The question of whether the Russo-Japanese War of 1904–1905 was inevitable, and 110 years after its outbreak, is still under debate. Without pretending to give an exhaustive answer to it, let us take advantage of the anniversary and remember the events that preceded the armed conflict and those decisions that played a role in starting the war.
The Sino-Japanese War and its consequences
Japan took the first step towards war with the Russian Empire in 1894 by attacking China. The turn of the 19th and 20th centuries turned out to be a difficult and dark period in the history of this country. The Celestial Empire came under the close and unselfish attention of several states seeking to grab their piece of the Chinese “pie.” Japan behaved most aggressively, whose population of more than 40 million was in need of food and resources (by the beginning of the Russo-Japanese War it reached 46.3 million people).
The forecasts of observers who promised military cataclysms in the region came true in October 1894, when Japan attacked Korea, a protectorate of China. In addition, the Japanese landed near Port Arthur. The poorly prepared Chinese army tried to resist, but was unable to defend the fortress. The aggressors celebrated the capture of Port Arthur with a massacre. The Japanese did not take prisoners, but the wounded Chinese were mercilessly finished off.
Looking ahead, I note that if the numerous crimes of the Japanese military committed by them in China in 1931 - 1945 have long been of keen interest to researchers from different countries, then the crimes of the Japanese in China during the Sino-Japanese War of 1894 - 1895 and the Russo-Japanese War the war of 1894–1895 cannot be said. But the attitude of Japanese soldiers towards the Chinese not as people, but as “elements” and “objects” arose even then. Anton Denikin, a participant in the Russo-Japanese War and later the leader of the White movement, wrote in his book “The Path of a Russian Officer”: “The relationship between the Chinese population and our troops was satisfactory. Of course, there were excesses, as in all armies, in all wars. But Russian people are sociable and not arrogant. The soldiers treated the Chinese good-naturedly and not at all as an inferior race. Since settlements often changed hands, it was possible to compare the two “regimes.” The careful Japanese, retreating, usually left the buildings in order, while our soldiers, and especially the Cossacks, reduced them to an uninhabitable state... In all other respects, the Japanese “regime” was without comparison more difficult. The contemptuous attitude of the Japanese towards the Chinese, literally as inanimate objects, and the cruelty of requisitions oppressed the population. Particularly outrageous were the requisitions... of women, which were carried out not arbitrarily, but according to an established procedure..."
However, let's go back to 1894. Then Japan captured not only Port Arthur, but also Formosa (now Taiwan), the port of Weihaiwei (now Weihai) and the Pescadores Islands (now Penghuledao). In 1895, Tokyo imposed a beneficial treaty on China, forcing Beijing to abandon the Liaodong Peninsula, Korea and agree to pay a large indemnity.
But as it turned out, the Japanese rejoiced early. Their success worried Germany, France and Russia, which in April 1895 issued an ultimatum to Japan to abandon the Liaodong Peninsula. Finding itself in political isolation, Tokyo was forced to leave the Liaodong Peninsula, content with paying an increased indemnity and Taiwan. “Russia should be considered the country that benefited from this war,” says South Korean historian Kim Jong-hon. “She completely achieved her goal without firing a single shot, only by organizing diplomatic pressure from the three European powers on Japan. By forcing Japan to abandon the Liaodong Peninsula, it thereby facilitated the implementation of its claims to it.”
The loss of Liaodong was perceived extremely painfully by the Land of the Rising Sun - as an insult. Moreover, the forced abandonment of the Liaodong Peninsula was appreciated not only by official Tokyo, but also by broad sections of the people who approved of the aggressive course of their government. “What strikes the student of the history of Japanese diplomacy... is that public opinion in Japan has always demanded a tough foreign policy, while the government’s policy has been very cautious,” argued the Japanese researcher Kiyosawa Kiyoshi. And if the assessment of the Japanese government’s policies raises serious doubts, then there is no need to argue with the first part of the statement. Indeed, even in our time, the Japanese are united in their desire to take away from Russia the Kuril Islands, received by the Soviet Union as a result of the Second World War, which was unleashed by Germany and Japan, bringing untold misfortunes and suffering to humanity.
After analyzing the events of 1895, Japanese historian Shumpei Okamoto stated: “The entire nation, including the emperor, felt humiliated. To contain the anger of the people, the government had to ask the emperor to issue a verdict warning against manifestations of rage. From this bitter experience a new nationalism grew. The slogan of the day was “gashin shotan” - “lack of retribution”... The importance of “gashin shotan” in the modern history of Japan is difficult to overestimate. It led to the rise of chauvinistic nationalism, which was directed only against one country - against Russia. The Japanese government began an active ten-year program to expand its armaments with the goal of rapidly developing land and naval forces, in parallel with the development of the basic types of industry necessary for this.
