Defeat of China. It was a disaster. China lost its fleet and two naval bases: Port Arthur and Weihaiwei, which dominated the sea approaches to the capital province of Zhili and were considered "the keys to the sea gates." At the end of February - March 1895, the Northern Army, which was considered the best part of the land forces of the empire, was defeated.
Intervention in Korea
The Korean government, led by the Mina clan, the queen's kin, was greatly frightened by the scale of the peasant war led by the tonhaks. The governor of the Chinese Empire in Seoul, Yuan Shih-kai, suggested that the Korean authorities call on Chinese troops for help. The Qing Empire decided to use a large-scale popular uprising to strengthen its position in Korea. On June 5, 1894, Seoul asked Beijing to send troops to quell the uprising. Already on June 9, the landing of Chinese troops began in Korean ports. The Chinese envoy to Tokyo informed the Japanese government about this in advance. According to the Sino-Japanese Treaty of 1885, the Japanese in such a situation also had the right to send troops to Korea.
The head of the Japanese government at that time was Ito Hirobumi. The news of the landing of the Chinese in Korea seemed to the Japanese government a convenient pretext for starting a war. Internal problems could be brightened up by a successful war, seizures. The West did not hold back Japan, on the contrary, the defeat of the Celestial Empire promised a great deal. On June 7, the Japanese informed Beijing that Japan would also send troops to Korea to protect the diplomatic mission and its subjects. Therefore, on June 9, along with the arrival of the first Chinese units, the Japanese marines landed in Incheon. On June 10, the Japanese were in Seoul. A whole army brigade followed the landing.
Thus, the Japanese immediately seized strategic positions and gained an advantage over the enemy. They occupied the Korean capital and cut off the Chinese from the Korean-Chinese border as Chinese troops landed south of Seoul. The Chinese and Korean governments were at a loss, they began to protest against the Japanese aggression and demanded to suspend the landing of Japanese troops. The Japanese acted quickly and impudently, without any diplomatic ceremony. True, in order to calm the public in Europe and the United States, Tokyo said that they were protecting Korea from Chinese encroachments. A few days later, it was added that Japanese troops were needed to carry out sweeping reforms in Korea.
On June 14, 1894, the Japanese government decided to offer China a joint program: together to suppress the tonhak uprising, and to create a Japanese-Chinese commission to carry out "reforms" - "purge" of the Korean authorities, restore order in the country, and control finances. That is, Tokyo offered Beijing a joint protectorate over Korea. It was a provocation. It was obvious that the Chinese would not give in. In Beijing, Korea was considered their vassal. The Chinese government categorically rejected Tokyo's proposal. The Chinese said that the uprising had already been suppressed (it really began to decline), so both powers must withdraw their troops from Korea, and Seoul will carry out reforms on its own.
The Japanese stood their ground, said that without reforms, the troops would not be withdrawn. Japanese diplomats openly provoked China. In China itself, there was no unity over the conflict with Japan. Emperor Guangxu and his entourage, including the leader of the "southern group" of Qing dignitaries - the head of the tax department Wen Tong-he, were ready for war with Japan. The leader of the "northern group", the dignitary of the "Northern affairs" Li Hongzhang (he was in charge of a significant part of the foreign policy of the Celestial Empire), believed that the empire was not ready for war. The Manchu prince Qing and the entourage of the Dowager Empress Cixi (the emperor's adoptive mother) agreed with him. They pinned all their hopes on the help of the Western powers.
British Politics: Divide and Conquer
Li Hongzhang's calculations of the intervention of the great powers were not entirely groundless. England had serious interests in China, Korea and Japan. Great Britain claimed complete dominance in the entire Far East. The British controlled a significant portion of the "China Pie" and were the first in the import of goods into Korea. England accounted for almost half of all imports to Japan. British industrial circles profited greatly from the industrialization and militarization of Japan. London's ideal in the Far East was the Japanese-Chinese alliance under British hegemony. This made it possible to defeat competitors within the Western world itself and stop Russia's advance in the Far East and Asia.
At the same time, the British were ready to make concessions to Japan at the expense of China. Aggressive Japan was the most promising instrument for confronting the Russians. In mid-June 1894, Li Hongzhang asked the British to mediate in the conflict with Japan. Then he offered to send the British Far Eastern squadron to the Japanese shores for a military-political demonstration. The British government announced that it was ready to make an attempt to induce the Japanese to withdraw their troops from Korea. But on condition that Beijing agrees to carry out reforms in Korea. Soon, the British announced the Japanese-added demand for a joint guarantee by Japan and China of the integrity of Korea, and the equality of the Japanese in rights with the Chinese in the Korean kingdom. The de facto British offered to agree to the joint tutelage of China and Japan over Korea. As a result, the British wanted a compromise, but on the basis of unilateral concessions from China. Beijing was actually offered to cede Korea without a war. Beijing said it was ready to negotiate, but first, both sides must withdraw their troops. The Japanese government flatly refused to withdraw its troops.
Thus, the foreign policy environment was favorable for the Japanese Empire. Tokyo was confident that no third power would oppose Japan. England was ready to make concessions at the expense of China. On June 16, 1894, in the midst of the Sino-Japanese conflict, an Anglo-Japanese trade agreement was signed, which was clearly Japan's support. Also, the British reprimanded Tokyo to exclude Shanghai (important for British trade) from the war zone. The USA, Germany and France were not going to take any active action. Russia, after some hesitation, and not having serious forces in the Far East, limited itself to Japan's proposal to withdraw its troops from Korea. Petersburg did not want Japanese domination in Korea. However, the Russian military and naval positions in the Far East were weak. Due to the lack of railways, the Far Eastern regions were cut off from the center of the empire. In addition, Japan was underestimated in St. Petersburg at that time. The same mistake will be made later, before the start of the Russo-Japanese War. In the Russian government, it was not clear who should be feared - Japan or China.
