Japan destroyed Russian forces in 1905 and emerged as a world power.
Rivals in the East
World Powers As the 20th century dawned, the great powers of Europe jostled for the world domination. Russia,led by Czar Nicholas II, was one of those powers.even though the country suffered domestic problems and growing popular unrest, the Russian government was more interested in expanding its influence in East Asia. Russia want to establish a naval base near its border with China. Meanwhile,in the Far East,a new power was rising. Japan had been isolated from Europe for centuries. Opened to Western influence only in the 1850s,it had modernized and industrialized quickly. It was now ready to expand and step onto the world stage. Japan, like Russia, looked to China as well as Korea places where it could grow.
Rival Claims Japan made the first thrust into China, winning a war against the Chinese in 1894-1895. It was ready to seize the Liaotung Peninsula from China. This strip of land on the Asian mainland just down from Manchuria just to the west of Korea. But Russia, with France's help, blocked Japan's effort and kept China as an area for European expansion. Japan was angered. The following year, Russia signed a treaty with China. The terms allowed Russia to lease the Liaotung Peninsula to build a naval base and a port. It also permitted Russia to build a railway across North Manchuria to reach that base. Japan was even more angered. When Russia then began to station troops in northern Korea,the Japanese felt that territory should be under their control and was being taken away. In protest,the Japanese broke off diplomatic relations with Russia on February 6,1904.
The Russo-Japanese War
Early Moves Two days after ending diplomatic relations, Japan launched a surprise attack against the Russian base at Port Arthur (now called Lushun) on the Liaotung Peninsula. two days later, Japan declared war. In the early fighting, the Japanese proved victorious. They drove Russian land forces out of Korea. In July,they destroyed the eastern fleet from the Baltic Sea. But it would take months for the ships to around Africa and cross the Indian Ocean.
Meanwhile, the land fighting continued to go Japan's way. In January 1905, Port Arthur fell to a Japanese siege. The next month, the two armies began fighting a huge land battle near the Manchurian city of Mukden (now called Shen-yang). With 624,000 soldiers involved,it was the largest battle in history until that time. Once again,the Japanese beat the Russians decisively.
Tsushima Strait
The Russian Baltic fleet set off in October 1904. The commander was Admiral Zinovi Rozhestvenski. Within a week of its departure from the Baltic port of Kronstadt,the fleet almost started a second war. Spotting some British fishing boats at night in the North Sea, the Russians feared that they were small Japanese naval vessels and opened fire. The British were outraged,but Russia's quick apology and the promise of payment prevented further conflict. Meanwhile, with this unlucky beginning,the fleet steamed east. The fleet reached reached the area in early May 1905. Its seven-month voyage was about to end.
Japanese admiral Heihachiro Togo had his fleet of faster,more heavily armed ships in wait. They lay off the southern coast of Korea,near Pusan. On May 27,they attacked. In two days of fighting,the Russian fleet was destroyed. Fourteen of its 30 ships were sunk,and another 6 were captured. Only 10 ships escaped.
A Changed World
The two combatants were ready for peace. The Russian government had to confront a revolution that had erupted at home. The Japanese, meanwhile,were running out of money to finance the fighting. U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt called diplomats from both sides to peace talks in New Hampshire.As a result of those talks, Russia was forced to give most of its Chinese and Korean territory to Japan.
The defeat showed the weakness of the Russian government, which gave the frustrated Russian people another reason to revolt. Their actions climaxed in a massive general strike in October 1905. During that strike,the first workers' Soviets,or councils,were formed. Those Soviets would later serve as the core of the Communist Revolution of 1917.
Japan,through its victory, established itself as a world power. It became the first nonwhite nation to defeat a European power. This Victory gave heart to nationalists in Iran, Indonesia, Turkey, China, and India, who were trying to throw off the yoke of European colonialism.
