The Battle of Noryang , the last major battle of the Japanese invasions of Korea (1592–1598) , was fought between the Japanese navy and the combined fleets of the Joseon Kingdom and the Ming Dynasty . It took place in the early morning of 16 December (19 November in the Lunar calendar ) 1598 and ended past dawn. The Joseon fleet consisted of 82 panokseon multi-decked oared ships. The Ming fleet consisted of six large war junks (true battle vessels most likely used as flagships) that were driven by both oars and sails, 57 lighter war ships driven by oars alone.
On 15 December, about 20,000 Japanese troops from the wajo of Sachon, Goseong and Namhae boarded 500 ships and began to mass east of the Noryang Strait in an attempt to break the allied blockade of Sunchon. As in Admiral Yi's previous battles, the Japanese were unable to respond effectively as the Korean and Chinese cannons prevented them from moving.The narrowness of the Noryang Strait also prevented any maneuverability. The allied fleet waited for Shimazu on the west end of Noryang strait. The battle began at 02:00 on 16 December.It was, from the very beginning, a desperate affair with the Japanese determined to fight through the allied fleet and the allies equally determined to keep them from breaking through and advancing. When the Japanese fleet was significantly damaged, Chen Lin ordered his fleet to engage in melee combat with the Japanese. This, however, allowed the Japanese to use their arquebuses and fight using their traditional fighting style of boarding enemy ships. When Chen Lin's flagship was attacked, Admiral Yi had to order his fleet to engage in hand-to-hand combat as well. By the middle of the battle, as dawn was about to break, the allied fleet had the upper hand and half of Shimazu's ships were either sunk or captured. Thus manner the allied force of about 150 Joseon and Ming Chinese ships, led by Admirals Yi Sun-sin and Chen Lin, attacked and either destroyed or captured more than half of the 500 Japanese ships commanded by Shimazu Yoshihiro, preventing his link-up with Konishi Yukinaga. As the Japanese retreated, Admiral Yi ordered a vigorous pursuit. During this time a stray arquebus bullet from an enemy ship struck Admiral Yi near the armpit, on his left side. Sensing that the wound was fatal, the Admiral uttered, "We are about to win the war -- keep beating the war drums. Do not announce my death" and with these words he died. The battered survivors of Shimazu's fleet limped back to Pusan and a few days later, left for Japan. The last ships sailed to Japan on 24 December, bringing an end to seven years of war. Admiral Yi Sun-sin's body was brought back to his home town in Asan to be buried next to his father, Yi Chong (in accordance with Korean tradition).The court gave him the posthumous rank of Minister of the Right. Shrines, both official and unofficial, were constructed in his honor. In 1643, Admiral Yi was given the title of Chungmugong , "Duke/Lord of Loyal Valor".
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