The Baekje–Tang War was fought between

Baekje Baekje or Paekche (, ) was a Korean kingdom located in southwestern Korea from 18 BC to 660 AD. It was one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea, together with Goguryeo and Silla. Baekje was founded by Onjo, the third son of Goguryeo's founder Jum ...

and the allied forces of

Tang China The Tang dynasty (, ; zh, t= ), or Tang Empire, was an imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 618 to 907 AD, with an interregnum between 690 and 705. It was preceded by the Sui dynasty and followed by the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdom ...

and

Silla Silla or Shilla (57 BCE – 935 CE) ( , Old Korean: Syera, Old Japanese: Siraki2) was a Korean kingdom located on the southern and central parts of the Korean Peninsula. Silla, along with Baekje and Goguryeo, formed the Three Kingdoms of K ...

between 660 and 663. It was in some respect a spillover of the, at the time, ongoing

Goguryeo–Tang War The Goguryeo–Tang War occurred from 645 to 668 and was fought between Goguryeo and the Tang dynasty. During the course of the war, the two sides allied with various other states. Goguryeo successfully repulsed the invading Tang armies dur ...

. After numerous attacks and raids by the combined forces of Baekje and Goguryeo, King

Muyeol of Silla King Taejong Muyeol (604–661), born Gim Chunchu, was the List of monarchs of Korea, 29th ruler of Silla, one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea. He is credited for leading the unification of Korea's Three Kingdoms. Background King Taejong Muyeol ...

sought help from

Emperor Gaozong of Tang Emperor Gaozong of Tang (21 July 628 – 27 December 683), personal name Li Zhi, was the third emperor of the Tang dynasty in China, ruling from 649 to 683; after January 665, he handed power over the empire to his second wife Empress Wu (the f ...

to aid his exhausted kingdom. Emperor Gaozong granted his request and launched the invasion of Baekje in 660. After the conquest of Baekje later that year, loyalist forces from Baekje with the aid of Yamato allies attempted to resist the occupation of their kingdom until the two allied forces were destroyed in 663.

Background

The Silla kingdom had formed a military alliance with the Tang empire under Emperor Gaozong's reign. When Goguryeo and

attacked Silla from the north and west respectively,

Queen Seondeok of Silla Queen Seondeok of Silla ( ko, 선덕여왕 ; 595~610 – 17 February 647/January 8, Lunar Calendar) reigned as Queen Regnant of Silla, one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea, from 632 to 647. She was Silla's twenty-seventh ruler, and its first re ...

had sent an emissary to the Tang empire to desperately request military assistance. In 650, Emperor Gaozong received a poem, written by Queen Seondeok, from the princely emissary

Kim Chunchu King Taejong Muyeol (604–661), born Gim Chunchu, was the 29th ruler of Silla, one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea. He is credited for leading the unification of Korea's Three Kingdoms. Background King Taejong Muyeol was born with the "sacred ...

(who would later accede the Silla throne as King Muyeol).. Baekje had allied with Yamato Wa in 653.. Even though Baekje was allied with Goguryeo, the Han River valley separated the two states and was a hindrance in coming to each other's aid in time of war.

King Muyeol King Taejong Muyeol (604–661), born Gim Chunchu, was the 29th ruler of Silla, one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea. He is credited for leading the unification of Korea's Three Kingdoms. Background King Taejong Muyeol was born with the "sacred ...

assumed the Silla throne in 654.. Between 655 and 659, the border of Silla was harassed by Baekje and Goguryeo; Silla therefore requested assistance from Tang.

Course of the war

In 658, Emperor Gaozong had sent an army to attack Goguryeo.. Shortly afterwards, in 660, he sent a Tang army towards Baekje to further relieve Silla. It comprised 130,000 troops. During this expedition, Admiral

Su Dingfang Su Dingfang () (591–667), formal name Su Lie () but went by the courtesy name of Dingfang, formally Duke Zhuang of Xing (), was a Chinese military general of the Tang Dynasty who succeeded in destroying the Western Turkic Khaganate in 657. He wa ...

commanded the Tang fleet and sailed it straight towards Baekje. The Tang fleet sailed across the

Yellow Sea The Yellow Sea is a marginal sea of the Western Pacific Ocean located between mainland China and the Korean Peninsula, and can be considered the northwestern part of the East China Sea. It is one of four seas named after common colour terms ...

, towards

Geum River The Geumgang River is located in South Korea. It is a major river that originates in Jangsu-eup, North Jeolla Province. It flows northward through North Jeolla and North Chungcheong Provinces and then changes direction in the vicinity of Greater ...

,. and landed its army on the western coastline of Baekje. After the landing of the army, the Tang troops marched further towards Sabi, the capital of Baekje.. Crown Prince Kim Beopmin, General

Kim Yusin Gim Yu-sin (sometimes romanized Kim Yu-shin, Gim Yu-sin, or Gim Yu-shin) (595 – 18 August 673) was a Korean military general and politician in 7th-century Silla. He led the unification of the Korean Peninsula by Silla under the reign of King ...

