Battle of Baguashan The Battle of Baguashan ( ) , the largest battle ever fought on Taiwanese soil , was the pivotal battle of the Japanese invasion of Taiwan . The battle , fought on 27 August 1895 near the city of Changhua in central Taiwan between the invading Japanese army and the forces of the short - lived Republic of Formosa , was a decisive Japanese victory , and doomed the Republic of Formosa to early extinction . The battle was one of the few occasions on which the Formosans were able to deploy artillery against the Japanese . Background . Following the capture of Miaoli , the last Formosan stronghold in northern Taiwan , the Imperial Japanese Army advanced south towards Changhua , the largest city in central Taiwan and the gateway to southern Taiwan . The city was surrounded by hills that offered strong defensive positions , and was protected by the Bagua Battery ( ) on the heights of Baguashan ( , Japanese reading of the Chinese characters " Hakkezan " or Mt . Hakke ) , which was one kilometer east of the city . Changhua was also defended by walls , which was by no means usual at this period . Rebellions were frequent in Taiwan , and the Qing government preferred to keep Taiwanese cities unwalled . The vanguard units of the IJA reached the north bank of Dadu River ( ) on August 25 , and immediately began preparation for crossing the river . In anticipation of a large scale confrontation , both sides tried to gather as many forces and supplies as possible . However , due to internal strife , the Formosans could only muster around 5 , 000 men , many of whom were remnants of militia units that were defeated in Miaoli , or raw recruits from Changhua ; President Liu Yung - fu ( ) ignored the repeated requests for reinforcement due to political rivalry with Li Jin - sung ( ) , the commander - general of northern Taiwan . The Japanese massed about 15 , 000 soldiers , with support of modern artillery . On August 27 , General Prince Kitashirakawa Yoshihisa ( ) , commander of the Japanese forces in the area , inspected the front line at the bank to draw plan for an assault on the Formosan positions . He was spotted by the garrison in Bagua battery , who opened fire on him and his group of staff . The unexpected bombardment killed his second - in - command and wounded him ; some sources alleged that the wound he received later cost him his life . The battle . After nightfall on August 27 , under the cover of darkness , several Japanese units crossed the river and moved into positions to attack . Unaware of the Japanese movement , the Formosans launched several raids against the Japanese that night , but achieved little . The Japanese left wing successfully reached the foot of Mount Baguashan undetected , and assaulted the battery at dawn . Despite being caught off guard and outnumbered , the Formosans held the battery until Wu Tang - hsing ( ) , who was in charge of defense of the battery , was killed , and the garrison reduced to several dozen soldiers . A counterattack by a Black Banner unit was repulsed , and the remaining Formosans under Hsu Hsiang ( ) were forced to abandon the battery . At the same time , Formosan units under Wu Peng - nien ( ) engaged the Japanese in fierce fighting south of the river . Upon learning the loss of Bagua battery , Wu immediately led his men towards the battery and regrouped with Hsu . They then counterattacked the Japanese forces on Mount Baguashan in a last - ditch effort to destabilize the Japanese line , but were eventually thrown back with heavy losses . Wu was killed when his unit was surrounded by the Japanese , and Hsu managed to break out with a handful of men . After routing the Formosans , the Japanese bombarded the city of Changhua , caused panic among the civilians and garrison soldiers , who then fled the city . The Japanese then took the city unopposed , thus ended the fiercest battle in the history of Taiwan . The following account of the battle was given by James Davidson , who served as a war correspondent with the Japanese army during the campaign : Changwha , a walled city , is situated less than five miles from the sea , in a plain scarcely above its level . To the east lies a range of hills , the highest of which — Hakkezan ( Paquasoan ) — which dominated the whole plain , was crowned with a well - erected fort protected by four 12 - centimetre late model Krupp guns , besides a large number of the usual miscellaneous relics of ancient warfare so beloved by the Chinese . To the north , about 3 , 000 metres distant , ran a mountain stream which , with the heavy rains usual at this time of year , had been converted into a surging river . It was on the opposite banks of this river that the Japanese and Chinese troops met on the 27th ; the Japanese to the north hidden by fields of sugar - cane , which cover the district ; the Chinese to the south protected by earth - works of some importance , which they had erected on the river bank ; while a few rods to the rear stood formidable breastworks . It has always been the custom to ford the river at one point where it was comparatively shallow , and it was at this point that the Chinese had built their defences and gathered a large portion of their forces ; for , if it " blong olo custom " to cross at this place , the Japanese would , according to Chinese reasoning , do the same . But the Japanese have a reputation for dropping old