The Russo-Japanese War arose out of ambitions to expand Manchuria and Korea. The parties were preparing for war, realizing that sooner or later they would move on to battles to resolve the “Far Eastern issue” between the countries.
Causes of the war
The main reason for the war was the clash of colonial interests between Japan, which dominated the region, and Russia, which aspired to the role of a world power.
After the Meiji Revolution in the Empire of the Rising Sun, Westernization proceeded at an accelerated pace, and at the same time Japan grew increasingly territorially and politically in its region. Having won the war with China in 1894-1895, Japan received part of Manchuria and Taiwan, and also tried to turn economically backward Korea into its colony.
In Russia, in 1894, Nicholas II ascended the throne, whose authority among the people after Khodynka was not at its best. He needed a "small victorious war"to win the love of the people again. There were no states in Europe where he could easily win, and Japan, with its ambitions, was ideal for this role.
The Liaodong Peninsula was leased from China, a naval base was built in Port Arthur, and a railway line was built to the city. Attempts through negotiations to delimit spheres of influence with Japan did not yield results. It was clear that things were heading towards war.
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Plans and objectives of the parties
At the beginning of the twentieth century, Russia had a powerful ground army, but its main forces were stationed west of the Urals. Directly in the proposed theater of operations there was a small Pacific Fleet and about 100,000 soldiers.
The Japanese fleet was built with the help of the British, and personnel training was also carried out with the mentoring of European specialists. The Japanese army consisted of about 375,000 soldiers.
Russian troops developed a plan for a defensive war before the immediate transfer of additional military units from the European part of Russia. After creating numerical superiority, the army had to go on the offensive. Admiral E.I. Alekseev was appointed commander-in-chief. Subordinate to him were the commander of the Manchurian Army, General A. N. Kuropatkin, and Vice Admiral S. O. Makarov, who accepted the position in February 1904.
The Japanese headquarters hoped to use the advantage in manpower to eliminate the Russian naval base in Port Arthur and the transfer of military operations to Russian territory.
The course of the Russian-Japanese War of 1904-1905.
Hostilities began on January 27, 1904. Japanese squadron attacked the Russian Pacific Fleet, which was stationed without special security in the Port Arthur roadstead.
On the same day, the cruiser Varyag and the gunboat Koreets were attacked in the port of Chemulpo. The ships refused to surrender and took the fight against 14 Japanese ships. The enemy showed honor to the heroes who accomplished the feat and refused to give up their ship to the joy of their enemies.
Rice. 1. The death of the cruiser Varyag.
The attack on Russian ships stirred up the broad masses of the people, in which “shap-throwing” sentiments had already been formed. Processions were held in many cities, and even the opposition ceased its activities during the war.
In February-March 1904, General Kuroki's army landed in Korea. The Russian army met her in Manchuria with the task of detaining the enemy without accepting a general battle. However, on April 18, in the battle of Tyurechen, the eastern part of the army was defeated and there was a threat of encirclement of the Russian army by the Japanese. Meanwhile, the Japanese, having an advantage at sea, transferred military forces to the mainland and besieged Port Arthur.
Rice. 2. Poster The enemy is terrible, but God is merciful.
The First Pacific Squadron, blockaded in Port Arthur, took the battle three times, but Admiral Togo did not accept the general battle. He was probably afraid of Vice Admiral Makarov, who was the first to use new tactics sea battle"stick over T".
The death of Vice Admiral Makarov was a great tragedy for Russian sailors. His ship hit a mine. After the death of the commander, the First Pacific Squadron ceased to conduct active operations at sea.
Soon the Japanese managed to pull large artillery under the city and bring up fresh forces in the amount of 50,000 people. The last hope was the Manchurian army, which could lift the siege. In August 1904, it was defeated at the Battle of Liaoyang, and it looked quite real. The Kuban Cossacks posed a great threat to the Japanese army. Their constant forays and fearless participation in battles harmed communications and manpower.
The Japanese command began to talk about the impossibility of further waging war. If the Russian army had gone on the offensive, this would have happened, but Commander Kropotkin gave an absolutely stupid order to retreat. The Russian army continued to have many chances to develop an offensive and win a general battle, but Kropotkin retreated each time, giving the enemy time to regroup.
In December 1904, the commander of the fortress, R.I. Kondratenko, died and, contrary to the opinion of soldiers and officers, Port Arthur was surrendered.
In the 1905 campaign, the Japanese outpaced the Russian advance, defeating them at Mukden. Public sentiment began to express dissatisfaction with the war, and unrest began.
Rice. 3. Battle of Mukden.
In May 1905, the Second and Third Pacific Squadrons, formed in St. Petersburg, entered Japanese waters. During the Battle of Tsushima, both squadrons were destroyed. The Japanese used new types of shells filled with “shimoza”, which melted the side of the ship rather than piercing it.
After this battle, the participants in the war decided to sit down at the negotiating table.
To summarize, let’s summarize the “Events and dates of the Russian-Japanese War” in the table, noting which battles took place in Russian-Japanese war.
