Punch Magazine 29 Sep 1894 showing Japan bullying China
The First Sino-Japanese War was fought between the Qing and Meiji Japan primarily over control of Korea. Korea had long been a vassal state of China, but its strategic location and coal resources attracted Japan’s attention.
The war marked the emergence of Japan as a major world power and was a clear indication of the failure of the Qing dynasty's attempts to modernize its military and fend off threats to its sovereignty, especially compared with Japan's successful Meiji restoration. For the first time, regional dominance in East Asia shifted from China to Japan; the prestige of the Qing Dynasty, along with the classical tradition in China, suffered a fatal blow. The humiliating loss of Korea as a vassal state sparked an unprecedented public outcry. Within China, the defeat was a catalyst for a series of revolutions and political changes led by Sun Yat-Sen and Kang Youwei that would culminate in the 1911 Revolution.
After two centuries of seclusion under the Edo shoguns, Japan was forced to open to the West by US intervention in 1854. The years following the Meiji Restoration of 1868 and the fall of the Shogunate saw Japan transform itself from a feudal society to a modern industrial state. The Japanese sent delegations and students around the world in order to assimilate western arts and sciences; this was done to enable Japan to survive among the predatory Western powers. Korea continued to try to exclude foreigners, refusing embassies from foreign countries and firing on ships near Korea. At the start of the war, Japan had been reforming for three decades, while Korea under the Daewongun had suppressed attempts at reform, leaving it hopelessly backward.
Conflict over Korea
In order to protect its own interests and security, Japan wanted to block another power from annexing Korea, or at least ensure Korea's effective independence by developing its resources and reforming its administration. As Prussian advisor Major Klemens Meckel put it to the Japanese army, geographically Korea was "a dagger pointed at the heart of Japan." Moreover, Japan craved access to Korea’s coal and iron ore deposits and agricultural hinterland.
On February 27, 1876, after confrontations involving Korean isolationists and Japanese, Japan imposed the Japan–Korea Treaty of 1876, forcing Korea to open itself to Japanese trade. Similar treaties were signed between Korea and other nations.
Korea had traditionally been a tributary state and continued to be so under the influence of China's Qing Dynasty, which exerted large influence over the conservative Korean officials gathered around the royal family of the Joseon Dynasty. Opinion in Korea itself was split; conservatives wanted to retain the traditional subservient relationship with China, while reformists wanted to establish closer ties with Japan and western nations. After the two Opium Wars and the Sino–French War, China was unable to resist political intervention and territorial encroachment by western powers. Japan sought to prevent any major power from dominating Korea, fearing that would pose a threat to Japan, and logically concluded that Japanese should replace Chinese influence in Korea. China’s humiliations by Britain and France opened the door for Japan.
Kapsin Incident
In December 1884 a group of pro-Japanese reformers, briefly overthrew the pro-Chinese conservative Korean government in a bloody three-day coup d'état. However, the pro-Chinese faction, with assistance from Chinese troops under General Yuan Shikai, succeeded in regaining control with an equally bloody counter-coup, which led to Chinese domination of Korea from 1885 to 1894.These coups resulted not only in the deaths of a number of reformers, but also in the burning of the Japanese legation and the deaths of several legation guards and citizens in the process. This incident was eventually settled by the Sino–Japanese Convention of Tientsin of 1885 in which the two sides agreed to pull their expeditionary forces out of Korea simultaneously; not send military instructors to train the Korean military; and notify the other side beforehand should one side decide to send troops to Korea, thus defusing tensions. Chinese and Japanese troops left, and diplomatic relations were restored between Japan and Korea.
Tonghak Rebellion
Tensions were high by June, 1894, but war was not yet inevitable. A rebellion in Korea led the Korean king to request Chinese troops on June 4 to aid in suppressing the Tonghak Rebellion. The Chinese government sent General Yuan Shikai as its plenipotentiary at the head of 2,800 troops. The Chinese government did not inform the Japanese government of its decision to send troops to the Korean peninsula, and in doing so failed to comply with the Convention of Tientsin. Japan then sent its own 8,000-man expeditionary force to Korea. Japan’s request that China and Japan co-operate to reform the Korean government was refused. Korea’s request that Japan withdraw its troops was also refused. The Japanese force of 8,000 strong subsequently seized the king, occupied the Royal Palace in Seoul by early June 1894, and replaced the existing government with members from the pro-Japanese faction. A new government was formed July 25.