The rapidly growing military-industrial potential of the Land of the Rising Sun and its revanchist plans were calmly accepted by Nicholas II. General Pyotr Vannovsky, who was the Minister of War of the Russian Empire from 1882 to 1897, did not see a serious threat to Russia in the military preparations of its eastern neighbor. He assured: “If we talk about the degree of our vulnerability, the Japanese army does not pose a threat to us.” It is also noteworthy that Russia’s military agent in Tokyo was Vannovsky’s son, former horse artillery officer Boris Vannovsky. In 1902, he told the new Minister of War of Russia, General Alexei Kuropatkin: “The Japanese army has not emerged from a state of internal disorder... That is why, on the one hand, the Japanese army has not been an Asian horde for a long time... on the other hand, it is not a real European army at all...”
Kuropatkin himself later wrote: “We knew that the Japanese were skilled and persistent artists. We loved their products, their fine workmanship and amazing sense of color. Our people spoke with admiration of the country and its people and were full of pleasant memories of their trips there, especially to Nagasaki, where they were popular with the locals. As a military factor, Japan simply did not exist for us. Our sailors, travelers and diplomats have fully overlooked the awakening of this energetic, independent people».
The Russian Emperor, who visited Japan, also looked at it. However, Nicholas II’s memories of visiting the Land of the Rising Sun cannot be called pleasant. On April 29, 1891, when he was traveling through Japan as heir to the throne, in the town of Otsu he received a blow to the head with a saber from policeman Tsuda Satso. Nikolai’s life was saved by a bowler hat made of hard fabric. It is noteworthy that subsequently our tactful emperor did not disdain to call the Japanese “macaques.” Nicholas II did not even allow the thought that Tsuda Satso’s blow would be the first, but far from the last blow he received from the “macaques”.
Russia goes to China
The success of Russian diplomacy achieved in 1895, as well as participation together with other great powers in the suppression of the so-called “Boxer” uprising in China, raised by the Yihetuan society, played a cruel joke on Russia, giving rise to mischievous sentiments in Russian society. Of course, there were also sound judgments from military experts. However, they did not make the weather.
At the same time, Russia, as if deliberately, did everything to strengthen anti-Russian and revanchist sentiments in Japanese society. In 1895, the Russian-Chinese Bank was created. In May 1896, when the head of Chinese diplomacy Li Hongzhang came to the Mother See for the coronation of Nicholas II, the Moscow Treaty on a defensive alliance against Japan was concluded between Russia and China and a decision was made to build the Chinese Eastern Railway (CER) through the territory of Manchuria. The CER made it possible to connect Chita with Vladivostok along a shorter route. The concession was issued to the Russian-Chinese Bank, which created the CER joint-stock company. It received the right to build the Chinese Eastern Railway, manage lands in the right-of-way, conduct exploration for ore reserves, mine coal, etc. Under the terms of the agreement with China, Russian laws were in effect in the right-of-way. Soon the construction of the road began, and in 1901 the first train passed along the CER.
A new outburst of rage in Japan was caused by the agreement concluded in 1898 between Russia and China to lease the Liaodong Peninsula for a period of 25 years, as well as the decision to build a railway from the Chinese Eastern Railway to Port Arthur. The Japanese were also irritated by the fact that after the suppression of the Boxer uprising, Russia did not withdraw all its troops from Manchuria. In the fall of 1903, the deadline for the withdrawal of the remaining units was again missed.
A scam started by the emperor’s favorite, retired guards cavalry captain Alexander Bezobrazov and rear admiral Alexei Abaza, added fuel to the fire. The company they created bought a concession from the Vladivostok merchant Briner to exploit a huge forest area on the Yalu and Tumen rivers on the border of Manchuria and Korea. The region attracted the attention of “effective managers” with the possibility of unlimited forest harvesting, the quality of the forest and the availability of cheap labor.
For the Japanese, who viewed Korea as an object of their exploitation, Russia's activity in the region was like a bone in the throat. But the “Bezobrazovites” didn’t care at all. Anticipating big profits, they did not think about the consequences of their actions for the state.
