Battle of Weihaiwei

Ukiyo-e print by Utagawa Kokunimasa, depicting the death of Major General Ōdera Yasuzumi at the Battle of Weihaiwei, dated February 1895

Date	January 20 - February 12, 1895
Location	Weihai, Shandong Province, China
Result	Japanese victory

Belligerents

Japan

China

Commanders and leaders

Major General Ōdera Yasuzumi †

General Ōyama Iwao

Admiral Itō Sukeyuki

Viceroy Li Hongzhang

Admiral Ding Ruchang †

Casualties and losses

29 killed
233 wounded

4,000 killed

The Battle of Weihaiwei (Japanese: Ikaiei-no-tatakai (威海衛の戦い^?) was a battle of the First Sino-Japanese War. It took place between 20 January and 12 February 1895 in Weihai, Shandong Province, China between the forces of the Empire of Japan and Qing Empire.

Following its victory at the Battle of Lushunkou on 21 November 1894 the next strategic objective of the Japanese campaign was to neutralize the Qing naval base at Weihaiwai on Shandong Peninsula. This would give Japan total control over the entrance to the Bay of Bohai, and the seaward approaches to Beijing. It would also eliminate any possible threat to Japanese supply lines by the remnants of the Beiyang Fleet.

The Qing naval base at Weihaiwei had been designed with the assistance of German military advisors, and was regarded by western observers as superior to Hong Kong. Captain William M. Lang, a British military advisor seconded to the Beiyang Fleet had boasted that the base was impregnable as late as autumn 1894, and had scoffed at rumors that the Japanese were planning to attack it. The defenses consisted of a series of twelve land fortifications overlooking the entrances to the harbor, equipped with Krupp and Armstrong cannons, as well as two fortified islands in the bay. The entrances to the harbor were closed off by booms to prevent attacks from outside, and the remaining ships of Beiyang Fleet were anchored inside. These included some 16 warships, led by the battleship Dingyuan, protected cruisers Jingyuen and Pingyuan, and 13 torpedo boats.

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