Siege of Ulsan - Wikiwand

Date29 January – 19 February 1598

Location

Ulsan Japanese Castle, Ulsan, Southern Korean Peninsula

Result Japanese Victory
Withdrawal of Korean and Ming Forces

First siege of Ulsan

Joseon and Ming dynasty soldiers assault the Japanese-built fortress at Ulsan

Date	29 January – 19 February 1598
Location	Ulsan Japanese Castle, Ulsan, Southern Korean Peninsula
Result	Japanese Victory Withdrawal of Korean and Ming Forces

Belligerents

Joseon and Ming dynasty

Japanese army

Commanders and leaders

Ming:
Yang Hao
Ma Gui
Joseon:
Gwon Yul

Ulsan castle
Katō Kiyomasa
Asano Yoshinaga
Reinforcements
Mōri Hidemoto
Nabeshima Naoshige
Hachisuka Iemasa
Kuroda Nagamasa

Strength

Ming: 40,000^[1]
Joseon: 10,000^[1]

Ulsan castle: 10,000 – 23,000^[2]
Reinforcements: 13,000^[3]^[4]

Casualties and losses

1,621 killed^[4]
2,908 wounded^[4]

~9,000^[3] – 20,000+^[2]

Imjin War

1592–1594 Imjin War

1595–1596 Truce

1597–1598 Jeongyu War

The siege of Ulsan (Korean: 울산성 전투; Hanja: 蔚山城戰鬪; MR: Ulsansŏng chŏnt'u) was an unsuccessful Ming-Joseon attempt to capture Ulsan from the Japanese. The siege lasted from 26 January to 19 February 1598.

Yang Hao, Ma Gui, and Gwon Yul met up at Gyeongju on the 26 January 1598 and marched on Ulsan with an army of 50,000.^[1]

Battle

The allied army reached Ulsan on 29 January.^[1]

The battle began with a false retreat that lured the Japanese garrison into a frontal attack. They were defeated with 500 losses and were forced to retreat to Tosan fortress. The allies occupied the city of Ulsan.^[1]

On 30 January the allies bombarded the fortress and then took the outer wall of Tosan. The Japanese abandoned much of their food supplies and retreated into the inner fortress. The allies assaulted the inner fortress, at one point even taking a portion of the wall, but suffered heavy casualties. Their cannons were of no help since the fortress was situated too high to reach. Eventually the attack was called off, and a long siege began.^[1]

On 19 February the allied forces attacked again and were repelled. Seeing Japanese reinforcements arrive, Yang Hao decided to lift the siege and retreat, but the disorganized movement led to many stragglers being cut down by the Japanese, leading to heavy casualties.^[3]

Aftermath

Citations

Bibliography

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