Battle of Baguashan

Battle context

The Battle of Baguashan, described as the largest battle ever fought on Taiwanese soil, was the decisive engagement of the Japanese invasion of Taiwan in 1895. Fought near the city of Changhua in central Taiwan, it pitted a Japanese force of roughly 15,000 against approximately 5,000 troops of the Republic of Formosa. The Japanese victory at Baguashan effectively doomed the short-lived Republic of Formosa to extinction, breaking organized Formosan resistance in the central part of the island and clearing the path for the consolidation of Japanese control over Taiwan. The battle was also notable as one of the rare instances during the campaign in which Formosan forces were able to bring artillery to bear against the invading army, underscoring the asymmetry that defined the wider conflict.