Siege of Kusong
Encyclopedia
The Siege of Kusong which occurred in 1231 was a decisive Goryeo
victory against the Mongol Empire
. 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 Kusong.
To take Kusong, Sartaq used a full array of siege weapons to bring down the city's defenses. Lines of catapults launched both boulders and molten metal at the cities 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.
According to an old Mongol general who, toward the end of the siege said:
Despite the fact the Goryeo army was heavily outnumbered and after over thirty days of brutal siege warfare, Goryeo soldiers still refused to surrender and with mounting Mongol casualties, the Mongol army could not take the city and had to withdraw.
Goryeo
The Goryeo Dynasty or Koryŏ was a Korean dynasty established in 918 by Emperor Taejo. Korea gets its name from this kingdom which came to be pronounced Korea. It united the Later Three Kingdoms in 936 and ruled most of the Korean peninsula until it was removed by the Joseon dynasty in 1392...
victory against the Mongol Empire
Mongol Empire
The Mongol Empire , initially named as Greater Mongol State was a great empire during the 13th and 14th centuries...
. 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 Kusong.
To take Kusong, Sartaq used a full array of siege weapons to bring down the city's defenses. Lines of catapults launched both boulders and molten metal at the cities 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.
According to an old Mongol general who, toward the end of the siege said:
- "...I have never seen [a city] undergo an attack like this which did not, in the end, submit."
Despite the fact the Goryeo army was heavily outnumbered and after over thirty days of brutal siege warfare, Goryeo soldiers still refused to surrender and with mounting Mongol casualties, the Mongol army could not take the city and had to withdraw.