Battle of Lüshunkou
Part of the First Sino-Japanese War
ukiyoe by Adachi Ginko dated November 1894
Date 21 November 1894 Location Lüshunkou, Manchuria Result Japanese victory
Combatants
Japan	China
Commanders
Lieutenant General Yamaji Motoharu	General Li Hongzhang
Strength
15,000	13,000
Casualties
29 (killed), 233 (wounded)	4,500 (killed)

The Battle of Lüshunkou was a major land battle of the First Sino-Japanese War. It took place on 21 November 1894 in Lüshunkou, Manchuria (present day Liaoning Province, China) between the forces of Meiji Japan and Qing China. It is sometimes referred to archaically in western sources as the Battle of Port Arthur. Combatants Qing Empire (China) Empire of Japan Commanders Li Hongzhang Yamagata Aritomo Strength 630,000 men Beiyang Army, Beiyang Fleet 240,000 men Imperial Japanese Army, Imperial Japanese Navy Casualties 35,000 dead or wounded 13,823 dead, 3,973 wounded The First Sino–Japanese War (Traditional Chinese: ; pinyin: Zh... Ukiyo-e (浮世絵, a Japanese term meaning pictures of the floating world) is a style of painting, but is more commonly associated with a type of woodcut printmaking that became popular in Japan in the 18th and 19th centuries. ... November 21 is the 325th day of the year (326th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1894 (MDCCCXCIV) was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... Location within China Lüshun city or Lüshunkou or (literally) Lüshun Port (Simplified Chinese: 旅顺口; Traditional Chinese: 旅順口; Pinyin: , formerly in historic references both Port Arthur and Ryojun, is a town in the southernmost administrative district of Dalian of the Peoples Republic of China. ... Manchuria (Manchu: Manju; Traditional Chinese: 滿洲; Simplified Chinese: 满洲; pinyin: MÇŽnzhōu, Russian: ) is a vast territorial region in northeast Asia. ... Li Hongzhang (February 15, 1823 – November 7, 1901) was a Chinese general who ended several major rebellions, and a leading statesman of the late Qing Empire. ... Combatants Qing Empire (China) Empire of Japan Commanders Li Hongzhang Yamagata Aritomo Strength 630,000 men Beiyang Army, Beiyang Fleet 240,000 men Imperial Japanese Army, Imperial Japanese Navy Casualties 35,000 dead or wounded 13,823 dead, 3,973 wounded The First Sino–Japanese War (Traditional Chinese: ; pinyin: Zh... Combatants Japan China Commanders Field Marshal Yamagata Aritomo General Li Hongzhang Strength 10,000 13,000 – 15,000 Casualties 102 (killed), 433 (wounded), 33 (missing) 2,000 (killed); 4,000 (wounded) The Battle of Pyongyang (Japanese: 平壌作戦) was the second major land battle of the First Sino-Japanese War. ... The Battle of the Yalu River, also called simply The Battle of Yalu took place on September 17, 1894. ... Combatants Japan China Commanders Field Marshal Yamagata Aritomo General Sung Cheng Strength 10,000 15,000 Casualties 4 (killed), 140 (wounded) The Battle of Jiulingchieng (Japanese: 鴨緑江作戦) was a minor land battle of the First Sino-Japanese War between the forces of of Meiji Japan and Qing China. ... Combatants Qing Empire (China) Empire of Japan Commanders Li Hongzhang Yamagata Aritomo Strength 630,000 men Beiyang Army, Beiyang Fleet 240,000 men Imperial Japanese Army, Imperial Japanese Navy Casualties 35,000 dead or wounded 13,823 dead, 3,973 wounded The First Sino–Japanese War (Traditional Chinese: ; pinyin: Zh... November 21 is the 325th day of the year (326th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1894 (MDCCCXCIV) was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... Location within China Lüshun city or Lüshunkou or (literally) Lüshun Port (Simplified Chinese: 旅顺口; Traditional Chinese: 旅順口; Pinyin: , formerly in historic references both Port Arthur and Ryojun, is a town in the southernmost administrative district of Dalian of the Peoples Republic of China. ... Manchuria (Manchu: Manju; Traditional Chinese: 滿洲; Simplified Chinese: 满洲; pinyin: MÇŽnzhōu, Russian: ) is a vast territorial region in northeast Asia. ... Liaoning (Simplified Chinese: 辽宁; Traditional Chinese: 遼寧; pinyin: Liáoníng) is a northeastern province of the Peoples Republic of China. ... Emperor Mutsuhito Mutsuhito or Mitsuhito (睦仁), the Meiji Emperor (明治天皇, literally wise ruling heaven emperor) (3 November 1852–30 July 1912) was the 122nd Emperor of Japan. ... The Qing Dynasty (Chinese: ; Pinyin: QÄ«ng cháo; Wade-Giles: Ching chao; Manchu: daicing gurun), occasionally known as the Manchu Dynasty, is a Chinese term for the Empire of the Great Qing (Traditional Chinese: ; pinyin: dàqÄ«ngguó), founded by the Manchu clan Aisin Gioro, in what... The Battle of Port Arthur (February 9, 1904) was the opening battle of the Russo-Japanese War. ...

