The Russo-Japanese War. A forgotten lesson?

Destruction of the Russian warship Borodino in the straits of Korea. Illustration from Thrilling stories of the Russian-Japanese War (public domain) 1904.

Well educated as they were, they yet knew that the planet was limited in size, even to privileged dreamers. The Royal Navy, for example, which had been by then ruling over the waves for a long time, did not want to share them with anyone else. Not even close relatives. As a result, Wilhelm and Nicholas had to limit their dreams, just like they were taught by their masters. Having not much choice, they marked boundaries both on the map and in their imaginations. While Wilhelm saw himself as “an admiral of the Atlantic”, Nicholas was to become “an admiral of the Pacific”.

Bad omens 

As a young man, Nicholas II was quiet and moderate. His father ensured that the future tsar would get the best education he could and left classical “musts” behind. Instead, emphasis was placed on modern languages: German, French and English. The so-called “grand tour” was also an important element of Nicholas’s education. It took place in 1890 and included a visit to Japan, which at that time was opening up and making efforts to modernise. Japan had leapt from malignant feudal stabilisation in the late 17th century straight to the era of steam and electricity. Such huge changes caused the country’s society to pay the price, often with collateral damage. The tsar did not recognise any of these problems. He was not impressed by the nation’s sophisticated rituals, nor its proud people or narrow streets with Chinese-style roofs. It was also in Japan where his overseas tour was unexpectedly cut short by a mentally ill policeman, who assaulted him.

Although Nicholas was only slightly injured and his young body survived the incident quite well, his attitude changed. Not only did he start to see himself as an innocent victim (an opinion he maintained right up to the last moment of his life), but he also started to call the Japanese “apes”. After the incident, Nicholas also turned towards parapsychology and mysticism. He opted for religious devotion and became a devout Orthodox Christian. This transformation explains why later in life, when he was to make serious political decisions, he would take angels’ whispers more seriously than daily reports.

Nicholas’s coronation at the Kremlin on May 26th 1896 was also marked by an unfortunate accident. It happened at Khodynka Field outside of Moscow, where crowds of serfs gathered to cheer on the new monarch. The place chosen for the meeting was previously left with uncovered dugouts, trenches and holes. As a result, when people reached out to receive traditional gifts, many collapsed or stepped on one another. A large number of bystanders were trampled on in the sudden panic. Such an inauguration was clearly a bad omen. Not only did it overshadow the tsar’s coming reign, it also gave way to more irrationalism in the closest imperial circles.

Chinese hesitations

By the time Nicholas II took his seat on the throne of the Russian Empire, the “civilised world” had just achieved a firm grip over the world’s vast plains and waters. With almost all of Africa colonised and exploited, the European powers started to look towards the Far East. The Chinese Empire had remained relatively unscathed behind the Great Wall before the arrival of the hungry imperial nations. Although the Chinese are said to have invented gunpowder and even the magnetic compass, they neglected to note the inevitable consequences of these inventions and other technical novelties. Instead, they effectively started this new era as a well-preserved open-air museum, with the nation enjoying its cultural superiority achieved at the price of complete stagnation. Thus, the Chinese were easy prey even for small numbers of well-trained soldiers.

Not surprisingly, a large number of Europeans were ready to send a contingent of their colonial armies to the country and act ruthlessly. This, in fact, was the case during the so-called Second Opium War, when the British looted and destroyed the Chinese imperial gardens, which are presumably one of the world’s wonders. China had to come to terms with this and other humiliations. The British and other navies started to control trade, took over harbours and established colonial cities where they pleased. Such was the case in Hong Kong.

In China, which had then been ruled by a complicated feudal court with traditions reaching far into the medieval past, the imperial court was doomed to failure unless it modernised. The Chinese, however, saw modernity as something dangerous and barbarous. They believed it to be a potential cause of trouble and civil unrest. Thus, the hierarchy hesitated. A clear split emerged between influential court supporters and modernisers who led China to resist colonial oppression as best they could.

Japan’s modernisation

The Japanese Empire and its imperial family are considered to be the oldest dynasty in the world. However, the emperor, who was believed to be divine, has always had less prerogatives than his counterpart in China, not to mention Russia. Since the 17th century, the Japanese political regime was made up of a complicated oligarchy led by shoguns. One of them – Tokugawa Ieyasu – created a system based on social balance and prosperity. He moved the country’s capital from Kyoto to Edo (now Tokyo). Thus, the period of his rule is also called the Edo era.

