In November 1894, Ōdera was promoted to major general and made commander of the IJA 11th Infantry Regiment. Under his command were cavalry detachments led by Nogi Maresuke and Akiyama Yoshifuru. Ōdera has praised by French military observers by his cool demeanor when under fire, calmly smoking a cigarette while enemy bullets fell all around him. He reportedly responded by saying that he was not strong - only the smell of smoke from his cigarette was strong. While leading his troops during the Battle of Weihaiwei in the First Sino-Japanese War against the land fortifications guarding the naval base, his position was hit by shrapnel from an artillery shell fired by the Beiyang fleet cruiser "Jiyuan". Ōdera was the only Japanese general killed in combat during the war.