Imperial Japanese Navy
The Imperial Japanese Navy was modeled after the British Royal Navy, which at the time was the foremost naval power in the world. British advisors were sent to Japan to train, advise and educate the naval establishment; while students were in turn sent to the United Kingdom to study and observe the Royal Navy. Through drilling and tuition by Royal Navy instructors, Japan possessed a navy expertly skilled in the arts of gunnery and seamanship.
Japan did not yet have the resources to acquire battleships and so planned to employ the Jeune École doctrine which favoured small, fast warships, especially cruisers and torpedo boats, with guns powerful enough to destroy larger craft.
Imperial Japanese Army
The Meiji era government at first modeled the army on the French Army. Nationwide conscription was enforced in 1873 and a western-style conscript army was established; military schools and arsenals were also built. In 1886 Japan turned toward the Prussian model as the basis for its army. Its doctrines, military system and organisation were studied in detail and adopted. By the 1890s Japan had at its disposal a modern, professionally trained western-style army which was relatively well equipped and supplied. Its officers had studied in Europe and were well educated in the latest tactics and strategy. By the start of the war, the Imperial Japanese Army could field a total force of 120,000 men in two armies and five divisions.
Beiyang Army and Fleet
Qing Dynasty China did not have a national army. Following the Taiping Rebellion the army had been segregated into separate Manchu, Mongol, Hui, and Han Chinese armies, which were further divided into largely independent regional commands. During the war, most of the fighting was done by the Beiyang Army and Beiyang Fleet, since they were closest to Korea; pleas for help from other Chinese armies and navies were completely ignored due to regional rivalry.
Although the Beiyang Army and Beiyang Fleet were the best equipped in the new modern Chinese military, corruption was a serious problem. Military leaders and officials systematically embezzled funds, even during the war. As a result, the Beiyang Fleet did not purchase any battleships after its establishment in 1888. The purchase of ammunition stopped in 1891, with the funding being diverted to build the Summer Palace in Beijing. Logistics were also a huge problem, as construction of railroads in Manchuria had been discouraged by the conservative Court. The morale of the Chinese armies was generally very low due to lack of pay and prestige, use of opium, and poor leadership which contributed to some rather ignominious withdrawals, such as the abandonment of the very well-fortified and defensible Weihaiwei.
The Beiyang Fleet was considered the dominant navy in East Asia before the first Sino-Japanese War. However, ships were not maintained properly and indiscipline was common. Sentries spent their time gambling, watertight doors were left open, rubbish was dumped in gun barrels and gunpowder for explosive shells was sold and replaced with cocoa. At the Yalu River, a battleship had one of its guns pawned by its Captain, Admiral Ting.
The prevailing view in the West was that the modernized Chinese armies and navies would crush the Japanese. A British advisor to the Chinese military, William Lang, when interviewed by Reuters praised the state of the Chinese armed forces and its training, modern ships, guns, and equipment. He stated that "in the end, there is no doubt that Japan must be utterly crushed."
Opening moves
By July 1894 Chinese forces in Korea were numbered 3000–3500. They could only be supplied by sea through the Bay of Asan. The Japanese objective was first to blockade Asan (near Seoul) and then encircle them with their land forces.
Major-General Ōshima Yoshimasa led mixed Japanese brigades numbering about 4,000 on a rapid forced march from Seoul south toward Asan Bay to face 3,500 Chinese troops garrisoned at Seonghwan Station east of Asan and Kongju.
On 28 July 1894, the two forces met just outside Asan in an engagement that lasted till the next morning. The Chinese gradually lost ground to the superior Japanese numbers, and finally broke and fled towards Pyongyang. Chinese casualties amounted to 500 killed and wounded, compared to 82 Japanese casualties. The defeat of the Chinese at Asan precluded the possibility of a Chinese encirclement of the Korean capital, Seoul.
