The History of~The Russo-Japanese War

The Russo-Japanese War was one of the biggest naval conflicts in the Far East, and remained the biggest until World War 2. It also saw 2 Empires fighting in the Far East on a scale not seen since the Opium Wars, and also put into question the world's largest army.

If you're one of those war enthusiasts think that the Russo-Japanese War was the first time an Asian country militarily defeated an European country, you would be wrong.

Russia isn't really just a European country, nor is it an Asian country, because Russia strattles along the border of Europe and Asia and if you live in the western part of the country, you're in Prestigious Europe. If you were in the eastern part of the country, you're in Nomadic Asia. So it's an Eurasian Country, Turkey is another Eurasian Country since it too strattles along the border of Europe and Asia.

Anyway, on with the topic of this page.

## The Russo-Japanese War

### Prelude

After the Japanese won against the Qing Dynasty in the First Sino-Japanese War in 1895, the Japanese put the entire Korean Peninsula under military occupation.

This wasn't good news for Russia who wanted to do things in the new Korean republics, one of them is to build a railroad to the port city of Port Arthur as it had better access to the sea as it gets warmer there than it does in Russia's own port city Vladivostok.

However, both sides have tried to negotiate a deal as Russia's occupation over Manchuria (after the Boxer Rebellion) and Japan's occupation of Korea would be recognized on both sides, but Russia didn't want to play along and instead wanted a buffer zone between Russian occupied Manchuria and Japanese occupied Korea (which would be a part of North Korea today), but the Japanese didn't want to agree on that since it got in the way of them expanding their territory into Mainland Asia. So Japan on February 8, 1904 decide to declare war on Russia.

### Factions

Russia, even for the time had the world's largest army. But in comparison to the Japanese they were poorly equipped and didn't have the latest in weapon technology and were using old-fashioned style cavalry tactics too. They were also fighting a world away since most of the population (and the military) were in the western part of the country, and because the Russo-Japanese War was also fought at sea, they also didn't have the best navy either.

Japan had a brand new empire (as the country was run by Shoguns for the last 7 centuries) and it was coming off a victory over China in the First Sino-Japanese War, because they embraced industrialization better than Russia did, it had the latest in war technology for the time such as better ships, and eventhough Japan didn't nearly had the infantry numbers Russia did, but the Japanese troops were better equipped, better trained and were also better lead as the Imperial Japanese Army had better officers.

### Port Arthur

Port Arthur was the biggest prize for both sides. If Russia takes it, they would have a better port city for their navy and maritime trade. If the Japanese take it, this would ensure their control over the Korean Peninsula, but at the very outset of war, both Russia and Japan sent their ships.

The Russians had a fleet of around 13 ships challenging a Japanese fleet that outnumbered them nearly 3 to 1, nevertheless this 1-day battle ended indecisively despite superior numbers from the Japanese.

But on August 1, the Japanese and the Russians would send over 300,000 soldiers and volunteers into the port city, and placing the city under siege for 5 months. But the Japanese would take the port city after the fighting.

### Other Battles

There were other battles in this war, like the Battle of Yalu River which was one of the first land battles of the war, the Japanese would outnumber the Russians in this battle too, and the Russians would be defeated as they suffer over 2,000 casualties to Japan's 1,000, almost equal losses.

The Russians would get their first (and only) break in the war, as they were to ambush the Japanese in the Hitachi-Maru Incident where Russia would sink 3 unarmed ships and kill over 1,000 crewmen.

On May 27, 1905 near the island of Tsushima the Russians and the Japanese would face off with their ships once again. A vastly numbered Japanese navy have outclassed the Russian Navy where Russia nearly lost their entire fighting power in the battle with the Japanese losing only 3 torpedo ships.

### Aftermath

The Treaty of Portsmouth would end the Russo-Japanese war on September 5, 1905. Giving Port Arthur to the Japanese, and Russia would retreat from Manchuria.

Japan would go on to be one of the world's huge powers as it continued to expand their sphere of influence, annexing Korea and making it a part of the main empire by the 1920s, and even taking the German held Micronesian islands during the first World War, and they would expand to China by the 1930s, their aggressive territorial grab won't stop until their defeat in World War 2.

Russia on the other hand would throw a temper tantrum, and what that means is that they'll have a series of revolutions which would result in the overthrowing of the Tsar in 1917 and a civil war in 1919 which will result in a communist takeover in 1924.

The 2 sides will face off again in a series of small battles before WW2 such as the Battle of Kahlkin Gal, they would also sign an non-aggression pact that Russia would break just before Nagasaki was bombed.

That'll do it for this page, don't forget to check out my Games and Movies wikis too. Until next time, this is JohnnyOTGS signing out.