It’s sad but true: the selfish undertaking of Bezobrazov and Abaza was patronized by Emperor Nicholas II, Minister of Internal Affairs Vyacheslav Pleve and the illegitimate son of Alexander II, Vice Admiral Evgeny Alekseev, who headed the governorship established in the summer of 1903 in the Far East. Alekseev was faced with the task of uniting the work of all departments in the region. Port Arthur became the center of the governorship. “In foreign policy terms, this act testified to the intention of tsarism to gain a foothold in Manchuria seriously and for a long time. From the point of view of the internal government struggle, it meant another success for the “bezobrazovites.” In terms of the management mechanism, the governorship introduced parallelism and confusion, which were especially dangerous during the period when the war was brewing,” historian Anatoly Ignatiev rightly noted.
Provocation of British Russophobes
Having set a course for war with the Russian Empire, Tokyo approached preparations for it with all seriousness. To protect itself from isolation in the international arena, Japan entered into an agreement in 1902 with Russia’s longtime enemy, Great Britain. The two island states were united in their desire to stop Russian advances in Manchuria and Korea.
The patriarch of American politics, Henry Kissinger, noted in his book Diplomacy: “Great Britain and Japan agreed that if either of them became involved in a war with one by an outside power regarding China or Korea, then the other contracting party will remain neutral. If, however, any of the contracting parties is attacked two opponents, then the other contracting party will be obliged to assist its partner. It is clear that this alliance could only operate if Japan fought two opponents at the same time. Great Britain finally found an ally who was eager to contain Russia, without forcing its partner to take on obligations alien to it, and even one whose Far Eastern geographical location was of much greater strategic interest to Great Britain than the Russian-German border.”
"Mistress of the Seas" helped the Land of the Rising Sun to modernize and strengthen its navy. Historian Vladimir Krestyaninov notes: “Preparing for war with Russia, Japan ordered six armored cruisers abroad. Four - "Asama", "Tokiwa", "Iwate", "Izumo" - in England, "Yakumo" - in Germany and "Azuma" - in France. Differing in some details, they had identical weapons with a displacement of 9300 - 9900 tons. An armor belt along the waterline with a thickness of 178 mm allowed them to engage in battle with battleships. All this, combined with a high speed of 20–21 knots, made them dangerous opponents for Russian armored cruisers.”
By 1904, the Japanese army was modernized, trained by German instructors, and well armed. The troops received modern heavy and mountain artillery. For each Japanese division of 13,454 full-time combat personnel, there were 6 thousand porters (coolies), which significantly increased its mobility.
Preparing the people for war with Russia, the Japanese authorities launched powerful anti-Russian propaganda. The American ambassador in Tokyo, Lloyd Griscom, wrote: “The Japanese people have been brought to the highest excitement, and it would not be an exaggeration to say that if there is no war, every Japanese will be deeply disappointed.”
Brainwashing was carried out not only in newspapers, but also on the stage. British military agent Major General Ian Hamilton in Japan saw the play, which, in his words, “had an allegorical, political meaning.” In his notes, Hamilton conveyed the contents of this unique work:
“One old woman (her role was played surprisingly well) had a beautiful daughter, Geisha. Geisha meant Korea, old woman meant China. A young man who personified Japan came to woo noble Korea. Old Lady China, however, asked for more money than he agreed to give. Therefore, she opposed any formal betrothal, although the girl more than shared the feelings of her lover. Finally, young Mr. Japan lost his temper and, after a very lively argument, began to reward the old woman with very sensitive blows... At this time, another young man, namely Russia, also comes to woo, stands between Mr. Japan and Ms. Korea, and, jabbing Mr. Japan in the neck, throws him out of the house. There he stands for some time, inconsolable, listening through the thin paper walls to all their love speeches. Finally, the poor rejected lover, exhausted by his passionate feelings, turns for advice to his friend, the old man of England, who is famous for his fabulous wealth. He asks him to give him the money he needs to fight his rival and tries to prove that it is in his own interests to provide him with this help. The venerable Mr. England buttons his pockets very carefully and tightly, but takes the opportunity to make him a whole series of speeches full of nobility. He urges him not to sit here crying and listening to the advances of his rival, but to remember that he is a descendant of warriors and that steel will do its job no worse than gold. The audience applauds, and with this advice, Japan is transformed from a crying supplicant into a being full of fire and determination.”
Conveying the outline of events, Hamilton does not seem to notice that “The Honorable Mr. England” turns out to be a provocateur. However, this was the case in life. The deep essence of the attitude of official London towards Russia is accurately conveyed by the words attributed to British Prime Minister Henry John Temple Palmerston: “The world seems so unfair when no one is at war with Russia.” Whether the lord uttered this phrase or not is not so important. It is important that the Russophobe aristocrat acted in strict accordance with this thesis. And what’s even more important is that Great Britain has never experienced a shortage of Russophobic politicians and still does not.
