July 8, 1592 · South coast Theater
July 8, 1592
Yi feigned a retreat to draw the Japanese out of a fortified harbour, then turned on them in open water — and committed the geobukseon, the turtle ship, for the first time: a low, ram-bowed vessel with a roofed deck covered in iron spikes, cannon firing from every side, and a dragon's head at the prow belching smoke. The Japanese could not board it, and boarding was how Japan fought at sea.
Commanders