Why was the Qing Dynasty's navy so powerful, or was it defeated? I think the defeat mentioned in the subject's question should refer to the total destruction of the Beiyang Marine Division in the Sino-Japanese Naval Battle. Before answering this question, we must first clarify two questions. First, was the Qing Dynasty Navy (Beiyang Fleet) really powerful? Second, what was the real strength of the Qing Dynasty Navy (Beiyang Fleet)?
First of all, the Beiyang Fleet is the first modernized (modernized) fleet in Chinese history. Regarding the specific strength of the Beiyang Fleet, there are different theories according to different historical data. There are probably three kinds of truth: (1) the world's third, Asia's first. (2) Sixth in the world and first in the Far East. (3) Eighth in the world and first in East Asia.
But in either case, in the eyes of the world, the overall strength of beiyang was higher than that of its opponent in the Sino-Japanese War, the Japanese combined fleet. However, what surprised everyone was that the Beiyang Fleet, which was far stronger than the combined fleet in the eyes of the world, was actually destroyed by its opponents who were weaker than its own in the First Sino-Japanese War.
This is not only unbelievable to forty-five million People, but also enough to stunned the world. Why did such a powerful Beiyang Fleet fail in the eyes of the world, and fail at the cost of total annihilation? Is the real strength of the Beiyang Fleet really so vulnerable?
It's actually very simple, nothing more than these two reasons. First, because the Qing government used extremely ancient command methods to command its modern fleet, this extremely uncoordinated command method of warfare was an important reason for the failure of the Beiyang Fleet. Although all the weapons of the Beiyang Fleet were all modern equipment, all the pipe belt captains were also Liu Guoyang's pure modern military commanders.
But their overall strategy followed the same set used in the wars of ancient Chinese feudal society. In fact, this is equivalent to you having a wild man with a modern cannon, will it be used? Is it good to use? Nature doesn't use it, let alone use it well.
Second, the strength of the Beiyang Fleet is based on the premise that it is well-equipped and sufficient. But the reality of the Beiyang Fleet is that, in addition to maintaining the superficial strength, in fact, the warships of the Beiyang Fleet have long been in tatters and fallen into disrepair. It can be said that even the most basic gloss and brilliance on the surface cannot be maintained. No matter how good the performance of the BMW, as long as it is placed there for 10 years and not used, it is still a pile of scrap iron without maintenance.
In addition, the lethality of the fleet does not lie in the fleet itself, but in the shells that can be fired. However, when it came into contact with the enemy's short troops, the entire Beiyang Fleet could really fight out and fire, and there were very few shells with lethality. This is the equivalent of a BMW car with the best performance, and if you don't add enough gasoline, it can't run anyway, or even run.
Speaking of which, why the powerful Beiyang Fleet of the Qing Dynasty lost to the Japanese combined fleet in the Sino-Japanese War and was completely destroyed should be clear at a glance. Of course, the most fundamental and deep reason for the total annihilation of the Beiyang Fleet in the First Sino-Japanese War was because the feudal social system at that time was extremely decayed, and the rule of the Qing Dynasty was already extremely corrupt, just like Ah Dou, who could not be supported, even if he tried hard, it was futile.