Battle of Changhsing

Overview

The Battle of Changhsing, popularly known in Taiwan as the Battle of the Burning Village was the last set-piece battle during the Japanese invasion of Taiwan. It was fought by Hakka militia and armed civilians against the invading Imperial Japanese Army in Changhsing village (長興村). The battle earned its name from the fact that the entire village was burnt to the ground by the Japanese during their attempts to capture it from the Formosans.

Overview adapted from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Significance

The Battle of Changhsing marked the last set-piece engagement of the Japanese invasion of Taiwan in 1895. Fought by Hakka militia and armed civilians defending Changhsing village against Imperial Japanese Army forces numbering around 2,000, the battle represented the final organized conventional resistance to Japanese annexation of the island. Its popular name in Taiwan, the Battle of the Burning Village, derives from the destruction of the entire village by Japanese forces during the assault. The engagement illustrates the character of the final phase of Formosan resistance: irregular and civilian-led rather than conducted by a standing military, and ultimately unable to prevent Japanese consolidation of control over the island.

Forces & casualties