C H I N E S E B AT T L E S H I P J A PA N E S E C R U I S E R Yalu River 1894 BENJAMIN LAI CHINESE BATTLESHIP JAPANESE CRUISER Yalu River 1894 BENJAMIN LAI CONTENTS Introduction 4 Chronology 8 Design and Development 10 The Strategic Situation 23 Technical Specifications 28 The Combatants 42 Combat 50 Statistics and Analysis 66 Aftermath 75 Further Reading 79 Index 80 INTRODUCTION In the early 1880s much of Asia, including Korea, was caught up in a ferment of political and economic reforms. It was a time when reformists fought conservatives, sometimes with bloody consequences. In December 1884, an attempted coup d’état launched by Korean reformers with Japanese support was put down by Korean conservatives aided by the Chinese Army. Known to historians as the Gapsin Coup, the uprising marked the first confrontation between China and Japan. In an effort to defuse rising tensions, both China and Japan agreed to inform the other first should A view of the Chinese armoured turret ship HICMS Dingyuan. This the situation require military intervention in Korea. This agreement formed part of vessel was primarily of wooden the Tianjin Convention, signed by both nations on 18 April 1885, which brought to construction incorporating an end the first phase of modern Sino-Japanese interaction in Korea. external iron and hardened wood This first clash between China and Japan took shape when Japan, having undergone cladding to increase protection ‘modernization’ for close to a decade under the guidance of Emperor Meiji (r. 1867– against penetration by cannon shells. Only a decade separated 1912), tried to enforce this ‘modernity’ on Korea through Western-style treaties and the building of Dingyuan and the trading terms. These advances were all rejected until Japan used strong-arm tactics to Japanese protected cruiser HIJMS Matsushima, but the speed with which technology advanced in the late 19th century meant that by the time the two navies met at the battle of the Yalu River on 17 September 1894, the Chinese ironclads were wholly outclassed by Japan’s newer protected cruisers in terms of speed and firepower. (NH 1926 courtesy of the Naval History & 4 Heritage Command) HIJMS Matsushima, photographed in French Mediterranean waters soon after completion. This photograph was received by the US Navy’s Office of Naval Intelligence in Washington, DC, on 7 December 1892. The protected cruiser was so-called because it had an inner armoured shell that offered protection for vital spaces such as propulsion machinery and magazines, from fragments caused by exploding shells penetrating the outer shell of the ship. Protected cruisers were an alternative to armoured cruisers, force the Koreans into an unequal treaty, the Treaty of Ganghwa, signed on 26 February which also had a belt of armour 1876. Japan initiated an ‘incident’ by deploying her fledgling navy, the gunboat Un’yo along part of the outer shell of the to Korea, just as Commodore Matthew C. Perry’s fleet of Black Ships (a Japanese term ship, usually along the waterline for Western vessels arriving at its ports) had used gunboat diplomacy to ‘open up’ area and covering part of the Japan and its ports back in 1853–54, to facilitate American trade with Japan. The freeboard area. It was acknowledged that armouring the Treaty of Ganghwa was a formal challenge to the centuries-old China–Korea entire vessel would increase the relationship. Korea’s relationship with China was best described as Sadae (Serving the total weight of the ship and hence Great, submission to the stronger), while her relationship with Japan was between reduce its speed and agility. equal neighbours, known in Korean as kyorin (befriending the neighbouring country). (NH 88893 courtesy of the Naval Japan’s desire to wrestle Korea out of China’s embrace was in part caused by a rapidly History & Heritage Command) expanding Tsarist Russia whose ambitions in the Far East were energized by the recently inaugurated Trans-Siberian Railway. Japan realized that Manchu China was no longer the geopolitical giant it once was and there was a real danger of losing Korea to Russia; if that happened, Japan’s security would be in real danger. Even so, before the succession of Emperor Meiji, Japan was still very much a feudalistic society, ruled by shōguns and largely modelled after the ancient Chinese system of government. For centuries, the Japanese had considered the Chinese civilization as the apex of Asian greatness, but when the British routed the Chinese in the First Opium War (1839–42), Japan lost confidence in