Russo-Japanese War ruler. Russo-Japanese War - reasons

Japan and Russia were incomparable neither in human potential - the difference was almost threefold, nor in the capabilities of the armed forces - the Japanese themselves feared that the angry “bear” could, if mobilized, field a three-million-strong army.

The thesis, familiar from Soviet times, that the conflict with the samurai was lost due to the rottenness of tsarism, the “general backwardness of Russia” completely coincides with the conclusions that are contained in many Western publications. Their essence boils down to a simple thing - they say, “corrupt tsarism could not effectively wage war.” The views of our and Western historians rarely coincide, what is the reason for such a unity of opinions?

Almost all researchers agree that the Japanese were helped to win by hard work, self-sacrifice, patriotism, high combat training of soldiers, skill of military leaders, exceptional discipline - the praise can be continued indefinitely. Let's try to figure it all out.

To what extent were the officers and soldiers of the Land of the Rising Sun ready to sacrifice themselves, as they now like to claim? How much did their fighting spirit exceed the patriotism of our soldiers and sailors? After all, the Russians are credited with a tendency to revolt not only in the rear - this is about the battleship Potemkin, but even at the front - let us remember the description of a small riot on the battleship Orel before the Battle of Tsushima. How this contrasts sharply with the description of the life of Japanese sailors, which became public thanks to the pen of French journalists: members of the crew of the Japanese armored cruiser V free time weaved woolen socks for their army colleagues!

In order to dot all the i's, let's turn to Japanese sources. It's about about feature films created in the Land of the Rising Sun itself. And not for the purpose of instilling pacifist feelings among the emperor’s subjects, but, as they say, as an example for descendants.

Talking about the life of ordinary sailors on the flagship ship of the Japanese squadron "Mikasa", the filmmakers show all its ins and outs - mass fights, theft, disobedience to orders, hazing.

There is also an element unfamiliar to us: foremen lend money to sailors at large percentage. The Russian army and navy, thank God, have never known such a “bouquet” of violations. So it’s clear why, despite external discipline, the crew of the Mikasa rebelled immediately after arriving from England in 1902.

Now - about readiness for self-sacrifice. We, as well as the majority of the world, have a completely false idea of ​​all Japanese as kamikaze pilots. It is also necessary to take into account the following: the courage of the Japanese was blown away by the wind as soon as they began to suffer failures in battle. As historians recall, in 1904, after several unsuccessful attempts During the storming of Port Arthur, the 8th Infantry Regiment, right on the front line, refused to obey orders, and many Japanese officers were going to desert and flee to Shanghai for fear of dying.

Another argument in favor of the exceptionalism of the Japanese is as follows: they acted exceptionally competently in battle, due to which they won. Let us even remember the famous poem of those times: “In Manchuria, Kuroki in practice gives Kuropatkin lessons in tactics.” This quality supposedly allowed the Japanese to gain the upper hand. In fact, this is just a diligently fanned myth. What kind of literacy can we talk about when the Russian fortifications in Port Arthur were stormed head-on through well-targeted terrain several times? And the same Admiral Heihachiro Togo, proclaimed almost a military genius of that war, was never able to explain to his admirers why in August 1904 he did not attack the Russian squadron, which had huddled together after the failure of the flagship “Tsarevich”. Another question: why suddenly initial stage During the Battle of Tsushima, he exposed his flagship ship to the concentrated fire of the most powerful Russian ships, almost dying himself?

The actions of our enemies were not particularly distinguished by the coherence of the various units.

As testified by the Englishman, captain of the first rank William Pakinham, who was seconded to the squadron of Admiral Togo, after the end of the first day of Tsushima, when the Japanese gave the order to attack the remnants of the Second Pacific squadron with their destroyers, one of them, avoiding a collision with a ship of another formation that suddenly emerged from the darkness , made a sharp turn and overturned. Those who say that the root of all the fantastic victories of the Japanese is the exceptional luck of the admiral are probably right.

We were somehow inferior to the Japanese in design artillery systems, however, the Japanese were also far from good at everything: their Arisaka rifle was noticeably inferior to the Russian rifle of Sergei Mosin in a number of ways the most important characteristics. The samurai simply cannot compete with the best Russian cavalry in the world, and, most importantly, our opponents could not compete in physical strength with our warriors.

Okay, but what helped the Japanese win? I think a whole complex of factors - both subjective and objective - made themselves felt. One of the main ones is the extremely careful handling of military secrets by the Japanese; our rivals were able to classify even the death of two of the six battleships they had. What can we say about smaller destroyers - they went to the bottom “in batches”, but the Japanese stubbornly denied everything, and after a while they commissioned a similar ship, that is, the same ship under the same name. The world and Russian public believed, and this is how the myth of the invincibility of enemies was born. Naturally, all this affected the mood among our military. The Japanese obtained all the information about our losses, troop movements and the appointment of new commanders from Russian newspapers.