The latest defeats of the Russian troops had grave consequences, resulting in the First Russian Revolution. She's not in chronological table, but it was precisely this factor that provoked the signing of peace against Japan, exhausted by the war.
Results
During the war years in Russia, a huge amount was stolen Money. Embezzlement in the Far East flourished, which created problems with the supply of the army. In the American city of Portsmouth, through the mediation of US President T. Roosevelt, a peace treaty was signed, according to which Russia transferred southern Sakhalin and Port Arthur to Japan. Russia also recognized Japan's dominance in Korea.
Russia's defeat in the war was great value for the future political system in Russia, where the power of the emperor will be limited for the first time in several hundred years.
What have we learned?
Speaking briefly about the Russian-Japanese War, it should be noted that if Nicholas II had recognized Korea as the Japanese, there would have been no war. However, the race for colonies gave rise to a clash between the two countries, although even in the 19th century, the Japanese had a generally more positive attitude towards Russians than towards many other Europeans.
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Policy 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 last decades Before that, it 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. Powers imperial fleet and the armies 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 for ground army- occupation of Manchuria, as well as the Primorsky and Ussuri territories, that is, the seizure of not only Chinese, but also Russian territories was assumed. 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 their offensive with three armies (1st, 2nd and 4th) total number 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 take large city 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 to in perfect order, without panic and maintaining 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 large quantities 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 Battle of Tsushima. However, territorial losses were not very significant - main problem there was the loss of the ice-free base 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 confrontation between Russia and Japan for control of Manchuria, Korea, and the ports of Port Arthur and Dalny was the main reason for the outbreak of the tragic war for Russia.
The fighting began with an attack by the Japanese fleet, which on the night of February 9, 1904, without declaring war, launched a surprise attack on the Russian squadron near the Port Arthur naval base.
In March 1904, the Japanese army landed in Korea, and in April - in southern Manchuria. Under the blows of superior enemy forces, Russian troops in May abandoned the Jinzhou position and blocked Port Arthur 3 by the Japanese army. In the battle of June 14-15 at Wafangou, the Russian army retreated.
In early August, the Japanese landed on the Liaodong Peninsula and besieged the Port Arthur fortress. On August 10, 1904, the Russian squadron made an unsuccessful attempt to break out from Port Arthur; as a result, individual ships that escaped were interned in neutral ports, and the cruiser Novik near Kamchatka was lost in an unequal battle.
The siege of Port Arthur lasted from May 1904 and fell on January 2, 1905. Japan's main goal was achieved. The battles in Northern Manchuria were of an auxiliary nature, because the Japanese did not have the strength and means to occupy it and the entire Russian Far East.
First major battle on land near Liaoyang (August 24 - September 3, 1904) led to the retreat of Russian troops to Mukden. The oncoming battle on October 5-17 on the Shahe River and the attempt of Russian troops to advance on January 24, 1905 in the Sandepu area were unsuccessful.
After the largest Battle of Mukden (February 19 - March 10, 1905), Russian troops retreated to Telin, and then to Sypingai positions 175 km north of Mukden. Here they met the end of the war.
Formed after the death of the Russian fleet in Port Arthur, 2 Pacific made a six-month transition to the Far East. However, in the many-hour battle at Fr. Tsushima (May 27, 1905) it was fragmented and destroyed by superior enemy forces.
Russian military losses, according to official data, amounted to 31,630 killed, 5,514 died from wounds and 1,643 died in captivity. Russian sources estimated Japanese losses to be more significant: 47,387 people were killed, 173,425 were wounded, 11,425 died from wounds and 27,192 from disease. 
According to foreign sources, the losses in killed, wounded and sick in Japan and Russia are comparable, and there were several times more Russian prisoners than Japanese prisoners.
Results of the Russian-Japanese War of 1904-1905.
For Russia . She ceded the Liaodong Peninsula to Japan along with the South Manchurian branch railway and the southern half of the island. Sakhalin. Russian troops were withdrawn from Manchuria, and Korea was recognized as Japan's sphere of influence.
Russia's positions in China and throughout the Far East were undermined. The country lost its position as one of the largest maritime powers, abandoned the “oceanic” strategy and returned to the “continental” strategy. Russia has reduced international trade and tightened domestic policy.
The main reason for Russia's defeat in this war is the weakness of the fleet and poor logistics support.
Defeat in the war led to military reforms and a noticeable improvement in combat training. The troops, especially the command staff, gained combat experience, which later showed itself in the First World War.
Losing the war became the catalyst for the first Russian revolution. Despite its suppression by 1907, the Russian empire did not recover from this blow and ceased to exist.
For Japan . Psychologically and politically, Japan's victory demonstrated to Asia that it was possible to defeat the Europeans. Japan has become a great power at the European level of development. It became dominant in Korea and coastal China, began active naval construction, and by the end of the First World War had become the third naval power in the world.
Geopolitical. All of Russia's positions in the Pacific region were practically lost; it abandoned the eastern (southeastern) direction of expansion and turned its attention to Europe, the Middle East and the Straits area.
