The Russian-Japanese war of 1904 was a European
conflict that was
fought because one country was becoming too strong.
The conflict was mainly
fought because two separate countries had their
own special interests in far east
countries like Korea, China, and Manchuria.
Britain
and Japan recognized the independance of China and Korea, but at
the same
time authorized each other to intervene in either territory if their own
"special interests" were threatened by another power or by internal disorder.
That power was now Russia. There was already a rivalry going on between
Britain and Russia because of the Trans-Siberian railway but now there was
another dimension. Russia now had access to the pacific. Her presence in
Asia
threatened already established Britain interests. China leased the
ice-free Port
Arthur to Russia and allowed them to store their war ships
there. The two
empires were set on a collision course.
Britain was
very reluctant to commit herself to a distant threat of war so she
took
a step to allying herself with the growing industrial power of Japan. In
doing so, Britain found her soldiers in the east.
At this time Russia failed
to realize how powerful Britain and Japan had
made themselves. Russia
was unable to take Japan seriously even though they
had many reports on
how large the Japanese naval and military forces were.
Unfortunately,
Russia's constant penetration into Korea and Manchuria
continued unabated
despite the presence of nurabers of Japanese immagrants
and traders.
Russia
had succeeded in replacing the now defunct Chinese influence with
her own.
Russia now began taking over the administrative departments and had
their
officers train the Korean army to fight on their side.
In April, May, and
June of 1903, Russian's had told the Japanese that they
would move out
of China. They did not and continued to occupy the land. In
July of the
that same year, the Japanese Arabassador proposed that Russia and
Japan
were to recognize the independance of China and Korea. Both nations
were
to rcognize preponderance, the Japanese in Korea balanced by russians in
Manchuria. They were to recall their troops from their respective area as
soon as
possible. In return, the Russians would protect the railways in
Manchuria and
the Japanese would do the same in Korea.
It came to the
attention of the Japanese that the Russians were building up
their naval
and military forces in the far east. They were also moving troops not
only into Manchuria, but also into North Korea. It now became obvious to the
Japnese that the Russians had no intention of releasing their hold on Manchuria
and Korea. Nevertheless, the negotiations went on. On February 10th, 1904,
both nations produced formal declarations of war.
On February 8th, a large
part of the Russian Pacific squadron lat anchor in
the roaRABtead of Port
Arthur. The ships were arranged in three lines running east
and west.
The innermost consisting of five battleships: the flagship, the
petroulouk,
the sebastopol, peresuept, pobieda, and pollada. The middle line
was headed
by two more battleships which were the tsarevich and the retvizan.
They
were followed by three crusiers and the outline of three more. Meanwhile,
off Round Island about 60 miles east of Port Arthur, the Japanese fleet was
making its disposition under Admiral Togo. He was in command of the
corabined
fleet which had left Japan two days before they had broken off
negotiations.
Around
11:00pm the Shiralaimo, the leading Japanese destroyer, came
within sight
of the two patrolling Russian destroyers, the Pastoropin and the
Bezstrashini.
To the surprise of the Japanese, the two ships turned around and
headed
back to Port Arthur so the captains could report to the Russian Admiral
Stark. At this time there was no fighting going on at all. However, as the
ships
turned to go and make their report, the Japanese began to fire at
the same time
that the two Russian destroyers were making their report.
The
Pollada was the first Russian ship to go down, they were hit mid ship
and
one of the coal tankers caught on fire. The Retvizan was the next with a 200
square foot hole in her port side. The Tsarevich was hit on her stern.
Unfortunately, her bulkheaRAB shattered and the steering compartment flooded.
All three ships tried to make it to shallow water. The Pollada grounded near
a
light house on the west side of the harbor, and the Retvizan and the
Tsarevich
came to grief in the narrow gullet of the harbor, almost blocking
it. Admiral
Togo of Japan, saw this and sent five merchant ships around
with borabs to
blow up the rest of the ships in attempt to block the harbor.
This attempt was
unfortunately unsuccessful because Russian ships began
to open fire and
destroyed the Japanese merchant ships.
On the morning
of february 25th, admiral Togo tried yet another approach
through indirect
borabardment of the harbor and its installations in the hope of
damaging
more ships. He found that as long as the Russian fleet remained in the
harbor under the protection of the shore batteries, it would be impossible
for the
Japnese to destroy them.
