Russo-Japanese war of 1904-05.

Before we get into the war, let’s talk about the build up to the war first. Japan underwent massive transformation in their society around 1868 which is known as the Meiji Restoration. It brought the country closer to a western European nation. Brought its politics, economy, and military to resemble a European nation.

Japan set their sights upon China and so the first Sino-Japanese War of 1895 occurred which resulted in Japanese victory. In the peace treaty Japan gained Taiwan, Liaodong Peninsula as well Port Arthur, recognition of an independent Korea, war reparations, and opening of treaty ports.

This victory did not sit well with European powers who also had interest in China namely; Russia, France and Germany. These nations formed the Triple Intervention and threatened Japan with war if they did not return Liaodong Peninsula and Port Arthur. Japan backed down and returned the land. Russia, wanted a warm water port, licensed Port Arthur from China for 25 years. They also attempted to persuade the newly independent Korea to join the Russian sphere of influence.

Japan, humiliated by the Triple Intervention, was angered by Russia’s encroachment into Japanese sphere of influence. With the loss of Port Arthur, war seem inevitable between the two powers.

In February 8, 1904, Japan launched a surprise attack on the Russian fleet stationed at Port Arthur and proceeded with a blockade. Unchallenged on the seas, the Japanese shipped their troops to Korea and near Port Arthur. Japan won the Battle of Nanshan cutting Port Arthur from the rest of the Russian forces.

The Japanese Third Army laid siege to Port Arthur, shelling the city and the Russian ships in dock. Japan launched multiple offensives to take the city, but each failed. This is due to the defenses of barbed wires and machine guns. Advisors from the Western world watched and noted the effect of machine guns and superior firepower had on infantry assaults. These lessons can be seen in the First World War. An example is that the French saw how the Japanese won battles with their fervor and continuous infantry assaults. On January 2, 1905, Port Arthur surrendered to the Japanese force.

The last land battle of the war, the Battle of Mukden. The Russian side had around 330,000 men and the Japanese had 270,000. The Japanese were victorious but it came at a heavy cost. The Russians saw 89,000 dead, and the Japanese saw 71,000 dead. The massive number of causalities that Japan suffered at the Battle of Mukden and the siege of Port Arthur saw their reserve manpower near depleted. If war were to carry on the Japanese would have surely surrendered due to lack of manpower, while the Russian had deeper manpower reserve. Luckily, the last battle of the war took place on the Japanese control seas.

The Russian Baltic Fleet set sail in the fall of 1904 to help reinforce the Russian Far East Fleet. They arrived in May of 1905 and tried to reach the port of Vladivostok by going through the straights of Tsushima. Unfortunately, the Russian fleet sailed for months experienced a lack of maintenance, so when they arrived in May at the Tsushima straits, their ships were unprepared for the Japanese fleet waiting. As a result, the Russian fleet was decimated, two-thirds of it sunk, and only four ships made it to Vladivostok.

With the Russian fleets decimated, the army in retreat, and civil unrest happening in Russia. Peace were sought for. The Treaty of Portsmouth ended the war which gave control of Port Arthur, half of Sakhalin Island and recognition of Japan’s control of Korea.

The war did three things for the world; one, it showed the European powers can be defeated by a non-European power. This was never done before, and it added to the Russian’s anger towards the monarchy. Second, it shifted Russia’s foreign policy away from the Far East and more towards the Balkan region.  Finally, it gave a glimpse to the future of warfare that later became the heart of the First World War.

 To learn more about the naval side of the Russo-Japanese War watch the video of the war by Kings and Generals.

*We will return to this topic in my next blog post about the First World War and why it was so bloody.

Braden Harrison

Braden is a second-year student of the Professional Writing program at Algonquin College. He enjoys learning history, via reading books or watching videos, and reading fantasy novels.