Battle of Hansando

Timeline

1. 1592Gyeonnaeryang · Gyeongsangnam-doThe Japanese originally planned a combined land-sea advance around the southwest coast northward; after defeats at Okpo and elsewhere they concentrated their fleet to strike Jeolla. Wakisaka Yasuharu anchored over seventy ships at Gyeonnaeryang, followed by Kuki Yoshitaka and Katō Kiyomasa. Yi Sun-sin, informed of this, joined Yi Ik-gi (Jeolla Right Naval Commander) and Won Gyun (Gyeongsang Right Naval Commander) at Noryang and decided not to fight a decisive battle in the narrow strait.
2. 1592Sea before Hansando · Gyeongsangnam-doYi Sun-sin first feigned an attack with several panokseon to draw out the enemy. After Wakisaka's force sailed out of Gyeonnaeryang, the Korean fleet deployed a crane-wing formation in the sea before Hansando, with turtle ships and the main body at center and wings enveloping, breaking up Japanese boarding actions with concentrated cannon fire. Korean records state about forty-seven ships sunk and twelve captured, with Wakisaka escaping with only a dozen or so; Korean losses were minimal.
3. 1592Southern Korean waters · South KoreaAfter the Great Victory at Hansando, Hideyoshi restricted further westward naval operations; the Japanese could not encircle the Jeolla granary by sea, and their land supply lines were stretched. The Korean navy then used the Hansando area as a forward base, continuously threatening the sea route from Busan to Jeolla. Together with the First Battle of Jinju Fortress and the Battle of Haengju, this is counted among the Three Great Victories of the Imjin War, excluding later naval actions such as Myeongnyang (1597).