A Japanese soldier kneels beside the body of a comrade Japanese soldier killed by German troops during the siege of Qingdao, Shandong Province, China, Oct. 1, 1914, during World War I.

    A Japanese soldier kneels beside the body of a comrade Japanese soldier killed by German troops during the siege of Qingdao, Shandong Province, China, Oct. 1, 1914, in World War I. A British soldier looks on as he stands over the body of a Japanese soldier lying on his back as British troops fought alongside Japanese forces in Qingdao, China, in the fall of 1914. After a two-month siege, Qingdao finally fell in November. Japanese casualties were approximately 733 dead and 1,282 wounded. The British forces lost about 12 dead and 53 wounded. German troops suffered approximately 199 killed and 504 wounded.

　While fighting was taking place on the Western and Eastern fronts in Europe, minor battles broke out between Allied and German forces in various parts of the world. In the Far East, the Allies invaded the German naval base at Qingdao, China. The British had long viewed the German presence in China as a threat to British interests; allied with Japan since 1902, Japan had territorial ambitions on the Asian continent.

 　Even before the war began, the Japanese were preparing to lay siege to Qingdao, and on August 15, 1914, they issued an ultimatum to Germany demanding that it withdraw its warships from Chinese and Japanese territorial waters and hand over Qingdao.  The British decided to dispatch a naval force defending Tianjin in northern China and about 1,500 British soldiers to join the Japanese forces in the vicinity of Qingdao Harbor. The Japanese forces laid siege to Qingdao Harbor with the first air attack from ships and the first nighttime air raid. They gradually invaded the trenches while weakening the Germans with heavy howitzers. The Germans fought an endurance battle for about two months and surrendered on November 7. Three days later, the port of Qingdao was handed over and occupied by the Japanese.

   Seizing the opportunity, Japan entered the war and occupied Qingdao, which had been leased by Germany. After taking control of the Shandong Peninsula, Japan presented Chinese President Yuan Shikai with twenty-one demands in five items. These included: the transfer of German concessions in Shandong Province to Japan; the extension of the concession periods for Lushun, Dalian, and the Manchurian Railway for 99 years; a request for concessions in Inner Mongolia; and the appointment of Japanese advisors to the Chinese government. After 25 rounds of negotiations, Yuan Shikai yielded to Japanese pressure. The Chinese people were so outraged that they called the day of acceptance of his demands "National Shame Day" and launched a boycott campaign against Japanese products.