the japanese navy devastated qing's northern fleet off the mouth of the yalu river at the battle of yalu river on september 17, 1894, in which the chinese fleet lost 8 out of 12 warships. although japan turned out victorious, the two large german-made battleships of the chinese navy remained almost impervious to japanese guns, highlighting the need for bigger capital ships in the japanese navy (the "ting yuan" was finally sunk by torpedoes, and the "chen-yuan" was captured with little damage). the next step of the imperial japanese navy's expansion would thus involve a combination of heavily armed large warships, with smaller and innovative offensive units permitting aggressive tactics.