1895 Japanese Conquest of Taiwan
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| 1895 Japanese Conquest of Taiwan | |||||||||||
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 The Fall of Taipei |
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| Combatants | |||||||||||
 Republic of Formosa |
 Empire of Japan |
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| Commanders | |||||||||||
| Tang Ching-sung Liu Yung-fu Chiu Feng-chia |
Kabayama Sukenori |
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| Strength | |||||||||||
| Regular: 35,000 Militia: ~100,000 |
Regular: 37,000 Auxiliary: ? |
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| Casualties | |||||||||||
| Killed: 14,000 Wounded: ? |
Killed: 164 Wounded: 515 Diseased: 4,700 |
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| *The majority of the Formosan regular were Chinese garrison stationed in Taiwan before the formation of Republic of Formosa; a significant portion of these former garisson did not engage in the fighting. | |||||||||||
The Japanese Conquest of Taiwan was a series of conflicts involved the Empire of Japan and the short-lived Republic of Formosa in the year of 1895, after the Qing Empire of China ceded the islands of Taiwan and Pescadores to Japan in the Treaty of Shimonoseki. The conflict lasted for five months, caused the lives of 14,000 Formosan and nearly 5,000 Japanese, included Prince Kitashirakawanomiya Yoshihisa of the Japanese Imperial family.
Contents |
[edit] Prelude
[edit] Pescardores
As the First Sino-Japanese War approached its end, the Empire of Japan concluded that the war was won, and the cabinet decided that the island of Taiwan and Liaodong peninsula must be acquired as the result of war. On March 15, 1895, a Japanese expeditionary force of 5,500 strong set sail for the islands of Pescadores, hoping to secure a base in the Taiwan Strait and force the Qing Empire to agree on the cession of Taiwan. The expeditionary force landed on Pescadores in the morning March 23.
Although there were at least 15 battalions of Chinese soldiers(about 5,000 men strong) stationed on the islands, the Japanese met very little resistance during the landing operation because of the low morale among the Chinese, and gained total control of the islands in just two days. However, sub-tropical diseases caused the Japanese some 1,000 lives.
With the Pescadores in possession, the Empire of Japan successfully forced the Qing Empire to agree on their terms.
[edit] Course of the War
The Treaty of Shimonoseki was signed on April 17, 1895. Upon learning this news, some pro-Qing officials and elements of local gentry decided to resist. The Republic of Formosa was thus declared on May 23, with Governor-General Tang Ching-sung as the President, General Liu Yung-fu of the Black Banner Force as the Grand General of the Army, and local gentry Chiu Feng-chia as the Grand Commander of militia.
[edit] Taipei Area
On May 10, Admiral Kabayama Sukenori was named the first governor of Taiwan, and was given command of the units that were to be stationed in Taiwan. On May 29, 7,000 Japanese soldiers of the Imperial Guards Division, commanded by Prince Kitashirakawanomiya Yoshihisa, landed on the beach of Audi in northern Taiwan. The first major engagement of the war took place on June 3, at the Shihchiuling fort that guarded the port city of Keelung; the Japanese defeated the garrison force and took the fort with little loss, and the city of Keelung was subsequently captured in the afternoon of the same day, after the Qing commanders fled the city and left the garrison force leaderless.
When the news of defeat reached Taipei on June 4, President Tang and General Chiu fled the island. Leaderless and without pay, the Formosan regular abandoned their posts and began looting the city. On June 11, with the aid of a local businessman named Koo Hsien-jung, the Japanese captured Taipei and restored order in the city. Kabayama then dispatched the Guard Division to Tamsui, and captured the port without firing a shot. The presidency was later assumed by Liu Yung-fu on June 26, who was in the city of Tainan.
The first phase of the war ended on June 18, with Japan firmly in control of Taipei. The Formosan lost at least 200 men out of some 3,000 engaged in combat, while Japanese suffered only 7 dead and 25 wounded.
[edit] Northern Taiwan
On June 14, Admiral Kabayama arrived at Taipei, and declared Taiwan effectively under Japanese rule. He then dispatched several thousands soldiers to take Taoyuan and Hsinchu, expected no resistance. However, the vanguard units encountered heavy resistance from the Hakka militia forces when closed-in on Hsinchu. The militia, under the command of Chiang Shao-tsu and Wu Tang-hsing, ambushed the Japanese force in and around the city, and engaged the Japanese in heavy fighting on Mount Shihpachien. The Japanese, with superior weaponry and number, defeated the Formosan and killed Chiang. The remaining Formosan retreated to Miaoli on July 23.
On August 8, reinforced by the Guard Division, the Japanese began pushing towards Miaoli. After some fierce fighting on Mount Bichien, the Japanese captured Miaoli on August 14 and ended all major fighting in northern Taiwan. During this period, the Japanese lost many of their supplies to the militia units that operated behind the Japanese line, and began the use of indiscriminatory killing among local population to suppress militia activities.
[edit] Central and Southern Taiwan
The Imperial Guard Division took control of Dadu Township on August 23, and threaten Bagua Fort. To counter this move, thousands of Formosan militia and regular, including the famed Black Banner Force, concentrated around the city of Changhua; a detachment of 400 soldiers was also sent to Bagua Fort, which was then used to bombard the Japanese position in Dadu across Dadu river.
On August 27, the Japanese began a large scale assult against Bagua Fort and Changhua, marked the largest engagement of the war. After some brief but bloody fighting, the Japanese drove the Formosan out of Changhua area on August 29. The Formosan lost countless men as well as many of their commanders.
Though victorious, the Japanese could not advance due to fatigue and the threats of the Tainan garrison under Liu. Kabayama ordered the Fourth Brigade and the Second Division to conduct amphibious operation in Budai and Fangliao, and close-in on Tainan from two direction. However, both forces met heavy resistance in Budai and Chiadong, and suffered some casualties included Prince Kitashirakawanomiya Yoshihisa who was believed to have died during an ambush by Formosan. Despites these, the Japanese occupied both towns, and completed the encirclement of Tainan.
October 19, Liu, realizing that the war was lost, fled to China via a British cargoship. The Japanese marched into Tainan on October 23, ended the war between the Republic of Formosa and the Empire of Japan.
[edit] Consequences
As result of the war, Taiwan was firmly under the control of the Empire of Japan, and all Formosan regular units were either disbanded or shipped back to China. However, the militia units that were raised locally continued the insurgency for nearly 20 years, which forced the Japanese government to adopt an iron fist policy in dealing with the local population. On the other hand, Koo, who led the Japanese into Taipei, was granted exclusive business right in Taiwan, making him the wealthiest Taiwanese of his time. His son, Koo Chen-fu, inherited his wealth and founded the Koos Group, which dominated the business sector of modern Taiwan.
