Toyotomi Hideyoshi achieved what no one before him had been able to do. He
united Japan. Originally he had been a servant to his master, Oda Nobunaga.
Nobunaga had spotted his abilities at an early age and steadily promoted him
until he became one of his greatest Generals. When his master was assassinated
in 1582, Hideyoshi killed those responsible and quickly crushed any other
potential successors to Nobunaga (including Nobunaga's own son).
Uniting Japan through alliances and conquest, by 1587 he sought an even richer
prize. He sent ambassadors to Korea to request cooperation in the invasion of
China. Korea stalled, not wanting to offend China, but at the same time unsure
of Hideyoshi's ability to attack them if they refused. In 1592, Hideyoshi had
had enough of Korea's vacillation. An invasion force of between 150,000 and
200,000 Japanese troops was readied.
The vanguard of this force was made up of three divisions. The first, of
18,000, was lead by General Konishi Yukinaga, a Christian. The other two, of
22,000 and 11,000 men, were led by Generals Kato Kiyomasa and Kuroda Nagamasa. There were also 700 ships manned by some 9,000 seamen. This force was armed with matchlock guns, something the Koreans had not seen before.
Konishi's force arrived on Korean soil 5 days before the other Generals, who
had been delayed. Pusan, the prosperous port in the south of the country, had
been chosen as the first target. Despite fighting bravely, the Korean
defenders were quickly overwhelmed.
When news of the invading force reached them, the Korean court in Seoul
(or Hanyang) was stunned. All available troops were rushed to try to block
the Japanese advance northwards.
Konishi meanwhile had moved quickly through the towns of Miryang and Taegu. At
Sangju he defeated another Korean force which then withdrew behind Crow Pass
(Oryong), one of the vital mountain passes. Crossing over the mountains, he
waited for Kato's forces to join him. Kato had followed a different route up
the coast. Meanwhile, the Korean general Shin Lip fortified his position at
Tankeum Castle in Choongjoo. Whoever controlled this castle, controlled the
access routes to Seoul, the capital.
Konishi and Kato's forces descended on Choongjoo in the Spring of 1592. After
an intense battle, the Japanese were victors once again. They now marched on
Seoul. General Kuroda, the third general of the Japanese vanguard, had
meanwhile moved westward, easily crossing another mountain pass heading up
towards Seoul. The Japanese generals were now heading by different routes
towards the capital in a three pronged attack.
The Korean king, Sonjo, and his court now fled the city northwards to
Pyongyang. The city was in flames when Konishi's men first entered via the
South Gate. They met little resistance. Kato's troops arrived the next day.
Seoul had fallen in less than three weeks since the first Japanese invaders
had landed.
Konishi pursued the court northwards. After a fierce three day battle, he
broke through Korean defenses on the Imjin river. Konishi went on to take
Pyongyang. The court fled ever further north to the border with China. They
sent emissaries to the Ming court in Peking begging for Chinese help.
The Chinese, underestimating the threat, sent 5,000 troops into the field
against Konishi. They were easily defeated. A new Chinese general, Li Ju-sung
at 44 years of age, was then appointed to head a much stronger Chinese force.
Taking back Pyongyang in 1593, the Chinese headed southwards, but were beaten
back by Konishi's forces who had regrouped. The Chinese withdrew back to
Pyongyang, while the Japanese returned to Seoul.
While the Koreans had suffered defeat in pitched battles, they soon came
into their own in two other forms of warfare against the Japanese. The first
was at sea.
Admiral Yi had been appointed as a Naval Commander of a southern Korean
province a year before the Japanese invaded. He had set about modernizing his
fleet. In particular, he built a new revolutionary design -the turtle ship
(kobukson). This battleship had an armored coating consisting of metal
plates that together formed a protective shell like a turtle's.
The ship also had many spikes around it's edges to prevent boarding.
Cannons were placed along the entire circumference of the ship.
This allowed their commanders to fire in any direction without having to turn.
It is these turtle ships that are the battleships in "War Diary".
In a series of four different battles, the Japanese suffered heavy defeats at
the hands of Yi. In one, he used fireboats (boats set alight), to destroy over
100 Japanese ships anchored at Pusan harbor. Another famous victory was also
achieved near Hansan Island. Yi's success at sea not only cut off Japanese
supply routes, but also prevented them from landing troops further up along
the coastline. His successful defense also contributed to keeping the province
of Cholla ("the granary of Korea") in Korean hands.
The Koreans also developed a highly successful form of guerrilla warfare.
Ordinary Koreans, such as slaves and peasant farmers, formed local groups that
harassed Japanese troops at every occasion.
With their supply routes disrupted and with constant guerrilla attacks, the
Japanese began to feel the tide turn against them. While the Chinese could
easily call up fresh troops into the field, Konishi and the other two generals
that made up the vanguard, had already lost about a third of their men. When
the Chinese suggested a peace agreement, the Japanese consented. Most of the
Japanese troops were withdrawn to Japan. A few were left in the south east of the country while the negotiations
continued.
However, these negotiations eventually broke down and Hideyoshi ordered a
second attack on Korea in 1597. This force, of about 100,000 men was now
outnumbered by Chinese and Korean forces. The Japanese were largely
confined to the south eastern province of Kyongsang. Although the Japanese
inflicted some serious defeats on the Chinese, they remained bottled up in
Kyongsang. Allegedly, the pickled ears of 38,000 Korean and Chinese soldiers
were sent back to Hideyoshi's court as proof of the fighting prowess of his
men.
Admiral Yi was again active against the Japanese. Reduced, at one stage, to
just 12 ships he attacked a fleet of 133 Japanese vessels. Using his superior
knowledge of local currents and tides, he managed to sink 31 enemy ships and
forced the rest to turn back. Yi himself was killed in what was his last and
probably of one his finest battles.
In September 1598, Hideyoshi died. The Japanese forces were called back to
Japan. A long, savage conflict had come to an end. The war had a significant
impact on all the countries that took part. Korea had been devastated. Famine
and disease were now rife. Many cultural treasures had been destroyed.
In China, the Ming dynasty, when faced with a new threat, this time from the
Jurchen tribes, collapsed. In Japan, the importation of Korean books, ceramics
and philosophy lead to great cultural change. The effects of this seven year
struggle are still being felt today.
Further reading:
"A History of Korea" by William E. Henthorn. The Free Press, New York (1971)
"A New History of Korea" by Ki-baik Lee. Ilchokak Publishers, Seoul, Korea (1984)
This text has been published by The Game Factory as supplemental information
for the game "War Diary". Come visit us on the World Wide Web at:
http://www.gamefactory.com/
Copyright (c) 1996. The Game Factory. All rights reserved.
