Siege of Ulsan

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

First siege of Ulsan
Part of the Imjin War
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][5]
Casualties and losses
According to Ming sources: 1,621 killed[5] 2,908 wounded[5] 20,000 killed[6] [7] [8] According to Japanese sources: 10,386 killed[9] According to Korean sources: 3000-4000 killed[10] tens of thousands[11] 10,000[12]	~9,000[4] - 20,000+[2]

Background

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.^[4]

Aftermath

Joseon and Ming forces losses according to Ming sources numbered 798 killed at the battle and a further 823 dead by injuries for a total of 1,621 dead.^[5] The wounded reached 2,908.^[5]

According to Hawley, the Japanese garrison at Ulsan Castle numbered 10,000 men, with less than 1,000 surviving the siege. Two Japanese historical sources claim the Japanese garrison numbered either 20,000 or 23,000.^[5] According to official records, Kato Kiyomasa had a maximum of 10,000 soldiers,^[13] Asano Yukinaga had a maximum of 3,000 soldiers,^[13] and even if some other soldiers are included, the maximum number is thought to be about 15,000. These are the numbers ordered by Toyotomi Hideyoshi, and the actual number of soldiers mobilized was often less than this. This was the case throughout the Japanese military during the Imjin War.

Yang Hao would ultimately be called back to Beijing for his failure at Ulsan on 12 August 1598.^[14]