The Siege of Chinju occurred from 8 to 13 November 1592 during the Imjin War. A Japanese army commanded by Tadaoki Hosokawa laid siege to the Korean fortress of Chinju, using cannons to bombard the walls and building a siege tower from which they could fire down into the castle. On the third day of the siege they brought up bamboo scaling ladders and attempted to take the walls by storm, but the Korean defenders beat them off, civilians joining in the desperate struggle by hurling rocks and boiling water down on the Japanese. Meanwhile, Korean guerrillas had amassed and were closing in on the Japanese siege line from the rear. Several thousand guerrillas broke through to the castle, reinforcing the garrison. Threatened with attack from both sides, the Japanese admitted failure and prudently withdrew. Their retreat marked the beginning of the end of the first Japanese invasion of Korea.