Goguryeo-Sui Wars
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| Goguryeo-Sui War | |||||||||||||||||
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| Date | 598–614 | ||||||||||||||||
| Place | Manchuria, Northern Korean Peninsula, Yellow Sea | ||||||||||||||||
| Result | Defeat of Chinese Sui Dynasty | ||||||||||||||||
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The Goguryeo-Sui War was a series of campaigns launched by the Sui Dynasty of China against the Goguryeo dynasty of Korea between 598 and 614. It resulted in the defeat of Sui and contributed to its eventual fall in 618.
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[edit] Background
Sui united China in 589, defeating the Chen Dynasty and ending the division of the continent that spanned almost 300 years. After the unification of China, Sui asserted its position as the overlord of all Asia. Most countries submitted themselves, but Emperor Pyeongwon, and Emperor Yeongyang (after succeeding his father in 590) were adamant in maintaining equal relationship with the Chinese dynasty, as they saw themselves as the true rulers in the north.
Wendi of Sui was displeased with the challenge from Goguryeo, which continued small scale raiding into Sui's northern border by Goguryeo troops. Wendi sent diplomatic papers in 596 after Sui envoys spotted Goguryeo diplomats in the yurt of the Eastern Turk Kaghan that amounted to an ultimatum to the Korean dynasty, demanding Pyongyang to cancel any military alliance with the Turks, stop the annual raiding of Sui border regions, and acknowledge Sui as their overlord. Though Yeongyang appeared to comply with the ultimatum, he made his hostility against Sui known in the following year, 597, by launching a joint preemptive invasion with the Malgal against Chinese outposts along the border in present-day Hebei province.
[edit] First War of 598
Wendi ordered his fourth son, Yang Yang and Admiral Zhou Nahu, to conquer Goguryeo with an army and navy totalling 300,000.
Yang Yang's army faced the early rainy season when it reached Goguryeo. The unseasonably heavy rains made the army's progress almost impossible and hampered the transport of provisions. Constant attacks by Goguryeo forces and illness inflicted heavy casualties. Deciding that the army could not achieve its objective on its own, Yang Yang decided to combine with Zhou's naval fleet and proceed.
However, Zhou's navy fared little better. The navy had to contend with rough seas, losing many ships though they kept to the coastline. Whenever they anchored, Gouguryeo detachments were present to slaughter the Sui sailors. The fleet engaged in a battle against a Goguryeo fleet led by Admiral Gang Yi-sik, presumably on the present Bohai Sea. Already weakened by ambushes and nature's onslaught, the Sui fleet suffered a devastating loss.
The Sui forces were all but decimated, both at land and sea. Historical texts record that about 90% of the Sui troops perished. Goguryeo casualties are thought to be almost nonexistent compared to those of Sui. Yang Yang faced no option but retreat. This war was the only major defeat for Wendi, who sank into a depression after the failed expedition. He died in 604.
[edit] Second War of 612
[edit] Preparations
Yangdi, when he won the throne in 604, built the Grand Canal which connected the north and south of China. Though the public reason for constructing the canal was to improve transport for economic purposes, a main underlying reason was the transportation of troops for massive campaign against foreign countries, especially Goguryeo. During the construction, millions of workers died, which had an adverse impact on support for the Sui regime.
After the construction of the runescape, Yangdi ordered the conscription of soldiers in 611 and instructed them to gather in present-day Beijing. The force gathered by the end of the year was one of the greatest in civilization; according to the Book of Sui, 1,138,000 combat troops were mobilized. The support troops, responsible for logistics and transportation of resources, are believed to have dwarfed even that number. The total strength of the army is in dispute, with estimates ranging from 3 million to more than 5 million. The army began to depart in early 612, and due to its size, it took 40 days for them all to depart. The long line of soldiers stretched for about 400 kilometers.
[edit] Campaign in Manchuria
Yeongyang acted decisively. He gave up the buffer zone that he had acquired after the war of 598, as he thought that the area was not suitable to face such a vast army. The Goguryeo troops retreated behind what is now known as the Liao River. One fortunate event for the Koreans was that the river melted much sooner than usual; by the time Yangdi arrived, the ice had all melted. Undaunted, Yangdi ordered the construction of three bridges across the river. The bridges however, were too short to reach the opposite bank, and Goguryeo's ambush successfully held off the first assault. After the extension of the bridges however, the Sui forces succeeded in crossing the river, and the army surrounded the fortresses of Goguryeo.
Yangdi ordered his generals before the campaigns not to make individual decisions regarding the movement of troops, but to report to him to receive instruction. This order hampered Sui strategy throughout the campaign. During the campaign against Yodong fortress, a strategically important one, the request of surrender at the danger of the fall of the citadel resulted in halt of the assault. The general commanding the siege had to send a messenger to the emperor for the approval of the surrender; by the time the messenger returned, Goguryeo's troops were again ready to defend the fortress. Exploiting this flaw in the Sui system, Yodong and other citadels of Goguryeo continued to hold on; by June, five months after the beginning of the campaign, not a single fortress had fallen to Sui. Yangdi felt that a fundamental change in strategy was in order.
[edit] Campaign against Pyeongyang
The new strategy was to keep the fortresses of Goguryeo in Manchuria at bay, while sending a contingent of army and navy to take Pyeongyang, Goguryeo's capital. An army contingent, with a strength of 305,000, and a naval fleet of some 200,000 were dispatched.
