| Russo-Japanese War (1904-1905)

Russo-Japanese War (1904-1905)

The Russo-Japanese War of 1904-1905 was fought for control over Manchuria, Korea and the ports of Port Arthur and Dalny. On the night of February 9, the Japanese fleet, without declaring war, attacked a Russian squadron on the outer roadstead of Port Arthur, a naval base leased by Russia from China. The battleships Retvizan and Tsarevich and the cruiser Pallada were seriously damaged.

Military operations began, which marked the beginning of the Russo-Japanese War. In early March, the Russian squadron in Port Arthur was led by an experienced naval commander, Vice Admiral Makarov, but on April 13 he died when the flagship battleship Petropavlovsk was blown up by a mine and sank. The command of the squadron passed to Rear Admiral V.K. Witgeft.

In March 1904, the Japanese army landed in Korea, and in April - in the south of Manchuria. Russian troops under the command of General M.I. Zasulich could not withstand the onslaught of superior enemy forces and in May were forced to leave the Jinzhou position. Port Arthur was thus cut off from the Russian Manchurian army. For the siege of the city, the 3rd Japanese army of General M. Noga was allocated. The 1st and 2nd Japanese armies began to rapidly advance northward and in the battle of Wafangou on June 14-15 they forced the Russian army to retreat, commanded by the Minister of War, General A.N. Kuropatkin.

In early August, the Japanese landed on the Liaodong Peninsula and approached the outer defensive line of the fortress. The garrison of Port Arthur numbered 50.5 thousand soldiers and officers with 646 guns and 62 machine guns. Later, due to the use of naval artillery on land, the number of guns increased to 652. The Russian fleet in Port Arthur Bay consisted of 6 battleships, 6 cruisers, 2 mine cruisers, 4 gunboats, 19 destroyers and 2 mine transports. The number of crews of ships and coastal services of the fleet was 8 thousand people, who later, after the death of the fleet, were sent to reinforce the land units. From the local population, volunteer squads were formed with a total number of 1.5 thousand people. The guards delivered ammunition and food to the positions, evacuated the wounded and maintained communication between the headquarters and various areas of the defense.

On August 10, 1904, a Russian squadron tried to escape from Port Arthur. The attempt almost succeeded, and the Japanese fleet was about to retreat when a high-explosive shell exploded on the captain's bridge of the flagship battleship Tsesarevich. As a result, the squadron commander, Admiral Vitgeft, and his entire headquarters were killed. The control of the Russian ships was disrupted, they individually tried to break through to Vladivostok, but everyone who managed to escape from the harbor of Port Arthur was interned in neutral ports. Only the cruiser "Novik" managed to reach the Korsakov post in Kamchatka, where he died in an unequal battle with Japanese cruisers.

The defense of Port Arthur was led by the commandant of the fortress, General A.M. Stessel, but the squadron did not obey him, being under the command of the fleet commander, and he could not influence the actions of the ships locked in Port Arthur.

The 3rd Japanese army, which was besieging the city, numbered more than 50 thousand people and over 400 guns. On August 19, she tried to take Port Arthur by storm, but five days later, with heavy losses, she was thrown back to her original positions. The Japanese began to erect lines of trenches and field fortifications around the fortress. In early September, they were able to capture the strategically important Long Hill. Another height - High - the defenders of the cities managed to defend. In mid-October, food shortages became acute in Port Arthur. This, like the onset of cold weather, caused the spread of diseases among the besieged. In mid-November, more than 7 thousand wounded and sick with scurvy, typhus and dysentery were in Port Arthur hospitals. The Chinese population of the city, numbering 15 thousand during the siege, was in an even more difficult situation and was truly starving.

On October 30, after a three-day artillery barrage, the Japanese launched the third assault on Port Arthur, which lasted three days and ended in vain. On November 26, the fourth assault began. On December 5, Japanese troops captured the High Hill and were able to install 11-inch howitzers to shell the harbor. This immediately increased the accuracy of the artillery fire. On the same day, Japanese batteries sank the battleship Poltava, on December 6 - the battleship Retvizan, on December 7 - the battleships Peresvet and Pobeda, as well as the cruiser Pallada. The Bayan cruiser was severely damaged.

On December 15, the commander of the ground defense of the fortress, General R.I. Kondratenko, was killed. The defenders of Port Arthur were running low on food, although there was still a supply of shells. On January 2, 1905, Commandant Stoessel, believing that there was no chance of a rescue from the Manchu army in the foreseeable future, surrendered. Subsequently, he was convicted by a military court for cowardice, but pardoned by the king. From the point of view of today, Stoessel's decision does not deserve condemnation. In the conditions of a complete blockade, when all the positions of the Russians were under targeted artillery fire, and the garrison did not have food, Port Arthur would not have held out for more than two or three weeks, which could in no way affect the course of hostilities.

In Port Arthur, 26 thousand people surrendered. Russian losses in killed and wounded during the siege amounted to 31 thousand people. The Japanese lost 59 thousand people killed and wounded and 34 thousand sick.

With the fall of Port Arthur, which was the main point of the Russo-Japanese War, the main Japanese goal was achieved. The battles in Manchuria, despite the fact that many times more ground troops participated on both sides, were of an auxiliary nature. The Japanese did not have the forces and means to occupy Northern Manchuria, let alone the Russian Far East. Kuropatkin adhered to a strategy of attrition, hoping that the protracted war would exhaust Japan's human and material resources and force it to end the war and clear the occupied territories. In practice, however, it turned out that dragging out the war was disastrous for Russia, since the revolution began there in January 1905. The overall numerical superiority of the Russian army was largely compensated by the fact that only one Trans-Siberian railway connected the European part of the empire with the Far East.

In peacetime, the Russian army numbered 1.1 million people, and after the start of the war, another 3.5 million reservists could be added to it. However, by the beginning of the Russo-Japanese War, there were only 100 thousand soldiers and 192 guns in Manchuria. The peacetime Japanese army numbered 150 thousand people. During the war, another 1.5 million people were drafted, with more than half of all Japanese forces operating in Manchuria. By the end of the war, the Russian army in the Far East had a 1.5-fold numerical superiority over the enemy, but could not use it.

