Myeongnyang : The Greatest Naval Victory in History

Battle of Myeongnyang (1597) was the turning point of Japanese Invasion of Korea (1592-98). In this naval battle Korean navy under Admiral Yi Sun Sin defeated and destroyed the Japanese moral. He won the stunning victory with 13 warships against 333 Japanese ships. This battle made him a legend and became the national hero of Korea still now.

Battle of Myeongnyang

Prelude : After the japanese invasion of Korea started in 1592, Koreans were fighting for their homeland with everything they had. The admiral of Korean navy was Yi Sun Sin. He reorganized the navy, introduced turtle ship (A fully armored ship) and increased the strength of Korean navy. He prevented any Japanese supremacy in sea. But in the middle of the war he was impeached and imprisoned and almost put to death thanks to the internal politics of Korean court. The admiral who replaced him was a total failure in that role and lost the battles after battles and the Korean navy was almost wiped out in his command. In this dire situation the emperor released and reestablished Yi Sun Sin as the admiral again though only 13 warships were remained when he took the charge. He knew he cant win against 330 ships strong Japanese navy in open sea battle. So, he devised a brilliant and desperate plan to crush the Japanese navy with his 13 ships. That plan made him the greatest admiral of history.

The Map

The Plan : He chose Myeongnyang Strait as the place of battle. This strait was situated in southern Korea. It was full with current, whirlpool and had a narrow shape. The area was usually covered with mist most of the time so that would also give him the advantage. Because of the narrowness of the straight the Japanese couldn't do any flanking move to outflank him. He just needed to lure the Japanese in that straight and force them to battle him there. The Japanese knew him very well and as long as he lived Japanese supremacy on sea would be challenged every time. So, that would be the perfect bait which lure them to him.

Battle of Myeongnyang

The Execution : As per the plan Yi Sun Sin sent a fast war ship to lure the Japanese fleet towards him. That ship ventured near the harbor where Japanese fleet was anchored and lured them to the place of battle. The Japanese thought that was a scout ship and followed that to catch Yi Sun Sin and remove the Korean navy totally this time. 333 Japanese ships entered the straight by following that ship. There they found Admiral was waiting for them with 13 ships. Because of the current the Japanese ships couldn't aim at the Korean ships properly and the current forced the ships to collide with each other. On the other side the Korean ships were raining fire from their canons constantly. The current in this strait changed in every three hours interval. After the northern current had stopped the southern current started. In Yi's order the Korean ships started ramming the japanese ships. Nearly 30 ships were drowned including Japanese admiral Kurushima's ship. His head was hanged in the mast to demoralize the Japanese further. The other ships were all damaged and out of shape and capacity to build up any fight. The loss on the Japanese side was heavy. Almost half of their sailors and marines died in that battle. on the other side Yi lost only 10 men and few wounded and lost no ships. This battle turned the tide of war.    

Yi Sun Sin

Aftermath : The victory over Japanese fleet hampered the Japanese supply line to the land units in Korean peninsula. The land army was demoralized and forced to retreat from their advanced positions. It also opened the way for Chinese navy to reinforce the Korean navy against the Japanese threat. It destroyed the Japanese naval power and supremacy in yellow sea and reduced the chance of future invasions. This victory made Yi a legend and the greatest admiral of human history. Yes greater than world famous Horatio Nelson.