As for Hamilton, at the beginning of the Russo-Japanese War, he immediately went to the Japanese First Army, which was preparing to go to Korea. He quickly found mutual understanding with the Japanese command. They discussed upcoming operations together. The words "ours" and "ours" in Hamilton's diary are addressed to units of the Japanese army. For example, on July 5, 1904, analyzing the situation at the front, an English general noted with alarm: “There are several data that make us fear for this, our weakest point.” In his notes and correspondence, the English general called the Japanese military “our Japanese friends,” “our allies,” and “our brave allies.”
Historian Anatoly Utkin in the book “Russian-Japanese War. At the Beginning of All Troubles” wrote about Great Britain that “having armed Japan with the most modern ships, no one has done more to push Tokyo to resolve contradictions by force than any other power. London provided loneliness Russia, since, according to the Treaty with Japan of 1902, it threatened to join Japan if Russia acquired military allies in the conflict with Japan. The Japanese privately asked the British ambassador in Beijing, Sir Ernst Satow, in December 1903, whether they should fight, and Sir Ernst left no room for doubt, hitting the table with his fist: “Yes.”
Such a frank reaction from the arrogant and prim British diplomat clearly demonstrated how great Great Britain’s desire was to see Russia and Japan at war. The dream of English sirs and lords became a fact on the night of February 9, 1904, when Japan attacked Russia without declaring war.
Oleg Nazarov, Doctor of Historical Sciences
At the beginning of the 20th century, Russia was one of the influential world powers, owning significant territories in Eastern Europe and Central Asia, while Japan dominated the eastern part of the Asian continent.
Therefore, the Russo-Japanese War had a significant resonance, long before its end in 1905. There is every reason to believe that the Russo-Japanese War was a harbinger of the First World War, and then. Because the causes of the initial conflict between states influenced subsequent events. Some tend to call the Russo-Japanese War "World War Zero" since it occurred 10 years before the start of the war.
Causes of the Russo-Japanese War
In 1904, Russia, led by Emperor Nicholas II, was the largest world power with vast territories.
The port of Vladivostok did not have year-round navigation due to difficult climatic conditions. The state needed to have a port in the Pacific Ocean that would receive and dispatch merchant ships all year round, and also serve as a fort on Russia’s eastern borders.
He placed his bets on the Korean Peninsula and Liaodong, now located in China. Russia had already entered into a lease agreement with Russia, but the emperor wanted complete sovereignty in this region. The Japanese leadership has not been satisfied with Russia's activity in this region since the Sino-Japanese War of 1895. Russia at that time supported the Qing Dynasty, i.e. was on one side in the conflict.
Initially, the Japanese side offered Russia a deal: Russia would gain full control over Manchuria (northeastern China), and Japan would control Korea. But Russia was not satisfied with this outcome of events; it put forward a demand to declare the territories of Korea above the 39th parallel a neutral zone. The negotiations were disrupted by the Japanese side, and it unilaterally launched military actions against Russia (an attack on the Russian fleet in Port Arthur on February 8, 1904).
Beginning of the Russo-Japanese War
Japan officially declared war with Russia only on the day of the attack on Russian Navy ships in Port Arthur. Before this, the Russian leadership had no information about the military intentions of the land of the rising sun.
The Cabinet of Ministers assured the Emperor that even after failed negotiations, Japan would not dare to attack Russia, but this was an unfortunate assumption. An interesting fact is that, according to the norms of International Law, a declaration of war before the outbreak of hostilities was optional at that time. This rule ceased to apply only 2 years after these events, which was enshrined at the Second Hague Peace Conference.
The purpose of the Japanese fleet's attack on Russian ships was to blockade the Russian fleet. By order of Admiral Togo Heihachiro, the torpedo boats of the Japanese fleet were to disable the three largest cruisers: Tsesarevich, Retvizan and Pallas. The main battle was expected a day later, in Port Arthur.
The Russian fleet in the Far East was well protected in Port Arthur harbor, but its exits were heavily mined. So on April 12, 1904, the battleships Petropavlovsk and Pobeda were blown up at the exit from the harbor. The first sank, the second returned to the harbor with great damage. And, although Russia, in response, damaged 2 Japanese battleships, Japan continued to control and carry out regular bombing of Port Arthur.
At the end of August, Russian troops, deployed from the center to help the sailors of Port Arthur, were driven back by the Japanese and were unable to get into the harbor. Having settled in the newly conquered positions, the Japanese military continued to fire at ships in the bay.
