Battle of Imjin River (1592)

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'' For the similarly named battle during the Korean War (1950-1953), see Battle of the Imjin River.

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

Contents

1 The Retreat of the King Seonjo

1.1 The burning of Yi Yi's retirement home
1.2 The Arrival of the Northern Border Cavalry

2 Kato Kiyomasa's Attack across the Imjin and the Feigned Retreat

2.1 Defeat of the Korean Cavalry
2.2 Conclusion

3 The Imjin River today
4 See also

The Retreat of the King Seonjo

In the Fall of 1592, King Seonjo left Hanseong shortly before the arrival of Japanese vanguard led by Kato Kiyomasa, which forded the Han in what is today, Yongsan. Following the sacking of the city, Kato 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 and eventually China on foot being harassed by peasants who felt abandoned.

The burning of Yi Yi'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 by 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 Yi (Yi Yul-gok) the prominent scholar who had strongly petitioned for strengthening national security by enlarging the armed forces to 100,000 men, only ten yers 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 Gaseong 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 Kato 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.

Kato 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, Kato decided to break the deadlock by drawing the Koreans into a trap. Sending a small force of light infantry Ashigaru across the river, Kato caused the Koreans to gain unrealistic confidence, as they mowed down the Ashigaru spearmen with ease in a single cavalry charge. Noticing that the chrge was uncoordinated and sensing a disunity of command, Kato ordered a feigned general retreat towards the direction of Munsan from the southern banks of the Imjin.

Defeat of the Korean Cavalry

Seeing the Japanese general retreat, one of the two co-commanders of the Cavalry decided to ford the river in pursuit. Imjin is a very shallow river, that cavalry can cross at certain points without the use of barges in dry season. As the retreat drew them in, the Korean cavalry lost all resemblance of order, and the pursuit turned disorderly, going uphill towards Munsan. Now, the battle turned into another episode of Chungju. (Battle of Chungju)

As the bulk of Korean cavalry lay within the small valley leading from the Imjin ford to Munsan, Kato's arquebusiers opened fire, devastating the morale of the Korean cavalry. Like nearly all the Korean soldiers, the Korean cavalry had no experience to gunfire. The horses of the cavalry began to panick, dismounting many of the riders. As the Koreans lay in confusion, the samurai infantry attacked in on them from their hidden positions within the valley and began killing the Koreans. The Korean cavalry was repulsed, many killed, others drowned while trying the cross back north using deeper parts of the river. The one co-commander of the Korean cavalry who had not crossed the river in pursuit at this point, turned his tail and escaped back to Hamgyeong province, and most Sodiers following suit. Kato Kiyomasa and his troops forded the Imjin unopposed, loaded with trophy armor and fine Korean horses.

Conclusion

The unfortunate 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 moves further north to Uiju, where he fnally reached up with the first Ming contingent from China. After the Japanese began rapidly approaching north again, King Seonjo fled to China, wfrom where he returned the following year with Chinese reinforements.

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 a "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 a balancd combind armed forces. Also the game shows the river having a bridge, which was not the case until the 20th century.