Japanese Empire: The Great Russian Defeat against the Japanese Empire

We have to place ourselves at the beginning of the 20th century, more specifically between the years 1904 and 1905.The imperialist desire of two countries Japan and Russia .Both sought their own expansion, perhaps with different motivations. Russia was looking for a port that would not freeze in Winter and that allowed to trade throughout the year.The aspirations of Japan were different, Imperial Japan intended the territories of Korea and North China, two motivations different but with a common territory, which led to The Russo-Japanese War. In this article, we want to unravel everything that happened, who won and what consequences it had, which is why we have titled it Japanese Empire: The Great Russian Defeat against the Japanese Empire.

Index of the article

The Japanese Russian War: The Great Russian Defeat | Background

The imperialist current of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, made different countries of Western Europe, competing for the best markets and the best territories or at least the best strategically located. the objectives were set in the domain and accession of territories in East Asia.

Imperialism

Japan, on the contrary it was in a different situation.Geographically isolated, though politically, socially and economically, Japan had opened to the West after 250 years of isolation.The rise to power of the Meji dynasty and its more Westernized vision for Japan , was what made the difference.Japon was eager to show that it should now be considered a modern power and so, with the same Imperialist ideas that ran through Europe, focused its attention to the north of China and Korea.

The Emperor of Japan , Mutsu-Hito, along with his family

These wishes of Japan collided with Russian interests , equally expansionist.In 1894, the new Japanese Empire had started the First Sino-Japanese War, for which Japan disputed control of Korea to China, after the capture of the Chinese port of Weihai, China surrendered in 1 895.The surrender meant the loss of Taiwan and Port Arthur (Lushunkou).

The Japanese and Russian relations were tense , pressures from some European countries, including Russia, forced Japan to return both Lushunkou and Manchuria to the defeated China.

Chinese Prisoners of the Sino-Japanese War

Now both Russia with Tsar Nicolas II Romanoff , and Japan with its emperor Matsu-Hito, had the same goals, expand territories and get better places for commercial benefits.Korea was the goal of the two emperors.

But the situation of Russia with an impoverished population and an outdated economy, They left no favorable signs to carry out a successful company.On the other hand, Japan had achieved a level of development similar to that experienced in Europe, with a healthy economy and great desires to show the world its capacity.

Czar Nicolas II

Nicolas II set out to provoke the Japanese Empire, negotiating with China the lease for a period of 25 years of an ice-free port and allowing to establish a naval base in the Far East , that base was Port Arthur .I occupy Manchuria and northern Korea, where the Korean government gave it another naval base, but this time it was a port too close to the Japanese coasts.

At that time Japan felt threatened not only for Russia, but also for having included the Chinese promise made to Japan after the first Sino-Japanese war, the threat also seemed to join China.

The Japanese Russian War: The Great Russian Defeat | The War

In February 1904 , the Japanese admiral Heihachiro Togo, commanding a large fleet headed towards the Yellow Sea.following would be dividing its fleet into two columns , the most important commanding Admiral Togo, headed towards Port Arthur, while the other column headed to the port of Chemulpo, what we know today as Inchon.

Heihachiro Togo

On the night of February 8, 1904 , the Japanese fleet without prior declaration of war, Attacks by surprise the Russian fleet that was at the base of Port Arthur.The next day it was the turn of the port of Chemulpo, attacked by the second column .As we said, Without a declaration of prior war, the war had begun.

The Japanese Russian War: The Great Russian Defeat | Year 1904

The Second Column, Japanese landing in Chemulpo: On February 9, 1904, the Japanese column that was heading towards the Korean port of Chemulpo, surprising the fleet Russian anchored there.The victory was simple and meant landing of Japanese troops that would invade Korea.

Landing of Japanese troops in the bay of Chemulpo

The First Column, the blockade of Port Arthur: Located south of Manchuria , was considered the largest Russian naval base in the East, the port of Port Arthur had been fortified and protected against a possible attack.But Japan's need to control the entire Yellow Sea, caused the first Japanese column to attack and neutralize the Russian fleet anchored in Port Arthur.

Russian Fleet in Port Arthur

On February 8 Japan opened torpedo fire towards Russian ships.the seven battleships of the Russian fleet, two were damaged.The following day the attacks continued, before the Russian refusal to leave the port, what began as an attack soon became a siege .After a long period of blockade and different battles such as Liaoyang's, the Russians decided to retire to Shenyang.

Battle of the Yalu River, invasion of Korea : The Japanese troops, with the Russian base of Chemulpo totally defeated, quickly disembarking in Korea, taking cities as important as Seoul, from there to launch the occupation of the rest of the Korean peninsula.

