Battle of Imjin River (1592) - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

For the similarly named battle during the Korean War

Korean War

The Korean War was a conventional war between South Korea, supported by the United Nations, and North Korea, supported by the People's Republic of China , with military material aid from the Soviet Union...

(1950-1953), see Battle of the Imjin River

Battle of the Imjin River

The Battle of the Imjin River, also known as the Battle of Kumgul-san, P'ap'yong-san and Solma-ri or the Battle of Xuemali , took place 22–25 April 1951 during the Korean War. Forces from People’s Republic of China attacked UN positions on the lower Imjin River in an attempt to achieve a...

The Battle of Imjin River was a battle during the Japanese invasions of Korea (1592-1598). It resulted in a Japanese victory.

The Retreat of the King and surrender of Hanseong

In the Fall of 1592, King Seonjo

Seonjo of Joseon

King Seonjo ruled in Korea between 1567 and 1608. He was the fourteenth king of the Joseon Dynasty. He is known for encouraging Confucianism and renovating state affairs at the beginning of his reign, although political chaos and his incompetent leadership during the Japanese invasions of Korea...

left Hanseong shortly before the arrival of Japanese vanguard led by Katō Kiyomasa

Kato Kiyomasa

was a Japanese daimyō of the Azuchi-Momoyama and Edo period.-Origins and early career:Kiyomasa was born in Owari Province to Katō Kiyotada. Kiyotada's wife, Ito, was a cousin of Toyotomi Hideyoshi's mother. Kiyotada died while his son was still young...

, which forded the Han in what is today, Yongsan. At this time, the Korean public already abandoned the king and the minister and those who cooperate in a Japanese army occurred one after another. Moreover, when the Korean support army of Ming ran, most heads scattered all over the neighborhood were Korean people. Gyeongbokgung

Gyeongbokgung

Gyeongbokgung, also known as Gyeongbokgung Palace or Gyeongbok Palace, is a royal palace located in northern Seoul, South Korea. First constructed in 1394 and reconstructed in 1867, it was the main and largest palace of the Five Grand Palaces built by the Joseon Dynasty...

had already become ashes before entry into a castle of the Hideyoshi army, and Korean slaves greeted the Hideyoshi army as a liberation army, and set fire to the building which was keeping a slave's social position ledger.Following the sacking of the city, Katō built an imposing Japanese castle on the Namsan mountain overlooking Seoul on what is today the City Library. Seonjo and his court retreated north to Pyongyang

Pyongyang

Pyongyang is the capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, commonly known as North Korea, and the largest city in the country. Pyongyang is located on the Taedong River and, according to preliminary results from the 2008 population census, has a population of 3,255,388. The city was...

and eventually China

China

Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...

on foot being harassed by peasants who felt abandoned.

The burning of Yi I's retirement home

Reaching the Imjin, and hearing of Japanese pursuit, they forded the river at night. As it was dark, they decided to burn the pavilion near the Imjin ford. The burning pavilion provided enough light to allow the King's party to ford the river and reach Gaeseong by the morning. Little did he know that the burning pavilion was the retirement home of Yi I

Yi I

Yi I was one of the two most prominent Korean Confucian scholars of the Joseon Dynasty, the other being his older contemporary, Yi Hwang . Yi I is often referred to by his pen name Yulgok...

the prominent scholar who had strongly petitioned for strengthening national security by enlarging the armed forces to 100,000 men, only ten years ago. Yi Yi was dead by this time, but his retirement home provided for the King's safe retreat across the Imjin.

The Arrival of the Northern Border Cavalry

As the King reached Kaesong

Kaesong

Kaesŏng is a city in North Hwanghae Province, southern North Korea , a former Directly Governed City, and the capital of Korea during the Koryo Dynasty. The city is near Kaesŏng Industrial Region and it contains the remains of the Manwoldae palace. It was formally named Songdo while it was the...

and continued north towards Pyeongyang, the northern cavalry from Hamgyeong province finally arrived. Being battle hardened veterans of numerous border clashes against the Jurchens of Manchuria, the cavalry forces quickly moved to the Imjin River, where the forces of Katō Kiyomasa in pursuit of the king had camped on the southern bank, awaiting to ford the river. There the forces faced each other in stalemate.

