ORDER OF BATTLE // July 28, 1894
Battle of Seonghwan
Estimated force strength by side, with confidence labels per surviving record.
Forces engaged
2 sides catalogued · combined 7,880 estimated
Japan
4,000
Medium-confidence figure
China
3,880
Medium-confidence figure
Battle context
The Battle of Seonghwan was the first major land battle of the First Sino-Japanese War, fought between Japanese forces under Ōshima Yoshimasa and Chinese forces under Ye Zhichao near the hamlet of Seonghwan outside Cheonan in Korea. With Chinese casualties recorded at approximately 500 against roughly comparable force sizes on both sides, the engagement established Japanese land forces as an effective offensive arm early in the conflict. Coming at the outset of the war, the outcome set the operational tone for the Korean peninsula theater and signaled the limits of Qing military capacity to contest Japanese advances on land.
‹ Full battle dossier