On January 20, 1895, a Japanese army from Dalian Bay landed in Rongcheng, Shandong, and the Qing troops stationed in Rongcheng were forced to retreat due to being outnumbered. Subsequently, the Japanese soldiers divided into two routes and attacked Weihai, and the famous Battle of Weihaiwei broke out.
Before this campaign, the Beiyang Naval Division had already lost in the Battle of the Yellow Sea. The Battle of Weihaiwei was the last battle of the Beiyang Naval Division in the First Sino-Japanese Naval Battle. In the end, the Beiyang Naval Division was completely annihilated, and Ding Ruchang, the commander of the Naval Division who was unwilling to surrender to the Japanese army, committed suicide and martyrdom.
When the flames of the First Sino-Japanese Naval Battle burned to Weihaiwei, the Japanese army repaired the shore defense artillery that was blown up by Ding Ruchang's order, and formed a flanking attack with the Beiyang Naval Division led by Ding Ruchang.
It was at this critical period that the commander of the Japanese Navy's combined ships, Yuhiro Ito, wrote a letter of persuasion to Ding Ruchang, hoping that Ding Ruchang would stop his "meaningless" resistance.
In the letter of persuasion, Ito also told Ding Ruchang a story about Osman Nuri Pasha, a Turkish military strategist. In the Crimean War, the Battle of Junis, and the 10th Russo-Turkish War, Nuri Pasha led 60,000 Turkish soldiers against 200,000 Russian troops for 145 days, only to be outnumbered and captured.
This story may give Ding Ruchang some inspiration.
Defeated and captured in the 10th Russo-Turkish War, Nuri Pasha returned home and became the Grand Sima and successfully reformed the Turkish military system, with no one able to stop him.
Although he lost the battle in the Battle of Plevin, this did not affect his position and achievements in Turkey.
After the capture of Nuri Pasha, Tsar Alexander II went to comfort the enemy general, who had brought great importance to the Russian army, and asked him why he had not surrendered earlier.
Alexander II was deeply admired by Nuri Pasha's answer, who said: "The state gave us ** and ammunition so that we could fight, not surrender." "Ito's story did not make Ding Ruchang surrender, because Ding Ruchang did not read the letter, but handed it to Li Hongzhang intact, and then continued to fight fiercely with the Japanese army.
After several days of fierce fighting with the Japanese navy, the besieged Beiyang Naval Division had run out of ammunition and food. At this critical moment, Ding Ruchang decided to desperately break through, but was opposed by most of the generals.
So, Ding Ruchang decided to commit suicide and martyrdom after the bombing and sinking.
1.On February 12, 1895, Ding Ruchang, who had gone away, committed suicide and martyrdom, and on the same day, Zhang Wenxuan, the commander of the Beiyang Protectorate, and Yang Yonglin, the representative of Zhenyuan Guan, were martyred.
History has different evaluations of Ding Ruchang, and some people say that he is"The Battle of the First Sino-Japanese War", but in the "Qing History Manuscript", there is also admiration for his death to repay the country. In any case, Ding Ruchang's bravery and determination are worthy of our deep admiration.
2.Ding Ruchang's suicide and martyrdom was the tragic end of the First Sino-Japanese Naval War. Although he was in the eyes of the Qing court"The guilty", but his bravery and loyalty made him leave a deep mark in the history of the nation.
However, Ding Ruchang's family was implicated in his suicide and went into exile, which was undoubtedly a huge blow to them. 3.Ding Ruchang's life is full of tragedy and honor.
His suicide was undoubtedly out of deep love for the country and the nation, however, his life was completely changed because of the defeat in the First Sino-Japanese Naval War. Although the Qing court criticized him, his loyalty and bravery are something we can never forget.
Although the statue of Ding Ruchang was not rebuilt until 1910, his grievances were eventually redressed. In contrast, the tomb of Nuripasha, who was captured at the Battle of Plev, was given the title of "Ghazi" upon his return, but his mausoleum was built by Ottoman Sultan Hamid II after his death in April 1900, and a district of Istanbul still bears the name of Nuripasha today.