Japanese troops crossing the Yalu River

The Japanese advance came to the Korean border with Manchuria, where the Russian positions were located.Russia then wanted to save time, Russian troops were on their way as reinforcements , so the Russians were interested in gaining time, using a defense strategy.Japan however had other pretensions, controlling Manc huria as quickly as possible.

The battle of the Yalu River, took place on May 1, 1904 .It was the first battle between Japan and Russia in land, where the Japanese surprised Russian positions.After this victory, Japanese troops dispersed through the various ports on the coast of Manchuria, occupying the most important ports and forcing the Russians to back down.

Russian canons «Maxim», captured by the Japanese during the two-day battle of the Yalu River

Battle of the Yellow Sea: Admiral Stephan Makarov died in Port Arthur, the new Commander of the Russian Navy, I request reinforcements to Sant Petesburg, in order to be able to defend the square, but I am denied, receiving clear orders to leave the square and join the ships that remained anchored in the port of Vlaidvostok, the end of this movement, put an end to the Japanese Admiral Togo.

On August 10 , the Russians set course for Vladivostok being aware of the position of the Japanese fleet and an inescapable confrontation. Japanese and Russians met , with a distance between both fleets of 14 km, began the artillery attack at the longest distance known so far.

The impact of artillery on the battleship's bridge of command Tsesarevich, also caused the death of his admiral and the breakage of the helm leaving the AC Prayed Tsesarevich, practically useless and forcing him to return to port.

The battleship Tsesarevich

After this artillery duel, the Russian fleet was forced to return to Port Arthur, without losing too many ships, while Japan got that Russian fleet could not connect with the fleet expected in Vladivostok.

The Japanese Russian War: The Great Russian Defeat | Year 1905

After a year of siege and frequent battles, Port Arthur fell on January 2, 1905 .Without the concern of Port Arthur, the Japanese army headed north from Manchuria, where on March 10 they were expelled from the most important city, Shenyang.

Port Arthur

Battle of Sandepu: The second Russian army, attacked on January 25 the left side of the Japanese army, the events had place in the immediate vicinity of the city of Sandepu.This attack surprised the Japanese army, but this more prepared and more modern, managed to repel a battle, which without the support of other units of the Russian army, was bound to fail , as was the case.

Russian officers during the battle of Sandepu (1905)

Battle of Mukden: On February 20, shortly after the battle of Sandepu, the Japanese army in command of Prince Oyama Iwao, attacks the Russian forces that were in Mukden.Two contingents of similar forces, 250,000 men per front and a lot of artillery.

Battle of Mukden

After spending 3 weeks of fierce clashes between two armies so matched, Russian troops begin to show signs of weakness .About to be completely surrounded, Marshal Kuropatkin decided to withdraw his troops north of Mukden.

But a great pressure on the part of the Japanese army and a poorly organized Russian army, ended up diminishing its combat capacity.The result was defeat for the Russian contingent and its withdrawal.

Battle of Tsushima: Russia had commanded in 1904, a fleet to reinforce and support its bases in the far east, this fleet was formed by units of the Baltic and the Black Sea .The new fleet that was headed for Vladivostok.

Battle of Tsushima

The admiral of the Japanese imperial fleet, Admiral Togo decided not to wait and intercept the Russian fleet that was heading to the port.The battle took place in Tsuhima, on May 27, 1905, lasted barely 2 days that were the ones that I need the Japanese fleet, smaller in number but more modern, fast and effective, in ending the Russian fleet, they bombed incessantly, until they destroyed their 8 battleships.

The Japanese Russian War: The Great Russian defeat | End of the War

After this battle, the impotence of a Russian army that is forced to move its troops in old slow and old railroads.With a very unstable political situation, at the beginning of the Russian Revolution and a very precarious economy, could not cope with Japanese attacks.

Japanese soldiers in Manchuria waving patriotic flags that decided to fight the Russians until the end.

On the other Japan side, had suffered the consequences of the war at the economic level, the exhausted coffers and knowledgeable about the material impossibility of ending the Russian army, agreed to negotiate , I end with a armistice between the two countries. On September 5, 1905 , the Treaty of Portsmouth is signed.

Through the treaty, Russia recognized Japan's interests in Korea, giving up the lease of its naval base at Porth Arthur, the Manchuria railway and half of Sakhalin Island.On the other hand, both Japan and Russia commit to return Manchuria to China.

Treaty of Portsmouth

The conditions for signing the treaty were due in part to the performance of the US.Despite the signed conditions, Japan did not feel really supported by the US, a fact that cooled relations between the two countries.

Relations that would end up sowing the foundations of the conflict that was about to come and that they would solve with the attack on Pearl Harbor, in World War II L.But this is another story.

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The Japanese Russian War | Image Gallery