, General Kim Pumil, and General Kim Heumsun were dispatched with a Silla army and set off westwards into the

Battle of Hwangsanbeol The Battle of Hwangsanbeol (Hangul: 황산벌 전투, Hanja: 黃山伐戰鬪) took place between the forces of Silla and Baekje in Hwangsanbeol (currently Nonsan) in 660.Il-yeon: ''Samguk Yusa: Legends and History of the Three Kingdoms of Ancien ...

. It comprised 50,000 troops. They marched into Baekje from the eastern border, and crossed through

Sobaek Mountains The Sobaek Mountains are a mountain range cutting across the southern Korean peninsula. They split off from the Taebaek Mountains and trend southwest across the center of the peninsula. They are traditionally considered to reach their southwest ...

. General

led the Silla army across the passes of Tanhyon towards Hwangsan Plain, but General

Gyebaek Gyebaek, or Kyebaek (died 20 August 660In Lunar calendar, he died on 9 July 660.), was a general in the ancient Korean kingdom of Baekje during the early to mid-7th century. Little else is known of his personal life—including the year and locat ...

could only muster a force of about 5,000 Baekje troops in defense against the advancing Silla army. At Hwangsan Plain, the Silla army defeated the Baekje forces of General Gyebaek. In 660, the Baekje capital Sabi fell to the forces of Tang and Silla. Around 10,000 Baekje troops were killed in the siege. Baekje was conquered on 18 July 660, when King

Uija of Baekje Uija of Baekje (599?–660, r. 641–660) was the 31st and final ruler of Baekje, one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea. His reign ended when Baekje was conquered by an alliance of the rival Korean kingdom Silla and China's Tang dynasty. Backg ...

surrendered at Ungjin. The Tang army took the king, crown prince, 93 officials, and 20,000 troops as prisoner.

Aftermath

The king and crown prince of Baekje were sent as hostages to the Tang empire. The Tang empire annexed the territory and established five military administrations to control the region instead of Silla, which they painfully accepted..

Course of resistance

In a final effort, General

Gwisil Boksin Gwisil Boksin (鬼室福信, ? – 663) was a military general of Baekje, one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea. He is remembered primarily as a leader of the Baekje Revival Movement to restore the kingdom after the capital fell in 660 to the Sill ...

led the resistance against Tang occupation of Baekje. He requested military assistance from their

Yamato was originally the area around today's Sakurai City in Nara Prefecture of Japan, which became Yamato Province and by extension a name for the whole of Japan. Yamato is also the dynastic name of the ruling Imperial House of Japan. Japanese his ...

allies. In 661,

Empress Saimei An emperor (from la, imperator, via fro, empereor) is a monarch, and usually the sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife ( empress consort), mother (empr ...

(who previously reigned as

Empress Kōgyoku , also known as , was the 35th and 37th monarch of Japan,Kunaichō 斉明天皇 (37)/ref> according to the traditional order of succession. Kōgyoku's reign spanned the years from 642 to 645. Her reign as Saimei encompassed 655 to 661. In other ...

) and Prince

Naka no Ōe Naka may refer to: Places in Japan * Naka, Hyōgo, a former town in Hyōgo Prefecture * Naka, Ibaraki, a city in Ibaraki Prefecture * Naka, Tokushima, a town in Tokushima Prefecture * Naka District, Ibaraki, a district in Ibaraki Prefecture * Nak ...

prepared for battle and sent Prince

Buyeo Pung Buyeo Pung (扶餘豊, 623–668) was a prince of Baekje, one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea. He was son of the last king, Uija of Baekje. When Baekje fell to the Silla–Tang alliance in 660, he was a hostage who mortgaged the alliance of Baekj ...

of Baekje, who had been in Yamato Wa for over 30 years, to aid the resistance. In 662, they sent an expedition to assist General

.. A year later, 27,000 Yamato troops were sent as reinforcements. The Tang fleet, comprising 170 ships, advanced towards Chuyu and encircled the city at Baekgang River. In 663 at the

battle of Baekgang The Battle of Baekgang or Battle of Baekgang-gu, also known as Battle of Hakusukinoe ( ja, 白村江の戦い, Hakusuki-no-e no Tatakai / Hakusonkō no Tatakai) in Japan, as Battle of Baijiangkou ( zh, c=白江口之战, p=Bāijiāngkǒu Zhīzh ...

, the Baekje resistance and Yamato forces were annihilated by the Tang and Silla forces.. As the Yamato fleet engaged the Tang fleet throughout the course of two days, they were eventually worn down by the Tang fleet and were destroyed in a decisive counterattack. During the engagement, General

Echi no Takutsu Echi no Takutsu (kanji 朴市田来津) died in 663 at the Battle of Baekgang. The '' Nihon Shoki'' records that in 661, Naka-no-Oe (soon to be the Emperor Tenji) sent a group of generals to help the country Baekje in its fight against Tang China ...

was slain. Prince

of Baekje and few of his men fled to Goguryeo..

References

Bibliography