Battle of Haengju

Infobox Military Conflict
conflict=Battle of Hangju Fortress


caption=Battle of Haengju
partof=Hideyoshi's Invasions of Korea
date=February 12 1593놀러와! pcBee 커뮤니티 - 과학향기. [http://www.pcbee.co.kr/nolruwa/know/kisti_view.html?num=72&sw=&pnum=1 행주대첩의 숨은 공로자 - 화차와 신기전] ]
place=Haengju Fortress
result=Decisive Korean victory
combatant1=Korean (Joseon) army
combatant2=Japanese army under Toyotomi Hideyoshi
commander1=Gwon Yul Jo Gyeong Seon Geoi Kim Cheon-il Heo Uk
commander2=Ukita Hideie Kato Kiyomasa Konishi Yukinaga Kuroda Nagamasa Ishida Mitsunari Kikkawa Hiroie Kobayakawa Takakage Kobayakawa Hideaki
strength1=2,000 regular army, 1,000 local monks
strength2=30,000
casualties1=unknown
casualties2=10,000Infobox Korean name
hangul=행주대첩
hanja=幸州大捷
rr=Haengju Daecheop
mr=Haengchu Taech'ŏp

The Battle of Haengju took place on February 12, 1593 during the Japanese invasions of Korea (1592-1598). The Korean defenders were successful in repelling the Japanese forces. After the battle, General Kwon Yul credited Koreans' victory to the employment of hwachas.

Background

During the second week of February, 1593, a 30,000-strong Japanese army commanded by Ukita Hideie and Kato Kiyomasa was advancing toward the Haengju Fortress in order to occupy the region of Goyang. The Japanese had success in a previous Battle of Byeokjegwan, but their supplies were running out, [ [http://kr.blog.yahoo.com/shim4ro/1797 EncyKorea - Digital Encyclopedia of Korean Culture] ] due to Admiral Yi's role in preventing supply ships from entering the western coasts of the Korean peninsula. Therefore, it was crucial for the Japanese forces to finish the siege quickly.

Kwon Yul's Preparations

Meanwhile, General Kwon Yul gathered about 2,300 men, including Jo Gyeong, Seon Geoi, Kim Cheon-il and Heo Uk's reinforcements [http://seoul600.visitseoul.net/seoul-history/munwhasa/txt/text/11-4-2.html Seoul Metropolitan Government - The History of Seoul Metropolitan] ] , and left his base at Doksan, near Suwon. He later arrived at the run-down mountain fortress of Haengju (행주산성; 幸州山城), and set up camps and repaired the fortress.(Though dubbed "fortress", at the time of battle it was more close to steep and high hill, rather than rampart of strong masonry) Ditches, wooden pikes, and palisade walls were built on the steep slopes of the mountain. Such construction of field fortification took three days. Arms were gathered in ample amount, and around 40 Hwachas were implemented on the fortress wall.

The Attack

Ukita Hideie was the Japanese general who won the battle of Byeokjegwan. Sure of another victory at Haengju, he and Kato Kiyomasa marched 30,000 soldiers out of Seoul hopefully to annihilate the puny army of 2,300 at Haengju.

Arriving at Haengju at dawn, Ukita divided his force into 3 groups and surrounded the fortress. Knowing that they would crush the Koreans solely with numbers, Kato and Ukita ordered the Japanese to attack by simply advancing up the slopes of Haengju. On 12 February, 1593 at about 6:00 a.m the Japanese launched their attack with little overall plan.

While the Japanese soldiers struggled to breach the wooden paliside walls and fences, the Koreans fired arrows, arquebuses, mortars, boulders, threw tree trunks, and used hwachas effectively from the Haengju armory. Although the Japanese overran the first line of defense, they failed to break through further defenses. A total of nine repeated attacks were made by the Japanese.

After failing to breach the Korean lines after 9 attacks, Kato ordered a retreat. Ukita and Kato were both wounded, as were other Japanese commanders: Ishida, Maeno, and Kikkawa. The Koreans recovered 727 spears and swords from the retreating Japanese.

It was during this battle that the now-famous "Haengju Chima" (Haengju apron) was created. While Korean men fought the Japanese, Korean women helped their men by gathering rocks to fight off the Japanese siege of the fortress. However, General Kwon noticed women wearing aprons over their skirts to carry rocks, when he asked why, the answer was simple; a single layer of skirt would reveal women's legs when carrying rocks. "Haengju Chima" became a famous symbol of the region.

Strategy and position contributed to the Japanese defeat. The dense formations of the Japanese climbing up the steep hill were ideal targets for the hwacha, mortars, and boulders, since they spread damage over a large area. Finally, the strong figure of Kwon Yul during the battle helped the Korean morale, even when outnumbered.

Aftermath

After the war, in 1602, King Seonjo erected a monument for General Kwon Yul and the fighters at Haengju fortress, but this monument was destroyed during the Korean War. From the 1960s to the mid 1990s, the Korean government constructed another memorial, now at Haengju fortress open to tourists.

See also

* Japanese invasions of Korea (1592-1598)
* Castles in Korea
* Gwon Yul
* Hwacha
* Bigyeok Jincholle (飛擊震天雷, Korean Dynamite - Invented from I Jangson)
* Jolanhwan (Korean Shotgun Shell)

References

External links

* [http://www.lifeinkorea.com/Travel2/kyonggi/119 Haengju Mountain Fortress]
* [http://mahan.wonkwang.ac.kr/culture/98fall/road24.htm 행주산성]
* [http://blog.empas.com/a1ejoe/read.html?a=8140772 행주대첩에 대해]
* [http://www.kbs.co.kr/end_program/1tv/sisa/history/vod/1267391_4855.html 역사스페셜 - 승리를 이끈 하이테크 신무기]