Relations with England improved and an agreement was signed on the delimitation of spheres of influence in Afghanistan. The Anglo-Franco-Russian alliance “Entente” finally took shape. The balance of power in Europe temporarily shifted in favor of the Central Powers.
Anatoly Sokolov
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 all year round received and dispatched merchant ships, and was also a fort on the eastern borders of Russia.
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 there was a blockade of 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.
Russian fleet on Far East was well protected in the harbor of Port Arthur, but the exits from it were 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.
In late August, Russian troops, transferred from the center to help the sailors of Port Arthur, were thrown 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 penalty, 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 Nobel Prize peace.
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 political unrest in Russia, which ultimately served as the impetus for the overthrow of the government in 1917.
1904-1905, the reasons for which are known to every schoolchild, had a great influence on the development of Russia in the future. Despite the fact that now it is very easy to “sort out” the prerequisites, causes and consequences, in 1904 it was difficult to imagine such an outcome.
Start
The Russo-Japanese War of 1904-1905, the causes of which will be discussed below, began in January. The enemy fleet, without warning or obvious reasons, attacked the ships of Russian sailors. This happened for no apparent reason, but the consequences were great: the powerful ships of the Russian squadron became unnecessary broken garbage. Of course, Russia could not ignore such an event and on February 10 war was declared.
Causes of the war
Despite the unpleasant episode with the ships, which caused a significant blow, the official and main reason the war was different. It was all about Russia's expansion to the east. This is the underlying reason for the outbreak of war, but it began under a different pretext. The reason for the fury was the annexation of the Liaodong Peninsula, which previously belonged to Japan.
Reaction
How did the Russian people react to such an unexpected start to the war? This clearly outraged them, because how could Japan dare to take on such a challenge? But the reaction of other countries was different. The USA and England determined their position and sided with Japan. Press reports, which were numerous in all countries, clearly indicated a negative reaction to the actions of the Russians. France declared a neutral position, as it needed Russian support, but soon it entered into an agreement with England, which worsened relations with Russia. In turn, Germany also declared neutrality, but Russia’s actions were approved in the press.
Events
At the beginning of the war, the Japanese took a very active position. The course of the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-1905 could change dramatically from one extreme to the other. The Japanese were unable to conquer Port Arthur, but made many attempts. An army of 45 thousand soldiers was used for the assault. The army met strong resistance from Russian soldiers and lost almost half of its employees. It was not possible to hold the fortress. The cause of the defeat was the death of General Kondratenko in December 1904. If the general had not died, the fortress could have been held for another 2 months. Despite this, Reis and Stoessel signed the act, and the Russian fleet was destroyed. More than 30 thousand Russian soldiers were captured.
Only two battles of the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-1905 were truly significant. The Mukden land battle took place in February 1905. It was rightfully considered the largest in history. It ended disastrously for both sides.
The second most important battle is Tsushima. It happened at the end of May 1905. Unfortunately, for the Russian army it was a defeat. The Japanese fleet was 6 times larger than the Russian fleet. This could not but affect the course of the battle, so the Russian Baltic squadron was completely destroyed.
The Russo-Japanese War of 1904-1905, the causes of which we analyzed above, benefited Japan. Despite this, the country had to pay dearly for its leadership, because its economy was depleted to the point of impossibility. This is what prompted Japan to be the first to propose the terms of a peace treaty. In August, peace negotiations began in the city of Portsmouth. The Russian delegation was headed by Witte. The conference was a major diplomatic breakthrough for domestic side. Despite the fact that everything was moving towards peace, violent protests took place in Tokyo. The people did not want to make peace with the enemy. However, peace was still concluded. At the same time, Russia suffered significant losses during the war.
Just look at the fact that the Pacific Fleet was completely destroyed, and thousands of people sacrificed their lives for the sake of their Motherland. And yet, Russian expansion in the East was stopped. Of course, the people could not help but discuss this topic, because it was clearly clear that the tsarist policy no longer had such power and might. Perhaps this is what caused revolutionary sentiments to spread in the country, which ultimately led to the well-known events of 1905-1907.
Defeat
The results of the Russian-Japanese War of 1904-1905 are already known to us. And yet, why did Russia fail and could not defend its policy? Researchers and historians believe that there are four reasons for this outcome. Firstly, Russian empire was very isolated from the world stage diplomatically. That is why only a few supported her policy. If Russia had support in the world, it would be easier to fight. Secondly, Russian soldiers were not ready for war, especially in difficult conditions. The effect of surprise, which played into the hands of the Japanese, cannot be underestimated. The third reason is very banal and sad. It consists of multiple betrayals of the Motherland, betrayal, as well as the complete mediocrity and helplessness of many generals.
The results of the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-1905 were also losing because Japan was much more developed in the economic and military spheres. This is what helped Japan gain a clear advantage. The Russo-Japanese War of 1904-1905, the causes of which we examined, was a negative event for Russia, which exposed all its weaknesses.