Goguryeo–Tang Wars

Goguryeo–Tang Wars

The Goguryeo-Tang Wars occurred in the 7th century between Korean Goguryeo and an allied Chinese Tang Dynasty and Silla. Exhausted from numerous attacks by China, Goguryeo finally succumbed to a two front attack by Tang and Silla. Silla eventually unified the Korean peninsula while the Manchurian areas of Goguryeo was divided between the Tang and Balhae, which considered itself as the successor to Goguryeo.

First War of 645

Although Goguryeo had repulsed the Sui Dynasty, attacks by the Tang Dynasty from the west exhausted the kingdom. King Yeongryu governed Goguryeo at this time. Under Tang Taizong, Sui's succeeding dynasty Tang Dynasty forged an alliance with Goguryeo's rival Silla after defeating Goguryeo's western ally, the Göktürks. In 642, Yeon Gaesomun killed King Yeongnyu and seized military control over the country.

Later in Tang Taizong reign, he also began campaigns against the Korean kingdom of Goguryeo, much to the opposition of many advisors. In 645, A war In the beginning. Taizong commanded an army of 100,000 Tang soldiers. ["New Book of Tang", vol. 220 [http://ef.cdpa.nsysu.edu.tw/ccw/02/ntan23.htm] .] Taizong's noted army enabled him to conquer a number of border city fortresses of Goguryeo (Yodong fortress 요동성, Gaemo fortress 개모성, Bisa fortress 비사성, Baegam fortress 백암성 fell). The Tang army in several cases defeated the Korean forces on open battlefields. Outside the Ansi Fort, Go Yeonsu and Go Hyezin had mobilized 150,000 troops, though it proved to be fruitless. After tatics by Taizong with Li Shiji commanding 15,000 men, Zhangsun Wuji with 11,000 coming from behind, and Taizong personally leading 4,000, the Korean generals were confused and defeated, the losses were 20,000 for the Koreans and 36,000 captured. This battle was won with 100,000 Tang troops in comparison to 150,000 Korean troops. The Tang army had won a significant victory over Goguryeo.

However, forts would be the one issue that the Tang Taizong couldn't solve, most particularly Ansi fortress itself. the remaining Goguryeo troops get in inside Ansi fortress. Ansi was under siege by the Tang army. However Tang was not able to conquer Ansi fortress. After a protracted siege, Taizong ordered the construction of a large siege ramp. However the siege ramp collapsed, at the same time commander Yang Manchun (It should be noted that Yang was the only commander to defeat Tang on the battlefield, as Yeon's earlier efforts to take the Ansi Fortress during the civil war that took place after Yeon's coup was unsuccessful.) mobilized the remaining Goguryeo troops to defeat the Tang army. In the end, the Tang army retreated with heavy losses (many of the 10,000-20,000 deaths on the Tang side resulted from this siege). Taizong was defeated by not being able to take Ansi.

The 20th century Korean historical work "Joseon Sangosa" claimed that Yeon Gaesomun also defeated the Tang army. According to the "Joseon Sangosa", as a result Goguryeo was able to repel the attack and Taizong, caught between Yang's forces in the front and Yeon's counter-attacking forces closing in behind him--as well as suffering from the harsh Manchurian winter was forced to flee back to China. With Yeon in close pursuit, Taizong's desperate, fleeing forces were decimated by Yeon, and Taizong himself barely escaped with his life. The account relayed in the "Joseon Sangosa", however, directly contradicted Chinese accounts of an orderly retreat with minimal losses and no pursuit by Goguryeo forces, described in the "Book of Tang" ["Book of Tang", vols. 3, 199 [http://ef.cdpa.nsysu.edu.tw/ccw/02/tan21.htm] .] , "New Book of Tang" ["New Book of Tang", vols. 2, 220 [http://ef.cdpa.nsysu.edu.tw/ccw/02/ntan23.htm] .] , and the "Zizhi Tongjian" ["Zizhi Tongjian", vols. 197, 198.] . The "Joseon Sangosa"'s account is also contradicted by the ancient Korean history of the Three Kingdoms period, the "Samguk Sagi"."Samguk Sagi", vol. 21 [http://147.46.181.118/IMAGE/SNUG0021.PDF] .]

econd and third War and Goguryo's fall

After Taizong's death in 649, the conquest of Goguryeo and the personal rivalry with Yeon became an obsession with Taizong's son Gaozong. He invaded Goguryeo numerous times but Yeon turned the Tang back every time--perhaps most notably during Yeon's celebrated annihilation of the Tang forces in 662 at the Sasu River (Korea) (蛇水) where the invading general Pang Xiaotai (龐孝泰) and all 13 of his sons were killed in the battle. As a result while Yeon Gaesomun was alive, Tang was not able to conquer the Goguryeo.