Our gendarmerie, which was then entrusted with the function of counterintelligence, simply could not cope with the new conditions for it - many of its employees were simply unable to distinguish a Japanese from a Chinese.

Things got to the point that in the summer of 1904, as is clear from front-line reports from the Niva magazine, the strictest order was issued to shoot all Asians who appeared at the combat positions of our troops.

Let’s not discount the underestimation of the enemy: at first, the tsar did not want to transfer a single formation from the European part of Russia, and the second Pacific squadron began to be equipped for the journey only after the death of Admiral Stepan Makarov.

Another reason is the peculiarity of the Russian spirit. After all, we are accustomed to waging war with the expectation of gradually gathering forces for a subsequent crushing blow to the enemy. Example – Patriotic War 1812, when we retreated to Moscow, and the Great Patriotic War. As they say, Russians harness slowly, but drive quickly. So in those years, statements were heard like “The Japanese will inevitably be defeated, if not at Luoyang, then at Mukden, not at Mukden, then at Harbin, not at Harbin, then at Chita.” History has not given us this chance.

But there was also the lack of will of Russian diplomacy. The department at Pevchesky was unable to use the fact of the attack on Port Arthur without declaring war to isolate Tokyo internationally.

Diplomats were also unable to resolve the issue of allowing the most powerful battleships of the Black Sea Fleet through the Turkish-controlled straits. Instead, the foreign policy department preferred to make up horror stories about a possible war with England, Afghanistan and Turkey if our ships passed through.

Evil tongues then accused Foreign Minister Vladimir Lamzdorf of weakness of character, seeing the reason in his non-traditional sexual orientation...

The main reason was the initially wrong decision to locate the main naval base in Port Arthur. This is more than nine hundred kilometers from the Korea Strait, which was and still is a hub for ship routes between Russia, China, Korea, Japan and other countries South-East Asia. It was not for nothing that the sailors did not like this city, calling it a “hole.” Therefore, the naval command, in order to sweeten the pill, formally considered the entire Pacific Fleet... the Pacific squadron of the Baltic Fleet. Made matters worse main base the fact that it was connected with the metropolis by a thin “thread” of a railway, the final part of which ran through Manchuria, a territory that then had an incomprehensible status - it seemed that it was not Chinese, but not completely Russian. But naval strategists persisted - we need an ice-free harbor on Pacific Ocean, period.

The most realistic position on this issue, oddly enough, was taken by the then Minister of War, General Alexei Kuropatkin. At the very end of 1903, he sent a note to the authorities, in which, in particular, he wrote that Port Arthur, “being away from our natural defensive line running along the coast of the Sea of ​​​​Japan, and being at a distance from it from 600 to 1000 miles, it cannot serve as a support for our naval operations along this coast, leaving it completely open to enemy attack; in particular, the entire southeastern coast of Korea with the Japanese outpost of Fuzan existing here remains open to unpunished capture, and, being located at a distance of 600 to 1200 miles from the northern ports of our main enemy - Japan, our fleet in Port Arthur would be completely deprived of the opportunity to prevent and even threaten the advance of the Japanese fleet towards the Korean or our coast. This base does not even cover the western coast of Korea and the approaches to Seoul, for it is located 350 km before the entrance to the Yellow Sea, that is, in front of the front of the enemy offensive, which will also be firmly based on all the ports of the southern and southwestern coast of Korea . Finally, being 1080 miles from our main base - Vladivostok, Port Arthur remains completely cut off from it, because the line of communication, on the one hand, has no intermediate strong points, on the other, along its entire length it is subject to attack by the Japanese fleet.

The war that then broke out completely confirmed his fears.

Moreover, in his note A. Kuropatkin went much further - he proposed leaving not only Port Arthur, but also the whole of Southern Manchuria, citing arguments - we may simply not have enough forces to simultaneously defend Port Arthur and conduct large-scale military operations with the Japanese in Manchuria and Korea. Anticipating possible objections, the general argued that industrial enterprises there is not too much in these parts, and therefore the costs of possible departure won't be too big. In total, he gives more than a dozen arguments in favor of our leaving Southern Manchuria.

Well-versed in all the intricacies of the functioning of the state machine, A. Kuropatkin was well aware that his innovative plan had little chance of being implemented. That's why he sent it out like a fan, in the hope of at least gaining support somewhere. But everyone remained silent.