Background

Following the defeat at the Battle of Yalu, and subsequent minor engagements in the Liaodong Peninsula the Chinese troops of the Beiyang Army retreated to the heavily-defended and strategically important port of Lüshunkou, known in the West as Port Arthur. Lüshunkou was defended by its hilly terrain and strengthen with fortification and powerful artillery, and was widely considered to be an impregnable stronghold. To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... The Beiyang Army (北洋軍 bÄ›iyáng-jÅ«n) was a powerful and Western-appearing Chinese military force created by the Qing dynasty government in the late 19th century. ... Location within China Lüshun city or Lüshunkou or (literally) Lüshun Port (Simplified Chinese: 旅顺口; Traditional Chinese: 旅順口; Pinyin: , formerly in historic references both Port Arthur and Ryojun, is a town in the southernmost administrative district of Dalian of the Peoples Republic of China. ... A 155 mm artillery shell fired by a United States 11th Marine regiment M-198 howitzer Historically, artillery refers to any engine used for the discharge of projectiles during war. ...

The Battle

A portion of the Imperial Japanese Army’s Second Army, commanded by Field Marshal Oyama Iwao and consisting of the 1st Provincial Division (Tokyo) under Lieutenant General Baron Yamaji Motoharu, and the 12th Brigade of the 6th Provincial Brigade (Kumamoto) had landed at Pi-tse-wo (present day Pikou, Laioning Province, China) on 24 October 1894. The Japanese forces advanced rapidly towards Lushun, capturing the walled town of Kinchow (modern Jinxian, Laioning Province)] on 6 November 1894, and the port town of Dalian on 7 November 1894. The Imperial Japanese Army (: 大日本帝國陸軍 Shinjitai: 大日本帝国陸軍 Dai-Nippon Teikoku Rikugun) was the official ground based armed force of Japan from 1867 to 1945 when it was Imperial Japan. ... Note: This article is about the military usage of the word marshal. For other usages, see the end of this article. ... Iwao Oyama (During the Russo-Japanese War) Oyama Iwao (大山 å·Œ Ooyama Iwao) (born 10 October 1842 - 10 December 1916) was a Japanese field marshal, and one of the leaders of the Meiji Restoration. ... Tokyo , literally Eastern capital)   is the capital and one of the forty-seven prefectures of Japan. ... Baron is a specific title of nobility or a more generic feudal qualification. ... Categories: Cities in Kumamoto Prefecture | Japan geography stubs ... October 24 is the 297th day of the year (298th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 68 days remaining. ... 1894 (MDCCCXCIV) was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... November 6 is the 310th day of the year (311th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 55 days remaining. ... 1894 (MDCCCXCIV) was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... Dalian (Simplified Chinese: 大连; Traditional Chinese: 大連; Hanyu Pinyin: ; Wade-Giles: Ta-lien), or Dalny (during Russian controlled periods, aka Dairen during Japanese periods, or from Mid-century (Jointly administered by both USSR/PRC) formerly also Lüda or Luta), is the second of two strategic ice-free seaports on the Liaodong... November 7 is the 311th day of the year (312th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 54 days remaining. ... 1894 (MDCCCXCIV) was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ...

The assault on Lüshunkou began after midnight on 21 November 1894. Under heavy fire, the Japanese forces had stormed all of the important landward defenses by noon the following day. The shore fortifications held out a bit longer, but the final one fell to the Japanese by 1700 hours. During the night of 22 November 1894, the surviving Chinese defenders deserted their remaining positions, abandoning 57 large-caliber and 163 small-caliber artillery pieces. November 21 is the 325th day of the year (326th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1894 (MDCCCXCIV) was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... November 22 is the 326th day (327th on leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1894 (MDCCCXCIV) was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ...

When the Japanese forces entered the city, they were fired upon from houses where Chinese soldiers had hidden themselves and had put on civilian dress so as to better blend in with the local population. The Japanese responded with a house-to-house search, killing many adult males who offered resistance.

Chinese casualties were officially estimated at 4000 killed. The Japanese lost only 29 men killed, 233 wounded.

Aftermath of the battle

A Western newspaper correspondent present in Lüshunkou relayed an account of a widespread massacre of the Chinese inhabitants of the city by victorious Japanese troops, allegedly in response to the murderous treatment the Chinese had shown Japanese prisoners of war at Pyongyang and elsewhere. The reporting was highly controversial, as numerous other correspondents present completely denied that such an event had occurred. In any event, the story of a massacre soon spread among the Western public, damaging Japan's public image and nearly torpedoing ongoing effort by Japan to renegotiate the unequal treaties with the United States. The alleged event came to be popularly known as the Port Arthur massacre. Geneva Convention definition A prisoner of war (POW) is a soldier, sailor, airman, or marine who is imprisoned by an enemy power during or immediately after an armed conflict. ... Pyongyang (평양 / 平壤) is the capital city of North Korea, located in the bottom third (almost direct center) of the country, situated on the Taedong River. ... The Unequal Treaties is the name in the English language used by modern China for a series of treaties signed by several Asian states, including the Qing Empire in China, late Tokugawa Japan, and late Joseon Korea, and foreign powers (列強, ì—´ê°•) during the 19th and early 20th centuries. ... The Port Arthur massacre occurred during the First Sino-Japanese War on 21 November 1894, when the Japanese army killed Chinese civilians in the city of Lüshunkou, historically known as Port Arthur. ...

References

• Chamberlin, William Henry. Japan Over Asia, 1937, Little, Brown, and Company, Boston, 395 pp.
• Kodansha Japan An Illustrated Encyclopedia, 1993, Kodansha Press, Tokyo ISBN 4-06-205938-X
• Lone, Stewart. Japan's First Modern War: Army and Society in the Conflict with China, 1894-1895, 1994, St. Martin's Press, New York, 222 pp.
• Paine, S.C.M. The Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1895: Perception, Power, and Primacy, 2003, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, MA, 412 pp.
• Warner, Dennis and Peggy. The Tide At Sunrise, 1974, Charterhouse, New York, 659 pp.