Battle of Pyongyang (1894)
The Battle of Pyongyang was a battle between the empires of China and Japan during the First Sino-Japanese War . The Japanese troops won the battle on September 15, 1894. The Chinese troops withdrew north of the Yalu after the defeat . As a result of the victory, Japan took military control of Korea .
background
In 1894 Japan started the war against China with the aim of separating Korea from the Chinese sphere of influence and making it a Japanese client state . The Chinese side responded by sending troops to Korea. Pyongyang as the capital became the main base of the Chinese army on the peninsula. The Chinese armed forces in and around Pyongyang comprised around 13,000 men as of June. 8,000 had been brought to Pyongyang by sea and 5,000 by land. In anticipation of a Japanese attack, the Chinese used the two months from the outbreak of war to the battle to expand the fortifications in and around Pyongyang. In view of the structure of the Chinese army, which consisted of ethnically separate units under their own command, the coordination between the various units was poor.
The Imperial Japanese Army sent the 1st Army with around 16,000 soldiers under the command of Yamagata Aritomo to Korea. The troops were landed in Wonsan and Seoul and had to walk the way to the north of the country.
course
On September 15, 1894, Japanese troops began advancing into Pyongyang from three directions. The attack took place after a scheduled artillery preparation. Previously, Japanese troops had managed to cross the Taedong by boat without the resistance of the Chinese. As a result, the Japanese troops marched towards the city from three directions and were also able to attack the city from the north, where the Chinese fortifications were not so strong. After unsuccessful counter-attacks, the Chinese troops withdrew northwards from the city in order to form a new line of defense north of the Yalu.
consequences
The Japanese troops captured large parts of the Chinese military supplies, which were stored in Pyongyang. They captured hundreds of rifles, 2000 tents, 35 field guns and 1700 horses. The loss of the city of Korea meant that the Chinese side could no longer hold onto it. On September 17, the Japanese navy defeated their Chinese opponents in the sea battle on Yalu . The two battles made the Chinese position on the Korean peninsula intolerable and decided the First Sino-Japanese War in Japan's favor. The defeats meant a loss of prestige for statesman Li Hongzhang and fueled the country's political instability.
In the eyes of Western observers, the clear victory of Japan over its traditional supremacy China was a change of epoch and made the successes of the Japanese modernization efforts in the course of the Meiji restoration internationally visible. The Japanese armed forces impressed western observers with their modernity and efficiency. The Japanese government supported this by allowing Western journalists to join their troops in Korea. Due to the defeat, unrealistic war propaganda and poor treatment of civilians and prisoners of war, the Chinese side clearly lost its international reputation.
Individual evidence
- ^ Edward J. Drea: Japan's Imperial Army - Its Rise and Fall 1853-1945. Lawrence, 2009, p. 79
- ↑ a b c d S.CM Paine: The Sino Japanese War of 1894 - 1895 - Perceptions, Power and Primacy. Cambridge, 2003, pp. 165-171
- ^ Edward J. Drea: Japan's Imperial Army - Its Rise and Fall 1853-1945. Lawrence, 2009, p. 83
- ↑ Dr. Guangqiu Xu: Sino-Japanese War. in Xiaobing Li (Ed.): China at War. To Encyclopedia. Oxford, 2012, p. 403
- ↑ SCM Paine: The Sino Japanese War of 1894 - 1895 - Perceptions, Power and Primacy. Cambridge, 2003, pp. 171-189