The Siege of Tsingtao Monument

The Siege of Tsingtao is not much remembered now but it was a side show to the main performances of World War One. The Siege was the attack on the then German-controlled port of Tsingtao (Qingdao)  during World War One by Japan and Britain’s Royal Navy against the Kaiser’s boats.  It was the first encounter between Japanese and German forces and the first joint British-Japanese operation in the war. No time to go into the whole business here – more on this web page for those interested in the details.

The point of this post is that I was not aware that there was a memorial to the Royal Navy men who fought at Tsingtao – that is until I was wandering around Portsmouth recently (a city with rather a large amount of memorials to just about everything nautical in British history). The World War One memorial in Portsmouth is naturally dedicated to the Royal Navy and includes the Siege of Tsingtao – so it is remembered, in Portsmouth at least.