The first major battle between the ground forces of Russia and Japan took place near Liaoyang from August 24 to September 3, 1904. The 125-thousandth Japanese army of Marshal Oyama was opposed by the 158-thousandth Russian army of General Kuropatkin. Japanese forces launched two concentric strikes in an attempt to encircle the enemy, but their attacks on the forward Russian positions on the heights of Liaoyang were repulsed. Then the Russian troops retreated in an organized manner to the main position, which consisted of three lines of forts, redoubts and trenches and for 15 km skirted Liaoyang from the west and south, abutting the Taijihe River. On August 31, three brigades of the 1st Japanese Army crossed Taijihe and seized the bridgehead. After it was not possible to eliminate this bridgehead, Kuropatkin, despite the fact that in the center and on the right western flank, the Japanese attacks were repulsed, fearing a flank bypass, ordered to retreat. The Japanese lost 23 thousand killed and wounded, and the Russians - 19 thousand.

After the Liaoyang battle, Russian troops withdrew to Mukden and took up positions on the Hunhe River. The Japanese remained to the north of Taijihe. On October 5-17, a counter battle took place on the Shahe River. At the beginning of the battle, the Russians managed to shoot down the enemy from the front lines, but on October 10 the Japanese launched a counteroffensive and on October 14 broke through the front of the 10th Army Corps. At the end of the battle, both sides went over to positional defense on a front 60 kilometers long. The Russian army in this battle numbered 200 thousand people with 758 guns and 32 machine guns and lost 40 thousand people killed and wounded. The losses of the Japanese, who had 170 thousand soldiers, 648 guns and 18 machine guns, were half as much - 20 thousand.

The parties remained in positions at a distance of rifle fire until January 1905. During this period, telephone communications were significantly improved in both armies. The devices appeared not only in the headquarters of the armies, but also in the headquarters of corps, divisions, brigades, regiments, and even in artillery batteries. On January 24, 1905, the Russian army tried to attack in the Sandepu area, but by January 28, the enemy pushed them back to their original positions. At that time, Kuropatkin had 300 thousand soldiers and 1080 guns, Oyama had 220 thousand people and 666 guns. The Russians lost 12 thousand people, and the Japanese - 9 thousand.

From February 19 to March 10, 1905, the largest battle of the Russian-Japanese war took place - Mukden. The Russian army at its beginning numbered 330 thousand people with 1475 guns and 56 machine guns. The Japanese, taking into account the Noga 3rd Army that came from near Port Arthur, and the new 5th Army that arrived from Japan, had 270 thousand people, 1,062 guns and 200 machine guns. Kuropatkin was preparing to go on the offensive against the left flank of the enemy on February 25, but Oyama, who was trying to cover the Russian army from both flanks, preempted him. The 2nd Russian army was captured from the west by the 3rd Japanese army and attacked from the front by the 2nd army. General Kuroki's 1st Japanese Army broke through the positions of the 1st Russian Army and threatened to cut the Mandarin Road in the rear of the main Russian forces. Fearing the encirclement and already being actually in the sack, Kuropatkin was able, however, in order to withdraw the army to Telin, and then to the Sypingay positions 175 km north of Mukden.

After Mukden Kuropatkin, General Nikolai Linevich, who had previously commanded the 3rd Army, was replaced as commander-in-chief. On the Sypingai positions, the opposing armies met the end of the war, without undertaking any active hostilities in Manchuria after the Battle of Mukden.

In the battle of Mukden, for the first time there were cases when soldiers shot officers who were trying to stop the fleeing with revolver fire. Almost four decades later, during the Great Patriotic War, Soviet soldiers were no longer so conscientious and meekly allowed officers to shoot themselves. At Mukden the Russians lost 59 thousand killed and wounded and 31 thousand prisoners. The losses of the Japanese reached 70 thousand killed and wounded.

After the death of the Russian squadron in Port Arthur in battle on August 10, 1904, together with its commander Admiral Wittgeft, the 2nd Pacific Squadron was formed from the Baltic Fleet under the command of Admiral ZP Rozhestvensky, chief of the Main Naval Staff. She made a six-month transition to the Far East, where she died in the battle in the Tsushima Strait on May 27, 1905. Rozhdestvensky's squadron consisted of 8 squadron battleships, 3 coastal defense battleships, one armored cruiser, 8 cruisers, 5 auxiliary cruisers and 9 destroyers. The Japanese fleet under the command of Admiral Togo had 4 squadron battleships, 6 coastal defense battleships, 8 armored cruisers, 16 cruisers, 24 auxiliary cruisers and 63 destroyers. On the Japanese side, there was a qualitative superiority in artillery. The Japanese guns had almost three times the rate of fire, and the power of the Japanese shells was more powerful than the Russian shells of the same caliber.

By the time Rozhdestvensky's squadron arrived in the Far East, the Japanese armored ships were concentrated in the Korean port of Mozampo, and the cruisers and destroyers - off the island of Tsushima. South of Mozampo, between the islands of Goto and Kvelpart, a patrol of cruisers was deployed to detect the approach of Russian forces. The Japanese commander was sure that the enemy would try to break through to Vladivostok by the shortest route - through the Korean Strait, and he was not mistaken.

On the night of May 27, Rozhdestvensky's squadron approached the Korea Strait in a marching order. Two light cruisers moved ahead, followed by battleships in two wake columns, and behind them were the rest of the ships. Rozhestvensky did not carry out long-range reconnaissance and did not carry out a blackout on all of his ships. At 2:28 am the Japanese auxiliary cruiser Shinano-Maru spotted the enemy and reported to the commander. Togo withdrew the fleet from Mozampo.

On the morning of May 27, Rozhestvensky rebuilt all the ships of the squadron into two wake columns, leaving behind the transport ships guarded by cruisers. Having drawn into the Korea Strait, the Russian ships in the middle of the second day discovered the main forces of the Japanese fleet, which were advancing along the bow to the right across the Rozhdestvensky squadron. Rozhestvensky, believing that the Japanese intended to attack the left column of his squadron, where obsolete ships prevailed, rebuilt the squadron into one column. Meanwhile, two detachments of armored ships of the Japanese fleet, having come to the left side, began to make a turn by 16 points, being only 38 cables from the lead ship of the Russian squadron. This risky turn lasted a quarter of an hour, but

Rozhestvensky did not take advantage of the favorable moment for shelling the enemy fleet. However, taking into account the real accuracy of the shooting of the then naval artillery at this distance and the level of training of the Russian gunners, it is unlikely that in a quarter of an hour Rozhestvensky's squadron would have managed to sink at least one large enemy ship.