[edit] Naval Assault
The navy reached the bay of the Daedong River before the army. Seeing that the Sui army had not arrived yet, Yeongyang sent a small host to engage the Sui navy in battle. After a short engagement, feigning defeat, Goguryeo troops retreated into the city. The Sui naval commander, Lai Huni, considering this a chance to add to his merit, led a host of some 100,000 to lay assault against Pyeongyang. When the army reached the outer citadel, however, they found the wall empty and the gate open. Upon entering the citadel, they found the valuables and weapons laid out over the place. Being cautious, Lai prohibited the troops from taking the goods. While passing through a large Buddhist temple, Goguryeo troops ambushed Sui troops, but it failed and survivors retreated yet again. Lai, considering the ambush in the temple a decisive move of Goguryeo that failed, allowed the looting of the outer citadel.
While the looting of the citadel was at its peak, special contingent of Goguryeo troops, consisting of thousands of troops, ambushed the Sui troops. Confused and disoriented, Lai didn't offer resistance but ran to the fleet at the sea, his host reduced to mere thousands. Disheartened by his failure, Lai changed his plan to wait for army contingent against Pyeongyang and combine to lay siege on the city.
[edit] Sui Army's Campaign
The army contingent, led by generals Yu Zhongwen and Yu Wenshu, had its own problems. While the supply could be transported safely within China, once it reached Goguryeo territory, there was a danger of ambush by Goguryeo forces. Yangdi solved the problem by instructing each soldiers to carry food for himself, which greatly increased each soldier's burden. Many resorted to discarding the food; by the time it had reached Amnok (Yalu) river, the army's shortage of provisions was acute.
Yeongyang, to ascertain the strength of Sui army, ordered his Commander, Field Marshal Eulji Mundeok, to feign surrender and negotiate peace terms with the Sui generals. Generals Wu had their own secret order from Yangdi to seize Yeongyang or Eulji if they should fall into their hands. However, the generals' advisers, notably the Assistant Director of the Right of the Department of State Affairs, Liu Shi Long (劉士龍), convinced them of the folly of arresting such an official negotiator from the oppositing camp, and they ultimately let Eulji return to Goguryeo. Yu Zhongwen later regretted his decision and attempted to lure Eulji back, sending a message that he wished to discuss things further. Eulji, aware of Wu's intentions and having espied the desperate situation of the Sui troops, did not comply.
The two generals Yu argued about the next course of action, with Yu Zhongwen arguing strongly that chase should be given to Eulji and the Goguryeo capital captured. Accordingly, the Sui troops began the advance south towards Pyeongyang. Eulji maneuvered the Goguryeo troops so that they engaged the Sui army seven times a day, each time feigning defeat and retreating, leading the Sui army deeper south with the perception of victory. The Sui army eventually advanced to about 20 km from Pyeongyang. However, realizing the advanced hunger and exhaustion of his troops, and now perceiving the formidable fortifications of Pyeongyang, Yu Zhongwen realised the looming imposibility of continuing the campaign.
While Yu was in this dilemma, able to neither advance nor retreat, Eulji sent him a poem, in which he mocked Yu's ability as a commander. When no response came, Eulji sent an emissary, offering to escort Emperor Yeongyang to Yangdi in submission if the Sui army would withdraw. Seizing this opportunity to retreat, Yu withdrew his troops towards Sui.
[edit] The Battle of Salsu River and Retreat of Yangdi
When Sui army had reached Salsu (thought to be present Cheongcheon river), the water level was shallow. Eulji had already selected Salsu as the decisive turning point of the war, and had cut off the flow of water, storing it behind a dam. When Sui army had half crossed the river, Eulji opened the dam, and the onslaught of water left many thousands of Sui soldiers dead. Goguryeo host charged the remaining Sui army from the rear, and with their command system destroyed, each Sui soldier had to find his own way. The historical record records that Sui soldiers had to run almost 200 kilometers that day to escape death. The result was a momentous victory for Goguryeo. From the Sui's 305,000 soldiers army contingent, only 2,700 managed to run back to Manchuria. Hearing about the annihilation of army, the navy also retreated back to China. Yangdi, realising that he had no choice, withdrew his troops from Manchuria in defeat.
[edit] Third War of 613
However, Yangdi had not given up his dream of subduing Goguryeo. He invaded Liaodong again the following year (613), but was again obliged to retreat without success. While Yangdi was away, Yang Xuangan, the son of Yangdi's prime minister, fomented rebellion against Yangdi. Fearing attack from two fronts, Yangdi was forced to retreat and use his army to put down Yang Xuangan's rebellion.
[edit] Fourth War of 614
After crushing the revolt, he invaded Goguryeo again in 614. Though he managed to breach Goguryeo's first line of defence without capturing the frontier fortress, he could not advance far beyond Liao River due to Goguryeo's constant ambushes and encirclement of his supply lines. Yeongyang, seeing a chance to end these exhausting wars, offered peace, though he did not agree to any of Yangdi's demands, namely Goguryeo's submission and payment of tribute to Sui dynasty. Perceiving the little success in Goguryeo and the increasing internal discontent in China, Yangdi reluctantly accepted Yeongyang's offer of peace and withdrew Sui troops from Goguryeo's territory.
[edit] Aftermath
Yangdi's continuous campaigns against Goguryeo led millions of people in Sui to their death in one way or the other. The discontent against the regime rose, and after the last campaign, revolts erupted across China. Yangdi moved the capital to the south to be out of the chaos and in an attempt to calm things, but the revolts were too widespread to handle. The events culmulated in the fall of Capitals, Xian and Luoyang to rebels in 617, and murder of Yangdi and fall of Sui in 618. Thus, the campaign and defeat of Sui by Goguryeo contributed to the fall of the Sui dynasty. However, some Chinese believe that Sui's repeated invasions of Goguryeo had weakened the strength of Goguryeo, which in turn contributed to the eventual demise of Goguryeo in 668 through the assault of joint Silla-Chinese forces.
[edit] References
- Graff, David A., Medieval Chinese Warfare, 300-900. ISBN 0-415-23954-0
