The Battle of Qingshanli (Korean: 청산리 전투; Hanja: 靑山里戰鬪) was fought over six days in October 1920 between the Imperial Japanese Army and Korean armed groups in a densely wooded region of eastern Manchuria called Qīngshānlǐ (Japanese: 青山里, Seizanri; Korean: 청산리, Cheongsanri). It occurred during the campaign of the Japanese army in Jiandao, during the Japanese rule of Korea (1910–1945).

Quick Facts Date, Location ...

Battle of Qingshanli
Part of the Korean Independence Movement
Commemorative photo after the Battle of Qingshanli
Date 21–26 October 1920 Location Qīngshānlǐ, Jílín, China Result Both sides claim victory
Belligerents
Japan Imperial Japanese Army	Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea Northern Military Administration Office Korean Northern Army Command
Commanders and leaders
Tomotake Takashima Masahiko Azuma Naoaki Isobayashi Masuzō Kimura	Kim Jwa-jin Lee Beom-seok Hong Beom-do Cho An-Mu
Strength
30,000	About 3,000[1][2][3]
Casualties and losses
Japanese record:[4][5] 11 killed 24 wounded Korean claim:[4][6] 812~1,200 killed 3,300 wounded	60 killed[4][7] 90 wounded

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After the March 1st Movement of 1919 by Koreans calling for liberation from Japanese occupation, some Korean activists formed an independence army in Manchuria. The Japanese government asked China to subdue them but got no substantive result.^[8][9][10]

On 2 October 1920, the Independence Army raided Hun-ch'un and killed 13 Japanese including the commissioner of the consulate police. In response, Japan decided to send troops to eastern Manchuria. Japan immediately held talks with China, and on 16 October received permission for military action in eastern Jilin from the governor of Jilin.^[11][12][13]

The Japanese forces who joined the expedition were the 28th Brigade of the 19th Division, which was on its way back to Japan, and two units from the 11th and 13th Divisions who had been sent to Vladivostok. Among them, only the 19th Division of the Choson Army of Japan, part of the Imperial Japanese Army garrisoned in Korea, launched an actual military operation and the rest contained a lockdown and a demonstration. The 19th Division was deployed to Hunchun (Isobayashi Detachment), Wangqing (Kimura Detachment) and Yanji-Helong (Azuma Detachment). The Isobayashi and Kimura detachments engaged in no major combat.

From 21 to 23 October, the Northern military administration office army (Korean: 북로군정서군; Hanja: 北路軍政署軍) led by Kim Jwa-jin lured some of Japanese soldiers and attacked them in Baiyunping (白雲坪), Quanshuiping (泉水坪) and Wanlougou (完樓溝). Although the Korean force was small and used guerilla warfare, they were victorious. The Japanese force, who were defeated by the Korean Independent Army, appealed for help to the Azuma Detachment. They were rushed in for the relief of the remnants to fight against the Korean Independence Army.

The Azuma Detachment engaged in combat with the Korean Independence Army on 23 October. The Northern military administration office army united the Korea independent army led by Hong Beom-do in the struggle against Japanese force. The Korean troops had the Japanese Azuma Detachment at a disadvantage, and the two forces fought the final battle in the Yulang town (漁郎村). The Korean army claimed to have killed 1,200 Japanese soldiers, and wounded thousands of others on 26 October, though the number of casualties during the battle is still debated on. As a result of the battle, Korean forces retreated from the area and the Japanese army kept pursuing them.

In response to these claims, Kim Hak-Cheor (also known as Song Jin-woo), who participated in many battles as a member of the armed group for the independence of Korea, argued that the number of Japanese casualties was exaggerated by a factor of 300 or more. According to him, when Korean independence forces encountered the Japanese army, they lost 9 out of 10 times, and even if they won, they could only kill 2 or 3 Japanese soldiers.^[14][15]

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