Japan had won many battles in this
war. None of them were as important
as the one they had fought in the
harbor of Port Arthur (the second battle). Port
Arthur was a big turning
point for them because almost a year later a weak
Russian Navy decided
to give up in January of 1905. Russian rule of Port Arthur
had fallen,
and for the Russians, they had the advantage of having Port Arthur,
so
when they lost it, they pretty much lost the war. By this time, they had already
lost many men and also many ships. The Japanese corabined with Britain were
victorious and the countries that were held under Russian rule were eventually
left
by the Russians to rule for themselves. The British and Japanese
interests in the
three countries in which the war was fought over, were
now protected.
Russian-Japanese War
20th Century History
The
Russian-Japanese war of 1904 was a European conflict that was
fought because
one country was becoming too strong. The conflict was mainly
fought because
two separate countries had their own special interests in far east
countries
like Korea, China, and Manchuria.
Britain and Japan recognized the independance
of China and Korea, but at
the same time authorized each other to intervene
in either territory if their own
"special interests" were threatened by
another power or by internal disorder.
That power was now Russia. There
was already a rivalry going on between
Britain and Russia because of the
Trans-Siberian railway but now there was
another dimension. Russia now
had access to the pacific. Her presence in Asia
threatened already established
Britain interests. China leased the ice-free Port
Arthur to Russia and
allowed them to store their war ships there. The two
empires were set
on a collision course.
Britain was very reluctant to commit herself to
a distant threat of war so she
took a step to allying herself with the
growing industrial power of Japan. In
doing so, Britain found her soldiers
in the east.
At this time Russia failed to realize how powerful Britain
and Japan had
made themselves. Russia was unable to take Japan seriously
even though they
had many reports on how large the Japanese naval and military
forces were.
Unfortunately, Russia's constant penetration into Korea
and Manchuria
continued unabated despite the presence of nurabers of Japanese
immagrants
and traders.
Russia had succeeded in replacing the now defunct
Chinese influence with
her own. Russia now began taking over the administrative
departments and had
their officers train the Korean army to fight on their
side.
In April, May, and June of 1903, Russian's had told the Japanese
that they
would move out of China. They did not and continued to occupy
the land. In
July of the that same year, the Japanese Arabassador proposed
that Russia and
Japan were to recognize the independance of China and Korea.
Both nations
were to rcognize preponderance, the Japanese in Korea balanced
by russians in
Manchuria. They were to recall their troops from their
respective area as soon as
possible. In return, the Russians would protect
the railways in Manchuria and
the Japanese would do the same in Korea.
It
came to the attention of the Japanese that the Russians were building up
their naval and military forces in the far east. They were also moving troops
not
only into Manchuria, but also into North Korea. It now became obvious
to the
Japnese that the Russians had no intention of releasing their hold
on Manchuria
and Korea. Nevertheless, the negotiations went on. On February
10th, 1904,
both nations produced formal declarations of war.
On February
8th, a large part of the Russian Pacific squadron lat anchor in
the roaRABtead
of Port Arthur. The ships were arranged in three lines running east
and
west. The innermost consisting of five battleships: the flagship, the
petroulouk, the sebastopol, peresuept, pobieda, and pollada. The middle line
was headed by two more battleships which were the tsarevich and the retvizan.
They were followed by three crusiers and the outline of three more. Meanwhile,
off Round Island about 60 miles east of Port Arthur, the Japanese fleet was
making its disposition under Admiral Togo. He was in command of the
corabined
fleet which had left Japan two days before they had broken off
negotiations.
Around
11:00pm the Shiralaimo, the leading Japanese destroyer, came
within sight
of the two patrolling Russian destroyers, the Pastoropin and the
Bezstrashini.
To the surprise of the Japanese, the two ships turned around and
headed
back to Port Arthur so the captains could report to the Russian Admiral
Stark. At this time there was no fighting going on at all. However, as the
ships
turned to go and make their report, the Japanese began to fire at
the same time
that the two Russian destroyers were making their report.
The
Pollada was the first Russian ship to go down, they were hit mid ship
and
one of the coal tankers caught on fire. The Retvizan was the next with a 200
square foot hole in her port side. The Tsarevich was hit on her stern.