Russian ships opened fire only at 13:49, when Togo was already completing the turn of the ships. The Russian artillerymen were very ill-prepared for long-range firing and were unable to inflict any significant damage on the Japanese. In addition, the quality of Russian ammunition was low. Many of them did not explode. Due to poor fire control, Russian ships were unable to concentrate fire on individual enemy ships. The Japanese concentrated their artillery fire on the Russian flagships "Suvorov" and "Oslyabya".

At 14 hours 23 minutes the battleship "Oslyabya", having received heavy damage, left the battle and soon sank. Seven minutes later the Suvorov was put out of action. This battleship stayed afloat until seven in the evening, when it was sunk by Japanese destroyers.

After the flagships were out of order, the battle formation of the Russian squadron was upset, and she lost a single command. The first was the battleship "Alexander III", and after its failure the column was headed by the battleship "Borodino". At 15:05 a.m. fog thickened over the Tsushima Strait, and the opponents lost sight of each other. But 35 minutes later, the Japanese again discovered Rozhestvensky's squadron and forced it to change course from northeast to south. Then Togo again lost contact with the enemy and was forced to send his main forces in search of the Russians. Only at about 6 pm, the Japanese battleships overtook the Russian squadron, which was conducting a firefight with the Japanese cruisers at that moment.

Now the battle of the main forces was fought on parallel courses. At 19 hours and 12 minutes it got dark, and Togo stopped the battle. By that time, the Japanese had managed to sink the "Alexander III" and "Borodino". After the end of the battle, the main forces of the Japanese fleet withdrew to the island of Ollindo (Dazhelet). The destroyers were supposed to finish off the Russian squadron by torpedo attacks.

At 8 o'clock in the evening, 60 Japanese destroyers began to cover the main forces of the Russian squadron. At 8.45 pm, the Japanese fired their first torpedo salvo. Others followed. In total, 75 torpedoes were fired from a distance of 1 to 3 cables, of which only six reached the target. Aiming launches were hampered by darkness. Reflecting the attacks of the destroyers, the Russian sailors sank two enemy destroyers. Another Japanese destroyer sank and six were damaged by colliding with each other.

On the morning of May 15, Rozhdestvensky's squadron, due to frequent evasions from attacks by Japanese destroyers, was dispersed throughout the Korean Peninsula. Russian ships were destroyed one by one by superior enemy forces. Only the cruiser Almaz and two destroyers managed to break through to Vladivostok. Most of the ships were sunk. Four armored ships and a destroyer carrying the seriously wounded Rozhdestvensky and the junior flagship Rear Admiral N.I. Nebogatov were captured.

Regarding the surrender of Nebogatov's squadron, Soviet historian Mikhail Pokrovsky wrote: “At Tsushima, Nebogatov’s quick surrender was explained not only by the technical senselessness of further battle, but also by the fact that the sailors resolutely refused to die in vain; flag, or be lowered overboard by the crew. " Upon his return to Russia, Nebogatov was made the main culprit in the Tsushima disaster and was sentenced to death for surrendering the remnants of the fleet to the enemy (the wounded Rozhdestvensky could not be tried). The death penalty was replaced by 10 years of hard labor, and two years later Nebogatov was pardoned and released. Russian losses in the Tsushima battle amounted to 5,045 killed and 803 wounded, Japanese - 1,000 people.

In the Russo-Japanese War, Russia's military losses, according to official data, amounted to 31,630 killed, 5,514 died from wounds and 1,643 died in captivity. About 60 thousand servicemen were captured, of which about 16 thousand were wounded. There is no reliable data on the loss of Japan. Russian sources assess them as more significant than the losses of Kuropatkin's army. On the basis of these sources B.Ts. Urlanis estimated the Japanese losses at 47387 killed, 173425 wounded and 11425 dead from wounds. In addition, he estimated that 27,192 Japanese died of disease.

But foreign observers in most battles believe Japanese casualties are lower than Russian ones, with the exception of the siege of Port Arthur. During this siege, the number of killed and wounded in the Japanese army was 28 thousand more, but at Liaoyang and Shahe the losses of the Japanese were 24 thousand less than those of the Russians. True, under Mukden, the Japanese losses in killed and wounded were 11 thousand more than those of the Russians, but in Tsushima and other naval battles, the Russians killed and wounded were about the same amount. Based on these figures, it can be assumed that in reality the Japanese casualties in killed and wounded were approximately equal to the Russians, while the Japanese captured several times more prisoners.

Also, the data on more than twofold excess of mortality from diseases in the Japanese army compared to the Russian are not credible. After all, the Russian army outnumbered the Japanese by about one and a half times, and the organization of sanitary affairs in both armies was approximately at the same level. Rather, it can be assumed that the number of deaths from diseases in both armies was approximately the same. Another thing is that for Japan, whose armed forces and population were significantly smaller, these losses were much more sensitive than for the Russian Empire.

According to the Peace of Portsmouth, concluded on September 5, 1905, with the mediation of the United States, Russia ceded to Japan the lease of the Liaodong Peninsula along with a branch of the South Manchurian Railway, as well as the southern half of Sakhalin Island, where Japanese troops landed shortly before the end of the war. Russian troops were withdrawn from Manchuria, and Korea was recognized as a sphere of Japanese influence. Russian positions in China and throughout the Far East were undermined, and Japan made a claim to become a great power and a dominant position in North China.

The defeat of Russia was primarily due to the weakness of its fleet, unable to resist the Japanese and protect the Far Eastern ports, as well as to establish sea supplies for the Russian troops. The weakness of the rear led to the outbreak of the revolution shortly after the fall of Port Arthur. But even if there were no revolution, Kuropatkin's strategy of attrition would hardly have led to success.

Based on materials from the portal "Great Wars in the History of Russia"

One of the largest military conflicts at the beginning of the 20th century was the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-1905. Its result was the first, in modern history, victory of an Asian state over a European one, in a full-scale armed conflict. The Russian Empire entered the war hoping for an easy victory, but the enemy was underestimated.