During this time, Japanese culture flourished. The society was increasingly able to enjoy everyday life and feel no fear of war, siege or brutal repressions. Peace also meant that more children were born and families had more time for themselves. But change was yet to come. This was marked by black smoke on the distant horizon from the steam-powered navies showing up from the West. The Japanese authorities were alarmed; their islands had been kept closed since the end of the civil war, but the technical disparity between Japan and the West was starting to make a difference. The Japanese coastal defences were made for another era and the military was not able to protect the nation.

The westerners, in turn, did not see much difference between the Japanese, Chinese and  Koreans. However, the differences between these three nations were immense. First of all, unlike others, Japan had a ruling military class – the samurai. Secondly, it developed a code of conduct based on strict military virtues, which was useful in combat. This pattern was ready and adaptable. Thus, to make someone a modern officer it was enough to replace their armour and sword with a uniform and a revolver.

The Japanese reaction to the westerners’ arrival was quite different to that of the Chinese.  Japan sent a delegation overseas for a fact-finding mission and did so not because it felt offended by the “western barbarians”, but because its power circles felt that new possibilities could be found outside the region. As a relatively poor island nation surrounded by an unstable sea, Japan struggled to survive. This also explains why its society seemed more willing to move towards modernity than their Chinese counterparts. Special attention was paid to military technology, as the Japanese also understood that it was impossible to separate civilisation from military effectiveness.

Thirty years after the crushing of the last coup that was organised on the islands, the Japanese political establishment seemed stable and safe. A homogenous nation with few minorities could clearly adopt a system that was best suited to the traditions of the country. It included a relative sovereignty of the people, who respected hierarchy and the rule of law. The emperor was thus ruling the country more like a moderator than a dictator. Japan also had a strong bourgeoisie and successful cooperation with foreign capital and firms. Special interest was paid to the British Empire regarding its naval buildup and Germany, which was seen as a blueprint for its land forces.

Thus, the moment the Japanese army and navy were regarded as capable of defending the country from enemy attacks and the danger of submission, Japan also began conquests overseas. By European standards, its aims were modest – to incorporate the Korean Peninsula into the Japanese sphere of influence and establish safe harbours on the coasts around Korea. This would not yet be possible without extensive social reforms and military investments. China, on the other hand, which had constantly been maltreated by the European powers, was ready to halt its Asian brethren. To do so, it started a naval rivalry that brought it similar results to the clashes it had with the western colonial powers. It soon became apparent that Japan had quickly moved forward towards westernisation, while the cautious Chinese regime remained in the same place.

The next move was the battle for Port Arthur in China in 1894. Surrounded by a new and modern Japanese army, the Chinese had no prospects of winning. The Europeans, and especially the Russians, watched this sideshow with astonishment. Interests clashed, as Russia wanted a firm settlement on the Chinese coast. Specifically, they saw the newly conquered Port Arthur as a key strategic port for the Russian navy. Vladivostok, the main Russian harbour in the Far East, was not enough as in winter its waters were frozen. Despite the fact that Japan had taken Port Arthur, it was forced to relinquish its claim in 1895 under pressure from France, Germany and Russia. This humiliation made Japan even more determined to stand up to the western powers.

Imperial dreamers

The beginning of the 20th century was marked by dramatic events. In South Africa, British domination was questioned during a costly intervention in the Boer Republics, which rebelled against the metropolis. In 1899, a thin red line of British soldiers was sent to pacify the region in what looked set to be a quick police operation. However, the professional war machine found itself stuck in the province of Transvaal, where it was harassed by small detachments of irregular cavalry, equipped with modern rifles produced by German and Austrian manufacturers. Britain panicked  and had to apply an unprecedented level of brutality to deal with the resisting settlers. The Boers were backed by the German Empire, whose ruler Wilhelm Hohenzollern openly dreamt of having his own colonies. Germany did not yet dare clash openly with the British Royal Navy, but this made matters worse for the future of peaceful co-existence.

Meanwhile, these opponents in Africa stood firmly together in China, where a rebellion had started in 1899 among the humiliated Chinese populace. The rebels were convinced of the superiority of their character and traditional martial arts. Once again, this struggle for values was inadequately armed. The fist symbol adopted by the insurgents inspired the “Boxer Rebellion” name for the conflict in Europe. This anti-colonial uprising lasted until 1901. Faced with the insurgency, the German emperor was eager for military glory. When speaking to the German naval infantry contingent, he encouraged his subjects to show no mercy and imitate the Huns and barbarians. He claimed that the Chinese were inferior, a subject race that is destined to serve the whites, and especially those of German origin. With the German consul killed by the rebels,  revenge had to be quick and cruel. The Chinese had to remember their lesson.

