Battle of Okpo
| date | June 16, 1592 to June 17, 1592 |
|---|---|
| place | Sea of Japan off the coast of Geojedo , Gyeongsang-do , Korea |
| output | Victory of Korea |
| Parties to the conflict | |
|---|---|
|
|
|
| Commander | |
| Troop strength | |
| approx. 50 combat ships | 27 Panokseon (Left Jeolla Navy) 4 Panokseon (Right Gyeongsang Navy) 15 to 18 Hyeopsons (smaller combat ships) 46 fishing boats |
| losses | |
|
approx. 42 ships |
no |
The Okpo Sea Battle was a naval battle as part of the Imjin War . It took place on June 16, 1592 (29th day in the 5th month according to the Chinese lunisolar calendar) between a Japanese sea fleet and the Korean sea fleet off the coast of the island of Geojedo .
prehistory
When the Japanese army under Toyotomi Hideyoshi launched their first attack to conquer Korea in 1592 , they encountered an enemy who for the most part had not prepared for an invasion despite clear omens. The Korean troops were poorly equipped, trained and organized, making them easy prey for the invaders. In just twenty days they reached the capital , which King Seonjo had already fled after General Shin Rip's defeat at the Battle of Chungju , and further fighting also ended with the defeat of the Korean army. Many Korean commanders acted hastily in their panic before they could even make contact with the enemy; the commander of the Gyeongsang Right Naval Division, Won Gyun , for example, sank his entire fleet except for four ships, giving up the chance to inflict a potentially sensitive blow on the Japanese.
The commander of the Jeolla Left Naval Division, Yi Sun-sin , on the other hand, had been preparing intensively for an invasion by the Japanese for over a year. Although he had no previous experience in maritime warfare, he had carefully weighed the strengths and weaknesses of the Koreans and the Japanese and built a small but powerful fleet to defeat the Japanese at sea, thereby cutting off their land forces from their supply lines. On June 11, 1592 I finally received the order from the king to attack the enemy fleet. He sent requests for help to Won Gyun and Admiral Yi Eok Ki and then went on June 14 to search for the enemy. The next day, I met with Yi Eok Ki and Won Gyun outside the port of Dangpo, with Won arriving considerably late.
Originally, the combined Korean fleet tried to find the Japanese at Kadok, but Is's scouts identified a squadron of 50 ships near Geojedo Island , which plundered and pillaged the area around Okpo seaport . I then decided to destroy this association first and therefore set a course for Geojedo.
Course of the battle
On June 16, the combined Korean fleet reached Geojedo, where the Japanese fleet was still at anchor under the leadership of the daimyo Tōdō Takatora . The Japanese sighted the enemy fleet and the crews immediately hurried aboard their ships. At that time, however, the Japanese did not carry any heavy artillery with them, but mostly relied on direct boarding attacks and the arquebuses , which the soldiers used as one of their primary weapons, for their sea battles . However, I did not intend to face the enemy in close combat, knowing their strength in this area, but instead relied on extensive armament of cannons on his battleships.
When the Japanese lifted anchor and wanted to attack, I surrounded the enemy with his fleet with a horizontal line formation and let fire open. The Japanese had nothing to counter the greater range of the Korean guns; most of their ships were wiped out before they could even get within musket range of the enemy. Only a small fraction of the Japanese forces managed to get ashore and later back to their lines, while the Koreans had not lost a single ship or man.
After this victory, I’s fleet spent the following days at sea to prevent a counter-attack by the Japanese on land. During the rest of the day and the following day, the fleet encountered two smaller enemy formations at Happo and Chokjinpo and sank another 16 of 18 ships in the skirmishes that followed, before retreating to Yi Sun-sin's base on Yeosu .
Effects
The victory at Okpo was the first major victory achieved by the Chosun army after the invasion and the rapid success of the Japanese on land. The news of this defeat was regarded by the Japanese commanders as so catastrophic that they tried to hide it from Hideyoshi. I, on the other hand, was finally promoted to the rank of " Commander-in-Chief of the Navy of the Three Provinces" ( kor. 삼도 수군 통제사 , 三 道 水 軍 統制 使 , Samdo Sugun Tongjesa ) due to this overwhelming victory and his later successes , who was specially promoted by the circumstances of the war was called into being.
Current time
The Okpo Great Victory Commemorative Park was opened in 1996 to commemorate the Koreans' victory . In the Okpo Memorial on the bunk, a painting that depicts the battle falsely shows a Geobukseon , which was used for the first time some time later in the Battle of Sachon .
See also
literature
- Sung-do Jho: "Yi Sun-Shin: A National Hero of Korea." Chinhae, Naval Academy 1970.
- Stephen Turnbull: "The Samurai Invasion of Korea 1592-98." Oxford, Osprey Publishing 2008. ISBN 978-1-84603-254-7
- koreanhero.net: Yi Sun-Shin: A National Hero of Korea (accessed April 28, 2012)
- Admiral Yi Sun-Shin (accessed April 28, 2012)
- Encyclopedia Britannica Online: Yi Sun-Shin (accessed April 28, 2012)
Individual evidence
- ↑ Friendly Korea: My Friend's Country (English name): "Historical Sites following the traces of Yi Sun-sin" (accessed April 28, 2012)
- ↑ Visit Korea : "Okpo Great Victory Commemorative Park" (accessed April 28, 2012)
