MikeLigalig.com

When the Beiyang (Northern Sea) Fleet started operations in 1871 in Weihaiwei, it consisted only of four ships patrolling China’s northern seas. At the time it was considered to be the weakest of the Qing’s Four Regional Fleets (the other three being the Nanyang Fleet, the Fujian Fleet, and the Guangdong Fleet). That all changed when Li Hongzhang, Viceroy of Zhili and trusted adviser of Empress Dowager Cixi, took command in the late 1870s. Using his influence over the empress dowager and the court, Li slowly diverted funds to the Beiyang Fleet until it recieved the majority of the Qing naval funds. By the mid 1880s the Beiyang Fleet was closing the gaps with the larger Nanyang Fleet and by 1890 it was the largest of the Four Regional Fleets.

At its height, the Qing Navy had seventy-eight vessels and grossed at nearly eighty four thousand tons The Beiyang Fleet constituted more than half of that number and it was just one of four Chinese fleets. The pride of the Beiyang fleet was two German built battleships, the Dingyuan and Zhenyuan, armed with four 12 in. guns each. Together with eight German and British built cruisers, they formed the backbone of the Beiyang Fleet.

Li did well to keep his fleet safe and combat ready. During the Sino-French War of 1884-1885, Li kept the Beiyang Fleet away from fighting. He competed vigorously for funds against the Qing’s Inner Asian campaigns and the opulent spending of the empress dowager. However Li’s enemies at court, particularly the emperor’s teacher Weng Tonghe (who happened to control the Ministry of Revenue), delayed and tried to deny Li his funds. The emperor, although willing to support him, feared the wrath of the empress dowager. And Cixi, caught up in her dreams of a new Summer Palace, diverted naval funds to help pay for her own expenses.

Li was caught in an awkward position. On one hand he realized that the ambitions of Japan needed to be dealt with and sought to keep upgrading his navy to prevent a loss in case war with Japan did indeed occur. On the other hand he was fiercely loyal to the empress dowager and could not refuse her wishes. As a result Li had to divert his coveted naval funds for the construction of the Summer Palace and despite opposition, sought donations for the palace by advertising it as for the navy. Nevertheless Li maintained a positive outlook and in a report to the Guangxu Emperor, he boasted that the Beiyang Fleet was larger than the American navy and Japan was not a worry.

Yet Li knew he could not match the Japanese in combat. His equipment was outdated and he lacked the shells needed for the powerful cannons. Corruption was rampant within the Beiyang Navy administration. Li’s advisers and generals diverted ammunition funds for their own personal use and stacked boxes of shells with coal. Some ships filled their shells with sand because gunpowder was nowhere to be found. Although all the corrupt officials were executed, the funds were nowhere to be found. In a training exercise meant to show the Qing government and foreign dignitaries the might of the Beiyang Fleet, Li planted explosives on the target ships and had them denoted by live sailors to simulate an accurate shot by the ships’ nonexistent shells. The Japanese dignitary, who was onboard, painted a grim picture of the event and caused the Japanese military to pay special attention to the Beiyang Fleet.

When the Sino-Japanese War broke out on July 24, 1894, foreign press was certain of a Chinese victory. Although construction of new ships stopped completely in 1888, the Qing fleet of sixty five ships was ranked 8th in the world while Japan’s thirty two ship fleet was ranked 11th. The Beiyang Fleet itself matched the Japanese in terms of ships and possessed superior firepower and armor. The Dingyuan and the Zhengyuan was said to be even more powerful than the Maine and the Texas, the largest ships of the American navy. Vice Admiral Ballard of the Royal Navy believed the Beiyang Fleet was ready for action and later assessment believed the Chinese was in a very good position to win the battle at sea. However two factors prevented that from happening.

The first, as mentioned above, was the lack of funding and ammunition. The Beiyang fleet could not service their ships and corruption of naval funds led to inadequate shells. In subsequent battles, the Chinese resorted to ramming Japanese ships because they had ran out of shells to fire. The other factor was the lack of a coordinated structure. The Qing had four navies, yet they were each their own separated entity and commanded by their own separate commander. And so while the Beiyang Fleet participate in battle, the other three Qing fleets sat idly by (the Nanyang Fleet considered it revenge for Li’s reluctance in aiding them during the Sino-French War) and watched from afar. The Japanese were able to concentrate their entire navy into smashing the Beiyang Fleet and the Nanyang Fleet sent ships only after the major battles were over.

Still the Qing government maintained a positive outlook when war broke out. The empress dowager agreed to stop construction of the Summer Palace and use palace funds to help Li Hongzhang. Admiral Ito Sukehiro, fearing the power of the Beiyang Fleet, even attempted a surprise naval attack on Weihaiwei. However a gun salute from a passing British vessel alerted the Chinese of the Japanese naval presence and Ito was forced to withdraw. The two fleets met again on September 17, 1894 at the Battle of the Yellow Sea (also known as the Battle of the Yalu River). It was the largest naval engagement of the war and sealed the fate of the Beiyang fleet.

Commanded by Admiral Ding Ruchang, the Beiyang fleet consisted of both the Dingyuan and the Zhengyuan, as well as seven cruisers and five other vessels; the bulk of the Beiyang Fleet. The Japanese was commanded by Admiral Ito and consisted of the battleship Matsushima and eight protected cruisers. The battle begun badly for the Chinese, their smaller ships were fired upon by larger Japanese vessels and the Chinese fleet failed to adjust its formation when the Japanese fleet split in half. This forced the Chinese to divide their firepower and target two opposing Japanese fleets at the same time.

The flagship Dingyuan then fired a straight salvo at the Japanese fleet, which turned out to be a costly mistake. When the Dingyuan underwent sea trials in 1883, the Germans specifically noted that the main guns should not be fired on an ahead bearing. Doing so would result in the destruction of the flying bridge and Admiral Ding, along with most of his officers, was injured by his own ship.

The Chinese fleet fired on the Japanese while the two fleets passed each other but failed to score any significant damage with their superior guns. One of the reasons being was the poor quality of the Chinese shells. The Japanese were able to do much more damage to the Chinese cruisers, which were made out of wood and covered with a layer of metal. Despite a higher hit rate by the Chinese, their inferior shells prevented much damage from being dealt to the Japanese. When the battle was over, eight Chinese ships were sunk while the Japanese only suffered four ships damaged. The remnants of the Beiyang force fled back to Lushunkou (Port Arthur) and stayed there until the Japanese captured it in November. The Beiyang fleet then regrouped at their last naval base, Weihaiwei.

Pressing their advantage, the Japanese fleet struck Weihaiwei two months later. The Beiyang fleet was now reduced to only fifteen ships, including the badly damaged Dingyuan and Zhengyuan. The Japanese had twenty five ships as well as ground troops who could rain down artillery fire on the Chinese defenders. Despite a brave defense, the battle proved to be a futile one. An attempted breakout by several Chinese vessels ended in total failure and the Dingyuan was scuttled after taking heavy fire. Knowing the battle was lost, Admiral Ding surrender Weihaiwei to the Japanese and committed suicide. His deputy, Admiral Liu, ordered his warship scuttled and also committed suicide. Likewise the Chinese land commander General Chang also committed suicide.


Linkback: https://tubagbohol.mikeligalig.com/index.php?topic=42014.0