Siege of Ulsan

First Siege of Ulsan
Part of the Imjin War
Date December 23, 1597 to January 4, 1598 (Chinese Calendar)
Location Ulsan Japanese Castle, Ulsan, Southern Korean Peninsula
Result Alliance withdrawal
Belligerents
Korea and China Japanese army
Commanders and leaders
Korea:
Gwon Yul
China:
Yang Hao
Ma Gui		 Katō Kiyomasa
Mōri Hidemoto
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]

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 Korean and Chinese allied forces suffered heavy losses during the siege,[5][6] before long the allied forces were withdrawn when the garrison sallied forth with the arrival of a relief force.

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First Siege of Ulsan

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

Second Siege of Ulsan
Part of the Imjin War
Date September 22 to October 6, 1598 (Chinese Calendar)
Location Ulsan Japanese Castle, Ulsan, Southern Korean Peninsula
Result Alliance withdrawal
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.

See also

References

  1. ^ History of the Ming chapter 259 鎬會總督邢玠、提督麻貴議進兵方略，分四萬人為三協，副將高策將中軍，李如梅將左，李芳春、解生將右，合攻蔚山。
  2. ^ 「日本戦史・朝鮮役」, by Imperial Japanese Army General Staff Office.
  3. ^ a b c 'Korea Broadcasting System, "History Special Book Edition vol. 6" - Siege of Ulsan, p. 280'
  4. ^ (Korean)임진왜란 '울산성 전투도' 사진출력물 기증
  5. ^ History of the Ming chapter 320 島山視蔚山高，石城堅甚，我師仰攻多損傷。
  6. ^ History of the Ming chapter 259 官兵四面圍之，地泥淖，且時際窮冬，風雪裂膚，士無固志。賊日夜發砲，用藥煮彈，遇者輒死，官兵攻圍十日不能下
  7. ^ Annals of Seonjo entry on January 14th 解副揔【生。】接伴使戶曹參議宋諄啓曰: “蔚山之賊, 被圍日久, 援船多來泊, 又於賊窟迤西遠山, 山上盛張旗幟, 以助聲勢。 正月初三日夜間, 喧說船賊下陸, 而唐軍卒然解圍, 一時移陣。 初四日朝, 諸軍馬鳥驚魚駭, 達夜崩潰, 俱棄器械, 狼藉原陸
  8. ^ History of the Ming chapter 259 行長救兵驟至。鎬大懼，狼狽先奔，諸軍繼之。賊前襲擊，死者無算。副將吳惟忠、遊擊茅國器斷後，賊乃還，輜重多喪失。(Yukinaga's reinforcement came suddenly, and Hao was scared and fled wildly, followed by the troops. The enemy attacked and we suffered a great loss. Lieutenants Wu Weizhong and Mao Guoqi took cover and fought back the enemy. Much impedimenta was lost.)

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