War
On July 20, 1894, the Japanese envoy to Seoul delivered an ultimatum to the Korean government, which required the immediate withdrawal of Chinese troops from Korea. Seoul complied with Tokyo's demand. But for Japan, the war was a decided matter, and, moreover, the war was immediate, sudden for the enemy. On June 23, Japanese troops arrested the royal palace in Seoul and dispersed the government. The Korean garrison in Seoul was disarmed. The Japanese formed a new government that was to carry out sweeping reforms.
Thus, Japan gained control of Korea. The Japanese suppressed the popular uprising. Korea's new puppet government broke off vassal relations with the Qing Empire. In August, Seoul entered into an agreement with Tokyo, under which Korea pledged to reform, "following the recommendations of the Japanese government." The Japanese won the right to build two railways linking Busan and Incheon to Seoul. The Japanese received other benefits as well.
On July 25, 1894, Japan, without declaring war, began military operations against the Qing empire: at the entrance to Asan Bay near Phundo Island, a Japanese squadron (three armored cruisers of the 2nd rank) suddenly attacked a Chinese detachment (2 outdated cruisers and a transport). The Japanese destroyed one Chinese cruiser and severely damaged the second (he was able to escape). The Chinese lost several dozen people killed and wounded (Japanese losses are unknown). After that, the Japanese squadron sank a chartered transport - the British steamship Gaosheng with two battalions of Chinese infantry (about 1,100 men). The Japanese shot the ship and the Chinese soldiers fleeing in the water and on boats. They raised only a few Britons from the water. About 300 more people escaped by swimming to the island. About 800 people died. Also, the Japanese captured the Chinese messenger ship Caojiang, which approached the battle area.
It was a heavy blow for China: two warships, two battalions with artillery. An attack without a declaration of war (an unprecedented case in this era), the sinking of a neutral transport, the savage extermination of those in distress, aroused the indignation of the world community. But the Japanese got away with it. England even forgave Japan for the sinking of a ship under its flag.
The official declaration of war followed on August 1, 1894. Japan struck without warning and seized the strategic initiative on the move. First, the Japanese defeated the Chinese group of forces south of Seoul, which was landed in Korea to fight the tonhaks. Then, in mid-September 1894, the 1st Japanese Yamagata Army defeated the Qing Northern Army in the Pyongyang area.
The outcome of the struggle at sea was decided by the battle at the mouth of the Yalu River. On September 17, 1894, here, south of the mouth of the Yalu River, the Beiyang Fleet under the command of Ding Zhuchang and the Japanese joint squadron of Vice Admiral Ito Sukeyuki met in a fierce battle. The naval battle lasted five hours and ended due to a lack of shells on both sides. The Japanese retreated, but the strategic victory was theirs. They quickly repaired damaged ships and gained dominance at sea. For Japan, this was of decisive importance, as it supplied the army by sea. The Chinese Beiyang Squadron lost five cruisers, and the rest of the ships needed major repairs. The thinned Beiyang fleet went to Weihaiwei and took refuge there, not daring to go beyond the Bohai Bay. The Chinese government, shocked by the loss of ships and fearing further losses, banned the fleet from going to sea. Now the Chinese fleet could not support its coastal fortresses from the sea. Thus, the Japanese gained dominance in the Yellow Sea and ensured the transfer of new divisions to Korea and Northeast China and victory in the land campaign. In fact, the Japanese will soon smash Russia according to the same scheme.
In October, the Japanese crossed the Yalu River and invaded the Mukden province. The Japanese command, without wasting its forces on a frontal offensive against the Chinese troops west of Yalu, undertook a strategic rush to bypass the enemy. On October 24, the Japanese began to land troops of the 2nd Oyama Army on the Liaodong Peninsula. A month later, the Japanese army captured the main base of the Northern Fleet of China - Port Arthur (Lushun), which was deprived of the support of its fleet. Here the Japanese captured huge trophies. On December 13, the Japanese occupied Haichen. Further, the Japanese troops could strike to the north - to Liaoyang, Mukden, or Jingzhou, and further in the Peking direction. However, the Japanese rate limited itself to holding positions in southern Manchuria and transferred the troops of the 2nd Army to Shandong to capture Weihaiwei. From the sea, the Chinese fortress was blocked by the squadron of Vice Admiral Ito. Here the Japanese met with stubborn resistance. Weihaiwei fell in mid-February 1895.
It was a disaster. China lost its fleet and two naval bases: Port Arthur and Weihaiwei, which dominated the sea approaches to the capital province of Zhili and were considered "the keys to the sea gates." At the end of February - March 1895, the Northern Army, which was considered the best part of the land forces of the empire, was defeated. The Chinese elite was split. Part of the Chinese elite believed that war was not their business at all, which weakened the military power of the Qing empire. Hopes that "the West will help" have collapsed. As well as the hopes of part of the emperor's entourage for the strength of the Chinese army and navy. The war showed the complete moral, strong-willed, military, technical and industrial superiority of the new Japan over the degraded Chinese empire.