Following the Battle of Asan, formal declarations of war were issued by the Emperors of China and Japan. War between China and Japan was officially declared on 1 August 1894.
The remaining Chinese forces in Korea retreated to the northern city of Pyongyang. The Qing government sent reinforcements and the 13,000–15,000 defenders made extensive repairs and preparations to the city, hoping to check the Japanese advance.
The Imperial Japanese Army converged on Pyongyang from several directions on 15 September 1894. Under the cover of darkness, the Japanese encircled and assaulted the city, eventually defeating the Chinese defenders. Taking advantage of heavy rainfall and using the cover of darkness, the remaining troops marched out of Pyongyang and headed northeast toward the coast and the city of Uiju. Casualties were 2,000 killed and around 4,000 wounded for the Chinese, while the Japanese lost 102 men killed, 433 wounded and 33 missing. The entire Japanese army entered the city of Pyongyang on the early morning of 16 September 1894.
On September 17, 1894, Japanese warships encountered the larger Chinese Beiyang Fleet off the mouth of the Yalu River. It was one of the first modern navy battles between ironclad ships armed with rapid fire guns and torpedoes. However, the Japanese ships were heavier and had a larger number of rapid fire guns than the Chinese. In addition, the Japanese fleet had more experience, since Japan began its modernization years before China. The Chinese fleet suffered from a lack of discipline and corruption (some Chinese shells were found to contain sawdust and water). The Imperial Japanese Navy destroyed eight out of the ten Chinese warships, assuring Japan's command of the Yellow Sea. This was the largest naval engagement of the war and was a major propaganda victory for Japan. The Chinese fleet retired to Port Arthur for urgent repairs, but the port was soon threatened by the Japanese advance.
Invasion of Manchuria
With the defeat at Pyongyang, the Chinese abandoned northern Korea and instead took up defensive positions in fortifications along the Chinese side of the Yalu River near Jiuliancheng. On the night of 24 October 1894, the Japanese successfully crossed the Yalu River, undetected, by erecting a pontoon bridge. The following afternoon, they assaulted the outpost of Hushan, east of Jiuliancheng. The defenders deserted their positions and by the next day they were in full retreat from Jiuliancheng. With the capture of Jiuliancheng, General Yamagata's 1st Army Corps occupied the nearby city of Dandong, while to the north, elements of the retreating Beiyang Army set fire to the city of Fengcheng. The Japanese had established a firm foothold on Chinese territory with only four killed and 140 wounded. The Japanese then advanced toward Mukden (Shenyang) and pursued fleeing Chinese forces west toward the Liaodong Peninsula. The Japanese 2nd Army Corps landed on the south coast of the Liaodong Peninsula and laid siege to the strategic port of Lushunkou.
Fall of Port Arthur
Meanwhile, Japan’s navy landed troops on the strategic Liaodong Peninsula. By 21 November 1894, the Japanese had taken the city of Port Arthur. The Japanese army massacred thousands of the city's civilian Chinese inhabitants in an event that came to be called the Port Arthur Massacre.
Fall of Weihaiwei
The Chinese fleet subsequently retreated behind the Weihaiwei fortifications. However, they were then surprised by Japanese ground forces, who outflanked the harbor's defenses. After a 23-day siege, the fortress of Weihaiwei fell on 12 February, 1895. Japanese troops pressed further into southern Manchuria and northern China. By March 1895 the Japanese had fortified posts that commanded the sea approaches to Beijing.
Occupation of the Pescadore Islands
On 23 March 1895, Japanese forces attacked the Pescadore Islands, off the west coast of Taiwan. In a brief and almost bloodless campaign the Japanese defeated the islands' Qing garrison. This operation effectively prevented Chinese forces in Taiwan from being reinforced, and allowed the Japanese to press their demand for the cession of Taiwan in the negotiations leading to the conclusion of the Treaty of Shimonoseki in April 1895.
