#Maritime History Stories # #show出历史 #
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" > introduction:</h1>
The Battle of Mingliang is a classic battle in the history of world naval warfare in which few victories are won. The Korean general Li Shunchen defeated more than 130 Japanese warships perfectly with 12 warships. Looking at the history of the world's navies, it can really be said that it is a great victory that has never been achieved before and has never been achieved after.
However, there has always been a different debate between North Korea and Japan over who was the victor in the Battle of Mingliang.
The Japanese side believed that in the Battle of Mingliang, The Korean Li Shunchen had defeated more than a hundred Japanese warships with only 12 warships, which was impossible. The North Korean side insisted that the victory in the Battle of Mingliang belonged to North Korea. The famous Korean general Lee Sun-chen defeated more than a hundred Japanese ships with twelve ships, and this battle is absolutely unparalleled mythology and legend in the history of world naval warfare.
Even Japanese Admiral "God of War" Heihachiro Togo once said:
"Although I also agree that the world will be me and Horatio. Nelson is on par, but none of us can match Li Shunchen. He's unbeatable! ”
Anyway, no matter how much the Japanese side suspected the Battle of Mingliang, the North Korean side exaggerated it in the historical records. The DPRK side still firmly believes in the Battle of Mingliang, and it was the commander of the DPRK army, Lee Sun-chen, who created a miracle in the history of world naval warfare in which fewer victories were won, and the DPRK side was the victorious side.
So far, however, there has not been a more authoritative body to confirm who is the winner of the battle. So what is the historical truth of the Battle of Mingliang?
Today, I will try to find the truth from three aspects: the historical background of the Battle of Mingliang, the course of the battle, and the historical significance.
<h1 class= "pgc-h-arrow-right" > the cause of the Battle of Mingliang</h1>
Historical background
Toyotomi Hideyoshi went through a series of four-way conquests to basically unify Japan. In order to consolidate and expand the greater power, so as to plunder more resources. In 592, Toyotomi Hideyoshi launched a war of aggression against Korea in an attempt to use Korea as a springboard to invade China during the Ming Dynasty.
In this year, the Japanese army's war of aggression against Korea broke out, and the Japanese army, with an invincible trend, only took 2 months to conquer Busan, Chungju, and Jisan in Korea one after another, and was bound to seize Wangjing Hancheng, and most of the territory of Korea fell.
At this time, the Korean admiral Lee Sun-sung, using his improved "iron turtle ship", led the Korean naval army to launch a counterattack against the Japanese army. A series of victories were won in Yupu, Sacheon, Akiyama Island, and Busan.
After the great victory on The Island of Idle Mountain, the Japanese Navy suffered heavy blows and was repeatedly defeated, and the main force was lost. Japan lost its sea supremacy, and after occupying Pyongyang, the Japanese were forced to halt their offensive against Korea.
The following year, Japan and The DPRK negotiated peace. The Korean general Li Shunchen was awarded the title of Erpin Zhengxian Dafu by the King of Joseon for his series of military achievements such as Xianshan Island, and the commander of the three water armies.
The Japanese general Toyotomi Hideyoshi understood that the war of aggression against Korea was very difficult, all because the Korean general Li Shunchen was too fierce. If Japan wanted to conquer Korea, it had to get rid of Li Shunchen first. As a result, Toyotomi Hideyoshi used a divisive tactic against Li Shunchen, and the King of Joseon, fearing that Li Shunchen would be highly powerful, took the opportunity to reduce Li Shunchen to a soldier.
Toyotomi Hideyoshi saw that Lee Shun-chan had been degraded, and considered that the opportunity had come, so he again ordered the mobilization of 140,000 troops and 20,000 sailors to attack Korea. Japanese Governor Kiyomasa Kato led 140,000 troops and more than 10,000 navy ships to once again carry out an all-out invasion of Korea.
