The naval Battle of Chilcheollyang took place on the night of 28 August 1597. It resulted in the destruction of nearly the entire Korean fleet.
Background
Prior to the battle, the previous naval commander
Yi Sun-sin
Admiral Yi Sun-sin (April 28, 1545 – December 16, 1598) was a Korean admiral and military general famed for his victories against the Japanese navy during the Imjin war in the Joseon Dynasty. Over the course of his career, Admiral Yi fough ...
, had been removed from his post due to a Japanese plot. The less experienced
Won Gyun
Won Gyun (; 12 February 1540 – 27 August 1597) was a Korean general and admiral during the Joseon Dynasty. He is best known for his campaigns against the Japanese during Hideyoshi's invasions of Korea. Won was a member of Wonju Won family, ...
was promoted in Yi's place.
Won Gyun set sail for
Busan
Busan (), officially known as is South Korea's most populous city after Seoul, with a population of over 3.4 million inhabitants. Formerly romanized as Pusan, it is the economic, cultural and educational center of southeastern South Korea, ...
on 17 August with the entire fleet, some 200 ships.
Battle
The Korean fleet arrived near Busan on 20 August in 1597. As the day was about to end, they met a force of 500 to 1,000 Japanese ships arrayed against them. Won Gyun ordered a general attack on the enemy armada, but the Japanese fell back, letting the Koreans pursue. After a few back and forth exchanges, with one chasing the other, one retreating, the Japanese turned around one last time, destroying 30 ships and scattering the Korean fleet.
Won's men docked at
Gadeok and ran ashore to find water where they were ambushed by 3,000 enemy troops under
Shimazu Yoshihiro
was the second son of Shimazu Takahisa and the younger brother of Shimazu Yoshihisa. Traditionally believed to be the 17th head of the Shimazu clan, he was a skilled general during the Sengoku period who greatly contributed to the unification o ...
. They lost 400 men and several vessels.
From Gadeok, Won retreated north and west into the strait between
Geoje
Geoje ( Hangeul: ; Hanja: 巨濟; ) is a city located in South Gyeongsang province, just off the coast of the port city of Busan, South Korea. Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering (former Daewoo Shipyard) in Okpo and Samsung Heavy Industries (S ...
and the island of
Chilchon, Chilchonnyang. Won Gyun then retired to his flagship and refused to see anyone. The entire fleet sat in the strait for an entire week.
The Japanese commanders convened on 22 August to plan a joint assault on the Koreans. Shimazu Yoshihiro ferried 2,000 of his men to Geoje, where he arrayed them on the northwest coast, overlooking the Korean fleet below.
On the night of 28 August, a Japanese fleet of 500 ships moved into the strait and attacked. By dawn, nearly all the Korean ships had been destroyed.
Won Gyun fled to the mainland but could not keep up with his men. He sat down under a pine tree until the Japanese found him. It is assumed that his head was cut off.
Yi Eokgi
Yi Eok-gi (; 3 September 1561 – 27 August 1597) was the commander of the Eastern Jeolla Fleet and later came to be the commander of the Western Jeolla Fleet. At age 32, despite being 15 years younger than Supreme Naval Commander Yi Sun-sin, Yi ...
also died during the battle after drowning himself.
Aftermath
Prior to the destruction on 28 August,
Bae Seol shifted 12 ships to an inlet farther down the strait and managed to escape. Bae Seol set fire to the camps at
Hansando before the Japanese arrived. He then sailed west with the remaining 12 ships, all that was left of the Korean navy.
Citations
Bibliography
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* 桑田忠親
uwata, Tadachika ed., 舊參謀本部編纂,
yu Sanbo Honbu 朝鮮の役
housen no Eki��(日本の戰史
ihon no SenshiVol. 5), 1965.
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Battle Of Chilcheollyang
Chilchonryang
1597 in Korea
Chilcheollyang
Yi Sun-sin