And so the war begins. Kuropatkin is appointed to the post of commander of the Manchurian army. And then strange things begin to happen - the Russian army suffers humiliating defeats one after another, and, as it seems to an outside observer, completely out of nowhere. For example, near Luoyang, we retreated before the panicked Japanese, who were preparing to retreat, and simply gave up victory. Almost the same thing happened at Mukden at the beginning of 1905: Kuropatkin refused to bring Russian reserves into battle at a critical moment for the Japanese, for which he was publicly insulted by another Russian military leader. Doesn't this speak of Kuropatkin's stubborn, fatal desire to nevertheless implement his plan to abandon Southern Manchuria? After all, that’s what ultimately happened. It turns out that the commander expected that even in the event of defeat he would remain in the highest echelons of power - which is what happened.

Finally, one more frequently asked question: could Russia continue the war after the Battle of Tsushima? The same Vladimir Linevich, appointed to the post of commander of the Russian army after the removal of Kuropatkin, later stated that he could defeat the Japanese. The future leader echoes him in his memories White movement in the south of Russia Anton Denikin, saying that we could put the squeeze on the Japanese. But these are the opinions of generals who do not have a very good understanding of the role of the fleet.

It should be understood: after the defeat of the Russian squadron, the Japanese controlled the sea. And this meant that they could easily and quickly land troops wherever they wanted - for example, they were already testing the waters for an invasion of Kamchatka.

We were unable to do anything in response - we were only able to concentrate troops at the end points of our railways.

Of course, the Russo-Japanese War, despite claims that all the facts about it are known, remains so far not fully studied. To more or less clarify the situation, work is needed in both Russian and Japanese, Chinese and Korean archives. And this is not a task for one generation of researchers.

One thing is clear - assurances about the invincibility of the Japanese army and the genius of its military leaders are simply a myth.

Russo-Japanese War 1904-1905 was the result of a clash of interests between Russia and Japan in the Far East. Both countries, which experienced in the last decades of the 19th century. internal modernization processes intensified at about the same time foreign policy in this region. Russia was aimed at developing economic expansion in Manchuria and Korea, which were nominally Chinese possessions. However, here she encountered Japan, which was rapidly gaining strength, which was also eager to quickly join in the division of weakened China.

Power rivalry in the Far East

The first major clash between St. Petersburg and Tokyo occurred when the Japanese, having defeated the Chinese in the war of 1894-1895, intended to impose extremely difficult peace conditions on them. The intervention of Russia, supported by France and Germany, forced them to moderate their appetites. But St. Petersburg, acting as a defender of China, strengthened its influence in this country. In 1896, an agreement was signed on the construction of the Chinese Eastern Railway (CER) through Manchuria, which shortened the route to Vladivostok by 800 km and made it possible to expand the Russian presence in the region. In 1898, Port Arthur on the Liaodong Peninsula was leased, which became Russia's main naval base on the Pacific Ocean. It had an advantageous strategic position and, unlike Vladivostok, did not freeze.

In 1900, during the suppression of the so-called Boxer Rebellion, Russian troops occupied Manchuria. It was Tokyo's turn to express its extreme dissatisfaction. Proposals to divide spheres of interest (Manchuria - Russia, Korea - Japan) were rejected by St. Petersburg. Emperor Nicholas II was increasingly influenced by adventurers from his circle who underestimated the strength of Japan. Moreover, as Minister of Internal Affairs V.K. Plehve said, “to hold the revolution... a small victorious war is needed.” This opinion was supported by many at the top.

“Maxims” were adopted by the Russian army on May 28, 1895. In the Russo-Japanese War they were used in two forms: with large wheels and a shield, or, as shown in the figure, on a tripod

Meanwhile, Japan was actively preparing for war, increasing its military power. The Japanese army deployed for mobilization numbered over 375 thousand people, 1140 guns, 147 machine guns. The Japanese fleet consisted of 80 warships, including 6 squadron battleships, 8 armored ships and 12 light cruisers.

Russia initially had about 100 thousand people (about 10% of the entire army), 148 guns and 8 machine guns in the Far East. There were 63 Russian warships in the Pacific Ocean, including 7 squadron battleships, 4 armored ships and 7 light cruisers. The remoteness of this region from the center and the difficulties of transportation along the Trans-Siberian Railway had an impact. In general, Russia was noticeably inferior to Japan in terms of readiness for war.

Warriors move

January 24 (February 6, new style) 1904 Japan interrupted negotiations and severed diplomatic relations with Russia. Even before the official declaration of war, which followed on January 28 (February 10), 1904, Japanese destroyers attacked the Russian squadron in Port Arthur on the night of January 26-27 (February 8-9) and damaged two battleships and a cruiser. For the Russian sailors, the attack was sudden, although it was clear from the behavior of the Japanese that they were about to start a war. Nevertheless, the Russian ships were stationed in the outer roadstead without mine nets, and two of them illuminated the roadstead with searchlights (they were the ones that were hit in the first place). True, the Japanese were not distinguished by their accuracy, although they fired almost point-blank: out of 16 torpedoes, only three hit the target.

