After remaining on the sidelines despite its close links to Germany, the Ottoman Empire finally declared its support for the Central Powers. At the same time, Japan, an ally of Great Britain, attacked Tsingtao, a German concession leased from the Chinese emperor and the main port of the Indo-Chinese peninsula of Shantung. The town was already famous for its brewery, founded in 1903. The fighting was brief, resulting in a low number of casualties. Peace returned, but the Far East remained on the alert.