In the middle of the 19th century, Emperor Mutsuhio carried out a series of reforms, after which Japan became a powerful state with a modern army and navy. The country has come out of self-isolation; its claim to dominance in East Asia intensified. But another colonial power, the Russian Empire, also sought to gain a foothold in this region.

Causes of war and balance of power

The cause of the war was the collision in the Far East of the geopolitical interests of two empires - modernized Japan and tsarist Russia.

Japan, having established itself in Korea and Manchuria, was forced to make concessions under pressure from the European powers. The Liaodong Peninsula, captured by the island empire during the war with China, was transferred to Russia. But both sides understood that a military conflict could not be avoided and were preparing for hostilities.

By the time the hostilities began, the opponents had concentrated significant forces in the conflict zone. Japan could exhibit 375-420 thousand people. and 16 heavy warships. Russia had 150 thousand people in Eastern Siberia and 18 heavy ships (battleships, armored cruisers, etc.).

The course of hostilities

The beginning of the war. The defeat of the Russian naval forces in the Pacific

The Japanese attacked before the declaration of war, on January 27, 1904. The strikes were delivered in various directions, which allowed the fleet to neutralize the threat of opposition from Russian ships on sea lanes, and parts of the Imperial Japanese army to land in Korea. By February 21, they occupied the capital Pyongyang, and by early May they blocked the Port Arthur squadron. This allowed the 2nd Japanese Army to land in Manchuria. Thus, the first stage of hostilities ended with the victory of Japan. The defeat of the Russian fleet allowed the Asiatic empire to invade the mainland of land units and ensure their supply.

Campaign of 1904. Defense of Port Arthur

The Russian command hoped to take revenge on land. However, the very first battles showed the superiority of the Japanese in the land theater of operations. The 2nd Army defeated the Russians opposing it and split into two parts. One of them began to advance on the Kwantung Peninsula, the other on Manchuria. Near Liaoyang (Manchuria), the first major battle took place between the land units of the opposing sides. The Japanese attacked continuously, and the Russian command, previously confident of victory over the Asians, lost control of the battle. The battle was lost.

Having put his army in order, General Kuropatkin went on the offensive and tried to unblock the Kwantung fortified area cut off from his own. A major battle unfolded in the Shakhe River valley: there were more Russians, but the Japanese Marshal Oyama managed to hold back the onslaught. Port Arthur was doomed.

Campaign of 1905

This naval fortress had a strong garrison and was fortified from land. In a complete blockade, the garrison of the fortress repulsed four assaults, inflicting significant losses on the enemy; in defense, various technical innovations were tried out. The Japanese kept between 150 and 200 thousand bayonets under the walls of the fortified area. However, after almost a year of siege, the fortress fell. Almost a third of the captured Russian soldiers and officers were wounded.

For Russia, the fall of Port Arthur was a heavy blow to the prestige of the empire.

The last chance to turn the tide of the war for the Russian army was the battle of Mukden in February 1905. However, the Japanese were no longer opposed by the formidable force of a great power, but by units suppressed by continuous defeats, which were far from their native land. After 18 days, the left flank of the Russian army wavered, and the command gave the order to retreat. The forces of both sides were exhausted: a trench war began, the outcome of which could only be changed by the victory of the squadron of Admiral Rozhdestvensky. After long months on the road, she came to the island of Tsushima.

Tsushima. Japan's final victory

By the time of the Tsushima battle, the Japanese fleet had an advantage in ships, the experience of defeating the Russian admirals and a high morale. Having lost only 3 ships, the Japanese completely defeated the enemy's fleet, scattering its remnants. Russia's maritime borders were left unprotected; a few weeks later the first amphibious assault forces landed on Sakhalin and Kamchatka.

Peace treaty. Results of the war

In the summer of 1905, both sides were extremely exhausted. Japan had an undeniable military superiority, but she was running out of supplies. Russia, on the contrary, could use its advantage in resources, but for this, it was necessary to rebuild the economy and political life for military needs. The outbreak of the 1905 revolution ruled out this possibility. In these conditions, both sides agreed to sign a peace treaty.

According to the Portsmouth Peace Treaty, Russia lost the southern part of Sakhalin, the Liaodong Peninsula, and the railway to Port Arthur. The empire was forced to leave Manchuria and Korea, which became, in fact, the protectorates of Japan. The defeat accelerated the collapse of the autocracy and the subsequent disintegration of the Russian Empire. Its adversary Japan, on the contrary, has significantly strengthened its position, becoming one of the leading world powers.

The Land of the Rising Sun steadily increased its expansion, becoming one of the largest geopolitical players, and remained so until 1945.

Table: chronology of events

Strengths and weaknesses of opponents

Military-political reasons for the defeat of Russia

The negative factors that determined the military defeat of the Russian army and navy were: remoteness from the theater of operations, serious shortcomings in the supply of troops and ineffective military leadership.

The political leadership of the Russian Empire, with a general understanding of the inevitability of a collision, purposefully did not prepare for a war in the Far East.

The defeat accelerated the collapse of the autocracy and the subsequent disintegration of the Russian Empire. Its adversary Japan, on the contrary, has significantly strengthened its position, becoming one of the leading world powers. The Land of the Rising Sun steadily increased its expansion, becoming the largest geopolitical player and remained so until 1945.

Other factors

• Economic and military-technical backwardness of Russia
• Imperfect management structures
• Weak development of the Far Eastern region
• Embezzlement and bribery in the army
• Underestimating Japan's Armed Forces

Results of the Russo-Japanese War

In conclusion, it is worth noting the importance of defeat in the Russo-Japanese War for the continued existence of the autocratic system in Russia. The inept and ill-considered actions of the government, which caused the death of thousands of soldiers who faithfully defended it, actually led to the beginning of the first revolution in the history of our country. The prisoners and wounded returning from Manchuria could not hide their indignation. Their testimony, coupled with the apparent economic, military and political backwardness, led to a sharp outburst of indignation, primarily in the lower and middle strata of Russian society. In fact, the Russo-Japanese war exposed the long-hidden contradictions between the people and the government, and this exposure took place so quickly and imperceptibly that it stumped not only the government, but also the participants in the revolution. In many historical publications there is an indication that Japan managed to win the war due to betrayal by the socialists and the nascent Bolshevik party, but in fact, such statements are far from the truth, since it was the failures of the Japanese war that provoked an outburst of revolutionary ideas. Thus, the Russo-Japanese War became a turning point in history, a period that forever changed its further course.

