In 1895, the Japanese army raided Liugong Island, targeting the Dingyuan ship of the Beiyang Naval Division anchored in Liugong Island. Under the Japanese torpedo attack, the Dingyuan ship was quickly and seriously damaged, and although the Qing army counterattacked, it was too late.
In the deafening sound of Japanese artillery, the Dingyuan ship sank to the bottom of the sea, and dozens of seamen on board were all killed.
After the tempering of the First Sino-Japanese Naval Battle, although the Dingyuan ship survived, it could not escape the fierce offensive of the Japanese army, and finally sank to the bottom of the sea, becoming an eternal witness of that humiliating history. Today, 124 years later, the traces of the Dingyuan ship have been rediscovered by later generations.
Since 2017, Shandong Province has been conducting archaeology in the sea area, hoping to find the remains of the Beiyang Naval Division. However, several warships of the Beiyang Naval Division had long been scrapped under the fierce attack of the Japanese army, and some of the equipment was transported back to Japan as trophies.
The part of the warship that remained in China is still sleeping at the bottom of the sea. The archaeologists were carrying out these tasks with a heavy heart, because it was not a pleasant memory.
Before the outbreak of the First Sino-Japanese Naval War, the Beiyang Naval Division was the most powerful navy in Asia, with advanced warships such as the Dingyuan, Jiyuan, and Zhiyuan. However, despite the huge manpower and material resources spent by the Westernists to purchase these warships, the result of the First Sino-Japanese Naval Battle completely shattered the last hope of the Qing Dynasty.
This battle made the Chinese realize that our backwardness lies not only in the Qing Dynasty, but also in the backwardness of the Qing Dynasty and society. China's pathology has reached the point where it needs to be drastically treated, and it is far from enough to buy a few advanced ** ships from outside.
Nevertheless, the establishment of the Beiyang Naval Division and the arrival of these warships was undoubtedly a bold attempt in Chinese history. After many ravages by the great powers, the Qing ** finally began to think seriously and decided to make some changes.
Building a navy is an important part of these changes, and building a navy needs to be supported by **. Li Hongzhang, an important minister of the Qing Dynasty at that time, accepted this task and successfully purchased more than 20 ** ships from all over the world.
The Beiyang Naval Division was officially born, it has 25 ships, a displacement of 40,000 tons, and more than 300 naval officers, which is also quite prominent in the world's advanced level at that time.
In order to quickly improve the strength of the army, Li Hongzhang invested heavily in hiring British naval instructors to assist in training, a move that gave many foreign powers the illusion that the Qing Dynasty might be about to rise.
In particular, Japan had several minor frictions with the Qing Dynasty, but because their own strength was still insufficient, they did not dare to break out a full-scale war with the Qing Dynasty. Today, the Qing Dynasty had a seemingly formidable army of the Beiyang Naval Division, which caused Japan to panic and fear that its plans for aggression would be thwarted.
However, what is unexpected is that this large-scale and well-equipped Beiyang Navy Division is actually a paper tiger with a strong outside and a dry middle.
The Qing ignored Japan's ambitions and stopped expanding the size of the navy. After 1891, they believed that the Beiyang Naval Division was large enough to deal with any great power in the world, let alone Japan.
However, when the Qing Dynasty stopped advancing, the scales of victory had begun to tilt in favor of Japan. In February 1894, the Sino-Japanese War broke out, and the Qing soldiers held the heart of shame, however, the strength of the two sides did not seem to be much different, and even the Beiyang Naval Division looked stronger.
In the initial stage of the battle, several warships such as the Dingyuan ship quickly moved towards the Japanese army, and for a while, the Qing army had the upper hand, which made the Qing soldiers feel very excited.
For decades, Qing ** has been suppressed, and now it seems that he can raise his eyebrows. However, this beautiful vision was soon shattered. The Japanese army quickly demonstrated its rising strength for several years, and they surrounded several ** ships of the Beiyang Naval Division, and the intensity of Japanese artillery fire even exceeded that of the Qing **.
In an instant, the Beiyang Naval Division fell into the predicament of being attacked by the enemy on its back, especially the Zhiyuan ship was hit by Japanese shells and seemed to be about to sink. At this moment of life and death, all the officers and men of the Zhiyuan ship bravely and fearlessly crashed into the Japanese army, and finally died with the enemy.
Although several battleships survived Japanese fire, defeat was a foregone conclusion. After the battle, the Dingyuan ship was temporarily placed near Liugong Island, which was the only thing to be thankful for by the Beiyang Naval Division, that is, their main battleship was at least retained.
However, the Japanese army would not let the Qing ** have a good life, and they soon decided to raid Liugong Island and let the Dingyuan ship sink together. Therefore, in 1895, the Japanese army launched an attack on the Dingyuan ship, causing the Dingyuan ship to sink to the bottom of the sea forever.
124 years later, the wreckage of the Dingyuan ship was found on the seabed.
In the long river of history, the world has undergone earth-shaking changes, but the Dingyuan ship seems to be eternally frozen in the past, and everything on the ship remains at the moment of sinking.
In the hold of the Dingyuan ship, the skeleton of a soldier was found, who held the rudder tightly and seemed to be still preparing for battle at the last moment of his life. He is undoubtedly a brave and fearless warrior, but the environment in which he lives cannot be changed, and the incompetence of ** has led to the decline of the country, even if the warriors of the Beiyang Naval Division have a patriotic heart, how can they save the fate of the country?
That period of history is a pain that everyone does not want to mention, but we must remember the story about the Beiyang Naval Division, remember the sunken Dingyuan ship, and remember the unsung hero who fought until the last moment, because only by remembering the lessons can we avoid a repeat of the tragedy.