Japanese sailors. 1905

On January 27 (February 9), 1904, six Japanese cruisers and eight destroyers blocked in the Korean port of Chemulpo (now Incheon) the Russian cruiser "Varyag" (commander - captain 1st rank V.F. Rudnev) and the gunboat "Koreets" and asked them to surrender. The Russian sailors made a breakthrough, but after an hour-long battle they returned to the port. The heavily damaged "Varyag" was sunk, and the "Korean" was blown up by its crews, who boarded the ships of neutral states.

The feat of the cruiser “Varyag” received wide resonance in Russia and abroad. The sailors were solemnly welcomed to their homeland, they were received by Nicholas II. The song “Varyag” is still popular both in the navy and among the people:

To the top, comrades, everyone is in place! The last parade is coming... Our proud “Varyag” does not surrender to the enemy, No one wants mercy.

Failures at sea haunted the Russians. At the end of January, the mine transport "Yenisei" was blown up and sank on its own minefields, and then the cruiser "Boyarin" sent to its aid. However, the Japanese were blown up by Russian mines more often. So, on May 2 (15), two Japanese battleships exploded at once.

At the end of February, the new commander of the squadron, Vice Admiral S.O. Makarov, a brave and active naval commander, arrived in Port Arthur. But he was not destined to defeat the Japanese. On March 31 (April 13), the flagship battleship Petropavlovsk, moving to help ships attacked by the Japanese, ran into a mine and sank in a matter of minutes. Makarov, his personal friend the battle painter V.V. Vereshchagin and almost the entire crew died. The command of the squadron was taken by the low-initiative Rear Admiral V.K. Vitgeft. The Russians tried to break through to Vladivostok, but on July 28 (August 10) they were stopped by the Japanese in the battle in the Yellow Sea. In this battle, Vitgeft died, and the remnants of the Russian squadron returned to Port Arthur.

On land, things were also not going well for Russia. In February 1904, Japanese troops landed in Korea and in April reached the border with Manchuria, where they defeated a large Russian detachment on the Yalu River. In April - May, the Japanese landed on the Liaodong Peninsula and interrupted Port Arthur's connection with the main army. In June, Russian troops sent to help the fortress were defeated near Wafangou and retreated to the north. In July the siege of Port Arthur began. In August, the Battle of Liaoyang took place with the participation of the main forces of both sides. The Russians, having a numerical advantage, successfully repulsed the Japanese attacks and could count on success, but the army commander A.N. Kuropatkin showed indecisiveness and ordered a retreat. In September - October, the oncoming battle on the Shahe River ended in vain, and both sides, having suffered heavy losses, went on the defensive.

The epicenter of events shifted to Port Arthur. For more than one month, this fortress withstood a siege, repelling several assaults. But in the end, the Japanese were able to capture the strategically important Vysokaya Mountain. And after this, General R.I. Kondratenko, who was called the “soul of defense” of the fortress, died. On December 20, 1904 (January 21, 1905), generals A. M. Stessel and A. V. Fok, contrary to the opinion of the military council, surrendered Port Arthur. Russia lost its main naval base, the remnants of its fleet and more than 30 thousand prisoners, and the Japanese freed 100 thousand soldiers for action in other directions.

In February 1905, the largest battle of this war took place, the Battle of Mukden, in which more than half a million soldiers took part on both sides. Russian troops were defeated and retreated, after which active fighting stopped on land.

Tsushima disaster

The final chord of the war was the Battle of Tsushima. Back on September 19 (October 2), 1904 from the Baltic to Far East A detachment of ships departed under the command of Vice Admiral Z. P. Rozhestvensky, which received the name of the 2nd Pacific Squadron (followed by the 3rd Squadron under the command of Rear Admiral N.I. Nebogatov). They included, in particular, 8 squadron battleships and 13 cruisers of various classes. Among them were both new ships, including those that had not yet been properly tested, and outdated ones, unsuitable for ocean voyages and general battles. After the fall of Port Arthur, we had to go to Vladivostok. Having made an exhausting journey around Africa, the ships entered the Tsushima Strait (between Japan and Korea), where the main forces of the Japanese fleet (4 squadron battleships, 24 cruisers) were waiting for them different classes and other ships). The Japanese attack was sudden. The battle began on May 14 (27), 1905 at 13:49. Within 40 minutes, the Russian squadron lost two battleships, and then new losses followed. Rozhestvensky was wounded. After sunset, at 20:15, the remnants of the Russian squadron attacked dozens of Japanese destroyers. On May 15 (28), at 11 o'clock, the remaining ships afloat, surrounded by the Japanese fleet, lowered St. Andrew's flags.

