From: Michael Goldman  <miklg@acuson.com>
Subject: The R-J War: Prelude to WWII (part 1)
Organization: Acuson; Mountain View, California
Date: Mon, 9 Nov 1992 19:36:04 GMT


From Michael Goldman  <miklg@acuson.com>

	The insanity of Japan attacking the US in
	1941 might make a little more sense if one
	looks at the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-1905.
	While little mentioned in US views of world
	history, it had a profound effect on the world
	view of the Japanese.


	Summarized from "The Tide at Sunrise - A History of the
	Russo-Japanese War" by Denis and Peggy Warner.

	Czar Nicholas had actually sent a note to Viceroy Alexiev just
	prior to the Japanese opening of hostilities instructing him to
	offer the Japanese a buffer zone along the 39th parallel, (a
	deal initially proposed by the Japanese).  Alexiev had designs
	of his own on various lucrative business concessions in
	Manchuria and Korea and ignored the instructions.

	At the battle of Liaoyang, the Russian forces came as close as
	ever they came to a victory and three Japanese generals were
	demoted for their strategy which resulted in massive
	unnecessary loss of life.  Among them was Major-General Tojo
	Hidenori, the father of then Lieutenant Tojo Hideki, who would
	be prime minister during most of WWII.  It would be interesting
	to know what effect this had on the young Tojo.  As an
	interesting counterpoint, we have Emperor Hirohito telling Tojo
	on June 29, 1943:

		"You keep saying the Imperial Army is indomitable but
		whenever the enemy lands, you lose the battle.  You
		have never been able to repulse an enemy landing.  If
		we do not find somewhere to stop them, where I ask you,
		is this war actually going to end?"

	By July of 1905, Japanese forces had gone as far into Manchuria
	as they could and were exhausted, but Kodama felt it necessary
	to capture some Russian territory to improve the Japanese
	bargaining position.  In the next month, Japan invaded and took
	Sakhalin Island, which directly threatened the Russian port of
	Vladivostok.  Still, the Russian generals in Manchuria told
	Czar Nicholas that the Japanese spirit had waned, the fanatics
	were either all dead or dispirited, and Japanese were actually
	deserting to the Russians where before they would die rather
	than surrender.  The Russian forces were at 500,000 which put
	them at twice the Japanese forces, where previously they had
	been about equal in strength.  Spirits were high, and supplies
	were plentiful now that the Siberian railway was funtioning
	well.  They recommended continuing the war.

	Revolution at home, and the constant sring of defeats caused
	Nicholas to agree to peace negotiations.  The Japanese were
	desperate for peace since they could not finance another 3
	months of war.  At most they could field an additional
	one-and-a-half divisions.  The sticking point was indemnity.
	Nicholas was adamant that Russia had never paid indemnity and
	he would go to the field himself before conceding one.  The
	Russians were ready to go home from the treaty negotiations
	August 28th when the Japanese asked for one more day of
	meetings.  When the Japanese dropped the demand for indemnity
	(which had been supported by Roosevelt), the Russians
	immediately agreed to a peace.

	The River Amur (also known as The Black Dragon - from a
	translation of the Chinese for the river's name) Society and
	other ultra-nationalist groups proclaimed the treaty a national
	insult, there were riots, the one (government) newspaper which
	tried to be rational about the issue (_Kokumin_) was burned
	down by the mobs.  The American financier E. H. Harriman and
	his sons Averell and Roland arrived just before the riots to
	work with Japan on the Manchurian railway.  They were soon told
	to go home by the Japanese who blamed the Americans for the
	lack of indemnity.  (It is interesting to speculate how a jont
	US-Japanese operation in Manchuria might have changed history.)

	For a perspective on indemnity, between 1895 and 1900 China
	paid Japan 200 million taels of silver in indemnity for the
	Sino-Japanese war of 1894.  In 1900, the Chinese govt's total
	revenue was 90 M.  Japan made a major profit from the war with
	China, forcing China to open up to Russia in return for Russian
	assistance in obtaining French loans with which to pay Japan.
	This Russian incursion was what provoked Japan to start the R-J
	war.

	On December 14, 1944, Stalin told US representative Averell
	Harriman that the USSR needed the Kurile islands, & the
	southern half of Sakhalin, to safeguard Vladivostok, and Port
	Arthur, the Manchurian Railway, and Dalny (in Kwangtung).  The
	US acceded to this.  In 1954 Khruschev finally gave Port Arthur
	and other parts of China back to the People's Republic of
	China.

	- 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]

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