Atlas of Battles

siege, major, First World War

Siege of Tsingtao

Siege of Tsingtao was a siege conducted on 27 August 1914 at Qingdao, in what is now People's Republic of China; it lasted 2 months. It was part of the Asian and Pacific theater of World War I, which ran from 1914 to 1919. The recorded result: Anglo–Japanese victory.

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IN THE BATTERIES AGAINST TSING-TAU: A JAPANESE SIEGE-GUN GETTING THE ORDER BY TELEPHONE TO OPEN FIRE.
IN THE BATTERIES AGAINST TSING-TAU: A JAPANESE SIEGE-GUN GETTING THE ORDER BY TELEPHONE TO OPEN FIRE.. Various (Periodical), Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
Fought27 August 1914lasted 2 months
WhereQingdao, People's Republic of China36.067N, 120.383E
OutcomeAnglo–Japanese victory
BelligerentsEmpire of Japan; United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland; Weihaiwei; New Zealand; India; Naval support: French Third RepublicagainstGerman Empire; Kiautschou BayAustria-Hungary
Part ofAsian and Pacific theater of World War I1914 to 1919

Where it sits in the Asian and Pacific theater of World War I

Siege of Tsingtao, 1914Battle of Bita Paka, 1914Siege of Toma, 1914Scuttling of SMS Cormoran, 191719141917Siege of Tsingtao, 1914
4 placed engagements of the Asian and Pacific theater of World War I in time order; taller ticks are more widely documented. Each tick is a link.

Record

Date27 August 1914
to 7 November 1914
PlaceQingdao, People's Republic of China
36.067N, 120.383E
KindSiege, First World War
Territorial changeJapanese occupation of Qingdao and the Qingdao–Jinan railway
Strength24,500; 1 seaplane carrier; 5 battleships; 2 battlecruisers; 1 protected cruiser; 2 destroyers; 2 airplanes3,750; 1 protected cruiser; 1 unprotected cruiser; 1 torpedo boat; 4 gunboats; 2 airplanes
Casualties and losses727 killed; 1,335 wounded; 1 protected cruiser sunk; 1 destroyer sunk; 1 battleship damaged; 1 airplane destroyed199 killed; 504 wounded; 3,047 captured; 1 protected cruiser scuttled; 1 unprotected cruiser scuttled; 1 torpedo boat scuttled; 4 gunboats scuttled; 98 Chinese civilians killed and 30 wounded by Japanese forces
Commanders
  • Mitsuomi Kamio
  • Sadakichi Kato
  • Alfred Meyer-Waldeck
Siege of TsingtaoSiege of TsingtaoBattle of TangdaoBattle of TangdaoWeifangLaiyangRizhaoYishuiPingduZhucheng100 km36.067N, 120.383E
The recorded site, with the nearest other engagements in the atlas. Present-day coastlines, rivers and borders; towns from Natural Earth.

The ground today

Relief of the ground around the site of Siege of Tsingtao
Relief within about 10.0 km of the site, contours every 25 m. Copernicus DEM GLO-30, ESA.
Satellite view of the site of Siege of Tsingtao today
The same ground from Sentinel-2 on 2024-09-07. Contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data 2024.

The recorded site stands at about 7 m; within 10.0 km the ground runs from -3 to 333 m, 336 m of relief, hilly country and today it is 59% built-up, 26% water, 12% tree cover.

built-up: 59%water: 26%tree cover: 12%built-up 59%water 26%tree cover 12%
west to east, 10.0 km0 to 133 mnorth to south, 10.0 km0 to 79 m
Elevation from the Copernicus DEM GLO-30 (ESA, Airbus); land cover from ESA WorldCover 2021 (CC BY 4.0), within about 5 km of the recorded site. Computed, not recorded.

Nearest engagements

In the same war

Elsewhere in 1914

Siege of Tsingtao is one of 2,997 engagements of the 20th century in the atlas and one of 339 in present-day People's Republic of China.

Sources

Identity, coordinates, dates and the war from Wikidata Q706563, released under CC0. Result, belligerents, commanders, strength and casualties from the infobox of the English Wikipedia article Siege of Tsingtao, revision 1382095785, read 2026-11-14, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0; the article's text is not reproduced here. Present-day country and state from Natural Earth. Dates before 1582 follow the Julian calendar as recorded.