On 3 June the Korean government, having come to the conclusion that it would have difficulty putting down the Donghak Peasant Rebellion on its own, asked China to send troops to help. Up to this point China had refrained from military action but when the formal request was received, Li Hongzhang , Minister of Beiyang Commerce and Viceroy of Zhili, immediately began preparations to dispatch armed forces to Korea [Document 1].
Two warships reached Incheon on 5 June, followed by an armed force 2, strong which landed on the Korean peninsula between 8 and 12 June and established a garrison at Asan. Meanwhile on 2 June the Japanese Cabinet approved the dispatch of troops to Korea [Document 2] with the aim of protecting the Japanese legation and residents in Korea from the disturbances caused by the popular uprising.
At this point the Japanese suspected that the Korean government was considering asking China to send troops but it was not clear whether China would actually do so. This Cabinet decision was taken as a matter of urgency and having notified China of its intentions under the terms of the Treaty of Tientsin 18 April Japan dispatched troops immediately, while still leaving open the possibility of future cooperation between Japan and China to quell the rebellion [Document 3].
On 12 June a Mixed Brigade 8, strong, capable of fighting independently, began landing at Incheon and the situation that had arisen during the Gapsin Coup of was repeated with both Japanese and Chinese armies stationed in Korea. The end of the Donghak Peasant Rebellion and increasing Sino-Japanese tension In accordance with the Treaty of Tientsin , the Japanese and Chinese governments notified each other of their deployment of troops to Korea on 7 June [Document 4].
The Donghak Peasant Rebellion , which had prompted their military intervention, came to an end on 11 June when the Treaty of Jeonju was signed by the Korean government and the Peasant Army.
This removed the reason for the presence of the Japanese and Chinese forces and the Korean government requested both sides to withdraw their troops. At this juncture the Japanese government proposed to its Chinese counterpart that they should work together to reform Korea's internal affairs, that both countries should maintain their military presence in Korea while this was being done and that if China could not agree to co-operate over the reforms, Japan would proceed unilaterally.
However, on 22 June China replied that as the rebellion had already been suppressed, troop withdrawal should begin immediately and that reform was a matter for Korea itself [Document 5]. Japan refused to withdraw its troops [Document 5] and directed part of the 4,strong advance force that had landed at Incheon towards Hanseong. It also resumed the transport of the remaining army units to Korea.
Further, the Japanese government urged Korea to allow Japan to carry on alone with its plan to reform Korea's internal affairs and asked the Korean government to confirm the tributary nature of its relationship with China [Document 6]. However, Korea replied that it was an independent, sovereign state. This response strengthed a view within the Japanese government that if Korea was an independent state, the presence of Chinese troops was an unfair attempt by China to treat Korea as a vassal and that Japan should attack China on Korea's behalf.
Seeing the increasing tension between Japan and China, other nations began to take action. On 30 June Russia demanded the simultaneous withdrawal of both Japanese and Chinese forces but the Japanese government refused [Document 7]. Then Great Britain, which at the time was deeply concerned about Russian advances into East Asia, offered to act as mediator.
Because of historic ties, China also received aid from Nazi Germany for a short period, until Hitler decided to make an alliance with Japan in In the brutal conflict, both sides used 'scorched earth' tactics. Massacres and atrocities were common. The most infamous came after the fall of Nanking in December , when Japanese troops slaughtered an estimated , civilians and raped 80, women. Many thousands of Chinese were killed in the indiscriminate bombing of cities by the Japanese air force.
There were also savage reprisals carried out against Chinese peasants, in retaliation for attacks by partisans who waged a guerrilla war against the invader, ambushing supply columns and attacking isolated units. Warfare of this nature led, by the war's end, to an estimated 10 to 20 million Chinese civilians deaths. By , the war descended into stalemate.
Your current browser may not support copying via this button. Subscriber sign in You could not be signed in, please check and try again. Username Please enter your Username. Password Please enter your Password. Forgot password? Don't have an account? Sign in via your Institution. It includes descriptions of major campaigns and valuable essays that place the China conflict into the larger context of World War II.
Spector, Ronald. Best volume on Japanese-American conflict. Spector writes an excellent overview of the China conflict in the context of the larger war. He focuses on military leadership, strategy, and resources, and conflicts within the Japanese and the Allied ranks. Users without a subscription are not able to see the full content on this page. Please subscribe or login. Oxford Bibliographies Online is available by subscription and perpetual access to institutions.
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