Battle of Kyongju
The Battle of Kyongju was an engagement between United Nations (UN) and North Korean (NK) forces early in the Korean War from August 31 to September 15, 1950, in the vicinity of Kyongju in South Korea. It was a part of the Battle of Pusan Perimeter, and was one of several large engagements fought simultaneously. The battle ended in a victory for the United Nations after large numbers of United States (US) and Republic of Korea (ROK) troops repelled a strong North Korean attack.
Japanese invasions of Korea (1592–1598)
Bolstered by the victory at the Battle of Byeokjegwan, Katō and his army of 30,000 men advanced to the south of Hanseong to attack Haengju Fortress, an impressive mountain fortress that overlooked the surrounding area. An army of a few thousand led by Kwon Yul was garrisoned at the fortress, waiting for the Japanese. Katō believed his overwhelming army would destroy the Koreans and therefore ordered the Japanese soldiers to simply advance upon the steep slopes of Haengju with little planning at about 6am. Kwon Yul responded to the Japanese advance with fierce fire from the fortification using hwachas, rocks, handguns, and bows. The "hwach'a" ("fire wagon") was a cart that could fire either 100 rockets or 200 arrows at once; the "hwach'a" took much time to load, but were capable of bringing down deadly fire. Kwon had trained his men to fire their "hwach'as" all at once, and as the Japanese were packed closely together, the volley from the "fire wagons" inflicted heavy losses. The women of Hanseong joined their menfolk, bringing up rocks in their skirts. In the course of 9 assaults, the Japanese pushed the Koreans back to their second line, but could no further, losing about 10, 000 dead in the process. The "Chingbirok" wrote: "Kwon Yul ordered his soldiers to gather the dead bodies of the enemy and vent their anger by tearing them apart and hanging them on the branches of the trees". Facing unexpected resistance and mounting casualties, Katō burned his dead and finally pulled his troops back.