At the beginning of 1905, the commander of the garrison, Major General Sessel, decided to leave the harbor, believing that the losses among the naval personnel were significant and meaningless. This decision came as a surprise to both the Japanese and the Russian command. The general was later convicted and sentenced to death, but was pardoned.
The Russian fleet continued to suffer losses in the Yellow Sea, forcing the state's military leadership to mobilize the Baltic Fleet and send it to the combat area.
Military operations in Manchuria and Korea
Seeing the weakness of the Russians, the Japanese gradually moved to complete control of the Korean Peninsula. Landing in its southern part, they gradually advanced and captured Seoul and the rest of the peninsula.
The plans of the Japanese command included the seizure of Russian-controlled Manchuria. In the first military action on land, they successfully attacked Russian ships in May 1904, forcing them to withdraw to Port Arthur. Further, in February 1905, the Japanese continued to attack Russian troops in Mukden. These bloody battles also culminated in the victory of the Japanese. The Russians, suffering heavy losses, were forced to retreat to northern Mukden. The Japanese side also suffered significant losses of soldiers and equipment.
In May 1905, the Russian fleet arrived at its location, having sailed about 20 thousand miles - quite a serious military campaign for that time.
Making the transition at night, the Russian armada was nevertheless discovered by the Japanese. And Togo Heihachiro blocked their path near the Tsushima Strait at the end of May 1905. Russian losses were enormous: eight battleships and more than 5,000 men. Only three ships managed to break into the harbor and complete the task. All of the above events forced the Russian side to agree to a truce.
Treaty of Portsmouth
The Russo-Japanese War was brutal and could serve as a bad echo of subsequent events. Both sides lost about 150 thousand military personnel in hostilities, about 20 thousand Chinese civilians died.
A peace agreement was concluded in Portsmouth in 1905, mediated by Theodore Roosevelt (US President). Russia was represented by Sergei Witte, the minister of his imperial court, and Japan by Baron Komuro. For his peacekeeping activities during the negotiations, Roosevelt was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.
Results of the Russo-Japanese War
As a result of the agreement, Russia transferred Port Arthur to Japan, retaining half of the island of Sakhalin (the entire island would go to Russia only after the end of World War II. supported the refusal of Nicholas II to pay compensation to the victorious side. Russian troops liberated the territory of Manchuria and recognized the control of the Japanese side over the Korean Peninsula.
The humiliating defeats of the Russian army in the Russo-Japanese War added negative consequences to the political unrest in Russia, which ultimately served as the impetus for the overthrow of the government in 1917.
Upon completion wars 1894-1895 Japan claimed to take away from China not only Taiwan, but also the Liaodong Peninsula located near Beijing. However, three powerful European powers - Russia, Germany and France - staged a joint diplomatic demarche in 1895 and forced the Japanese to withdraw their demand for the concession of Liaodong. After suppression in 1900 Boxer Rebellion Russia occupied Manchuria along with Liaodong, thus gaining access to the Yellow Sea and beginning to build a strong military harbor here, Port Arthur. In Tokyo they were extremely offended by the fact that Russia took what it had recently forced the Japanese to give up. Japan began to demand compensation for itself in Korea, where its own and Russian influence at that time roughly balanced each other.
In the late autumn of 1901, a prominent Japanese figure, a recent prime minister, the Marquis Ito, came to St. Petersburg. He proposed an agreement on the terms of Russia recognizing exclusive Japanese rights in Korea, and Japan recognizing Russians in Manchuria. The St. Petersburg government refused. Then Japan began to prepare for war with Russia and in January 1902 entered into an alliance with England (friendly support in a war with one power and military support in a war with two).
A dangerous situation was being created for Russia: Great Siberian Railway from the European part of the empire to Vladivostok was not completely completed. Through traffic along it opened already in August 1903, but so far the Circum-Baikal Road was not enough - there was a traffic jam in the middle of the road. Of the latest Russian battleships, one “Tsesarevich” was ready. By 1905-1906, Russia should have strengthened itself in the Far East so as not to be afraid of Japan, but the next one and a half to two years became a time of great risk. Some members of the St. Petersburg government were in favor of an agreement with Japan, but Tsar Nicholas II was inclined to the opinion of the warlike Admiral Alekseev and the “retired cavalry guard” Bezobrazov, who said that excessive compliance by Russia would only provoke new Japanese demands. Bezobrazov promised “with one facial expression” to take Manchuria and Korea for the empire, and promised fantastic profits to the state from the timber concession in Korea. Nicholas II made him his personal representative in the Far East. Bezobrazov ruled there, disregarding neither the Russian ministries, nor the obligations of diplomats, nor the Chinese government (and often quarreling with Alekseev). On July 30, 1903, the tsar allocated the Far East to a special governorship headed by Alekseev, excluding the region from the jurisdiction of all ministries, giving the admiral command of the troops, administration, and diplomacy with Japan and China. On August 16, one of the main opponents of active actions in the Far East, Witte, was dismissed (honorable: dismissed from the post of Minister of Finance, but appointed chairman of the Committee of Ministers - which in Russia at that time was only an interdepartmental meeting, its chairman was not at all the head of government).
