Battle of Hwangsanbeol

Gyebaek met Kim Yu-sin’s 50,000 Silla troops with 5,000 picked men, won four clashes and finally fell.

In 660 Su Dingfang crossed the sea with 130,000 Tang troops while Kim Yu-sin’s 50,000 Silla troops crossed the Tanhyeon pass toward Sabi. The exiled minister Heungsu urged the Baekje court to hold the Tang at the Baek River and Silla at Tanhyeon, but the ministers rejected his advice until it was too late.

Before leading out his 5,000 picked men, Gyebaek is said to have killed his own wife and children so they would not be enslaved. He set up three camps at Hwangsanbeol (Yeonsan, Nonsan) and won four clashes. When Silla’s morale flagged, the young hwarang Bangul and Gwanchang charged the enemy alone. Gwanchang was captured and sent back, charged again and was beheaded. Roused, the Silla army broke the Baekje line, and Gyebaek fell.

That same day the Tang army defeated Baekje forces at Gibeolpo. The allies surrounded Sabi, which fell on the 13th day of the seventh month.