From: miklg@acuson.com (Michael Goldman )
Newsgroups: soc.history
Subject: Re: The Seige of Port Arthur (part 3)
Date: 30 Jul 92 14:40:55 GMT
Organization: Acuson; Mountain View, California


	Some replies to follow-ups on Port Arthur based on "The Tide at
	Sunrise" by Denis and Peggy Warner on the Russo-Japanese war.

	One email mentioned that Finnish subjects became subject to the
	draft after/during the Russo-Japanese war.  It seems Finland
	had been a Grand Duchy since its seizure from Sweden (1809) with
	relative autonomy and its citizens not subject to Russian draft.
	This changed with Alexander III and in 1898, when Nicholas appointed
	Bobrikov, Finns became subject to military service.  They were none
	too happy about this and other changes and made their sympathies
	for the Japanese well known in public demonstrations.  Poles also
	were anxious to make it known that they saw a Japanese victory as
	helping their cause.  In some cases, over 1/3 of Polish troops
	deserted on their way to the war.

	Another email said that Baltic fleet was late because all the other
	European countries refused to let it re-coal at their colonies.
	It seems that coal was declared "contraband" by Britain and France
	meaning that any country violated neutrality by allowing either fleet
	to load coal at their ports.  Germany was only too happy to help Russia
	throw resources into Asia (leaving Germany a freer hand in Europe)
	and provided coal ships as much as possible.  France allowed just
	enough coal to be loaded to allow the fleet to get to the next port.
	Spain was under extreme pressure to allow only a minimum but 
	surreptiously allowed twice as much.  The Morrocan sultan was ignorant
	of the whole matter and was gracious to the ships visiting Tangiers.
	Still, coaling was a problem and the ships loaded every nook and cranny
	with the stuff, resulting in danger of capsizing, and making it
	impossible to keep the ships clean.  The delay I was referring to 
	initially was that they had been scheduled to leave in mid-July, but 
	didn't finally get going until October.

	Several noted that the danger of Japanese torpedo ships in the
	Baltic was not as crazy as it first sounds.  To be more detailed,
	the British fishing fleet was exactly where they always were and
	while I can understand a state of preparedness in the foggy sea,
	since the Russians were worried about the torpedo boats they should
	have been at a ready condition with orders to be especially careful
	about fishing boats.  In the event, they were totally unprepared
	but were in a state of near panic during the journey and so when
	soemone yelled "torpedo boat" they dropped their cards and vodka,
	rushed to their guns, and started firing madly at anything,
	including other Russian ships.  When they finally realized what
	they were doing, they had killed several British fishermen. The
	Russian ships didn't even stop to rescue survivors from the
	sinking fishing boat.  The whole incident was representative of
	the inexperience and incompetence of the entire Russian Navy.  It
	very nearly provoked a war with Britain.  A few sailors who talked
	about it to a British journalist were executed and buried at sea.

	Several people noted that using sidings, the trans-Siberian railway
	could have had quite a few trains running simultaneously.  True, and
	they were used.  The big bottleneck was Lake Baikal.  Even in mid-
	summer the two boats that ferried supplies and rail cars across the
	lake could only move 1/3 of the amount that the trains could carry.
	In the winter of 1900-1901, there were 47 days when no supplies
	could get across the lake.  This is part of why the Japanese
	attacked in February.  Monopolization of the railway by the military
	caused shortages in European Russia and fed the anti-Czarist feeling.
        Evidently, a railway around Lake Baikal was finished before the 
        end of the war, but with numerous tunnels, twists and turns to get 
        throught the mountains derailings were frequent and the average 
        speed was under 6 miles per hour (10 kph).  Another problem in
        getting supplies to Manchuria was that the viceroy Alexiev had 
        two trains of staff and his Aide-de-camp had another trainload. 
        If they were busy or sleeping, no trains were allowed to go past them.

	Since no two books agree on everything, alternate historical
	views are always welcome - I make no claim to expertise based having
	read two books (which don't agree with each other in all details).

	- Michael Goldman

-- 
"History teaches us that men and nations behave wisely once they have
exhausted all other alternatives." - Abba Eban
	Disclaimer:  All views are solely my own & not the views of Acuson.
	<sun!sono!miklg>  or  [miklg@acuson.com]