Battle of Noryang The Battle of Noryang , the last major battle of the Japanese invasions of Korea ( 1592 – 1598 ) , was fought between the Japan ese 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 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 . The battered survivors of Shimazu ' s fleet limped back to Pusan and a few days later , left for Japan . At the height of the battle , Admiral Yi was hit by a bullet from an arquebus and died shortly thereafter . Prelude . Due to setbacks in land and sea battles , the Japanese armies had been driven back to their network of fortresses , or " wajō " ( 和城 ) , on the southeastern Korean coast . However , the wajō could not hold the entire Japanese army so in June 1598 , Toyotomi Hideyoshi , the Taikō who instigated the Japanese invasions of Korea ( 1592 – 1598 ) , and also the acting Japanese Lord of War , ordered 70 , 000 troops of mostly the Japanese Army of the Right to withdraw to the archipelago . On 18 September 1598 , Hideyoshi unexpectedly died at Fushimi castle . Hideyoshi ' s last orders were for the remaining units of the Japanese army , which garrisoned the network of " wajō " , to begin their withdrawal as well . Due to the presence of Joseon and Ming ships , the Japanese garrisons in the " wajō " could not retreat and stayed in the relative safety of their forts . The Sunch ' on " wajō " was the westernmost Japanese fortress and contained 14 , 000 troops commanded by Konishi Yukinaga , who was the leader of Japan ' s vanguard contingent during the first invasion in 1592 . Admiral Yi and Chen Lin blocked Konishi from retreat , but Konishi sent many gifts to Chen in an attempt to bribe the Ming commander into lifting the blockade . At first , Chen agreed to withdraw the allied fleet , but Admiral Yi steadfastly refused to comply . Then Chen Lin suggested that the allied fleet attack smaller , more vulnerable " wajō " , such as the fort at Namhae . Admiral Yi refused that strategy as well . Yi countered that Konishi , who commanded one of the largest " wajō " , would be allowed to escape if the allies were to leave and fight elsewhere . On 15 December , about 20 , 000 Japanese troops from the " wajō " of Sach ' on , Goseong and Namhae boarded 500 ships and began to mass east of the Noryang Strait in an attempt to break the allied blockade of Sunch ' on . The overall commander of this relief force was Shimazu Yoshihiro , the leader of the Sach ' on " wajō " . The objective of the allied fleet was to prevent the link - up of Shimazu ' s fleet with the fleet of Konishi , then attack and defeat Shimazu ' s fleet . The objective of Shimazu ' s fleet was to cross Noryang Strait , link up with Konishi and retreat to Pusan . Shimazu knew that Konishi was trying to cause disunity within the allies and hoped that they would be busy elsewhere or still blockading the Sunch ' on " wajō " and thus vulnerable to an attack from their rear . The battle . On 15 December , a huge Japanese fleet was amassed in Sach ' on bay , on the east end of the Noryang Strait . Shimazu was not sure where the allied fleet was . It might have been continuing the blockade of Konishi ' s " wajō " , on its way to attack an abandoned " wajō " further east or blocking their way on the western end of Noryang Strait . Admiral Yi , meanwhile , knew exactly where Shimazu was after receiving reports from scouts and local fishermen . 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 ( most likely transports converted for battle use ) , and two " panokseon " provided by Admiral Yi . In terms of manpower , the allied fleet had 8 , 000 sailors and marines under Admiral Yi , 5 , 000 Ming men of the Guangdong squadron and 2 , 600 Ming marines who fought aboard Korean ships , a total of almost 16 , 000 sailors and fighting men . The Ming fleet was divided into two squadrons , the larger of which was commanded by Chen Lin and the smaller by Deng Zilong . The allied fleet was well equipped with cannon , mortars , archers and arquebusiers . The Japanese had 500 ships , but a significant part of their fleet consisted of light transports . The Japanese ships were well armed with arquebuses and also had some captured Joseon cannons . The allied fleet was outnumbered , but made up for it with ships which , on average , had superior firepower and heavier , more sturdy construction . 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 . 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 . 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 . Song Hui - rip , the captain of Admiral Yi ' s flagship , was struck in the helmet by an arquebus ball and fell unconscious for a time . The vessels got so close that Joseon ships were able to throw burning wood onto the decks of Japanese ships . Heavy Japanese arquebus fire forced the Chinese sailors to keep their heads low , while the Japanese closed in . Several parties boarded Chen Lin ' s flagship and in the hand - to - hand fighting that ensued , Chen ' s son was injured parrying a sword thrust directed at his father . Seeing Chen ' s ship in trouble , the Ming left wing commander Deng Zilong and two hundred of his personal guard transferred to a Joseon " panokseon " ( one of two given to the Ming fleet by Admiral Yi ) and rowed to his aid . Several Ming ships , mistaking the " panokseon " for a Japanese ship , opened fire and disabled it . The stricken " panokseon " drifted towards the Japanese and they boarded and killed everyone on board , including Deng . 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 . It was said that Shimazu Yoshihiro ' s flagship was sunk and that Shimazu was clinging to a piece of wood in the icy water . Japanese ships came to his rescue , pulling him to safety . During the course of the battle , the ships fought from the west end of the strait all the way across to the east end , almost to the open water . The Japanese sustained heavy damage and began to retreat along the south coast of Namhae Island , towards Pusan . Admiral Yi ' s death . 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 . Only three people witnessed his death including Yi Hoe , his eldest son , Song Hui - rip , and Yi Wan , his nephew . Admiral Yi ' s son and nephew struggled to regain their composure and carried the Admiral ' s body into his cabin before others could notice . For the remainder of the battle , Yi Wan wore his uncle ' s armor and continued to beat the war drum to let the rest of the fleet know that the Admiral ' s flagship was still in the fight . Chen ' s ship was again in trouble and Yi ' s flagship rowed to his rescue . Yi ' s flagship fought off and sunk several Japanese ships and Chen Lin called for Yi to thank him for coming to his aid . However , Chen was met by Yi Wan who announced that his uncle was dead . It is said that Chen himself was so shocked that he fell to the ground three times , beating his chest and crying . News of Admiral Yi ' s death spread quickly throughout the allied fleet . Aftermath . Out of 500 Japanese ships under Shimazu ' s command , an estimated 150 were able to make it back to Pusan Harbor ( other Joseon archives record that Shimazu ' s remnants were fiercely pursued by the Yi Sun - sin ' s fleet : only 50 ships of Shimazu ' s Armada ever managed to escape ) . Konishi Yukinaga left his fortress on 16 December and his men were able to retreat by sailing through the southern end of Namhae Island , bypassing both the Noryang Strait and the battle . Although he knew the battle was raging , he made no effort to help Shimazu . All the Japanese fortresses were now abandoned and Ming and Joseon ground forces moved up to capture them , claim abandoned supplies and round up stragglers . Konishi , Shimazu , Katō Kiyomasa and other Japanese generals of the Left Army congregated in Pusan and withdrew to Japan on 21 December . 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 " . Chen Lin gave a eulogy while attending Admiral Yi ' s funeral . He then withdrew his forces to Ming China and received high military honors .