Unfortunately, her bulkheaRAB shattered an
conflict that was
fought because one country was becoming too strong.
The conflict was mainly
fought because two separate countries had their
own special interests in far east
countries like Korea, China, and Manchuria.
Britain
and Japan recognized the independance of China and Korea, but at
the same
time authorized each other to intervene in either territory if their own
"special interests" were threatened by another power or by internal disorder.
That power was now Russia. There was already a rivalry going on between
Britain and Russia because of the Trans-Siberian railway but now there was
another dimension. Russia now had access to the pacific. Her presence in
Asia
threatened already established Britain interests. China leased the
ice-free Port
Arthur to Russia and allowed them to store their war ships
there. The two
empires were set on a collision course.
Britain was
very reluctant to commit herself to a distant threat of war so she
took
a step to allying herself with the growing industrial power of Japan. In
doing so, Britain found her soldiers in the east.
At this time Russia failed
to realize how powerful Britain and Japan had
made themselves. Russia
was unable to take Japan seriously even though they
had many reports on
how large the Japanese naval and military forces were.
Unfortunately,
Russia's constant penetration into Korea and Manchuria
continued unabated
despite the presence of nurabers of Japanese immagrants
and traders.
Russia
had succeeded in replacing the now defunct Chinese influence with
her own.
Russia now began taking over the administrative departments and had
their
officers train the Korean army to fight on their side.
In April, May, and
June of 1903, Russian's had told the Japanese that they
would move out
of China. They did not and continued to occupy the land. In
July of the
that same year, the Japanese Arabassador proposed that Russia and
Japan
were to recognize the independance of China and Korea. Both nations
were
to rcognize preponderance, the Japanese in Korea balanced by russians in
Manchuria. They were to recall their troops from their respective area as
soon as
possible. In return, the Russians would protect the railways in
Manchuria and
the Japanese would do the same in Korea.
It came to the
attention of the Japanese that the Russians were building up
their naval
and military forces in the far east. They were also moving troops not
only into Manchuria, but also into North Korea. It now became obvious to the
Japnese that the Russians had no intention of releasing their hold on Manchuria
and Korea. Nevertheless, the negotiations went on. On February 10th, 1904,
both nations produced formal declarations of war.
On February 8th, a large
part of the Russian Pacific squadron lat anchor in
the roaRABtead of Port
Arthur. The ships were arranged in three lines running east
and west.
The innermost consisting of five battleships: the flagship, the
petroulouk,
the sebastopol, peresuept, pobieda, and pollada. The middle line
was headed
by two more battleships which were the tsarevich and the retvizan.
They
were followed by three crusiers and the outline of three more. Meanwhile,
off Round Island about 60 miles east of Port Arthur, the Japanese fleet was
making its disposition under Admiral Togo. He was in command of the
corabined
fleet which had left Japan two days before they had broken off
negotiations.
Around
11:00pm the Shiralaimo, the leading Japanese destroyer, came
within sight
of the two patrolling Russian destroyers, the Pastoropin and the
Bezstrashini.
To the surprise of the Japanese, the two ships turned around and
headed
back to Port Arthur so the captains could report to the Russian Admiral
Stark. At this time there was no fighting going on at all. However, as the
ships
turned to go and make their report, the Japanese began to fire at
the same time
that the two Russian destroyers were making their report.
The
Pollada was the first Russian ship to go down, they were hit mid ship
and
one of the coal tankers caught on fire. The Retvizan was the next with a 200
square foot hole in her port side. The Tsarevich was hit on her stern.
Unfortunately, her bulkheaRAB shattered and the steering compartment flooded.
All three ships tried to make it to shallow water. The Pollada grounded near
a
light house on the west side of the harbor, and the Retvizan and the
Tsarevich
came to grief in the narrow gullet of the harbor, almost blocking
it. Admiral
Togo of Japan, saw this and sent five merchant ships around
with borabs to
blow up the rest of the ships in attempt to block the harbor.
This attempt was
unfortunately unsuccessful because Russian ships began
to open fire and
destroyed the Japanese merchant ships.
On the morning
of february 25th, admiral Togo tried yet another approach
through indirect
borabardment of the harbor and its installations in the hope of
damaging
more ships. He found that as long as the Russian fleet remained in the
harbor under the protection of the shore batteries, it would be impossible
for the
Japnese to destroy them.