Russo-Japanese War [History of Russia. XX century]
Japan, meanwhile, began to demonstratively act as a “defender of China,” shouting that Russia had violated its rights, demanding the evacuation of Russian troops from Manchuria, frightening the Western world with Russian aggressiveness. This propaganda met with sympathetic attention in the Anglo-Saxon countries. At the end of 1903, the Russian government sent several new ships to the Far East. According to many, for Russia, the clash with Japan decided the issue of access to ice-free seas in the east. If Russia had not received it, the entire great movement to Siberia threatened to turn out to be just a gigantic dead end.
The balance of forces at the time the struggle began was not particularly favorable for the Russians. The construction of Port Arthur progressed extremely slowly, funds were allocated meagerly (although Witte, who was in charge of finances, spent up to 20 million rubles on equipping a huge commercial port in the city of Dalniy). There were very few Russian troops in the Far East. From 1895 to 1903, the Japanese, using indemnities received from China in 1895 and 1900, increased their peacetime army two and a half times (from 64 to 150.5 thousand soldiers) and tripled the number of guns. The former Japanese fleet was quantitatively weaker even than the Chinese and Dutch, but Japan rebuilt it, mainly in English shipyards, and gained at its disposal naval power on a great power scale.
Although the Russian armed forces numbered about 1 million fighters, less than 100 thousand of them were stationed in the Far East (50 thousand in the Ussuri region, 20 thousand in Manchuria, 20 thousand in the Port Arthur garrison). The Siberian Railway so far carried only 4 pairs of trains per day; there was no Circum-Baikal Railway. The Russian population of the Far East, from which a conscription could be made, did not reach a million in number. Japan was able to mobilize a million men, possessing a transport fleet sufficient to transport two divisions with all their equipment to the mainland at the same time. The Japanese fleet consisted of 14 battleships and armored cruisers, and the Russian Far Eastern fleet - 11 (although by 1905 their number was supposed to be increased to 15). In light ships, Japanese dominance was even more impressive. In addition, the Russian Far Eastern fleet was divided into two parts: 3 armored cruisers in Vladivostok, which was covered with ice for several months of the year, and the rest in Port Arthur.
The policy of Imperial Russia in the Far East and East Asia at the beginning of the 20th century was aimed at establishing dominance in this region. At that time, the only serious opponent in the implementation of the so-called “Great Asian Program” of Nicholas II was the Empire of Japan, which over the past decades had seriously strengthened its military potential and began active expansion into Korea and China. A military clash between the two empires was only a matter of time.
Prerequisites for the war
The Russian ruling circles, for some inexplicable reason, considered Japan to be a rather weak adversary, having little idea of the state of the armed forces of this state. In the winter of 1903, at a meeting on Far Eastern affairs, most of Nicholas II’s advisers were inclined to the need for war with the Japanese Empire. Only Sergei Yurievich Witte spoke out against military expansion and worsening relations with the Japanese. Perhaps his position was influenced by his trip to the Far East in 1902. Witte argued that Russia was not ready for war in the Far East, which in fact was true, at least taking into account the state of communications, which could not ensure the timely and rapid delivery of reinforcements, ammunition and equipment. Witte's proposal was to abandon military action and focus on the broad economic development of the Far East, but his opinion was not heeded.
Meanwhile, Japan was not going to wait for the concentration and deployment of Russian armies in China and Korea. The forces of the imperial fleet and army hoped to be the first to strike the Russians. England and the United States, who were not interested in strengthening Russia in the Far Eastern territories, provided active support to the Japanese. The British and Americans supplied Japan with raw materials, weapons, ready-made warships, and issued preferential loans for military purposes. Ultimately, this became one of the determining factors that pushed the Japanese imperial government to attack Russian troops located in China, which became the beginning of the Russo-Japanese War, which lasted from January 27, 1904 to August 23, 1905.
