After the Battle of Okpo, Admiral Yi returned to Yōsu, his headquarters. Admiral Yi planned to attack the Japanese again when Won Kyun sent a report to him that Japanese ships were in Sacheon and the surrounding area. This alarmed Admiral Yi because he feared the Japanese soldiers were readying to attack Yosu. Needless to say, Admiral Yi led his fleet to Sacheon on May 29, 1592.

The Situation at Sacheon

Admiral Yi met Won Kyun at Noryang Strait and discussed battle plans. Admiral Yi scrutinized the surrounding area. A large cliff overlooked the city and Japanese soldiers seemed to move about everywhere in the city. 12 very large Japanese warships were anchored in the harbor, along with numerous other smaller ships. Admiral Yi knew that he could not attack the Japanese in a spearhead assault because he knew that the Japanese would climb the cliff and riddle the Koreans with bullets.

Admiral Yi's Lure

One must know that Admiral Yi was a highly creative and keen commander. He was an extremely good strategist and the difficult position he was in was not a problem to him. Admiral Yi saw that the Japanese acted boastfully and decided to use that as his advantage.

Admiral Yi wanted to fight the Japanese in the sea where there was more room to maneuver. So he suddenly turned his battleships around and retreated. Apparently, the Japanese commander had been observing all the Korean movements and quickly ordered his captains to take a portion of the fleet anchored at Sacheon and attack the Koreans when he saw them retreat. Taking the bait, the Japanese jumped to their ships and pursued the Koreans.

The Turtle Ship

The Battle of Sacheon was the first battle Admiral Yi deployed a Turtle Ship. By the time the Koreans and the Japanese were out in the open sea, it was nearly dark. Nonetheless, Admiral Yi had the Turtle Ship and his other vessels to turn around quickly and fire upon the Japanese. Like the previously fought and won Battle of Okpo, Admiral Yi had his men unleash a hail of cannonballs and fire arrows. This had immediate effect on the enemy warships, and the Japanese ships were starting to take heavy damage.

As the Koreans attacked, the Japanese were much surprised at this sudden shock attack. But unlike the not-so-good performance at the Battle of Okpo, the Japanese soldiers here fought bravely and returned fire with the arquebuses in a timely manner. Unfortunately, the Japanese did not have a chance to board the Korean ships because of concentrated fire of the cannons. The Japanese began to panic when the Turtle Ship appeared. It was a good reason to panic because the Turtle Ship smashed into the Japanese lines and began to fire in every direction.

It was in the heat of the battle when the course of Korea's history nearly changed; Admiral Yi was shot by a Japanese arquebusier. The Korean captains were shocked. Luckily, the bullet only punctured the skin on the left arm and Admiral Yi was all right.

Aftermath

In a couple of hours, every single Japanese warship that fought was sinking to the bottom of the sea. few survivors straggled ashore. The Battle of Sacheon caused the Japanese command at Busan to become anxious and fearful when the news of the Turtle Ship came. Supply ships that were coming from Japan might be in danger now that Admiral Yi was ready to attack.

Battle of Sacheon (1592): Encyclopedia BETA

Contents

Battle of Sacheon (1592)

Prelude

The Situation at Sacheon

Admiral Yi's Lure

The Turtle Ship

Aftermath

See also