The defeat at Tsushima was the most difficult and shameful in the history of the Russian fleet. Only a few cruisers and destroyers managed to escape from the battlefield, but only the cruiser Almaz and two destroyers reached Vladivostok. More than 5 thousand sailors died, and over 6 thousand were captured. The Japanese lost only three destroyers and about 700 people killed and wounded.

There were many reasons for this disaster: miscalculations in the planning and organization of the expedition, unpreparedness for battle, weak command, obvious shortcomings of Russian guns and shells, different types of ships, unsuccessful maneuvering in battle, problems with communications, etc. The Russian fleet was clearly inferior to the Japanese in material terms. and moral preparation, military skill and perseverance.

The Treaty of Portsmouth and the outcome of the war

After Tsushima they collapsed last hopes for a favorable outcome for Russia of the war, in which the Russian army and navy did not win a single major victory. In addition, a revolution began in Russia. But both sides were exhausted. Human losses amounted to approximately 270 thousand people. Therefore, both Japan and Russia readily accepted the mediation of US President T. Roosevelt.

August 23 (September 5), 1905 American city A peace treaty was signed in Portsmouth. Russia gave Japan South Sakhalin and its rights to lease Port Arthur and adjacent territories. It also recognized Korea as Japan's sphere of influence.

The Russo-Japanese War had big influence for military and naval affairs. For the first time, machine guns were used so widely and rapid-fire guns, appeared light machine guns, mortars, hand grenades, experience in the use of radios, searchlights, balloons, and wire barriers with electric current began to accumulate in war. Were first used submarines and new sea ​​mines. Tactics and strategy were improved. The defensive positions combined trenches, trenches, and dugouts. Special meaning acquired fire superiority over the enemy and close interaction between military branches on the battlefield, and at sea - the optimal combination of speed, fire power and armor protection.

In Russia, the defeat marked the beginning of a revolutionary crisis, which ended with the transformation of the autocracy into constitutional monarchy. But the lessons of the Russo-Japanese War did not teach the ruling circles of the Russian Empire anything, and eight years later they pushed the country into a new, even more ambitious war - the First World War.

Causes of the war:

Russia’s desire to gain a foothold on the “non-freezing seas” of China and Korea.

The desire of the leading powers to prevent Russia from strengthening in the Far East. Support for Japan from the USA and Great Britain.

Japan's desire to oust the Russian army from China and seize Korea.

Arms race in Japan. Raising taxes for the sake of military production.

Japan's plans were to seize Russian territory from the Primorsky Territory to the Urals.

Progress of the war:

January 27, 1904 - three Russian ships were hit by Japanese torpedoes near Port Arthur, but they did not sink thanks to the heroism of the crews. The feat of the Russian ships “Varyag” and “Koreets” near the port of Chemulpo (Incheon).

March 31, 1904 - the death of the battleship Petropavlovsk with the headquarters of Admiral Makarov and a crew of more than 630 people. The Pacific Fleet was decapitated.

May - December 1904 - heroic defense of the Port Arthur fortress. The 50,000-strong Russian garrison, with 646 guns and 62 machine guns, repelled the attacks of the 200,000-strong enemy army. After the surrender of the fortress, about 32 thousand Russian soldiers were captured by the Japanese. The Japanese lost more than 110 thousand (according to other sources 91 thousand) soldiers and officers, 15 warships sank, and 16 were destroyed.

August 1904 - Battle of Liaoyang. The Japanese lost more than 23 thousand soldiers, the Russians - more than 16 thousand. Uncertain outcome of the battle. General Kuropatkin gave the order to retreat, fearing encirclement.

September 1904 - Battle of the Shahe River. The Japanese lost more than 30 thousand soldiers, the Russians - more than 40 thousand. Uncertain outcome of the battle. After this, a positional war was fought in Manchuria. In January 1905, revolution raged in Russia, making it difficult to wage the war to victory.

February 1905 - The Battle of Mukden stretched over 100 km along the front and lasted 3 weeks. The Japanese launched their offensive earlier and confused the plans of the Russian command. Russian troops retreated, avoiding encirclement and losing more than 90 thousand. The Japanese lost more than 72 thousand.

The Russo-Japanese War in brief.

The Japanese command admitted underestimating the enemy's strength. Soldiers with weapons and provisions continued to arrive from Russia by rail. The war again took on a positional character.

May 1905 - tragedy of the Russian fleet near the Tsushima Islands. Admiral Rozhestvensky's ships (30 combat, 6 transport and 2 hospital) covered about 33 thousand km and immediately entered the battle. No one in the world could defeat 121 enemy ships with 38 ships! Only the cruiser Almaz and the destroyers Bravy and Grozny broke through to Vladivostok (according to other sources, 4 ships were saved), the crews of the rest died heroes or were captured. The Japanese suffered 10 severe damage and 3 sank.