         Meanwhile, the Russians had ruled a vast territory in a style that shocked outside observers. The tsar – as mentioned above – was indeed a gentleman who was devoted to his family. Yet, the country he literally owned was the biggest single territorial empire in the world. To control it, one had to combine spiritual authority and modern methods of oppression, which probably explains why the tsars were always obsessed with strict control. They employed special boards in the government to spy on society, while the secret police served the interests of the state (effectively the monarch). These two groups conceived of a myth of racial superiority and encouraged conflict among various groups of subjects. Their favourite enemy were the Jews.

Similar arguments served well when Russia needed to mobilise the populace for territorial expansions. Nicholas II dreamt of controlling the whole Far East. Just like his predecessor Peter the Great had chopped his way to the seas via the Baltic acquisition of Polish and Swedish coastal territories, Nicholas saw himself as the master of most, if not all, of China, the Korean Peninsula, Manchuria and later Japan. This dream would make Russia the most important player among the European powers without directly clashing with them. Germany felt that this new direction for the sleepy bear was good – it served Germany’s plan to neutralise the British and slowly take the empire from their weakening hands. The tsar received letters of encouragement from his German cousin. He also gave attention to a variety of advisors, among them a former cavalry officer, Alexander Bezobrazov, who became a political philosopher combined with an appetite for big money, money eager to see gains in Asia. The system seemed content and the Russian Empire was a good place for great business. The Russians had built a train line all the way to Manchuria. Their plans were clear and the Germans showed no concern. There were, however, two players who were watching closely and feared what the future might bring: the British and the Japanese.

Russian approach to war

The second half of the 19th century marked changes in military systems throughout the whole western world. Lifelong professional service, which was expensive and prone to battle losses on the modern battlefield, was replaced by mass conscription of all citizens or subjects, as was the Russian case. Previously  peasant soldier was to spend his entire life in the ranks, so the change was felt as a relief- „only”six years of active service and next nine as reservist. Conscription was introduced in Russia by 1874. By the beginning of November 1903, the Japanese Empire had mobilised its battle fleet and army. In 1903, the navy’s Minister Yamamoto Gombei appointed Togo Heihachiro commander-in-chief of the combined fleet of the Imperial Japanese Navy. This nomination clearly astonished many people, including Emperor Meiji, who asked Yamamoto why Togo was appointed. In response, Yamamoto said, “Because Togo is a man of good fortune.” Togo was born in 1848 to a noble family. At the age of 15, he joined the heavy gun crew at the fortress of Kagoshima, defending it against the bombardment of the intervening British Royal Navy. Later, he joined the Japanese navy and was sent by the high command abroad for an education. He spent seven years on the British Isles, including two years on board the HMS Worcester, a frigate which had circumnavigated the globe. Togo learned his lessons at the very heart of the mightiest navy in the world.        

Meanwhile, the Russians had prepared for the coming events in the way a giant awaits an ordinary man. Admiral Yevgeni Ivanovich Alekseyev did not believe that the “monkeys” would do more than carry out a vain demonstration of their power. The Russian Pacific Fleet had anchored in Port Arthur on the bay on the outer area. The port had only one narrow strait letting ships out and the Russians were afraid of their fleet being bottlenecked by the Japanese. Togo knew through various intelligence sources about the Russian fleet’s composition and decided to act immediately. Japanese torpedo boats attacked the Russians at night, taking them completely by surprise. Sixteen torpedoes were launched, three struck home damaging two battleships and one cruiser. The next morning the Japanese task force entered Port Arthur and commenced an artillery battle, this time seriously damaging the battleship Poltava.

At the same time, the First Japanese Army began a landing operation in Korea. The land was officially considered neutral with international guarantees from international peace forces. This squadron consisted of ships from Britain, France, Italy, the US and Japan. In Chemulpo several Russian warships were caught. The cruiser Varyag was shelled by the Japanese for almost one hour and almost half of her crew were killed. Her commander, Vsevolod Rudnev, survived the fight. His ship, which was wrecked and aground, had not surrendered and became an important piece of state propaganda. Rudnev was promoted to the rank of rear admiral.