The Japanese attacked Korea
The Battle of Naruyashi was a war of aggression initiated by the Japanese army. The Japanese general Toyotomi Hideyoshi led the Japanese army to attack Korea from both land and sea. At that time, in order to more effectively attack the Korean turtle armor ships, the Nine Ghosts Jialong ordered the conversion of Japanese ships into giant ironclad ships.
At the beginning of the Japanese invasion of Korea, the Korean Navy mistakenly thought that the Japanese ships were transport convoys, so the North Korean army did not expect that the Japanese army would launch an attack on the North Korean army. In this way, the Japanese army caught the Korean navy by surprise, and the Japanese sneaked up on the Korean navy moored on The island of Kigawa.
Because the Korean army was not wary of the Japanese army, all the Ships of the Korean Navy were destroyed by the Japanese army. The Korean military suffered heavy losses, after which the Japanese army continued to attack, the Korean jeonju was lost, and the Japanese army completely controlled the sea and established the dominant position in the sea. North Korea is in a full-blown crisis.
Summary: Japan's sense of crisis in the island nation is not formed in one day or two days. Since ancient times, Japan has fantasized about conquering the lands of other countries in order to seek the survival of the Japanese nation by invading wars. In Japan, which has just been basically reunified, its colonial expansion ambitions have also swelled.
Therefore, Japan aimed at China, which was in the Ming Dynasty, and if it wanted to attack and invade China during the Ming Dynasty, the best invasion port was Korea, and Japan tried to invade China through the invasion of Korea. Therefore, in order to satisfy Japan's expansion ambitions, the Battle of Mingliang was inevitable.
North Korea has always been the best of our Chinese nation's dynasties to protect its neighbors.
< h1 class= "pgc-h-arrow-right" > the entire course of the Battle of Mingliang</h1>
Before the Battle of Naojeong, the Korean Navy mistakenly believed that the Japanese warships were transport fleets, so they were devastated by the Japanese army. The Korean warships were all destroyed by the Japanese, and the naval commander of the three water armies, Tongzhi Yuan, was killed by artillery.
On July 5, 1597, the Japanese army, with the cooperation of the water army, raided the island of Kigawa, and the Korean water army was almost completely destroyed, and the Japanese navy completely controlled the sea.
The whole state was lost
The Japanese army sent more than 10,000 troops to attack Jeolla Province, just in time for Yang Yuan to lead more than 3,000 Ming troops to garrison Namwon. The Japanese army fought fiercely with the Ming army, and finally because the Ming army was outnumbered, more than 2,700 Ming troops were killed, and Nanyuan was lost.
Chen Yuzhong, the Ming general stationed in Jeonju, saw the fall of Namwon and immediately retreated, and in this way, the Japanese soldiers took Jeonju without bloodshed. Then the Japanese army captured Huangshi Mountain, Jinzhou, Gongzhou and other places.
Except for guarding Jishan, the Ming army retreated to Wangjing Hancheng.
In the face of danger, Li Shunchen was reactivated
In the Korean crisis, the King of Joseon had to comply with the will of the people and reactivate the white-clad soldier Li Shunchen, who was in danger and was ordered.
Li Shunchen wrote in his message to the King of Joseon:
In the five or six years since the beginning of the year, the thief did not dare to go straight to the two lakes (Hunan 11 Jeolla Province, Huxi 11 Zhongqing Road), and strangled his way with the boat master. There are still twelve warships in the present, and if you die to resist the war, you can still do it. Now if the boat master is completely abandoned, it is the reason why the thief is fortunate, and from the right side of the lake to the Han River (Han River), this subject is afraid. Although the warships are few, and the ministers do not die, the thieves do not dare to insult me.
"Li Zhongwu Gong Quanshu", "Xuanmiao Zhongxingzhi"
By this time, however, the North Korean water army that had once dominated the side had ceased to exist. Li Shunchen could lead only twelve ships.
However, Li Shunchen used the remaining twelve ships to create an unsurpassable miracle in the history of the world's navies.