“Not the Russian people,” wrote Lenin, “but the Russian autocracy started this colonial war, which turned into a war between the new and the old bourgeois world. Not the Russian people, but the autocracy came to a shameful defeat. The Russian people gained from the defeat of the autocracy. The capitulation of Port Arthur is the prologue to the capitulation of tsarism. "

The more a person is able to respond to the historical and universal, the broader his nature, the richer his life and the more capable such a person is for progress and development.

F.M.Dostoevsky

The Russo-Japanese War of 1904-1905, which we will briefly talk about today, is one of the most important pages in the history of the Russian Empire. In the war, Russia was defeated, demonstrating a military lag behind the world's leading countries. Another important event of the war - as a result of it, the Entente was finally formed, and the world began, slowly but steadily, to slide towards the First World War.

Preconditions for the war

In 1894-1895, Japan defeated China, as a result of which Japan had to cross the Liaodong (Kwantung) Peninsula along with Port Arthur and the island of Farmoza (the current name of Taiwan). Germany, France and Russia intervened in the negotiations and insisted that the Liaodong Peninsula remain in China's use.

In 1896, the government of Nicholas II signed a friendship treaty with China. As a result, China allows Russia to build a railroad to Vladivostok via Northern Manchuria (Chinese Eastern Railroad).

In 1898, Russia, within the framework of a friendship agreement with China, leases the Liaodong Peninsula from the latter for 25 years. This move drew sharp criticism from Japan, which also claimed these lands. But this did not lead to serious consequences at that time. In 1902, the tsarist army entered Manchuria. Formally, Japan was ready to recognize this territory for Russia if the latter recognized Japan's domination in Korea. But the Russian government made a mistake. They did not take Japan seriously, and did not even think to enter into negotiations with it.

Causes and nature of the war

The reasons for the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-1905 are as follows:

• Lease by Russia of the Liaodong Peninsula and Port Arthur.
• Economic expansion of Russia in Manchuria.
• Distribution of spheres of influence in China and Korea.

The nature of hostilities can be defined as follows

• Russia planned to conduct defense and pull up reserves. The transfer of troops was planned to be completed in August 1904, after which it was planned to go on the offensive, right up to the landing of troops in Japan.
• Japan was planning to wage an offensive war. The first strike was planned at sea with the destruction of the Russian fleet, so that nothing would interfere with the transfer of the landing. The plans were to seize Manchuria, Ussuriysk and Primorskii Territories.

The balance of forces at the beginning of the war

Japan in the war could deploy about 175 thousand people (another 100 thousand in reserve) and 1,140 field guns. The Russian army consisted of 1 million people and 3.5 million in reserve (reserve). But in the Far East, Russia had 100 thousand people and 148 field guns. Also at the disposal of the Russian army were border guards, of whom there were 24 thousand people with 26 guns. The problem was that these forces, inferior in number to the Japanese, were very scattered geographically: from Chita to Vladivostok and from Blagoveshchensk to Port Arthur. In 1904-1905, Russia carried out 9 mobilizations, calling for military service about 1 million people.

The Russian fleet consisted of 69 warships. 55 of these ships were in Port Arthur, which was very poorly fortified. To demonstrate that Port Arthur was not completed and was ready for war, it is enough to give the following figures. The fortress was supposed to have 542 guns, but in fact there were only 375, but of these, only 108 guns were usable. That is, the gun supply of Port Arthur at the time of the beginning of the war was 20%!

It is obvious that the Russo-Japanese War of 1904 - 1905 began with a clear superiority of Japan on land and at sea.

The course of hostilities

War Map

rice. 1 - Map of the Russo-Japanese War 1904-1905

Events of 1904

In January 1904, Japan severed diplomatic relations with Russia and on January 27, 1904, attacked warships near Port Arthur. This was the beginning of the war.

Russia began to transfer the army to the Far East, but this happened very slowly. A distance of 8 thousand kilometers and an unfinished section of the Siberian railway - all this prevented the transfer of the army. The capacity of the road was 3 echelons per day, which is extremely small.

On January 27, 1904, Japan attacked Russian ships in Port Arthur. At the same time, in the Korean port of Chemulpo, an attack was launched on the cruiser "Varyag" and the escort boat "Koreets". After an unequal battle, the Korean was blown up, and the Varyag was flooded by the Russian sailors themselves, so that the enemy would not get it. After that, the strategic initiative at sea passed to Japan. The situation at sea worsened after the battleship "Petropavlovsk", on board of which was the commander of the fleet, S. Makarov, was blown up by a Japanese mine on March 31. In addition to the commander, his entire headquarters, 29 officers and 652 sailors were killed.

In February 1904, Japan landed an army of 60,000 in Korea, which moved to the Yalu River (the river divided Korea and Manchuria). There were no significant battles at that time, and in mid-April the Japanese army crossed the border of Manchuria.

Fall of Port Arthur

In May, the second Japanese army (50 thousand people) landed on the Liaodong Peninsula and headed for Port Arthur, creating a bridgehead for the offensive. By this time, the Russian army had partially managed to complete the transfer of troops and its number was 160 thousand people. One of the most important events of the war was the Battle of Liaoyang in August 1904. This battle still raises many questions among historians. The fact is that in this battle (and it was almost general) the Japanese army was defeated. And so much so that the command of the Japanese army declared the impossibility of continuing the conduct of hostilities. The Russo-Japanese war could have ended there, if the Russian army went over to the offensive. But the commander, Koropatkin, gives an absolutely absurd order to retreat. In the course of further events of the war, the Russian army will have several opportunities to inflict a decisive defeat on the enemy, but each time Kuropatkin either gave absurd orders or hesitated to take action, giving the enemy the right time.

After the battle of Liaoyang, the Russian army retreated to the Shahe River, where a new battle took place in September, which did not reveal a winner. After that, there was a lull, and the war passed into a positional phase. In December, General R.I. Kondratenko, who commanded the land defense of the Port Arthur fortress. The new commander of the troops A.M. Stoessel, despite the categorical refusal of the soldiers and sailors, decided to surrender the fortress. On December 20, 1904, Stoessel surrendered Port Arthur to the Japanese. On this, the Russo-Japanese War in 1904 passed into a passive phase, continuing active operations already in 1905.

