Battle of Yalu River (1894)

Battle of Yalu River (1894)
Part of the First Sino-Japanese War
"Battle of the Yellow Sea" by Korechika
Date 17 September 1894 Location Korea Bay, near the mouth of the Yalu River Result Decisive Japanese victory
Belligerents
Qing China	Empire of Japan
Commanders and leaders
Ding Ruchang Liu Buchan	Itō Sukeyuki Tsuboi Kōzō
Strength
2 battleships 8 cruisers 2 corvette 2 torpedo boats	9 protected cruisers 1 corvette 1 gunboat 1 auxiliary cruiser
Casualties and losses
850 killed 500 wounded 5 ships sunk 3 ships damaged	180 killed 200 wounded 4 ships severely damaged 2 ships lightly damaged

180 killed
200 wounded
4 ships severely damaged

The Battle of the Yalu River (simplified Chinese: 黄海海战; traditional Chinese: 黃海海戰; pinyin: Huáng Hǎi Hǎizhàn; Japanese:Kōkai-kaisen (黃海海戰^?, "Naval Battle of the Yellow Sea")), was the largest naval engagement of the First Sino-Japanese War, and took place on 17 September 1894, the day after the Japanese victory at the land Battle of Pyongyang. It involved ships from the Imperial Japanese Navy and the Chinese Beiyang Fleet. The battle is also known by a variety of names: Battle of Haiyang Island, Battle of Dadonggou, Battle of the Yellow Sea and Battle of Yalu, after the geographic location of the battle, which was in the Yellow Sea off the mouth of the Yalu River and not in the river itself. There is also no agreement among contemporary sources on the exact numbers and composition of each fleet.

Japan's initial strategy was to gain command of the sea, which was critical to its operations in Korea. Command of the sea would allow Japan to transport troops to the mainland.

Even before the Battle of Pyongyang, Chinese viceroy Li Hongzhang had called for reinforcements from the Beiyang Army to bolster the increasingly precarious Chinese position in Korea. As the roads were considered impassable, the only practical way to move a large number of men and equipment was by sea. However, he was constrained by orders from Beijing not to allow his ships to cross the line of the Yalu River, as the Chinese government was reluctant to risk China's most modern vessels in combat.

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