Battle of Pyongyang (1894)

Battle of Pyongyang
Part of the First Sino-Japanese War
Battle of Ping Yang: The routing of the Chinese Army, Johann Schönberg
Date 15 September 1894 Location Pyongyang, Korea Result Japanese victory
Belligerents
Japan	China
Commanders and leaders
Yamagata Aritomo Ōyama Iwao Nozu Michitsura Katsura Tarō	Ye Zhichao Zuo Baogui † Wei Rugui
Units involved
1st Army	Huai Army
Strength
23,800 troops[1]	20,000 troops[1] 35 artillery guns[2] 6 machine guns[3]
Casualties and losses
162 killed 438 wounded 33 missing in action 633 total	2,000 killed 700 taken prisoner (including 100 wounded)
4 Japanese gunboats provided naval artillery support during the battle (Tsukushi, Chokai, Maya and Banjo) (Piotr Olender)

The Battle of Pyongyang (Japanese: 平壌作戦; Chinese: 平壤之戰) was the second major land battle of the First Sino-Japanese War. It took place on 15 September 1894 in Pyongyang, Korea between the forces of Meiji Japan and Qing China. It is sometimes referred to archaically in Western sources as the "Battle of Ping-yang".

About 20,000 Chinese troops of the Huai Army under overall command of General Ye Zhichao had arrived in Pyongyang on 4 August 1894. They had made extensive repairs to its ancient city walls, feeling itself secure in its superior numbers and in the strength of the defenses. The Huai Army had China's best troops, and they were equipped with modern weaponry, including Mauser breechloader rifles, Krupp artillery pieces, and a large quantity of ammunition. The Chinese military command intended that Pyongyang would be their headquarters in Korea.

Prince Yamagata Aritomo's First Army, of the Imperial Japanese Army, converged on Pyongyang from several directions on 15 September 1894. In the morning he made a direct attack on the north and southeast corners of the walled city under very little cover. The Chinese defense was strong, but was outmaneuvered by an unexpected flanking attack by the Japanese from the rear. This cost the Chinese very heavy losses compared to the Japanese. After the battle the Japanese captured a large amount of Chinese rifles, artillery pieces, and ammunition that was left behind.

After their defeat at Pyongyang, the Chinese abandoned northern Korea and withdrew to the Yalu River, which formed the Chinese–Korean border. With the loss in Korea of the Qing dynasty's best trained forces, their army in Manchuria was reinforced by less capable and partially reformed Green Standard units.