) that they still controlled. The Japanese commander Katō Kiyomasa army were stationed in Ulsan, and Kato built a Japanese castle, Ulsan. Commanders Yang Hao and Ma Gui led an army of 44,000 Chinese, and Commander Gwon Yul led an army of 11,500 Koreans, in a first assault on January 29, 1598. They caught the Japanese army unawared and still encamped, for the large part, outside Ulsan's unfinished walls. The Japanese managed to drive off the allies and withdrew into the castle, but lost 500 men in the process.
A total of around 55,000 troops with the help of singijeons and hwachas besieged the fortress. The allied force made several assaults to the castle, but all attempts were repulsed by concentrated gun fire. However the Japanese suffered heavily as well, with more than 600 men being killed and numerous more were wounded.
By the tenth day of the siege, the Japanese garrison were on verge of capitulating because of hunger and cold. But reinforcements under the overall command of Mōri Hidemoto came across the river to aid the besieged fortress, threatening the rear of the Chinese and Korean troops.
The Ming commander Ma Gui began to realize the dangerous position the allied forces was now in, and late on January 3 he decided to call off the attack and pull out of the area before the situation got any worse.
However, the retreat order quickly broke down and turned into a chaotic rout. The hasty and sudden timing, the heavy rain, the nearby Japanese forces all contributed to the problem,[7] and on top of all the problems, the chief administrator present at the battle, Yang Hao; left ahead of the troops, which only strengthened the impression that all was lost.[8]
Seeing this the besieged garrison sallied forth and made a joint attack with the relief force. The allied forces retreated from Ulsan, and the surrounding of the fortress was suspended.
After the defeat, in May, 1598, Ming government called General Yang Hao back and sent another army of about 20,000 men led by Liu Ting and a navy of about 13,000 men and 500 battleships led by Chen Lin and Deng Zilong to Korea.
Second Siege of Ulsan | |||||||
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Part of the Imjin War | |||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||
Korea and China | Toyotomi Hideyoshi's Japanese army | ||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||
Kim Eung-seo Ma Gui |
Katō Kiyomasa | ||||||
Strength | |||||||
5,500 Koreans and 24,000 Chinese army |
Unknown |
On September 22, 1598, Korean and Chinese allied forces made a second attack against Japanese forces. The alliance army formation was Commander Ma Gui, leading an army of 24,000 Chinese, and an army of 5,500 Koreans were led by general Kim Eung-seo. However, Korean and Chinese allied forces failed to take the Ulsan Japanese Castle, but unlike the first siege they managed to withdraw in good order.