Two days into the war, Japan had not managed to crush the Russian forces but gained the initiative and was still trying to block the Russian navy. The night of February 22nd brought more Japanese action. Both sides tried to gain an advantage but to no avail. Russian state officials found themselves in complete chaos and no one seemed to have any idea what kind of strategy to employ. A saviour was at hand, however, but no one had cared about his opinions when the strains and risky business with Japan had begun.

Born to a reserve officer’s family, Stepan Makarov came from the city of Mykolaiv in Ukraine. He and his family relocated to the eastward corner of the empire to Nikolayevsk-on-Amur, which at that time was the main Russian harbour in the Far East. Makarov joined the navy and became an accomplished officer. He designed artillery ammunition and was a part of the first successful Russian torpedo ships. A one-man institution, Makarov developed both creative prototypes of ships like the icebreaker and was also an explorer.

Taking command of the fleet in Port Arthur, Makarov displayed enthusiasm and energy as well as confidence and authority, which are all important in war. Facing the newly appointed admiral in chief of the Russian navy, Togo had met his match. Skirmishes began to get aggressive and the Russians were striking back. Observers noticed that the tsar’s navy was put to sea every day and engaged the enemy. At least until April 13th 1904 when – apparently – Togo managed to trap Makarov. His flagship Petropavlovsk vigorously followed the enemy, but suddenly Makarov realised that his force was facing the main Japanese combat fleet. During an evasive manoeuvre the Petropavlosk’s hull activated a freshly planted Japanese mine. Then she hit another one.

The Japanese navy used mines as an offensive weapon. Soon the waters around the Liaodong Peninsula became infested with these floating charges, ready to blow up any ship indiscriminately. Many of the mines were cut from mooring, meaning they were a threat both to their owners and the Russians, who also planted them as fast as they could.         

The Russians were known to be tough on land. But their initial fighting also went wrong. At Yalu River, on May 1st 1904, the Japanese army successfully pushed the Russians behind the Manchurian border. The fortress of Port Arthur became permanently cut off from Russian supply lines.                        

Modern Sevastopol

The siege of Sevastopol during the 1854-55 Crimean War had become a legend of Russian bravery. Yet, the Russian fortress was eventually taken by the coalition forces. Port Arthur became the blueprint for another legend, with Japanese land forces in April beginning to storm the fortified positions, losing hundreds in almost suicidal raids. Yet courage alone cannot win in the modern type of warfare. Hence, the artillery siege was slowly drawn up the hills. Modern Japanese howitzers of 280mm calibre started shelling and crushed many concrete bunkers. New methods of directing fire were also used by the Japanese. Hidden behind in safe valleys, batteries of heavy guns were aimed via observers equipped with cable phones providing targeting information in real time, unopposed by the enemy.

Thus, several ships in the safe harbour of Port Arthur were attacked from above. Artillery shells fell onto the decks, easily penetrating the thin armour. With each month, the Russians were losing their safe haven. They were not able to leave the harbour due to a naval blockade and at the same time were unable to make any major overhauls of their precious ships, due to the constant danger from the hilltops. Waiting seemed to be a disaster on its own. Makarov’s successor, Wilgelm Vitgeft, the new Russian fleet commander, made an attempt to escape to Vladivostok, to save the remnants of the Pacific Fleet until a relief task force was sent from the Baltic. On August 10th 1904 at 12:15pm six Russian battleships with admiral flags spotted Togo’s squadron. By 6:30pm a well-aimed shell from one of the Japanese ships took out Vitgeft’s flagship, killing the admiral instantly.

The final battles

The Japanese plan for war was based on close cooperation between its land and naval forces. These plans were thoroughly orchestrated by staff members and well executed by the subordinates. The army of Meiji’s empire was ready for the mountainous terrain of Korea. Up to 40 per cent of the artillery operated agile mountain guns designed for use in narrow passages, easy to dismantle by the crew and pack on the backs of animals. The Japanese were disciplined, yet innovative and able to improvise. The field artillery and small arms were a completely new, modern breed.

