Sacheon May 29, 1592 Strategic Context Japanese diamyo Toyotomi Hideyoshi hopes that Korean King Seonjo will grant his armies free passage through the peninsula to invade China but is refused. Hideyoshi therefore invades Korea with 150,000 soldiers, routing Korean forces and capturing city after city. However, the Japanese army is reliant on the navy for supplies and Korean Admiral Yi Sun-sin receives reports of Japanese ships around Sacheon, dangerously close to his headquarters at Yosu. Yi arrives to in the hopes of destroying this fleet to aid his country’s land forces. Stakes + A Korean victory would threaten Japanese supply lines to land forces on the peninsula. + A Japanese victory would allow supply lines to flow and place Yi’s headquarters in danger of being captured by land. By Jonathan Webb, 2009 © No Image Available

Sacheon, 1592 Strength  Koreans  Well  Japanese  Well  35 Atakebune  various commanders  26 Panokson  Yi Sun-sin By Jonathan Webb, 2009 ©  1 Kobukson  35 Sekibune

The Japanese ships sit in the protection of their harbour under the command of no single commander. The cliffs entering the harbour can be manned by archers so Yi plans to lure the Japanese ships out into the open waters to fight the battle. Yi sails his force straight at the Japanese force and then abruptly swings around and sails away. Some of the Japanese commanders believe Yi has miscalculated the size of the Japanese force and retreated and so a large portion of the Japanese force chases out of the harbour after Yi. Yi continues to retreat, using his superior missile range to strike the Japanese ships which rely on grapples and hooks as their primary threat. A number of Japanese ships are sunk in this way. The only way the Japanese can respond is by inaccurate arquebus fire although one such shot does struck Yi himself, causing only a flesh wound however. Yi now attacks with his recently developed Kobokson ship, known as the “turtle ship” for its seemingly impervious design. The Kobokson charges into the midst of the Japanese force, causing panic and confusion; the Japanese are baffled as to how this ship can be sunk. Virtually every Japanese ship committed to battle is sunk. Japanese (various) Koreans (Yi) Koreans (Yi) 26 Ponoksun 1 Kobokson Japanese (various commanders) 35 Atakebune 35 Sekibune

Sacheon, 1592 Casualties & Aftermath Koreans:Japanese: 0 or 0% 40 Or 57% By Jonathan Webb, 2009 © In 1592, Yi and the Korean navy sunk 400 Japanese ships. The precarious naval supply lines, combined with Korean guerrilla tactics and Chinese intervention, forced a Japanese evacuation in 1593 but another invasion was launched four years later.

The Art of Battle: Animated Battle Maps By Jonathan Webb, 2009 ©