customs , and they did so in this case . The right wing , under command of Major - General Ogawa , remained at the camp to divert the Chinese with large camp fires , etc . ; while the left wing , under command of Major - General Yamane , under the shadow of darkness , crossed the river with considerable difficulty at a previously discovered ford some 1 , 500 metres off . The column was now divided into three detachments . The first detachment , under command of Major - General Yamane , made its way quietly along to obtain a position to attack the city of Changwha itself . The second detachment with a battery of mountain - guns crawled along through the sugar - cane to cross the lower hills and gain a position to the east of the lofty fort of Mount Hakkezan , while the third with great caution slowly and quietly advanced to the rear of the Chinese troops guarding the river , and between them and the city . The whole force arrived at their positions without a hitch , and with the enemy still watching the moving figures and the numerous camp fires of the Japanese across the river . It was one of the cleverest exhibitions of strategy displayed during the whole war . The right column crossed the river before daylight , leaving a detachment at the camping grounds to keep up the camp fires ; and all were now in position ready for the attack . With the first rays of morning , the Chinese were on the alert , and opened fire with great bravado on the decoy troops left across the river . This was to the Japanese the signal for action . Scarcely had the smoke cleared away when the detachment which had occupied the position to the rear of the Chinese on the river bank was down on the insurgents with a rush . The Chinese , too surprised to make any defence , were terror - stricken . They jumped into the river , ran right and left , even on to the bayonets of their opponents . Simultaneously , the second detachment began to climb the hill at the back of the fort of Hakkezan . The surprised garrison poured a rifle fire upon them , but the detachment did not hesitate . On the contrary , bayonets were fixed and a determined charge made , until the fort was entered , and the Chinese deserting the big guns still loaded , were climbing over the walls and plunging down the hillside in full flight . Many of the retreating insurgents had fled into the walled city of Changwha , apparently with the idea of fighting from the walls , where a large force was now assembled . But the Japanese in the fort above them had witnessed the whole scene and turned the insurgents ’ own guns down upon the city . The Chinese had not thought of this ; but like a flash their danger became apparent ; and from a position of calm defiance , they were thrown into a frenzy of terror , and with a wild rush they sought escape through the South Gate . But to their horrible dismay , they found the Japanese even there ; and turning back into the city they ran shrieking and howling like an army amok , firing at anything that attracted their attention . Only a few shots had been fired by the Japanese from the fort ; and the Japanese infantry then scaled the walls and poured down into the city in large numbers . Street fighting with the panic - stricken braves occupied an hour ; but by 7 a . m . all was quiet . Detachments were at once detailed to pursue the retreating insurgents , who had gone towards Kagi [ Chiayi ] to the south and Lokang ( Rokko ) to the west , where they hoped boats could be obtained to carry them to the south of the island . Aftermath . The battle was an impressive Japanese victory , and foreign observers praised the courage and skill with which the Japanese troops had captured such a strong position so quickly . For the Japanese , the opportunity to defeat the Formosans in a pitched battle was welcomed after the weeks of guerilla fighting they had experienced since the start of their march south from Taipei . The battle put an end to organized resistance against the Japanese in central Taiwan , and ultimately paved the way for the final Japanese advance on Tainan , the last major Formosan stronghold . However , the Japanese were unable to follow up their victory immediately . A severe outbreak of malaria at Changhua in early September 1895 ravaged the Japanese forces , killing more than 2 , 000 men , and continuing Formosan guerilla attacks kept the Japanese short of supplies . The Japanese temporarily halted their advance , and their inaction gave the Formosans time to regroup and organize an initially successful , but ultimately fruitless , counteroffensive . Cultural influences . In 1965 a mass grave containing 679 bodies , believed to be those of Formosan fighters , was discovered at the site of battle . The site is now a memorial park , dedicated to those who perished in the battle . The battle of Baguashan has recently been depicted as the climax to the film 1895 ( released in November 2008 ) , based on the life of the Formosan militia commander Wu Tang - hsing . On May 6 , 2006 , Democratic Progressive Party ' s leadership circle proposed the dedication of August 28 as " Taiwanese Resistance of Japan Memorial Day , " ( Traditional Chinese : 台灣人民抗日紀念日 ) as well as the inclusion of the battle in the history textbooks and having the portraits of leading figures in the battle printed on bank notes . This proposal , however , did not make it to the Legislative Yuan .