Progress of hostilities in 1904
On the night of January 27, 1904, destroyers of the Japanese Imperial Navy secretly approached the outer perimeter of the sea defense of Port Arthur, occupied by Russian military forces, and fired at the Russian ships stationed in the outer roadstead, damaging two battleships. And at dawn, 14 ships of the Japanese fleet immediately attacked 2 Russian ships (the cruiser "Varyag" and the gunboat "Koreets"), occupying positions in the area of the neutral port of Icheon (Chemulpo). During a surprise attack, Russian ships received heavy damage and the sailors, not wanting to surrender to the enemy, blew up their ships themselves.
The Japanese command considered the main task of the entire upcoming campaign to be the capture of the waters around the Korean Peninsula, which ensured the achievement of the main goals set for the ground army - the occupation of Manchuria, as well as the Primorsky and Ussuri territories, that is, the seizure of not only Chinese, but also Russian territories was expected. The main forces of the Russian fleet were concentrated in Port Arthur, some of them were located in Vladivostok. Most of the flotilla behaved extremely passively, limiting themselves to the defense of the coastline. 
Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Manchurian Army Alexei Nikolaevich Kuropatkin and Commander of the Japanese Army Oyama Iwao
Three times the Japanese fleet tried to block the enemy in Port Arthur and at the end of April 1904 they succeeded in doing so, as a result of which the Russian ships were locked in for some time, and the Japanese landed the ground forces of their 2nd Army numbering almost 40 thousand people on the Liaodong Peninsula and moved to Port Arthur, with difficulty overcoming the defense of just one Russian regiment, well fortified on the isthmus connecting the Kwantung and Liaodong Peninsulas. After breaking through the Russian positions on the isthmus, the Japanese took the port of Dalny, seizing a bridgehead and launching a blockade of the Port Arthur garrison from land and sea.
After capturing the bridgeheads on the Kwantung Peninsula, the Japanese troops split up - the formation of the 3rd Army began, the main task of which was to storm Port Arthur, while the 2nd Army went north. At the beginning of June, she dealt a strong blow to the 30 thousand-strong group of Russian troops of General Stackelberg, who had advanced to break the blockade of Port Arthur and forced him to retreat. At this time, the 3rd Japanese Army finally pushed back the advanced defending units of Port Arthur inside the fortress, completely blocking it from land. At the end of May, the Russian fleet managed to intercept Japanese transports, the purpose of which was to deliver 280-mm mortars for the siege of Port Arthur. This greatly helped the defenders, prolonging the siege for several months, but in general the fleet behaved passively, making no attempt to recapture the initiative from the enemy.
While the siege of Port Arthur was going on, the 1st Japanese Army, which consisted of approximately 45 thousand people, landed in Korea back in February, was able to push back the Russian troops, defeating them near the city of Tyuryunchen on the Korean-Chinese border. The main forces of the Russian troops retreated to Liaoyang. Japanese troops continued the offensive with the forces of three armies (1st, 2nd and 4th) with a total number of approximately 130 thousand people and in early August attacked Russian troops under the command of General Kuropatkin near Liaoyang.
The battle was very difficult and there were serious losses on both sides - 23 thousand soldiers from Japan, up to 19 thousand from Russia. The Russian commander-in-chief, despite the uncertain outcome of the battle, gave the order for a further retreat to the city of Mukden even further north. Later, the Russians gave another battle to the Japanese troops, attacking their positions on the Shahe River in the fall. However, the assault on the Japanese positions did not bring decisive success; losses on both sides were again heavy.
At the end of December 1904, the fortress city of Port Arthur fell, having fettered the forces of the Japanese 3rd Army for almost a year. All Japanese units from the Kwantung Peninsula were hastily transferred north to the city of Mukden.
Progress of hostilities in 1905
With the approach of reinforcements from the 3rd Army from Port Arthur to Mukden, the initiative finally passed into the hands of the Japanese command. On a wide front, about 100 km long, the largest battle before the First World War took place, in which everything again turned out not in favor of the Russian army. After a long battle, one of the Japanese armies was able to bypass Mukden from the north, practically cutting off Manchuria from European Russia. If this could be completely done, then the entire Russian army in China would be lost. Kuropatkin correctly assessed the situation, ordering an urgent retreat along the entire front, not giving the enemy the opportunity to surround himself.
The Japanese continued to press along the front, forcing the Russian units to roll back further to the north, but soon stopped the pursuit. Despite the successful operation to capture the large city of Mukden, they suffered huge losses, which the Japanese historian Shumpei Okamoto estimates at 72 thousand soldiers. Meanwhile, the main forces of the Russian army could not be defeated; it retreated in perfect order, without panic and maintaining its combat effectiveness. At the same time, reinforcements continued to arrive.
