Interpreting Constantin von Hanneken's Three Reports on the Battle of the Yellow Sea

For over a century, scholars in various disciplines and in different countries have searched assiduously for a full explanation of China's seemingly one-sided defeat at the Battle of Yellow Sea (17 September 1894). For historians, new sources can always provide new pieces that help fill blank spaces in a puzzle. Constantin von Hanneken (1853-1925), Vice-admiral of the Beiyang Navy, was one of the very few eye-witnesses who left behind detailed reports about the battle. His two unreleased reports entitled "The Conditions of the North China Navy and its Performance in the First Phase of the Sino-Japanese War" (Bericht über die Zustände in der nordchinesischen Flotte and über ihre Tätigkeit während der ersten Hälfte des japanisch-chinesischen Krieges) and "A Report on the Unsuccessful Attempt to Create a Royal Chinese Army During the Sino-Japanese War 1894-95" (Bericht über das Scheitern des Organisationsplan für Bildung einer Kaiserlich-chinesischen Armee während des chinesisch-japanischen Krieges 1894/1895) remain underutilized. His "Notes by Major Hanneken," submitted to Li Hongzhang right after the battle, has once been available in Japanese only. A thorough investigation of the above materials sheds new light on the tactics, logistics, leadership, war supplies and preparation, etc. of the Beiyang Navy, and the actual fighting in the battle.