Tsingtao was a 10-week battle in which Japanese land and naval forces overpowered a vastly outnumbered German garrison in the southeast Chinese harbor city.
By seizing Tsingtao, Japan expanded her influence in China, forced Germany to give up her final and most prized Pacific possession.
But Japan’s enthusiastic display of military might also raised fears among Western nations – including her ally Great Britain, which had encouraged the Japanese to enter World War I and aided her at Tsingtao.
Japan Enters War Against Germany
Tsingtao, now called Quingdao, was leased by China to Germany in 1898, and the Germans converted it into a naval bastion as well as a popular resort city.
But after World War I broke out in August of 1914, England sought Japanese help in curtailing German naval forces in the Pacific. Japan, seeing a chance to seize territory and broaden her role on the world stage, agreed.
Citing her 1902 alliance with Great Britain, Japan issued an ultimatum to Germany on Aug. 15, demanding she turn over Tsingtao to Japanese control and also calling for the removal of German warships from Chinese and Japanese waters.
Receiving no response, the Japanese declared war on Aug. 23.
Japan Raises Formidable Force for Tsingtao Operation
Great Britain, wishing to maintain influence in the Pacific, did not want Japan too heavily involved in World War I the war.
But the Japanese raised a considerable naval force for the Tsingtao operation – four dreadnoughts, four battle cruisers, 13 light cruisers, 24 destroyers, and various other support craft.
Japan had a land force of 50,000 available, with 140 artillery pieces. Mounting the attack would be the 18th Division, with 23,000 men, under the command of Lt. Gen. Misuomi Kamio.
Great Britain sent a token naval force, including one dreadnought, and 1,500 soldiers.
Germany’s East Asia Squadron had slipped away from Tsingtao by then. So the few remaining ships could do little to prevent the Japanese fleet from blockading the harbor.
Defending the city was a garrison of only 4,000 Germans and Austrians under Alfred Meyer-Waldeck, a naval captain. But they had elaborate defenses, which included 53 heavy guns, 77 lighter guns and dozens of machine gun emplacements.
The Siege of Tsingtao
The Japanese began landing on Sept. 2, and siege operations started on Sept. 18, with the digging on trench lines. Eventually, bombardment came from both land and sea.
The Germans had wanted Tsingtao to be a Gibraltar of the East, and Kaiser Wilhelm II reputedly said that he would be shamed more by giving Tsingtao to the Japanese than by giving Berlin to the Russians.
But the siege took its toll – not so much on the German soldiers, but on their defensive emplacements and their ammunition, and the Japanese began seizing key hills and fortifications. A German torpedo boat managed to sink a Japanese cruiser, killing 271, but that could not affect the outcome.
The battle marked the first use of naval air power, as the Japanese managed to launch a handful of planes from a seaplane carrier. The planes were used mostly for reconnaissance, but there were bombing runs – including history’s first known night bombing attack.
Germany had just one available airplane, whose pilot managed to toss some explosives at Japanese ships and exchange pistol shots with Japanese fliers.
The Fall of Tsingtao
By early November, it was obvious the defense was doomed, and Kamio planned to take the city by storm. The British wanted to continue the siege and spare lives, but Kamio – a former sergeant who had risen through the ranks – insisted on an assault. That happened on Nov. 7.
Jefferson Jones, who was listed as s correspondent for the Minneapolis Journal and Japan Advertiser, described the final attack in a New York Times article.
“The Japanese. as they charged up the slope, were mowed down by the machine guns, but on the came from all sides, 17,000 men against 3,800,” Jones wrote. “The German garrison could not hold out, and the white flag was hoisted from Fort C, close to Gen. Meyer Waldrick’s residence. The surrender came at 7:05 a.m.”
German casualties were relatively light – approximately 200 dead and 500 wounded. The remainder of the garrison was interned in Japan, although unlike POWs in the World War II, the Germans were well-treated.
Accounts of Japanese casualties vary widely – ranging from 230 killed and 1,200 wounded to 1,445 killed and 4,200 wounded. Some of the discrepancies might be a result of naval casualties being counted on some lists and not others.
The British had 14 killed and 61 wounded.
Japan Relationship With West Strained
By the end of the siege at Tsingtao, Japan had already occupied German holdings in the Mariana, Caroline and Marshall and Palau Islands without resistance. These islands would be fiercely fought for in World War II.
With the European powers occupied in other battles, Japan began to take an increasingly agressive stance toward China, straining its relations with the West.
But Japan continued to assist Great Britain, providing naval escorts for convoys and participating in anti-submarine operations. And in 1921, Japan withdrew its troops from Tsingtao in 1921, as part of an agreement that kept them in control of the Pacific islands previously held by Germany.
Japan’s alliance with Great Britain ended in 1923, and things were never quite the same again. Japan adapted a militaristic policy that led to war with China, and eventually, involvement in World War II.
Sources:
Chappell, Mike; The British Army in World War I: The Eastern fronts, Osprey Publishing, 2005
From heroes to zeroes, with fateful strings attached, Japan Times, Nov. 9, 2008
Edgerton, Robert B.; Warriors of the Rising Sun: A History of the Japanese Military, W.W. Norton & Co., 1997
Japanese Quick to Use Tsing-Tao: ModelCity That The Germans Built With So Much Skill Is a Real War Prize, New York Times, Oct. 29, 1915
Shelled Tsing-Tao With Wireless Aid, New York Times, Jan. 24, 1915