Meanwhile, at sea, the 2nd Pacific squadron of the Russian fleet under the command of Admiral Rozhestvensky, which came to the aid of Port Arthur back in October 1904, arrived in the combat area. In April 1905, her ships appeared in the Tsushima Strait, where they were met by fire from the Japanese fleet, which had been completely repaired by the time of their arrival. The entire squadron was almost completely destroyed, only a few ships broke through to Vladivostok. The defeat at sea for Russia was final. 
Russian infantry marches along Liaoyang (above) and Japanese soldiers near Chemulpo
In mid-July 1905, Japan, which despite its high-profile victories was already on the verge of economic exhaustion, carried out its last major operation, driving Russian troops out of Sakhalin Island. Meanwhile, the main Russian army under the command of Kuropatkin, located near the village of Sypingai, reached a strength of about half a million soldiers, it received a large number of machine guns and howitzer batteries. The Japanese command, seeing the serious strengthening of the enemy and feeling their own weakening (the country's human resources were practically exhausted by that time), did not dare to continue the offensive, on the contrary, expecting that large Russian forces would launch a counteroffensive.
The Japanese twice proposed peace negotiations, feeling that the enemy would be able to wage war for a long time and was not going to give up. However, a revolution was breaking out in Russia, one of the reasons for which was the defeats that the army and navy suffered in the Far East. Therefore, in the end, Nicholas II was forced to negotiate with Japan through the mediation of the United States. The Americans, as well as many European powers, were now concerned about the excessive strengthening of Japan against the backdrop of the weakening of Russia. The peace treaty turned out to be not so difficult for Russia - thanks to the talent of S.Yu. Witte, who headed the Russian delegation, the conditions were softened.
Results of the war
The Russo-Japanese War was certainly unsuccessful for Russia. The defeat of the 2nd Pacific Squadron in the Battle of Tsushima hit the national pride of the people especially hard. However, territorial losses turned out to be not very significant - the main problem was the loss of the ice-free base of Port Arthur. As a result of the agreements, both Russian and Japanese forces evacuated from Manchuria, and Korea became Japan's sphere of influence. The Japanese also received the southern part of Sakhalin Island
The defeat of Russian troops in the war was primarily due to the difficulty of transporting troops, ammunition and equipment to the Far East. Other, no less important reasons were a significant underestimation of the enemy’s military potential and poor organization of troop control on the part of the command. As a result, the enemy was able to push the Russian army deep into the continent, inflicting a number of defeats on it and capturing vast territories. Defeat in the war also led to the fact that the imperial government paid closer attention to the state of the armed forces and was able to strengthen them by the beginning of the First World War, which, however, did not save the outdated empire from defeats, revolutions and collapse.
The Russo-Japanese War in brief.
Reasons for the outbreak of war with Japan.
During the period of 1904, Russia actively developed the lands of the Far East, developing trade and industry. The Land of the Rising Sun blocked access to these lands; at that time it occupied China and Korea. But the fact is that one of the territories of China, Manchuria, was under Russian jurisdiction. This is one of the main reasons for the start of the war. In addition, by decision of the Triple Alliance, Russia was given the Liaodong Peninsula, which once belonged to Japan. Thus, differences arose between Russia and Japan, and a struggle for dominance in the Far East arose.
The course of events of the Russo-Japanese War.
Using the effect of surprise, Japan attacked Russia at Port Arthur. After the landing of Japanese amphibious troops on the Kwantung Peninsula, Port Athrut remained cut off from the outside world, and therefore helpless. Within two months he was forced to resort to capitulation. Next, the Russian army loses the battle of Liaoyang and the battle of Mukden. Before the start of the First World War, these battles were considered the largest in the history of the Russian state.
After the Battle of Tsushima, almost the entire Soviet flotilla was destroyed. The events took place on the Yellow Sea. After another battle, Russia loses the Sakhalin Peninsula in an unequal battle. For some reason, General Kuropatkin, the leader of the Soviet army, used passive fighting tactics. In his opinion, it was necessary to wait until the enemy’s forces and supplies were running out. And the tsar at that time did not attach much importance to this, since a revolution began on Russian territory at that time.
When both sides of the hostilities were morally and materially exhausted, they agreed to sign a peace treaty in the American Portsmouth in 1905.
Results of the Russian-Japanese War.
Russia lost the southern part of its Sakhalin Peninsula. Manchuria was now neutral territory and all troops were withdrawn. Oddly enough, but the agreement was conducted on equal terms, and not as a winner with a loser.
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