Later, under public pressure, General Stoessel was brought to trial and sentenced to death. The verdict was not carried out. Nicholas 2 pardoned the general.

Historical reference

Port Arthur Defense Map

rice. 2 - Port Arthur Defense Map

Events of 1905

The Russian command demanded active actions from Kuropatkin. It was decided to start the offensive in February. But the Japanese preempted him by going over to the offensive on Mukden (Shenyang) on ​​February 5, 1905. The largest battle of the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-1905 lasted from 6 to 25 February. From the Russian side, 280 thousand people took part in it, from the Japanese side - 270 thousand people. There are many interpretations of the Mukden battle in terms of who won it. In fact, there was a draw. The Russian army lost 90 thousand soldiers, the Japanese - 70 thousand. Lesser losses on the part of Japan is a frequent argument in favor of its victory, but this battle did not give the Japanese army any advantage or gain. Moreover, the losses were so severe that Japan made no further attempts to organize major land battles until the end of the war.

Much more important is the fact that the population of Japan is much smaller than the population of Russia, and after Mukden, the island country has exhausted its human resources. Russia could and should have gone on the offensive in order to win, but 2 factors played against this:

• Kuropatkin factor
• Factor of the 1905 Revolution

On May 14-15, 1905, the Tsushima naval battle took place, in which the Russian squadrons were defeated. The losses of the Russian army amounted to 19 ships and 10 thousand killed and captured.

Kuropatkin factor

Kuropatkin, commanding the ground forces, during the entire Russo-Japanese War of 1904-1905 did not use a single chance for a favorable offensive to inflict great damage on the enemy. There were several such chances, and we talked about them above. Why did the Russian general and commander refuse to take active actions and did not strive to end the war? After all, if he gave the order to attack after Liaoyang, the Japanese army would most likely cease to exist.

It is, of course, impossible to answer this question directly, but a number of historians put forward the following opinion (I quote it for the reason that it is reasoned and very similar to the truth). Kuropatkin was closely associated with Witte, who, let me remind you, by the time of the war was removed from the post of prime minister by Nicholas II. Kuropatkin's plan was to create conditions under which the tsar would return Witte. The latter was considered an excellent negotiator, so it was necessary to bring the war with Japan to such a stage when the parties would sit down at the negotiating table. For this, the war could not be ended with the help of the army (the defeat of Japan is a direct surrender without any negotiations). Therefore, the commander did everything to bring the war to a draw. He successfully coped with this task, and indeed Nicholas II called on Witte by the end of the war.

The factor of the revolution

There are many sources pointing to Japanese funding for the 1905 revolution. The real facts of the transfer of money, of course. No. But there are 2 facts that I find extremely curious:

• The peak of the revolution and the movement fell on the Battle of Tsushima. Nicholas II needed an army to fight the revolution and he decided to start negotiations for peace with Japan.
• Immediately after the signing of the Portsmouth Peace Treaty, the revolution in Russia began to decline.

Reasons for Russia's defeat

Why was Russia defeated in the war with Japan? The reasons for Russia's defeat in the Russo-Japanese War are as follows:

• Weakness of the grouping of Russian troops in the Far East.
• The unfinished Transsib, which did not allow the transfer of troops in full.
• Errors of the army command. I already wrote about the Kuropatkin factor above.
• Superiority of Japan in military-technical equipment.

The last point is extremely important. He is often forgotten, but undeservedly. In terms of technical equipment, primarily in the navy, Japan was far ahead of Russia.

Portsmouth world

To conclude peace between the countries, Japan demanded that Theodore Roosevelt, the President of the United States, act as a mediator. Negotiations began and the Russian delegation was headed by Witte. Nicholas 2 returned him to his post and entrusted the negotiations, knowing the talents of this person. And Witte really took a very tough stance, preventing Japan from gaining significant gains from the war.

The terms of the Portsmouth Peace were as follows:

• Russia recognized Japan's right to rule in Korea.
• Russia ceded part of the territory of Sakhalin Island (the Japanese wanted to get the whole island, but Witte was against it).
• Russia handed over the Kwantung Peninsula to Japan together with Port Arthur.
• No one paid indemnities to anyone, but Russia had to pay a reward to the enemy for the maintenance of Russian prisoners of war.

The aftermath of the war

During the war, Russia and Japan lost about 300 thousand people each, but in view of the size of the population for Japan, these were almost catastrophic losses. The losses were associated with the fact that this was the first major war in which automatic weapons were used. At sea, there was a large slope towards the use of mines.

An important fact, which many bypass, it was after the Russo-Japanese war that the Entente (Russia, France and England) and the Triple Alliance (Germany, Italy and Austria-Hungary) were finally formed. The fact of the formation of the Entente is noteworthy. Before the war, there was an alliance in Europe between Russia and France. The latter did not want to expand it. But the events of the war of Russia against Japan showed that the Russian army had many problems (it really was so), so France signed agreements with England.

Positions of world powers during the war

During the Russo-Japanese War, the world powers held the following positions:

• England and the USA. Traditionally, the interests of these countries were extremely similar. They supported Japan, but mostly financially. Approximately 40% of Japan's war costs were covered by Anglo-Saxon money.
• France declared neutrality. Although in fact it had an allied agreement with Russia, it did not fulfill its allied obligations.
• Germany from the first days of the war declared its neutrality.

The Russo-Japanese War was practically not analyzed by the tsarist historians, since they simply did not have enough time. After the end of the war, the Russian Empire existed for almost 12 years, which included the revolution, economic problems and the world war. Therefore, the main study took place already in Soviet times. But it is important to understand that for Soviet historians it was a war against the backdrop of a revolution. That is, "the tsarist regime was striving for aggression, and the people did their best to prevent this." That is why it is written in Soviet textbooks that, for example, the Liaoyang operation ended in the defeat of Russia. Although formally it was a draw.