the concept of Asian superiority. Ever since European armed merchantmen appeared off the Japanese coast in the first decade of the 19th century, Japan had been wary of foreigners. But when Commodore Perry came ashore in Japan on 14 July 1853, the Japanese realized that they could not maintain a closed society forever and had to submit to Perry’s demand despite its harsh terms. However, Japan’s decision to ‘open up’ was forced upon the country by the barrel of the gun and was widely resented. This process was seen as a matter of national survival, for if Japan could not effectively challenge this Western threat, it would perish as an independent nation. The Japanese solution was to embark upon ‘Westernization’ at breakneck speed, shedding thousands of years of Chinese Confucius traditions in just a decade. This wholesale transformation provoked criticism, but it was aided by the strength of the emperor and the united and highly centralized nature of Japan’s government. Having been beaten twice by the British and then humiliated by the French and Russians, the Chinese faced the same problem as the Japanese. The intellectuals of 5 A contemporary depiction of the sinking of the steamer SS Kowshing at the battle of Pungdo, the first naval battle of the First Sino-Japanese War, on 25 July 1894. (Universal History Archive/UIG via Getty Images) both nations agreed on the urgent necessity for modernization, but for the Chinese, this process could not entail a loss of cultural identity. While the Japanese favoured the wholesale adoption of Western methods, the Chinese preferred a more selective approach, opting for only those elements they saw as being useful. The result was that this transformation was at best patchy; furthermore, Manchu China was at this stage weak. Throughout much of the second half of the 19th century, China was plagued by infighting and a series of very damaging rebellions, whereas Japan was largely united and relatively free from foreign interventions and destructive internal discord. Critically, at this vital moment, China lacked a strong leader like Emperor Meiji; instead, China was led by an uneducated and manipulative former court concubine, Cixi (1835–1908), who rose to become the Empress Dowager, effectively exercising total control over China for 47 years behind two successive ineffective boy emperors, Tongzhi (r. 1861–75) and Guangxu (r. 1875–1908). The casus belli of the First Sino-Japanese War was an armed rebellion in Korea, the Donghak Peasant Revolution (January 1894–March 1895). Again, the Koreans requested Chinese intervention to put down the revolt; this time, however, the 1885 Tianjin Convention gave the Japanese an excuse to send troops as well. Although the Tianjin Convention specified that both armies had to vacate Korea once the rebellion was put down, the Japanese opted to stay, working with the pro-Japanese faction within the Korean government to resist the pro-Chinese faction. Sensing trouble, OPPOSITE China sent reinforcements to support the pro-Chinese factions in Korea, but this force In this Japanese illustration, the was ambushed at sea by the Japanese in an incident known as the battle of Pungdo Chinese cruiser Yangwei is shown being destroyed by an explosion (25 July 1894); during the clash, SS Kowshing, a British steamer hired to transport during the battle of the Yalu River. Chinese troops to Korea, was sunk. The loss of Kowshing prompted the Chinese to In fact, Yangwei was accidentally send replacement troops, now protected by the mighty Beiyang Fleet. However, rammed by HICMS Jiyuan while loitering in the area was the Japanese Combined Fleet, sent to prevent the Chinese trying to escape from the battle; force from reaching Korea and thus force Korea into Japan’s sphere of influence. A prior to being rammed, Yangwei had suffered severe damage. clash of two of the world’s biggest navies was imminent, and the result was a decisive 6 (Photo12/UIG via Getty Images) naval engagement, to be recorded in history as the battle of the Yalu River. 7 CHRONOLOGY 1869 open fire in what becomes known as July The Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) is the Ganghwa Island incident. formally established. 1876 1871 26 February The Treaty of Ganghwa opens up August China’s Northern Naval Squadron Korea to Japanese trade and ends (NNS) is founded. Korea’s status as a Qing tributary state. 1875 1881 20 September In a bid to open up Korea to Japanese and foreign trade, Japanese March The Chinese armoured turret ship forces land on Gangwha Island, HICMS Dingyuan is laid down at provoking the Korean garrison to Stettin, Germany. 