Goguryo's ally in the southwest, Baekje, fell to the Silla-Tang alliance in 661 the victorious allies continued their assault on Goguryeo for the next eight years. Meanwhile, in 666 (though dates vary from 664-666), Yeon Gaesomun died and civil war ensued among his three sons. One of his sons, Yeon Namsaeng fled to Tang and was a big part in the next invasion of Goguryeo by the Tang. diagonally opposite another son, Yeon Namgeon resist in the face of death.

Silla-Tang eventually vanquished the weary kingdom, which had been suffering from a series of famines and internal strife. Goguryeo finally fell in 668.

Silla thus unified most of the Korean peninsula in 668, but the kingdom's reliance on China's Tang Dynasty had its price. Silla had to forcibly resist the imposition of Chinese rule over the entire peninsula, which they did and eventually expelled the Tang. Silla'a unification of Korea was short lived for the former Goguryeo General Dae Joyeong led the remnants of Goguryeo, united with the Mohe and established Balhae, Known to Koreans as the successor of Goguryeo and retained much of its former territory. The Balhae Kingdom would become a buffer in trade and was a powerful empire that Tang could not bother. Their end would come from the Khitan tribe. This end was a decisive event in Northeast Asian history for it was the last Korean Kingdom to hold Manchurian territory.

ee also

*Battle of Baekgang

References


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужен реферат?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Goguryeo–Sui Wars — Infobox Military Conflict conflict= Goguryeo Sui Wars partof=the Goguryeo China wars caption= date= 598 – 614 place= Manchuria, Northern Korean Peninsula, Yellow Sea casus= territory= result= Goguryeo victory. combatant1=Goguryeo combatant2=Sui… …   Wikipedia

  • Goguryeo — Infobox Former Country native name = 고구려(高句麗) conventional long name = Goguryeo common name = Goguryeo| continent = moved from Category:Asia to East Asia region = East Asia country = Manchuria, Northern Korea era = Ancient status = status text =… …   Wikipedia

  • Tang Dynasty — For the band, see Tang Dynasty (band). Tang 唐 ← …   Wikipedia

  • Military history of Goguryeo — v · …   Wikipedia

  • Emperor Taizong's campaign against Goguryeo — Infobox Military Conflict conflict=Emperor Taizong s campaign against Goguryeo partof=Goguryeo Tang Wars caption= date= 644 645 place=Liaodong Peninsula territory= result=Tang withdrawal combatant1=Tang Dynasty combatant2=Goguryeo (in alliance… …   Wikipedia

  • List of wars before 1000 — *Prehistoric warfare *Mythological wars **Battle of Zhuolu about 2500 BC **Kurukshetra War, based on warfare in the Kuru kingdom of ancient India, ca. 1200 900 BC **Trojan War, based on events of ca. 1200 BC *ca. 2530 BC Battle of Magh Ithe in… …   Wikipedia

  • List of military conflicts spanning multiple wars — Early histories of a war typically describe the war as it was declared by the states involved. It is not uncommon for later historians to group together a series of wars over a long period or spread over several theaters as part of a broader… …   Wikipedia

  • Yeong-yang of Goguryeo — Infobox Korean name hangul=영양왕 or 평양왕 hanja=嬰陽王 or 平陽王 rr=Yeong yang wang or Pyeong yang wang mr=Yŏng yang wang or P yǒng yang wang hangulborn=원 or 대원 hanjaborn=元 or 大元 rrborn=Won or Daewon mrborn=Wǒn or TaewǒnKing Yeong yang of Goguryeo (? 618,… …   Wikipedia

  • Emperor Taizong of Tang — Chinese Emperor birth=birth date|599|1|23 death=death date and age|649|7|10|599|1|23 family name=Li (李) posthumous name full=Wen Wu Dasheng Daguang Xiao Huangdi [Given in final version as of 754.] 文武大聖大廣孝皇帝 [Audio|Chinese Tang Taizhong Posthumous …   Wikipedia

  • Goryeo–Khitan Wars — Infobox Military Conflict conflict= Goryeo Khitan Wars partof= caption= date=993 1019 place=Northern Korean Peninsula casus= territory= result=Goryeo Dynasty victory combatant1=Goryeo Dynasty, Korea combatant2=Liao Dynasty, Khitan commander1=Seo… …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”