The end of the war is also seen as a complete defeat of the Russian army on land and in the navy. If at sea the situation was really close to defeat, then on land Japan stood on the edge of an abyss, since they no longer had the manpower resources to continue the war. I propose to look at this question even more broadly. How did the wars of that era end after an unconditional defeat (and this is what Soviet historians often talked about) of one of the parties? Large indemnities, large territorial concessions, partial economic and political dependence of the loser on the winner. But there is nothing like this in the Portsmouth world. Russia did not pay anything, lost only the southern part of Sakhalin (an insignificant territory) and abandoned the land leased from China. The argument is often made that Japan won the struggle for dominance in Korea. But Russia has never seriously fought for this territory. She was only interested in Manchuria. And if we return to the origins of the war, we will see that the Japanese government would never have started a war if Nicholas II had recognized Japan's domination in Korea, just as the Japanese government would have recognized Russia's position in Manbchuria. Therefore, at the end of the war, Russia did what it should have done back in 1903, without bringing the matter to war. But this is a question for the personality of Nicholas II, who today is extremely fashionable to call a martyr and hero of Russia, but it was his actions that provoked the war.

Synopsis on the history of Russia

The nature of the war: imperialistic, unfair on both sides. The forces of the parties: Russia - 1 million 135 thousand people (in total), actually 100 thousand people, Japan - 143 thousand people + sea fleet + reserve (about 200 thousand). Quantitative and qualitative superiority of Japan at sea (80:63).

Parties' plans:
Japan- an offensive strategy, the goal of which is dominance at sea, the capture of Korea, the possession of Port Arthur, the defeat of the Russian group.
Russia- there was no general war plan that would ensure interaction between the army and the navy. Defensive strategy.

Dates. Developments. Notes (edit)

January 27, 1904 - A surprise attack by a Japanese squadron of Russian ships at Port Arthur. Heroic battle between Varyag and Koreyets. The attack was repulsed. Russian losses: Varyag is flooded. The Korean is blown up. Japan secured superiority at sea.
January 28 - Repeated bombardment of the city and Port Arthur. The attack was repulsed.
February 24 - Arrival in Port Arthur of the commander of the Pacific Fleet, Vice Admiral S.O. Makarov. Makarov's active steps to prepare for the general battle with Japan at sea (offensive tactics).
March 31 - Death of Makarov. Inaction of the fleet, rejection of offensive tactics.
April 1904 - The landing of the Japanese armies in Korea, the crossing of the river. Yaly and entry into Manchuria. The initiative in action on land belongs to the Japanese.
May 1904 - The Japanese laid siege to Port Arthur. Port Arthur was cut off from the Russian army. An attempt to release it in June 1904 was unsuccessful.
August 13-21 - Battle of Liaoyang. The forces are approximately equal (160 thousand each). The attacks of the Japanese troops were repulsed. Kuropatkin's indecision prevented him from building on his success. On August 24, Russian troops withdrew to the Shakhe River.
October 5 - The battle begins on the Shahe River. Fog and mountainous terrain interfered, as well as Kuropatkin's lack of initiative (he acted only with part of his forces).
December 2 - Death of General Kondratenko. R.I. Kondratenko led the defense of the fortress.
July 28 - December 20, 1904 - The besieged Port Arthur defended itself heroically. December 20 Stesil gives the order to surrender the fortress. The defenders withstood 6 assaults on the fortress. The fall of Port Arthur was a turning point in the course of the Russo-Japanese War.
February 1905 - Battle of Mukden. 550 thousand people participated on both sides. Kuropatkin's passivity. Losses: Russians - 90 thousand, Japanese - 70 thousand. The Russians lost the battle.
May 14-15, 1905 - Sea battle at about. Tsushima in the Sea of ​​Japan.
Tactical mistakes of Admiral Rozhdestvensky. Our losses - 19 ships were sunk, 5 thousand were killed, 5 thousand were taken prisoner. The defeat of the Russian fleet
5 August 1905 - Peace of Portsmouth
By the summer of 1905 - Japan began to clearly feel a lack of material and human resources and turned to the United States, Germany, and France for help. USA stands for peace. Peace was signed in Portsmouth, our delegation was headed by S.Yu. Witte.

Peace conditions: Korea is the sphere of interests of Japan, both sides are withdrawing their troops from Manchuria, Russia cedes to Japan Liaodong and Port Arthur, half of Sakhalin and railways. This treaty became invalid after Japan's surrender in 1914.

Reasons for defeat: the technical, economic and military superiority of Japan, the military-political and diplomatic isolation of Russia, the operational-tactical and strategic unpreparedness of the Russian army to conduct hostilities in difficult conditions, the mediocrity and betrayal of the tsarist generals, the unpopularity of war among all segments of the population.

Russo-Japanese War 1904 - 1905 Russo-Japanese War 1904-1905, arose in the context of the intensified struggle of the imperialist powers for the partition of semi-feudal China and Korea; was aggressive, unjust, imperialistic on both sides. In the unfolding rivalry between the powers in the Far East, capitalist Japan played a particularly active role, striving to seize Korea and northeastern China (Manchuria). After defeating China in Sino-Japanese War 1894‒1895, Japan by Treaty of Shimonoseki 1895 received the islands of Taiwan (Formosa), Penghuledao (Pescadores) and the Liaodong Peninsula, but under pressure from Russia, supported by France and Germany, she was forced to abandon the latter, after which the aggravation of Russian-Japanese relations began. In 1896, Russia received a concession from the Chinese government to build a railway through Manchuria, and in 1898 rented the Kwantung Peninsula with Port Arthur from China ( Lushun) with the right to create a naval base on it. During suppression Ihetuan Uprising in China, tsarist troops occupied Manchuria in 1900. Japan began vigorous preparations for war with Russia, concluding in 1902 Anglo-Japanese union... The tsarist government, whose aggressive policy in the Far East was directed by an adventurous "Ugly clique", counted on an easy victory in the war with Japan, which would make it possible to overcome the aggravating revolutionary crisis.

Economically and militarily, Japan was significantly weaker than Russia, but the remoteness of the Far Eastern theater of operations from the center of Russia reduced the military capabilities of the latter. After mobilization, the Japanese army consisted of 13 infantry divisions and 13 reserve brigades (over 375,000 men and 1,140 field guns); in total, the Japanese government mobilized about 1.2 million people during the war. The Japanese Navy had 6 new and 1 old battleship, 8 armored cruisers (2 of them built abroad, arrived after the start of the war), 17 light cruisers (including 3 old ones), 19 destroyers, 28 destroyers (only in part of the so-called United Fleet), 11 gunboats, etc.

