On the southern coast of the Shantung peninsula, that huge arm that strikes out into the Yellow Sea, is to be found Tsingtao. Variously called “the Riviera of the Far East,” “the playground of China,” and “the Paradise of the East,” Tsingtao—or if you will be Asiatic, Chingtao—is indeed one of the most unique and beautiful cities of the Orient.
Situated as it is in the same latitude as San Francisco, Norfolk, and Gibraltar, Tsingtao enjoys all of the climatic changes of our Middle Atlantic states. The Shantung peninsula is famous for its beef, apples, strawberries, peaches, plums, fog, bathing, and peanuts, and of all the cities in Shantung, Tsingtao rates first. Furthermore, Tsingtao is clean. When one speaks of a city in China and calls it clean, the last word has been said.
Of course, Tsingtao has had its quota of missionaries. As a matter of fact, it was as a consequence of the murder of two German missionaries that Tsingtao was occupied by German forces in November, 1897. As a result of this occupation, Germany obtained a lease of Tsingtao and the hinterland for a period of ninety-nine years.
In accordance with true German thrift and thoroughness, Tsingtao became orderly and clean; wide streets stretched out, modern hotels and buildings sprang up, and beer gardens and cafes made their appearance; business boomed and Tsingtao was on its way to becoming a little bit of the Old World transplanted to China.
Waterworks and a sewerage system were constructed, forestation was started, sea commerce opened up and buildings which appeared to have been moved bodily from Dresden made their appearance. Tsingtao was happy under the German rule.
When the great conflagration of the World War broke out in 1914, Japan, under the terms of her treaty with Great Britain, demanded of Germany the surrender of Tsingtao; that surrender to be accomplished by September 16, failing which Japan would take action on August 23. The Japanese demand was met by a point-blank refusal, Captain Meyer-Waldeck of the German Navy, and governor of Tsingtao, being instructed to resist its capture to the last.
True to their demands, the Japanese, aided and abetted by British naval forces, besieged Tsingtao—and what a hornet’s nest they found.
Referring to the plan, it will be seen that the city of Tsingtao is on a small peninsula with Kiaochow Bay to the westward and southward and the Yellow Sea to the eastward. On the northern side, where are indicated the entrenchments, is a low, flat and level plain, bisected by rivers, and extending clear across the promontory. Within this area there are several lofty hills, chief of which is Bismarck Hill, 433 feet above the sea level, in almost the very center and commanding all of Tsingtao, particularly the northern approaches.
Bismarck Hill was well fortified, an immense concrete fort in three sections being let down into the hill top. This fortress mounted four 11-inch howitzers and several smaller guns of about four inches. The fort was complete with an outlook and fire-control station, ammunition hoists and passageways, an immaculate galley, machine shops, and all that goes to make a well-balanced land stronghold.
As a protection against attack from the sea, Huichuen Point was also fortified, and what a fort it proved to be. Built of solid concrete set down into the high point, with disappearing searchlights, and turret guns, it mounted two 9.4-inch and three 6-inch guns, the guns being terraced inland in a line from the point. The concrete work was massive and well reenforced throughout. German thoroughness is shown in its excellent condition today, fourteen years after its surrender.
The entire strength of the German garrison was about five thousand men, these men manning Bismarck Hill, Huichuen Point, the entrenched line, and two small batteries, one on litis Point and one in back of the road leading to the bathing beach, each of which is indicated on the plan.
There was also a small naval force based on Tsingtao, consisting of four old gunboats, an antiquated Austrian cruiser and an old destroyer, the S-90, all of which were to give excellent accounts of themselves during the siege. The entrance of Kiaochow Bay was mined.
The first offensive action of the siege occurred on August 22, when the British destroyer Kennet chased the S-90 back into the base, with heavy casualties to the Kennet. On August 27, Japan formally declared a state of blockade and, with a powerful fleet, laid siege to Tsingtao.
The Allied naval operations consisted of anchoring just out of range of the German guns on Huichuen Point and plugging away at the fort. To lessen the chances of navigational errors, the Japanese laid a line of buoys just outside of the range of the fort, about fifteen thousand yards, and then steamed at will along this line. The idea worked beautifully until one night when the Germans moved the buoys within range of their guns. The next time the Allied fleet started their target practice, they were rudely interrupted when a heavy shell hit the British battleship Triumph, killing one man, wounding several, and doing considerable damage. The Allies claimed that the Germans elevated their guns so as to get a greater range and thus were able to overshoot the buoys rather than that they moved them in. If they did, they made a clever job of it.
Having learned the lesson that buoys are liable to shift their positions, the Allied force slightly increased the range and continued the bombardment with but slight damage to the German works. The bombardment did have the effect, however, of rendering movements outside the forts extremely hazardous. It is said that had half of the Japanese shells exploded upon landing, their effect would have been more pronounced.
The real attack against Tsingtao was delivered by land, the Japanese landing at Lungkow, about one hundred miles north of Tsingtao and wholly in Chinese territory. The violation of Chinese territory did not seem to matter a great deal in those days. When that section of the country had been well cleared out, the main forces landed in Kiukiokow and Laoshan Bays, about fifty and thirty miles north of Tsingtao respectively, and started a slow and costly advance against Bismarck Hill.
The small German naval force, locked in Kiaochow Bay, made plenty of trouble for the Japanese army in its advance, until Japanese aircraft claimed their attention. The Germans soon realized that their vessels were doomed and all of them, except the S-90, were scuttled to prevent their capture. The S-90 attempted a dash to sea, torpedoing the old Japanese cruiser Takachiho on the way out. Realizing that capture was inevitable, the crew of the S-90 ran her aground and wrecked her in Chinese territory.
In early November, having held off the attacking forces for two and one half months, the Germans found themselves running short of ammunition. The Allied force commenced a heavy bombardment using both land and sea guns. Every shell that the Germans fired, even every cartridge, had to find its mark. Fire had to be held to the last desperate moment as there could be no waste.
As a last forlorn attempt, a small number of Germans faked an attempted sortie. Of course they were quickly driven back, being chased by thousands of eager Japanese. The trap was baited and as soon as the Japanese had been lured into a gulch, following the fleeing Germans, hell broke loose round about them. Concealed machine guns cut them down by the thousands.
Without ammunition and cut off from all supplies, the Germans, on November 7, found themselves in no position to continue the defense. All gear of any military value was wrecked. Then Meyer-Waldeck surrendered his gallant little command to the Japanese army. It had been a defense by 5,000 men against over 63,000.
With the surrender of Meyer-Waldeck, Japan took over Tsingtao and has held it ever since, President Wilson and his famous points notwithstanding. When Tsingtao was “handed back” to China in December, 1922, it was found that practically all of the actual business property in Tsingtao was Japanese owned. German business men have found it advisable to take Japanese wives. Of a total population of about 72,000, over 18,000 were Japanese subjects. Recent events in and around Tsingtao leave no question as to Japan’s interest there.
It is interesting and highly instructive to know that the fort on the sea side—Huichuen Point—had remained formidable right up to the time of surrender and had suffered very little damage from the fire of the ships.
Japan learned a very valuable lesson from the siege of Tsingtao. The valor and skill of the European as opposed to that of the Oriental awakened the Japanese to a new understanding of warfare. Today, years after the war, Japanese officers make pilgrimages to Bismarck Hill and Huichuen Point to see for themselves just how a few German soldiers were able to hold back the might of the Rising Sun for nearly three months.