In The Engagement, One
Chinese Man-Of-War Was Sunk, One Was Disabled, And 1,200 Soldiers Were
Destroyed On The "Kowshing," Which Was Torpedoed.
On July 29, the Japanese
general Oshima, at the head of a small force, made a night attack upon the
Chinese fortified camp at Song Hwang, and carried the place with a loss to
their opponents of 500 killed and wounded.
These preliminary encounters
were followed by a declaration of war on August 1, 1894. During the
ensuing six weeks, Japan poured her troops into the peninsula, while the
Chinese fleet, instead of harassing the enemy, remained in the harbors of
Port Arthur and Wei-hai-Wei. On September 15, the Japanese army in Corea
was strong enough to detach a corps of 14,000 men to attack the Chinese
position at Pingyang, a town on the northern banks of the Paidong River.
The passage of the river was difficult, and the Chinese might have
overwhelmed the Japanese when crossing it, but they took no measures to
this end, and the battle began at sunrise on the day just named. There
were five forts to be captured, and some of them were vigorously defended,
nor was it until night set in that the garrison finally determined upon
evacuating the place. In the battle itself and the retreat, over 2,000
Chinese were killed, to say nothing of the wounded and the prisoners. The
Japanese themselves lost 162 killed, 438 wounded and 33 missing, and there
seems to be no reason to doubt that, had all the Chinese officers been
capable of the valor displayed by the general Tso-pao-kuei, the Japanese
would have been repulsed. As it was, the battle proved decisive, for not a
Chinaman paused until he had reached the other side of the Yalu River,
which forms the northwest boundary of Corea.
On the very day of the fight at Pingyang, a number of Chinese war vessels,
under the command of Admiral Ting, were transporting troops to the mouth
of the Yalu, where the Chinese were assembling a second army. On its
return from this task, it was encountered, September 17, off tha island of
Haiyang, by a Japanese squadron under Admiral Ito. Ostensibly, the two
fleets were evenly matched. They each numbered ten fighting vessels, and,
if two of the Chinese ships possessed a more powerful armament, the
Japanese were superior in steam power. It was to quickness in maneuvering
that the Japanese admiral trusted for victory, and his first attack
consisted mainly in circling around the Chinese squadron. He was careful,
also, to reserve his fire until only two miles separated him from his
adversaries. After a duel with the Japanese "Matsushima," the Chinese
flagship "Tingyuen" was severely damaged, and only saved from sinking by
the intervention of her sister ship, the "Chenyuen." These two ironclads,
together with the torpedo boats, succeeded in making their escape, but
five of the Chinese vessels were sunk or destroyed. In men, the Chinese
lost 700 killed or drowned and 300 wounded, while the Japanese lost 115
killed and 150 wounded. The result of this victory was that the Chinese
never afterward attempted to dispute the control of the sea, and their
water communication with the Yalu was effectually cut off.
After the battle of Pingyang, the Japanese army halted, and it was not
until after they received re-enforcements under Marshal Yamagata that they
resumed their forward movement. On October 10 their advance guard reached
the Yalu, a river broad and difficult of passage, behind which was
stationed a considerable Chinese army, which, however, after a nominal
resistance, soon retreated. In the abandoned positions on the northern
bank of the Yalu, the Japanese captured a vast quantity of material of
war, including 74 cannons, over 4,000 rifles, and more than 4,000,000
rounds of ammunition. It was supposed that the retreating Chinese force
would make a stand at Feng Hwang, but, on reaching that town, October 30,
the Japanese found it evacuated, and were informed that the Chinese
soldiers had dispersed.
While Marshal Yamagata was beginning the invasion of China from the
direction of Corea, another Japanese army, under Marshal Oyama, had landed
on the Liau-Tung, or Regent's Sword Peninsula, with the aim of capturing
the Chinese naval station of Port Arthur. Even in Chinese hands, this was
a redoubtable stronghold. It had 300 guns in position, and the garrison
numbered some 10,000 men, while the attacking force did not exceed 13,000,
although we should bear in mind that it was aided by the Japanese fleet.
After landing at the mouth of the Huhua-Yuan River, about 100 miles north
of Port Arthur, the Japanese advanced south, and took the fortified city
of Chinchow, without incurring any loss. The next day they reached
Talienwan, where the Chinese had five heavily armed batteries, and a
considerable garrison, which, however, on the approach of the enemy,
abandoned the post without firing a shot. In the forts at this point were
found over 120 cannons, two and a half million rounds of ammunition for
the artillery and nearly 34,000,000 rifle cartridges. On November 20,
1894, the Japanese army was drawn up in front of Port Arthur, and the
fleet prepared to co-operate in the action. The attack began in the
morning of November 22, and, although, in one quarter, the Chinese offered
sturdy resistance, yet, by the end of the day, with the loss of no more
than 18 men killed and 250 wounded, the Japanese were in possession of the
strongest position in China, a naval fortress and arsenal on which
$30,000,000 had been spent.
Throughout December the force under Marshal Yamagata pushed forward into
Manchuria, but met there with more vigorous opposition than it had
hitherto encountered. In the fight at Kangwasai, the Japanese lost 400,
and, in the capture of the town of Kaiting, 300 killed and wounded. About
the middle of January, 1895, the Japanese began operations against Wei-
hai-Wei, the naval stronghold on the northern coast of Shangtung, in which
the remnant of China's fleet had taken refuge.
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