Until now, Russians, passing by the Tsushima Islands, lay wreaths on the water in memory of the 5 thousand dead Russian sailors.

The war was ending. The Russian army in Manchuria was growing and could continue the war for a long time. Human and financial resources Japan was exhausted (old people and children were already being drafted into the army). Russia, from a position of strength, signed the Treaty of Portsmouth in August 1905.

Results of the war:

Russia withdrew troops from Manchuria, transferred the Liaodong Peninsula to Japan, southern part Sakhalin Islands and money for the maintenance of prisoners. This failure of Japanese diplomacy caused widespread unrest in Tokyo.

After the war, Japan's external public debt increased 4 times, and Russia's by 1/3.

Japan lost more than 85 thousand killed, Russia more than 50 thousand.

More than 38 thousand soldiers died from wounds in Japan, and more than 17 thousand in Russia.

Still, Russia lost this war. The reasons were economic and military backwardness, weakness of intelligence and command, the great remoteness and extension of the theater of military operations, poor supplies, and weak interaction between the army and navy. In addition, the Russian people did not understand why they needed to fight in distant Manchuria. The revolution of 1905 - 1907 weakened Russia even more.

IN late XIX century - the beginning of the 20th century, relations between Japan and Russia, aggravated due to the ownership of China and Korea, led to a major military conflict between the countries. After a long break, this was the first to use the latest weapons.

Causes

Ended in 1856, it limited Russia's ability to move and expand south, so Nicholas I turned his attention to the Far East, which negatively affected relations with the Japanese power, which itself laid claim to Korea and Northern China.

The tense situation no longer had a peaceful solution. Despite the fact that in 1903, Japan made an attempt to avoid a conflict by proposing an agreement under which it would have all rights to Korea. Russia agreed, but set conditions under which it demanded sole influence on the Kwantung Peninsula, as well as the right to protect the railway in Manchuria. The Japanese government was not happy with this, and it continued active preparations for war.

The Meiji Restoration, which ended in Japan in 1868, led to new government, began to pursue a policy of expansion and decided to improve the country’s capabilities. Thanks to the reforms carried out, by 1890 the economy was modernized: modern industries appeared, electrical equipment and machine tools were produced, and coal was exported. The changes affected not only industry, but also the military sector, which was significantly strengthened thanks to Western exercises.

Japan decides to increase its influence on neighboring countries. Based on the geographic proximity of Korean territory, she decides to take control of the country and prevent European influence. Having put pressure on Korea in 1876, an agreement on trade relations with Japan was signed, providing free access to ports.

These actions led to the conflict, the Sino-Japanese War (1894−95), which ended in Japanese victory and eventual impact on Korea.

According to the Treaty of Shimonoseki, signed as a result of the war, China:

1. transferred to Japan territories that included the Liaodong Peninsula and Manchuria;
2. renounced rights to Korea.

For European countries: Germany, France and Russia this was unacceptable. As a result of the Triple Intervention, Japan, unable to resist the pressure, was obliged to abandon the Liaodong Peninsula.

Russia immediately took advantage of the return of Liaodong and in March 1898 signed a convention with China and received:

1. lease rights for 25 years to the Liaodong Peninsula;
2. fortresses of Port Arthur and Dalniy;
3. obtaining permission to build a railway passing through Chinese territory.

This negatively affected relations with Japan, which laid claim to these territories.

26.03 (08.04) 1902 Nicholas I. I. signs an agreement with China, according to which Russia needs to withdraw Russian troops from the territory of Manchuria within one year and six months. Nicholas I. did not keep his promises, but demanded from China restrictions on trade with foreign countries. In response, England, the USA and Japan protested over the violation of the deadlines and advised not to accept the Russian conditions.

In mid-summer 1903, traffic on the Trans-Siberian Railway began. The route passed along the Chinese Eastern Railway, through Manchuria. Nicholas I. begins to redeploy his troops to the Far East, arguing this by testing the capacity of the built railway connection.

At the end of the agreement between China and Russia, Nicholas I. did not withdraw Russian troops from the territory of Manchuria.

In the winter of 1904, at a meeting of the Privy Council and the Cabinet of Ministers of Japan, a decision was made to begin military operations against Russia, and soon an order was given to land Japanese armed forces in Korea and attack Russian ships in Port Arthur.

The moment of declaring war was chosen with maximum calculation, since by that time it had assembled a strong and modernly equipped army, weapons and navy. While the Russians armed forces were very scattered.