1884 4 December The abortive Gapsin Coup begins in Korea, intensifying Chinese and Japanese involvement in that country. 1885 18 April The Tianjin Convention commits China and Japan to withdraw their forces from Korea, which becomes a co-protectorate. 1886 13–15 August During the Nagasaki Incident, Chinese sailors of the Beiyang Fleet clash with Nagasaki police, contributing to anti-Chinese feeling in Japan. The Japanese government initiates the building of a number of Li Hong-zhang, the viceroy of Zhili province, was a key figure in late-19th- modern warships to counter the century China. He masterminded not only the formation of the Beiyang Chinese Navy. Fleet, but also the Huai Army, one of the best-prepared armies in China. In addition, he was also in charge of the Beiyang Army, with the two 1888 together fielding roughly three-fifths of all China’s troops. During the February The Japanese protected cruiser course of the war with France in 1884–85, Li did not comply with the HIJMS Matsushima is laid down at appeals of the viceroys of the southern provinces for help, and they responded in kind during the war with Japan, meaning that only forces La Seyne-sur-Mer, France. 8 located in the north of China got involved in the conflict. (Author) 17 December The Beiyang Fleet is established. The First Sino-Japanese War was the first conflict in which modern propaganda played a key role on the Chinese home front. This Chinese article pronounces ‘Great Chinese victory by General Ding in recovering Korea’. When the truth came out that in fact it was the Chinese who were routed, it was much harder for the Chinese public to accept, paving the way for a number of reforms and – when these measures failed – the Xinhai Revolution of 1911. (Hulton Archive/Getty Images) 1894 17 September The Japanese Combined Fleet fights 1 June The Korean government sends a China’s Beiyang Fleet at the battle of the Yalu River. formal request for Chinese troops to 24 October Japanese forces invade the Chinese suppress the Donghak Peasant mainland. Revolution. 22–23 June Additional Japanese troops land in 21 November Japanese land forces defeat the Chinese and capture Lüshunkou. Korea, rapidly moving to occupy Seoul and Incheon. 1895 25 July During the naval battle of Pungdo, 9 February Dingyuan is scuttled. IJN forces sink the British transport 12 February Japanese forces capture Weihaiwei. ship SS Kowshing, prompting China 23 March Japanese forces capture the Penghu to send supplementary troops to Islands and Taiwan. Korea escorted by the Beiyang Fleet. 17 April Chinese and Japanese 29 July A shock defeat of Chinese forces by a representatives sign the Treaty of much smaller Japanese force in the Shimonoseki, ending the First Sino- battle of Seonghwan marks the Japanese War. collapse of Chinese morale in Korea. 1908 31 July China formally declares war, followed on 1 August by Japan. 30 April While anchored in the Penghu 15 September Japanese land forces decisively defeat Islands, Matsushima sinks following a the Chinese at the battle of magazine explosion. Pyongyang. 9 DESIGN AND DE VELOPMENT NAVAL TECHNOLOGY AND TACTICS 1860–94 The 1880s was a time of great change in nautical design as warships moved from sail to steam propulsion, from muzzle-loading to breech-loading guns, and from cannon balls to explosive shells. In the vanguard of these changes were Britain, France, Germany and Italy, experimenting with various arrangements of guns and armour. There were numerous debates as to what constituted the ideal layout. While some argued that a warship should have centreline turrets, others favoured a central casemate with large guns on turntables at each corner; similarly, some advocated placing the guns in barbettes (open-topped breastworks) while others wished to hide them behind armoured shields. In the late 19th century, Britain’s long-standing rival France simply did not have the financial resources or the political means to rival the Pax Britannica. Britain was at the apogee of imperial greatness, with the Royal Navy ruling the world’s oceans, the guardian and protector of the mightiest empire in the modern era. In 1856, the French seaman Vice-Admiral Louis Édouard Bouët-Willaumez realized the future of naval warfare was in steam. He prophesied a new concept in naval warfare whereby dash and boldness brought about by a daring individual would win the day. This concept was 10 to be developed further and emerge into what was to become known as the Jeune École