End of the war
The Treaty of Shimonoseki was signed on 17 April 1895. China recognized the total independence of Korea and ceded the Liaodong Peninsula, Taiwan and the Penghu Islands to Japan "in perpetuity." The disputed islands known as "Senkaku/Diaoyu" islands were not named by this treaty, but Japan annexed these uninhabited islands to Okinawa prefecture in 1895. Japan asserts this move was taken independently of the treaty ending the war, and China asserts that they were implied as part of the cession of Taiwan.
In addition to reparations, China signed a commercial treaty permitting Japanese ships to operate on the Yangtze River, to operate manufacturing factories in treaty ports and to open four more ports to foreign trade. The Triple Intervention, however, forced Japan to give up the Liaodong Peninsula in exchange for 450 million yen.
Japanese invasion of Taiwan
Several Qing officials in Taiwan resolved to resist the cession of Taiwan to Japan under the Treaty of Shimonoseki, and on 23 May declared the island to be an independent Republic of Formosa. On 29 May Japanese forces landed in northern Taiwan, and in a five-month campaign defeated the Republican forces and occupied the island's main towns.
The war revealed the ineffectiveness of China’s government and policies, and the corruption of the Qing administration. Although China had already been defeated by European powers in the 19th century, a defeat at the hands of fellow Asians and a former tributary state was a bitter psychological blow. Anti-foreign sentiment and agitation would culminate in the Boxer Rebellion five years later.
The Triple Intervention of 1895
Although having achieved dominance in Korea, Japan was forced to relinquish the Liaodong Peninsula in exchange for an increased financial indemnity. The European powers, while having no objection to the other clauses of the treaty, did not want Japan to take Port Arthur, for they had their own ambitions in that part of the world. Russia persuaded Germany and France to join her in applying diplomatic pressure on the Japanese, resulting in the Triple Intervention of 1895.
Russian Ascendancy
Ironically, it was Russia that reaped the greatest benefits from the war. Korea proclaimed itself the Korean Empire, announcing its independence from China. In 1895, the king of Korea fled to the Russian legation and reigned from there for two years. The concession to build a Seoul-Inchon railway granted to Japan in 1894 was revoked and granted to Russia. Russian guards guarded the king in his palace even after he left the Russian legation.
In 1898, Russia signed a 25-year lease on the Liaodong Peninsula and proceeded to set up a naval station at Port Arthur. Although this infuriated the Japanese, they were more concerned with Russian encroachment toward Korea than in Manchuria. Other powers, such as France, Germany and Great Britain, took advantage of the situation in China and gained port and trade concessions at the expense of the decaying Qing Empire. Tsingtao and Kiaochow were acquired by Germany, Kwang-Chou-Wan by France and Weihaiwei by Great Britain.
Tensions between Russia and Japan increased in the years after the First Sino–Japanese war. During the Boxer Rebellion an eight-member international force was sent to suppress the uprising; Russia sent troops into Manchuria as part of this force. After the suppression of the Boxers the Russian government agreed to vacate the area. However, by 1903 it had actually increased the size of its forces in Manchuria. Negotiations between the two nations to establish mutual recognition of respective spheres of influence (Russia over Manchuria and Japan over Korea) were repeatedly and intentionally stalled by the Russians. They felt that they were strong and confident enough not to accept any compromise and believed Japan would not dare go to war against a European power. Russia also had intentions to use Manchuria as a springboard for further expansion of its interests in the Far East. In 1903, Russian soldiers began construction of a fort at Yongnampo but stopped after Japanese protests.
In 1902 Japan formed an alliance with Britain, the terms of which stated that if Japan went to war in the Far East and a third power entered the fight against Japan, then Britain would come to the aid of the Japanese. This was a check to prevent either Germany or France from intervening militarily in any future war with Russia. Japan sought to prevent a repetition of the Triple Intervention that deprived her of Port Arthur. The British reasons for joining the alliance with Japan were to check the spread of Russian expansion into the Pacific area, to strengthen Britain’s hand, and to gain a powerful naval ally in the Pacific.
Increasing tensions between Japan and Russia as a result of Russia's unwillingness to enter into a compromise and the prospect of Korea falling under Russia's domination and undermining Japan's interests compelled Japan to take action. This led to the Russo–Japanese War of 1904–05.