Main events

Battle of Chemulpo

Significant for the chronicle of the war was the battle in 1904 at Chemulpo of the cruisers “Varyag” and “Koreets”, under the command of V. Rudnev. In the morning, leaving the port to the accompaniment of music, they tried to leave the bay, but less than ten minutes had passed before the alarm sounded and the battle flag rose above the deck. Together they resisted the Japanese squadron that attacked them, entering into an unequal battle. The Varyag was severely damaged and was forced to turn back to port. Rudnev decided to destroy the ship; a few hours later the sailors were evacuated and the ship was sunk. The ship "Korean" was blown up, and the crew was previously evacuated.

Siege of Port Arthur

To block Russian ships inside the harbor, Japan tries to sink several old ships at the entrance. These actions were thwarted by "Retvizvan", who patrolled the water area near the fort.

In the early spring of 1904, Admiral Makarov and shipbuilder N.E. Kuteynikov arrived. They come at the same time a large number of spare parts and equipment for ship repairs.

At the end of March, the Japanese flotilla again tried to block the entrance to the fortress by blowing up four transport ships filled with stones, but sank them too far away.

On March 31, the Russian battleship Petropavlovsk sank after hitting three mines. The ship disappeared in three minutes, killing 635 people, among them were Admiral Makarov and the artist Vereshchagin.

3rd attempt to block the harbor entrance, was successful, Japan, having sank eight transport ships, locked the Russian squadrons for several days and immediately landed in Manchuria.

The cruisers “Russia”, “Gromoboy”, “Rurik” were the only ones that retained freedom of movement. They sank several ships with military personnel and weapons, including the Hi-tatsi Maru, which was transporting weapons for the siege of Port Arthur, due to which the capture lasted for several months.

18.04 (01.05) 1st Japanese Army consisting of 45 thousand people. approached the river Yalu and entered into battle with an 18,000-strong Russian detachment led by M.I. Zasulich. The battle ended in defeat for the Russians and marked the beginning of the Japanese invasion of Manchurian territories.

04/22 (05/05) a Japanese army of 38.5 thousand people landed 100 km from the fortress.

27.04 (10.05) Japanese troops broke the railway connection between Manchuria and Port Arthur.

On May 2 (15), 2 Japanese ships were scuttled, thanks to the Amur minelayer, they fell into placed mines. In just five days in May (12-17.05), Japan lost 7 ships, and two went to the Japanese port for repairs.

Having successfully landed, the Japanese began to move towards Port Arthur to block it. The Russian command decided to meet the Japanese troops in fortified areas near Jinzhou.

May 13 (26) happened major battle. Russian squad(3.8 thousand people) and with 77 guns and 10 machine guns, they repulsed the enemy attack for more than 10 hours. And only the approaching Japanese gunboats, suppressing the left flag, broke through the defense. The Japanese lost 4,300 people, the Russians 1,500 people.

Thanks to the victory in the battle of Jinzhou, the Japanese overcame a natural barrier on the way to the fortress.

At the end of May, Japan captured the port of Dalniy without a fight, practically intact, which significantly helped them in the future.

On June 1-2 (14-15), in the battle of Wafangou, the 2nd Japanese Army defeated Russian troops under the command of General Stackelberg, who was sent to lift the Port Arthur blockade.

July 13 (26) The Japanese 3rd Army broke through the defenses Russian troops“at the passes” formed after the defeat at Jinzhou.

On July 30, the distant approaches to the fortress are occupied, and the defense begins. This is a bright historical moment. The defense lasted until January 2, 1905. In the fortress and adjacent areas, the Russian army did not have a single authority. General Stessel commanded the troops, General Smironov commanded the fortress, Admiral Vitgeft commanded the fleet. It was difficult for them to come to a common opinion. But among the leadership there was a talented commander - General Kondratenko. Thanks to his oratorical and managerial qualities, his superiors found a compromise.

Kondratenko earned the fame of the hero of the Port Arthur events; he died at the end of the siege of the fortress.

The number of troops located in the fortress is about 53 thousand people, as well as 646 guns and 62 machine guns. The siege lasted for 5 months. The Japanese army lost 92 thousand people, Russia - 28 thousand people.

Liaoyang and Shahe

During the summer of 1904, a Japanese army of 120 thousand people approached Liaoyang from the east and south. The Russian army at this time was replenished by soldiers arriving along the Trans-Siberian Railway and slowly retreated.

In August 11 (24) a general battle took place at Liaoyang. The Japanese, moving in a semicircle from the south and east, attacked Russian positions. In prolonged battles, the Japanese army led by Marshal I. Oyama suffered 23,000 losses, Russian troops led by Commander Kuropatkin also suffered losses - 16 (or 19, according to some sources) thousand killed and wounded.

