Siege of Kuju 1231
Recorded location from Wikidata; battle sites are often approximate.
Key facts
| Year | 1231 | Wikidata P585 (point in time) |
|---|---|---|
| Era | Medieval (500–1499) | derived from year |
| Location | North Korea | Natural Earth (modern borders) |
| Continent | Asia | Natural Earth |
| War / conflict | Mongol invasions of Korea | Wikidata P361 |
| Coordinates | 39.9667, 125.1667 | Wikidata P625 |
About the battle
The siege of Kuju (Korean: 귀주성전투) which occurred in 1231 was a decisive Goryeo victory against the Mongol Empire during the First Mongol Invasion of Korea. After the Mongol army crossed the Yalu river, it quickly captured almost all of Goryeo's border defenses. The Mongol army, however, ran into stiff resistance both at Anju and the city of Kuju (modern-day Kusong), commanded by General Park Seo.
For thirty days, the Mongols besieged the city and attacked it hundreds of times. To take Kuju, Saritai used the full array of siege weapons to bring down the city's defenses. Lines of catapults launched both boulders and molten metals at the city's walls. The Mongols deployed special assault teams who manned siege towers and scaling ladders. Other tactics used were pushing flaming carts against the city's wooden gates and tunneling under the walls. The most grisly weapon used during the siege were fire-bombs which contained boiled down, liquefied human fat.
During the siege, an old Mongol general of over seventy years of age toured beneath the city walls to look over the city's ramparts and equipment. He sighed and said:
Text adapted from the Wikipedia article Siege of Kuju (revision 1370742644), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: excerpted from the article lead section; shortened by selecting paragraphs and trimming at a sentence boundary; formatting and citations removed. No text added.
Nearby battles
- Battle of Chongju (1950) 1950 · 38 km
- Battle of Kujin 1950 · 45 km
- Battle of Pakchon 1950 · 50 km
- Battle of Unsan 1950 · 54 km
- Attack on the Sui-ho Dam 1952 · 58 km
- Battle of the Yalu River (1904) 1904 · 60 km
Browse more: battles in North Korea · Asia · Medieval battles