Debate within the Korean Army

According to the primary Korean record, the Korean General debated amongst themself the course of action they should take, several generals argued that "We are numerous but much of our number is weak and inexperienced, we are relying heavily on the Northern Cavalries but they have just arrived after a long march and is tired, we should rest for a few more days to regather our strength before proceeding forward" But they were overruled and the lead general decided to proceed to engage.

Katō Kiyomasa's Attack across the Imjin and the Feigned Retreat

Knowing the Korean dependence on the Cavalry charge as opposed to infantry melee from Chungju, and realizing that the northern cavalry forces had yet to be exposed to Japanese arquebus fire, Katō decided to break the deadlock by drawing the Koreans into a trap. Sending a small force of light infantry Ashigaru

Ashigaru

The Japanese ashigaru were foot-soldiers of medieval Japan. The first known reference to ashigaru was in the 1300s, but it was during the Ashikaga Shogunate-Muromachi period that the use of ashigaru became prevalent by various warring factions.-Origins:Attempts were made in Japan by the Emperor...

across the river, Katō caused the Koreans to gain unrealistic confidence, as they mowed down the Ashigaru spearmen with ease in a single cavalry charge. Noticing that the charge was uncoordinated and sensing a disunity of command, Katō ordered a feigned general retreat towards the direction of Munsan

Munsan

Munsan is an eup in Paju City, Gyeonggi-do, South Korea. It lies along the edge of the Demilitarized Zone, near Panmunjom and the Joint Security Area. Munsan lies along the south bank of the Imjin River. At the time of the Korean War it was known as Munsan-ni.Munsan has a heavy military presence...

from the southern banks of the Imjin.

Defeat of the Korean Cavalry

Seeing the Japanese in an apparent general retreat, one of the two co-commanders of the Cavalry decided to ford the river in pursuit. In the dry season the Imjin River is very shallow river at various points which enabled the cavalry to cross without the use of barges. As the retreat drew them in, the Korean cavalry lost all semblance of order. The pursuit became disorganized, going uphill towards Munsan. Now, the battle turned into another episode of the Battle of Chungju.

Once the bulk of Korean cavalry had entered the small valley leading from the Imjin ford to Munsan, Katō's arquebusiers opened fire. This had a devastating effect on the morale of the Korean cavalry. As with nearly all Korean forces, Korean cavalry had no experience with gunfire. The horses of the cavalry began to panic, bucking many of the riders. As the Koreans lay in confusion, the samurai infantry attacked from their hidden positions within the valley and began routing the Koreans. The Korean cavalry suffered many casualties in this melee while others attempting to escape drowned while trying the cross back north using deeper parts of the river, amongst the Korean Generals Yu Geuk-ryang and Sin Hal were killed . The remaining co-commander of the Korean cavalry who had not crossed the river in pursuit, turned and escaped back to Hamgyeong province, and most or the remaining soldiers following suit. Katō Kiyomasa and his troops forded the Imjin unopposed, loaded with trophy armor and fine Korean horses.

Conclusion

The defeat of Korean cavalry at the Imjin lay open the road to Pyeongyang. There were no effective Korean maneuver units or defended castles between the Imjin and the Chinese border. Hearing of the collapse of the Imjin line, King Seonjo abandoned Gaeseong, and Pyeongyang and moved further north to Uiju

Uiju

Ŭiju is a kun, or county, in North Pyongan Province, North Korea. The county has an area of 420 km², and a population of 110,018 .-Location:...

, where he finally met up with the first Ming contingent from China. With Ming troops joining the vestiges of his Army, Pyongyang was retaken the next year, with Japanese retreating across the Imjin back to Seoul. Korea north of Imjin river would never be occupied again by the Japanese until Sino-Japanese War in the 19th century.

The Imjin River today

The fording site today has a small castlewall like structure on the riverbank to show the old ferry site. The northern bank is off limits to civilians. There is an "Old Ferry Restaurant" at the fording site. Yi Yi'retirement home is now restored, and is further up slope from the restaurant to the East, adjacent to the highway. northern bank is shallow and sandy, with a large beach. southern bank is mostly cliffs.

This battle is celebrated in Activision's "Shogun: Total War" under "Imjin". The historical error in the game is that the Koreans have infantry forces only, while Japanese have balanced combined armed forces. Also the game shows the river having a bridge, which was not the case until the 20th century.