War situations
The Japanese fujido Gaohu set out from Lanpu with more than 300 warships and 20,000 troops, preparing to enter the Mingliang Strait at high tide in an attempt to completely destroy the Korean marine division before it was rebuilt.
The Li Zhongwu Gongshu and Volume IX records that Li Shunchen's first reaction after discovering these ships was to "pack up the warships, divide them into generals, and disguise them as turtle ships to help the army." ”
Li Shunchen converted ordinary boats into turtle boats. Li Shunchen also made full use of the geographical advantages of the Mingliang Strait and the flow of water, and set up a plan to lure the enemy into the depths.
The strait between Naruru and Jindo Bibotei is very narrow, with a width of only 294 meters and a rapid current. Every 3 hours inside the strait, the direction of the current reverses.
Li Shunchen took advantage of the low tide to send people to set up iron cables and wooden stakes. After Li Shunchen had everything ready, he sent a warship to lure the Japanese naval ship into the Mingliang Strait.
When hundreds of ships of the Japanese Navy rushed toward the North Korean army in black pressure, all the North Korean troops were frightened, and Li Shunchen said to the officers and men of the Korean Navy to boost morale: "Although there are a thousand thieves, there is no enemy of our ships." ”
When the Japanese ships approached the North Koreans, the North Koreans, who were hiding at the foot of the mountain and waiting in a tight position, launched a fierce shelling of the Japanese ships. Because the Japanese ships were pointed and swaying in the turbulent currents, the heavy firearms of the Japanese army could not play a role at all, and the North Korean army had mountains as cover, and the Japanese army was helpless to take the North Korean army.
The North Korean turtle ship was flat-bottomed and could steadily shell the Japanese ships. At this time, Li Shunchen pulled up the steel cable, coupled with the reversal of the current, the Japanese ships were crowded around in the narrow strait, colliding with each other and chaos, and the situation was really tragic. Although there was a steady stream of japanese naval support in the back, because the strait was too narrow, the reinforcements in the back could only watch the battleships in the strait being destroyed.
When Li Shunchen found the Japanese general ship carrying the red flag, he took the lead in bravely rushing onto the Japanese general ship, and after a random arrow was fired, the Japanese general Laidao Tongzong was shot, another general of the Japanese army fell into the water, and the Japanese army completely collapsed.
Although Li Shunchen had only twelve ships in the Battle of Mingliang, by virtue of the geographical advantage of the Mingliang Strait, he destroyed more than thirty Japanese ships, and the remaining ninety Japanese ships also lost their combat effectiveness in the battle. In this battle, the North Korean side recorded that the North Korean army annihilated more than 8,000 Japanese troops, and the North Korean army only lost thirty-four people.
Summary: After Li Shunchen received the appointment, he heard that there were more than a dozen large ships in Snake Liang, and more than twenty ships in Jeolla, so he rushed to Snake Liang with more than a dozen people. When everyone saw Li Shunchen's comeback, they were very happy and rushed to tell each other: "My father is here, and Ru will not die." ”
In this way, Li Shunchen attracted more than a hundred people to follow him with his personality charm. When Li Shunchen saw these ships, he said:
Pack up the warships, put them into generals, and pretend to be turtle ships to help the military.
Li Zhongwu's Complete Book. Volume IX
Li Shunchen disguised civilian ships as warships, included them in the water camp warships, used suspicious tactics, gathered ants, took advantage of geographical advantages such as water flow and narrow gorges, and arranged iron chains and wooden stakes and other artifacts to assist in the battle. With his extraordinary military ability, he defeated an enemy ten times that of himself with only twelve ships and achieved a great victory in the Battle of Mingliang.
The case of this battle shows that when two armies are engaged, they can comprehensively crush the enemy without absolute military superiority. Ten times the military strength of the enemy, it is not necessarily possible to achieve a victory of ten to nine. War requires military strength, and it is necessary to be familiar with the geographical environment and grasp the geographical advantage. If we can fully grasp and make good use of geographical advantages, it will also be worth thousands of troops. It is also necessary to have excellent tactics and the spirit of not being afraid of death in order to serve the country, and spiritual strength is also an invincible force.