Japan had won many battles in this
war. None of them were as important
as the one they had fought in the
harbor of Port Arthur (the second battle). Port
Arthur was a big turning
point for them because almost a year later a weak
Russian Navy decided
to give up in January of 1905. Russian rule of Port Arthur
had fallen,
and for the Russians, they had the advantage of having Port Arthur,
so
when they lost it, they pretty much lost the war. By this time, they had already
lost many men and also many ships. The Japanese corabined with Britain were
victorious and the countries that were held under Russian rule were eventually
left
by the Russians to rule for themselves. The British and Japanese
interests in the
three countries in which the war was fought over, were
now protected.
Russian-Japanese War
20th Century History
The
Russian-Japanese war of 1904 was a European conflict that was
fought because
one country was becoming too strong. The conflict was mainly
fought because
two separate countries had their own special interests in far east
countries
like Korea, China, and Manchuria.
Britain and Japan recognized the independance
of China and Korea, but at
the same time authorized each other to intervene
in either territory if their own
"special interests" were threatened by
another power or by internal disorder.
That power was now Russia. There
was already a rivalry going on between
Britain and Russia because of the
Trans-Siberian railway but now there was
another dimension. Russia now
had access to the pacific. Her presence in Asia
threatened already established
Britain interests. China leased the ice-free Port
Arthur to Russia and
allowed them to store their war ships there. The two
empires were set
on a collision course.
Britain was very reluctant to commit herself to
a distant threat of war so she
took a step to allying herself with the
growing industrial power of Japan. In
doing so, Britain found her soldiers
in the east.
At this time Russia failed to realize how powerful Britain
and Japan had
made themselves. Russia was unable to take Japan seriously
even though they
had many reports on how large the Japanese naval and military
forces were.
Unfortunately, Russia's constant penetration into Korea
and Manchuria
continued unabated despite the presence of nurabers of Japanese
immagrants
and traders.
Russia had succeeded in replacing the now defunct
Chinese influence with
her own. Russia now began taking over the administrative
departments and had
their officers train the Korean army to fight on their
side.
In April, May, and June of 1903, Russian's had told the Japanese
that they
would move out of China. They did not and continued to occupy
the land. In
July of the that same year, the Japanese Arabassador proposed
that Russia and
Japan were to recognize the independance of China and Korea.
Both nations
were to rcognize preponderance, the Japanese in Korea balanced
by russians in
Manchuria. They were to recall their troops from their
respective area as soon as
possible. In return, the Russians would protect
the railways in Manchuria and
the Japanese would do the same in Korea.
It
came to the attention of the Japanese that the Russians were building up
their naval and military forces in the far east. They were also moving troops
not
only into Manchuria, but also into North Korea. It now became obvious
to the
Japnese that the Russians had no intention of releasing their hold
on Manchuria
and Korea. Nevertheless, the negotiations went on. On February
10th, 1904,
both nations produced formal declarations of war.
On February
8th, a large part of the Russian Pacific squadron lat anchor in
the roaRABtead
of Port Arthur. The ships were arranged in three lines running east
and
west. The innermost consisting of five battleships: the flagship, the
petroulouk, the sebastopol, peresuept, pobieda, and pollada. The middle line
was headed by two more battleships which were the tsarevich and the retvizan.
They were followed by three crusiers and the outline of three more. Meanwhile,
off Round Island about 60 miles east of Port Arthur, the Japanese fleet was
making its disposition under Admiral Togo. He was in command of the
corabined
fleet which had left Japan two days before they had broken off
negotiations.
Around
11:00pm the Shiralaimo, the leading Japanese destroyer, came
within sight
of the two patrolling Russian destroyers, the Pastoropin and the
Bezstrashini.
To the surprise of the Japanese, the two ships turned around and
headed
back to Port Arthur so the captains could report to the Russian Admiral
Stark. At this time there was no fighting going on at all. However, as the
ships
turned to go and make their report, the Japanese began to fire at
the same time
that the two Russian destroyers were making their report.
The
Pollada was the first Russian ship to go down, they were hit mid ship
and
one of the coal tankers caught on fire. The Retvizan was the next with a 200
square foot hole in her port side. The Tsarevich was hit on her stern.
Unfortunately, her bulkheaRAB shattered an