The Russo-Japanese War (February 1904 - September 1905) was "the first great war of the twentieth-century”. At the turn of the century, Russia was the largest nation in Europe, both in terms of population and land area. Russia also had a powerful army and navy, which in addition to its vast territory, made it almost unthinkable for any nation to attempt to wage a war against it. Both Russia and Japan thought war would be an easy win. In that sense, it made negotiating impossible. During her negotiations with Japan, Russia did not expect the Japanese to go to war. After all, Japan was a newly emergent country, whose naval officers might have been trained in Britain and her army officers in Germany, but several of those officers had begun their careers wearing armor and brandishing swords. The Russian army was the world’s most powerful, or at least that is what the Russians believed. But the Japanese had other ideas. Japan knew that they could not win a long war fought over a vast expanse, but they could win a short localized war. Why then had Russia not only been defeated, but suffered tremendous and uneven casualties compared to the Japanese in the Russo-Japanese War? This loss, which later had dire consequences for the Russian empire, occurred because of inadequate preparation, poor leadership, and simply bad luck which plagued the Russian military forces in the Pacific.
Prior to the construction of the Trans-Siberian Railroad, Russia held a position inferior to that of China in the Far East, its efforts characterized by haphazard measures of colonization, unstable means of communication and passive diplomacy. However, at its completion, Russia had a means of deploying a significant military force in Manchuria. Manchuria, of course, was home to the nearly ice-free Port Arthur; Russia’s other naval ports were frozen for a large part of the year. In addition, control of Port Arthur gives Russia a large measure of control over the water approaches to Peking. Moreover, by controlling the southern coast of Korea, Russia would not merely possess a truly ice-free, and the best naval port to be found in East Asia, but also at last feel secure in Manchuria and complete her Far Eastern design of absorbing Korea and China and pressing down toward India. At the same time, for Japanese, too, Port Arthur possessed importance beyond its strategic significance, fought for and won as it had been by their troops in the Chinese War and then wrestled from them by the Europeans.
How important was Port Arthur in the Russo-Japanese war? Port Arthur had its roots in the simultaneous determination of both Japan and Russia to develop spheres of influence in the Far East, mainly at the expense of China. Japan fought a very successful war against the crumbling Chinese Empire in 1894-95 and imposed a severe treaty. Japan demanded from China a heavy war indemnity, the island of Formosa, and Port Arthur and its hinterland. The European powers, while having no objection to the indemnity, did feel that Japan should not gain Port Arthur, for they had their own ambitions in that part of the world. Russia persuaded Germany and France to join her in applying diplomatic pressure on the Japanese, with the result that Japan was obliged to relinquish Port Arthur. Two years later Saint Petersburg forced the Chinese into leasing Port Arthur to Russia, together with the Liaotung Peninsula on which it stood. For Russia this meant the acquisition of an ice-free naval base in the Far East to supplement Vladivostok. For Japan it was a case of adding insult to injury.
The Boxer Rebellion of 1900 was used by Russia “as a welcome pretext for taking outright possession of most of Manchuria, as a preliminary to turning it into an additional Russian province.” (Walder, David). In many ways, Russia was inadequately prepared for the upcoming conflict. At the time of the conflict, Russia had an enormous army of over one million troops, with another 2.5 million in reserve.
Assess the reasons for the 1905 revolution in Russia The 1905 revolution was the first time when Nicholas II was publicly challenged. There were a number of reasons why this revolution transpired including the impact of the Russo-Japanese war and the disastrous outcome of Bloody Sunday. Whilst these reasons contributed to the occurrence of the 1905 revolution, it was the economic and social problems faced by Russia which was the most important. The long term economic and social problems in Russia…
outbreak of opposition against Tsar Nicholas II. This essay will assess the different long term, short term and trigger effects that caused it. This will include The Tsar’s personality, the growth of political unrest, the rising social tension, the Russo-Japanese War and Bloody Sunday. One of the long term factors of the 1905 revolution was the political opposition the Tsar faced. It clearly highlighted Russians wanting change. Some of these parties included the Populists, the Kadets, the Octoberists, the…
revolution?’ Although the growth of reformist groups from 1881 is a cause of the 1905 revolution because it signifies the growth of opposition against the Tsar, there are also other factors which caused the 1905 revolution. The recent defeat of the Russo-Japanese War was a significant short term effect, as were the long term social and economic situations of Russia at that time. On balance, one could argue that these had a more influential effect on causing the 1905 revolution, as the reformist groups were…
demonstration that turned into Bloody Sunday in January 1905. In the countryside there were growing protests over a succession of failed harvests and famines. The Russo-Japanese war saw a series of humiliating defeats for Russia, notably the loss of Port Arthur and military defeats in Manchuria. A simple outline perhaps focused on the Russo-Japanese war will be marked within Levels 1 and 2, and progression will depend on relevance and range of accurate material. Answers which begin to provide an explanation…
and effectively, sparking the revolution. The Russo Japanese was also another important cause of the 1905 revolution. Russia wanted more land in Korea but the Japanese also wanted this land, so ultimately didn’t want Russia to get it. Russia believed they were the superior power and wanted a warm water port, ‘Port Arthur’. However the Japanese navy attacked the Russian fleet and Russia lost 25 out of its 35 warships. This shows the Russo Japanese was to be a cause of the revolution as Russia’s…
nineteenth century a number of nations were trying to find their identities and industrialize, in the midst of it all was Japan. Throughout this time period Japan changed through westernization and imperialism but also continued to practice and keep the Japanese culture intact mainly with religion. Japan prior to the nineteenth century had a policy of isolationism and lacked technology and a strong military. With the impact of outside nations, Great Britain and the United States, japan changed its identity…
to pass any laws without the approval of the US 9. US obtained many economic rights, naval base at Guantanamo Bay, and the right to intervene if Cuban sovereignty was threatened 10. 1906, political crisis in Cuba threatened to spiral into a civil war 11. Roosevelt sent warships to patrol the coastline and special commissioners and troops to restore order and peace and public confidence 12. Dominican Republic suffered from unstable governments and poverty 13. United States took over the collection…
iterally "[the] State of Japan") is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south. The characters that make up Japan's name mean "sun-origin", which is why Japan is sometimes referred to as the "Land of the Rising Sun". Japan is an archipelago of 6,852 islands. The four largest islands are Honshu, Hokkaido…
November 3, 1852: the Meiji emperor (then known as Sachinomiya) is born to the imperial concubine Nakayama Yoshiko and Emperor Komei 1853: A fleet of ships headed by Commodore Matthew Perry arrives in Japan on July 8; considered by German Japanologist Johannes Justus Rein and described by Francis L. Hawks and Commodore Matthew Perry in their 1856 work 1854–55: Treaties are signed with the United States by the Bakufu 1850s–1860s: The "Sonnō jōi" movement is in full force. 1858: The Bakufu sign treaties…
In essence, despite the anti-Japanese agitation of the people with their measures in place, Roosevelt found it hard to openly support them as he hopes to continue their mutual corresponding efforts in diplomacy and restrain from any form of conflict. Paragraph 4: White Men’s Supremacy…