Russia was not ready for a war in the Far East. With a cadre army of 1.1 million people. and a reserve of 3.5 million people, she had here by January 1904 only about 98 thousand people, 148 guns and 8 machine guns; the border guard numbered 24 thousand people. and 26 guns. These forces were scattered over a vast territory from Chita to Vladivostok and from Blagoveshchensk to Port Arthur. The capacity of the Siberian railway the highway was very low (at first, only 3 pairs of military echelons per day). During the war, about 1.2 million people were sent to Manchuria. (most in 1905). The Russian Navy in the Far East had 7 battleships, 4 armored cruisers, 10 light cruisers (including 3 old ones), 2 mine cruisers, 3 destroyers (1 of them entered service after the start of the war), 7 gunboats: most of the ships were based on Port Arthur, 4 cruisers (including 3 armored ones) and 10 destroyers - to Vladivostok. The defensive structures of Port Arthur (especially the land ones) were not completed. Pursuing an adventurous policy, unsupported by forces and means, the tsarist government considered Japan a weak enemy and allowed itself to be taken by surprise.

The Russian command assumed that the Japanese army would not be able to launch an offensive on land soon. Therefore, the troops in the Far East were tasked with restraining the enemy until the arrival of large forces from the center of Russia (in the 7th month of the war), then go on the offensive, throw Japanese troops into the sea and land troops in Japan. The fleet was supposed to fight for supremacy at sea and prevent the landing of Japanese troops.

From the beginning of the war to August 1904, a Vladivostok cruiser detachment led active operations on the enemy's sea lanes, destroying 15 steamers, including 4 military transports, and heroically fighting against the superior forces of the Japanese on August 1 (14) in a battle in Korea Strait... The last stage of R.-ya. v. appeared Battle of Tsushima 1905... Russian 2nd and 3rd Pacific squadrons under the command of Vice Admiral Z.P. Rozhestvensky, they made an 18,000-mile passage (32,500 km) from the Baltic Sea around Africa and on May 14 (27) approached the Strait of Tsushima, where they entered into battle with the main forces of the Japanese fleet. In a two-day naval battle, the Russian squadron was completely defeated, which meant "... not only a military defeat, but a complete military collapse of the autocracy" (V. I. Lenin, Polnoye soborny soch., 5th ed., Vol. 10, p. 252 ).

Despite the victory, Japan was exhausted by the war, anti-war sentiments grew in it, Russia was engulfed in revolution, and the tsarist government sought to make peace as soon as possible. On May 18 (31), 1905, the military government turned to US President T. Roosevelt with a request to mediate in the peace negotiations, which began on July 27 (August 9) in the American city of Portsmouth. August 23 (September 5) was signed Portsmouth Peace Treaty of 1905, according to which Russia recognized Korea as a sphere of Japanese influence, transferred to Japan Russia's lease rights to the Kwantung Region with Port Arthur and the southern branch of the Chinese Eastern Railway, as well as the southern part of Sakhalin.

The root causes of Russia's defeat in R.-ya. v. were reactionary and rotten tsarism, the inability of the high military command, the unpopularity of the war among the people, the low combat quality of the reinforcements, staffed by reserve personnel, including the older ones who did not have sufficient combat training, the poor preparedness of a significant part of the officer corps, insufficient material and technical support, poor knowledge of the theater of military operations, etc. Japan won the war with broad support from Britain and the United States. From April 1904 to May 1905, she received from them 4 loans in the amount of 410 million dollars, which covered 40% of military expenses. The most important result of R.-ya. v. was the establishment of Japanese imperialism in Korea and South Manchuria. Already on November 17, 1905, Japan imposed an agreement on a protectorate on Korea, and in 1910 incorporated it into the Japanese Empire. The strengthening of Japanese imperialism in the Far East changed the attitude of the United States towards Japan, which became for them a more dangerous competitor than Russia.

The war had a great influence on the development of the art of war (see. Operational art). It was the first to use rapid-fire weapons (rifles, machine guns) on a mass scale. In defense, the trenches have replaced the complex fortifications of the past. The need for closer cooperation between the branches of the armed forces and the widespread use of technical means of communication became obvious. Artillery firing from closed positions became widespread. Destroyers were used for the first time at sea. Based on the experience of the war in the Russian army, military reforms 1905‒12.

R.-ya. v. brought the peoples of Russia and Japan a deterioration in their financial situation, an increase in taxes and prices. Japan's national debt quadrupled, its losses amounted to 135 thousand killed and died from wounds and diseases and about 554 thousand wounded and sick. Russia spent 2347 million rubles on the war, about 500 million rubles was lost in the form of property that had gone to Japan and sunk ships and ships. Russia's losses amounted to 400 thousand killed, wounded, sick and prisoners. The Far Eastern adventure of tsarism, which led to heavy defeats accompanied by great sacrifices, aroused the indignation of the peoples of Russia and accelerated the beginning of the first bourgeois-democratic Revolution of 1905-07.

Lit .: Lenin V.I., To the Russian proletariat, Complete collection of works, 5th ed., V. 8; same, May Day. Draft leaflet, ibid; him, The Fall of Port Arthur, ibid., v. 9; same, May Day, ibid., v. 10; same, Defeat, ibid., v. 10; Yaroslavsky E., Russian-Japanese war and the attitude of the Bolsheviks to it, M., 1939; Russo-Japanese War 1904-1905 The work of the military-historical commission on the description of the Russian-Japanese war, v. 1-9, St. Petersburg. 1910; Russo-Japanese War 1904-1905. The work of the historical commission for describing the actions of the fleet in the war of 1904‒1905. at the Naval General Staff, Vol. 1-7, St. Petersburg, 1912-18; Kuropatkin A. N., [Report ...], v. 1-4, St. Petersburg - Warsaw, 1906; Svechin A., Russian-Japanese War 1904-1905, Oranienbaum, 1910; Levitsky N.A., Russian-Japanese War 1904-1905, 3rd ed., M., 1938; Romanov B.A., Essays on the diplomatic history of the Russian-Japanese war. 1895‒1907, 2nd ed., M. - L., 1955; Sorokin A.I., The Russo-Japanese War of 1904‒1905, M., 1956: Luchinin V., The Russo-Japanese War of 1904‒1905. Bibliographic index, M., 1939.

Great Soviet Encyclopedia. - M .: Soviet encyclopedia. 1969-1978 .

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