The reason why Li Shunchen was able to defeat an enemy ten times greater than his own was because of his charm and superb military skills in order to serve the country without fear of death.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" > historical significance</h1>
The victory in the Battle of Mingliang struck the japanese naval forces hard, effectively cut off the Japanese army's supply from the Yellow Sea to the Battle of Jishan, prevented Japan's aggression against Korea, and enabled Korea to get rid of the crisis of total destruction and move from passive beating to strategic counter-offensive.
More importantly, the victory at the Battle of Mingliang boosted the morale of the North Korean army, after all, the Korean water army got rid of the situation of repeated defeats and collapse at the touch of victory. Li Shunchen also proved his military talent to the world with his extraordinary military genius.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" > summary</h1>
The main focus of the controversy over the Battle of Mingliang was the question of who was the winner.
The DPRK side said: With only twelve ships, the DPRK army defeated more than one hundred and thirty Japanese ships. The North Korean army suffered only thirty-four casualties, while the Japanese suffered more than 8,000 casualties, destroyed more than thirty Japanese ships, and the Japanese army also lost a main general, effectively attacking the combat effectiveness of the Japanese army and preventing the Japanese army from attacking.
However, the Japanese side said that the historical records of the DPRK side exaggerated the truth of the facts, and judging from the later occupation of Korea by the Japanese army and the control of the sea, Japan still won.
Japanese historical materials rely on Sanyang's "History of Japan's Foreign Countries", the old Japanese Army Staff Compiled "Japanese War History", the Japanese side described that Japan lost only a few dozen people in the Battle of Mingliang, but two famous generals died.
And after the Battle of Mingliang, Li Shunchen's fleet did not continue to attack the Japanese navy, but retreated to the north. At that time, the Japanese army was not familiar with the sea conditions, afraid of falling into the trap again, and did not dare to take the initiative to pursue.
But by the time the Japanese returned to the battlefield the next day, the Korean navy had retreated. The Japanese Army successfully completed its established plan, landed in Korea, and captured Pyongyang and Seoul in Korea two months later.
History is written by the victors, and Japan and North Korea should not write accurate data for their own faces, writing more and writing less.
Then let's analyze it from the strategic and tactical aspects of the Battle of Mingliang.
Tactically, the Battle of Mingliang is indeed a classic case of winning more with less. After all, in the case of the Korean water army being strongly destroyed by the Japanese army and the Factawa Island that had already captured Korea, Li Shunchen was not afraid of death, and with a heart of serving the country, with a strong spiritual strength and wisdom, he defeated the Japanese Navy, which had ten times more troops than himself. In the history of the world's navies, he was a national hero who could not be sung and wept.
Later, Li Shunchen was also highly praised by many famous admirals of the world. In particular, the admirals after the Meiji Restoration in Japan revered Li Shunchen as an unattainable mythical legend in the naval world.
Strategically, the Battle of Mingliang in Korea only struck at the effective forces of the Japanese army and effectively delayed the offensive trend of the Japanese army.
After the victory of the Mingliang Sea, the Korean army finally retreated to Xin'an County due to insufficient troops. In the end, the Japanese army conquered Jindo, the base of the Korean water army, and completed the strategic goal of sweeping the jeolla water army.
The North Korean Navy did not control the Mingliang Strait and even lost its base. It did not play a decisive role strategically.
As far as a local war is concerned, the Battle of Mingliang is undoubtedly a victory for the Korean water army. However, as far as a battle of aggression and counter-aggression was concerned, Japan still won, because Japan later occupied the base area of the Korean naval army and controlled the sea.
In any case, the Battle of Mingliang belongs to the heroic battle of Li Shunchen and the proud battle of the Korean nation.