Figure 1.-- This is a Stereoscople Vuew card picyuring Japanese Armt soldiers durung the Russo Japoanese War. The photograph wa takjen in 1904. The caption read, "Japan's hardy soldier boys whose battle cry is 'win or die!'.""

The Russo-Jaapnese War involved three major engagements, two naval engagements and a land campaign. The Russians were astonished the Japanese military prowess. Russian milotary victoroes in Euroope were often gained by the size of the armies deployed. Overwhelming the Japanese by weight of numbers was not possible bcuse of th limtations of the Trans-Siberian Railway. The Japanese first executed a surprise attack on the Russian Pacific fleet. The ininitial engagement was inconclusive, but the Japanese largely destroyed the Russian Pacific fleet in subsequent engagements. The war than shifted to a land campaign. The Japanese than attacked Port Arthur overland The campaign was setteled at Mukden with a battle that has largely been ignored by historians. As a result of Mukden, Port Arthur was cut off and after a protracted seige finally fell to the Japanese. Having achieved their primary goal, the Japanese showed little interest in pressing on into Manchuria and Siberia. The War then began a basically naval war. The limited capacity of the Trans-Siberian Railway limited the Russian's ability to assemble and supply a major land army in East Asia. Rather they decided to resolve the issue at sea. The Russians assemeled a large naval force and sailed in round the world. The war was decided by a decisive naval enggement in the Sraits of Tsushima. This became ensrined in the Japanese naval tradituon, much like Trafalgar for the British. And the docrine of the decisive naval battle (Kantai-Kessen) became the centrer pierce of Japanese naval doctrine.

Russian Pacific Fleet (February 1904)

Lüshun was a port city located at the extreme southern tip of the Liaodong Peninsula--noe part of Dalian. Bedcause of the deep-water port, it was a major objective of the Japanese. The Japanese had seized it in the First Sino-Japanese War (1894-95). Japanerse Army units killed several thousand Chinese servicemen and civilians in the city--the Port Arthur Massacre (1894). Accounts vary widly. [Northrop] The Japanse manged to seize the port in as few dsays. The Triple Interventins (Russia, France, and Germany) forced the Japanese to relinquish their claim. Sunsequently the Russians seized the port themselves and renamed it Port Arthur. They proceeded to build strong defenses. It became the focus of the Russo-Japanese War. Japan launched a suprise attack--never bothering to declare war and severly damaged the Russian Pacific (Far Eastern) Fleet at Port Arthur (February 9, 1904). Japanee torpedo boats damaged several Russian vessels, but it was not the decisive blow the Japanese sought. It was when the Russian vessels attempted to run to the safter port at Vladisvostok that the faster Japanese fleet scored a decisive victory.

Mukden and Port Arthur (February 1904-Janury 1905)

The Japanese next moved on Port Arthur by land. It would be the largest lnd bttle of the Russo-Japanese War. The Japanese had a modern, highly motivated army of around 300,000 men backed up bt 400,000 well-trained reservists. The Japanese Army had been trained by Prussian/German officers. The Tsarist Army consisted of poorly motivated conscripts. At the beginning of the War there were about 80,000 poorly-trained Russian soldiers at Port Arthur. Russia reinforced the Port Arthur garison by shipping in men and material over the Trans-Siberial Railway. The Russians had amassed a force of about 250,000 men by the end of the year. A major Japanese land battle at Mukden sealed Port Arthur's fate. It was one of the largest land battles to be fought before World War I and the most decisive land battle of the Russo-Japanese War I (February 20 - March 10, 1905). The Russians sufferd very heavy losses. And Port Arthur was cut off. The outer defense included a line of hills, including Hsiaokushan and Takushan near the Ta-ho River in the east, and Namakoyama, Akasakayama, 174-Meter Hill, 203-Meter Hill and False Hill in the west. These hills were heavily fortified with concrete forts, machine gun emplacements, and connecting trenches. After heavy fighting, the Russians withdrew to the inner defenses of Port Arthur (July 30, 1904) The Japznese layed seige (August 1, 1904). The Japanese who took ghe city from China in only a few days faced a real fight. Some of the weapons that mafe World War I so deadly were used at Port Arthur, ncluding machine guns and heavy artillery. The Russian garison, however, could not be supplied or reenfolrced and had to surrender (Jsanyary2, 1905). he Japanese renammed the port Ryojun.

Tsushima (May 1905)

With its Far East fleet destroyed, the Russians assembled their Baltic fleet and dispacted it to the Pacific. It was an epic voyage, widely publicized in the world press. The Russian fleet consisted if some modern vessels and other slow, largely obsolete ships. The Russian fleet consisted of 10 battleships and three armpred cruisers. Admiral Togo intercepted the Russians in the Straits of Tsushima (May 27, 1905). Togo sqadron consisted of five modern battleships an eight aromored cruisers. The Japanese force was smaller, but more modern and much better trained. Togo raised the Z banner, with a Nelsonian message "The fate of the Empire depends on this battle. Every man will do his upmost. The Russian fleet was poorly commanded. The Russians has some modern vessels which could have possibly given a good account of themselves, but they were slowed down by several slow, largely obsolete vessels. Togo executed a daring turn that brought his squadron parallel with the Russians. The Japanese turrets allowed him to bring his fire power fully to bare on the Russians. It was one of the desive battles in naval warfare. The Japanese sank 19 Russians ships and captured five more. The Japanese lost only three torpedo boats. Most Europeans were shocked that the Japanese had the capability to defeat a European naval force. Te mastermind of Tsushim was Admiral Togo, but another well know Japanese sailor was at Tsushima, a cadet--Isoruko Yamamoto. The young cadet lost two fingers with a gun on his battleship exploded. [Thomas, p. 16.]

Sources

Thomas, Evan. Sea of Thunder: Four Commanders and the Last Great Naval Campaign, 1941-1945 (Simon & Schuster: New York, 2006), 414p.

Created: 3:54 AM 12/21/2021
Last updated: 3:54 AM 12/21/2021