In St. Petersburg the court was awaiting good news, but it seemed inevitable that all plans had turned into a disaster. The last hope was placed in Admiral Zinovy Rozhestvensky, the commander of the Baltic Fleet. The Russian navy still had more battleships than Japan. A third of the fleet was still available – the Black Sea Squadron. Unfortunately, due to major problems resulting from Russia’s great unpopularity in Europe, with the exception of the German emperor, the Black Sea Fleet was bottlenecked at the Bosporus Strait. Thus, the Baltic Fleet would operate alone. The task given by the tsar to Rozhestvensky resembled that which caused the grand armada of Spain led by Alonso Pérez de Guzmán in 1588 to fail in its vain effort to conquer the British Isles. Rozhestvensky was a loyal servant, but knowing much better the state of affairs within the navy he felt doomed to his fate. After Makarov’s death, he was the next hero, a man of various skills. Yet his ships were unprepared, the sailors lacked training and their armaments were obsolete.

After Vitgeft’s death, Port Arthur was still in Russian hands. Yet the journey would belong to the rarest and most precarious of events. What is more – the armada of the Baltic Fleet was forced to sail an almost Magellan-like journey, which consumed unbelievable amounts of coal needed to keep the ships going. The British cooperated with the Japanese closely in many fields. They shared military intelligence and plotted together diplomatically.   

Russia’s allies were too weak to be of any use in this stressful moment. The right to pass through the Suez Canal was rejected, so the journey would take them around the Cape of Good Hope, exactly how the first navigator sailed to Japan in the 17th century. One would think that coal had made things better but nothing is less true. The coal only made navigation less prone to wind changes, but tied ships to colliers. Warships, which are designed not to travel effectively but to clash with other ships, are especially voracious consumers of coal. The bunkers thus emptied almost after three days.

The expedition consisted of seven capital armoured ships and many other smaller vessels. The relief expedition raised an anchor in Libau Harbour on October 15th 1904. At the same time, the Japanese infantry relentlessly stormed the forts in Port Arthur. For a whole month the defenders were able to repel the attackers. However, by the end of November 1904 the Japanese stubbornly renewed their offensive. This time they were determined to take the “203 Metre Hill”, which would allow them to dominate the city and quickly strangle its defences. While the fate of the Pacific Fleet base was being settled, the battle fleet from the Baltic passed the Dogger Bank, where a fateful incident took place. Danish and British fishing boats were shelled accidentally by a Russian torpedo boat, which sank one trawler and killed two of their sailors. The public was so outraged that the incident almost ended up with the Royal Navy setting sail to intervene. Ashamed internationally, the Baltic Fleet sailed on. On December 5th 1904 General Nogi Maresuke – a Japanese siege forces commander, announced the capture of the 203 Metre Hill. It seemed that the fate of Port Arthur was sealed. Ten days later, Russian General Roman Kondratenko, who was a skilful commander and an energetic staff officer, was killed by enemy fire. Morale on the Russian side dropped dramatically.

Radio communication with the battleships about the details of the land fighting was minimal, although there ought to have been very close cooperation between sea and land actions. When Rozhestvensky reached Madagascar on January 9th 1905, Port Arthur had been in Japanese hands for almost a week. The last commander, General Anatoly Stessel, had surrendered his troops as soon as it was possible. After the war, he was charged with treason and sentenced to death. The tsar would later show his Christian mercy and commuted the sentence, releasing Stessel from captivity.

It took another five months for Rozhestvensky to sail east, without hope of making any change to what was already a closed chapter of history. For the incoming fleet, only hope drove their will, hope alone to take revenge for the assault on their imperial pride. Yet they were ready in their action stations. On May 27th 1905, the Japanese cruiser Shinano Maru spotted the first of the Russian supply ships in the strait at dusk. It was about 2:25am. At 4:25 Commander Narukawa Hakaru telegraphed Togo stating that the “enemy fleet was observed in Square 203”. The usually highly rational Togo and his staff read the message as a sure omen of coming victory. Of course, the same number marked the important hill that the Japanese siege forces had captured in Port Arthur.

On the morning of May 28th 1905, the shattered remnants of the whole Russian fleet were surrounded by Japanese battleships. After heavy shelling, Nikolai Nebogatov ordered to fly the flag of surrender on top of the battleship Oriol (Eagle). The war had ended not only with a Russian defeat, but also  humiliation. It had lost to an opponent who on paper appeared weaker. In the end, the Russo-Japanese War demonstrated that factors like morale, innovation and adaptability could be decisive. Whether Russia learnt this lesson remains to be seen in today’s context.

Andrzej Zaręba is completing his PhD in military history at the Jesuit University Ignatianum in Kraków. He is also the illustrator for New Eastern Europe.

Asia, history, Japan, Russia, Russo-Japanese war, War