Editing First Sino-Japanese War (section)

===Fall of Lüshunkou===
{{Main|Battle of Lüshunkou|Port Arthur massacre (China)}}

By 21 November 1894, the Japanese had taken the city of Lüshunkou (Port Arthur) with minimal resistance and suffering minimal casualties. Describing their motives as having encountered a display of the mutilated remains of Japanese soldiers as they invaded the town, Japanese forces proceeded with the unrestrained killing of civilians during the [[Port Arthur massacre (China)|Port Arthur Massacre]] with unconfirmed estimates in the thousands. This event was at the time widely viewed with scepticism, as the world at large was still in disbelief that the Japanese were capable of such deeds{{snd}}it seemed more likely to have been exaggerated propagandist fabrications of a Chinese government to discredit Japanese hegemony. In reality, the Chinese government itself was unsure how to react and initially denied the occurrence of the loss of Port Arthur to the Japanese altogether.

{{Blockquote
|text   = As we entered the town of Port Arthur, we saw the head of a Japanese soldier displayed on a wooden stake. This filled us with rage and a desire to crush any Chinese soldier. Anyone we saw in the town, we killed. The streets were filled with corpses, so many they blocked our way. We killed people in their homes; by and large, there wasn't a single house without from three to six dead. Blood was flowing and the smell was awful. We sent out search parties. We shot some, hacked at others. The Chinese troops just dropped their arms and fled. Firing and slashing, it was unbounded joy. At this time, our artillery troops were at the rear, giving three cheers [''[[Ten thousand years|banzai]]''] for the emperor.
|author = Makio Okabe
|source = diary{{sfn|Lone|1994|p=155}} }}

By 10 December 1894, Kaipeng (present-day [[Gaizhou]]) fell to the Japanese First Army. That same month, [[Nozu Michitsura]] was given command of the First Army, replacing Yamagata who had fallen ill.{{sfn|Lone|1994|p=43}}