The Russians successfully repelled attacks in the south of Laoyang for 3 days, but Kuropatkin, assuming that the Japanese could block the railway north of Liaoyang, ordered his troops to retreat to Mukden. The Russian army retreated without leaving a single gun.

In the fall, an armed clash occurs on the Shahe River. It began with an attack by Russian troops, and a week later the Japanese launched a counterattack. Russia's losses amounted to about 40 thousand people, the Japanese side - 30 thousand people. The completed operation on the river. Shahe set a time of calm at the front.

14−15 (27−28) May the Japanese fleet in Battle of Tsushima defeated the Russian squadron, which was redeployed from the Baltic, commanded by Vice Admiral Z.P. Rozhestvensky.

The last major battle takes place on July 7 - Japanese invasion of Sakhalin. The 14 thousand strong Japanese army was resisted by 6 thousand Russians - these were mostly convicts and exiles who joined the army to acquire benefits and therefore did not have strong combat skills. By the end of July, Russian resistance was suppressed, more than 3 thousand people were captured.

Consequences

Negative influence The war also affected the internal situation in Russia:

1. the economy is disrupted;
2. stagnation in industrial areas;
3. price increase.

Industry leaders pushed for a peace treaty. A similar opinion was shared by Great Britain and the United States, which initially supported Japan.

Military actions had to be stopped and forces directed toward extinguishing revolutionary trends, which were dangerous not only for Russia, but also for the world community.

On August 22 (9), 1905, negotiations began in Portsmouth with the mediation of the United States. Representative from Russian Empire was S.Yu. Witte. At a meeting with Nicholas I. I. he received clear instructions: not to agree to the indemnity, which Russia never paid, and not to give up the land. Due to Japan's territorial and monetary demands, such instructions were not easy for Witte, who was already pessimistic and considered losses inevitable.

As a result of the negotiations, on September 5 (August 23), 1905, a peace treaty was signed. According to the document:

1. The Japanese side received the Liaodong Peninsula, a section of the Chinese Eastern Railway (from Port Arthur to Changchun), as well as Southern Sakhalin.
2. Russia recognized Korea as a zone of Japanese influence and concluded a fishing convention.
3. Both sides of the conflict had to withdraw their troops from the territory of Manchuria.

The peace treaty did not fully address Japan's claims and was much closer to Russian conditions, as a result of which it was not accepted by the Japanese people - waves of discontent swept across the country.

The countries of Europe were satisfied with the agreement, as they hoped to take Russia as an ally against Germany. The United States believed that their goals had been achieved; they had significantly weakened the Russian and Japanese powers.

Results

War between Russia and Japan 1904−1905. had economic and political reasons. She showed internal problems Russian administration and diplomatic mistakes made by Russia. Russia's losses amounted to 270 thousand people, of which 50,000 were killed. Japan's losses were similar, but there were more killed - 80,000 people.

For Japan, the war turned out to be much more intense than for Russia. It had to mobilize 1.8% of its population, while Russia had to mobilize only 0.5%. Military actions quadrupled the external debt of Japan, Russia - by 1/3. The ended war influenced the development of military art in general, showing the importance of weapons equipment.

Russo-Japanese War was a war fought between the Russian and Japanese Empires for control of Manchuria and Korea. After a break of several decades, she became the first big war using the latest weapons : long-range artillery, battleships, destroyers, high-voltage wire barriers; as well as using spotlights and a field kitchen.

Causes of the war:

• Russia's lease of the Liaodong Peninsula and Port Arthur as a naval base.
• Construction of the Chinese Eastern Railway and Russian economic expansion in Manchuria.
• The struggle for spheres of influence in China and Korea.
• A means of distraction from the revolutionary movement in Russia (“small victorious war”)
• The strengthening of Russia's position in the Far East threatened the monopolies of England, the United States and the militaristic aspirations of Japan.

The nature of the war: unfair on both sides.

In 1902, England entered into a military alliance with Japan and, together with the United States, embarked on the path of its preparation for war with Russia. Behind short term Japan built an armored fleet at the shipyards of England, Italy, and the United States.

The bases of the Russian fleet in the Pacific Ocean - Port Arthur and Vladivostok - were 1,100 miles apart and were poorly equipped. By the beginning of the war, out of 1 million 50 thousand Russian soldiers About 100 thousand were stationed in the Far East. The Far Eastern Army was removed from the main supply centers, Siberian Railway had low throughput(3 trains per day).

COURSE OF EVENTS

January 27, 1904 Japanese attack on the Russian fleet. Death of the cruiser "Varangian" and the gunboat "Korean" in Chemulpo Bay off the coast of Korea. The Varyag and Koreets, blocked in Chemulpo, rejected the offer to surrender. Trying to break through to Port Arthur, two Russian ships under the command of Captain 1st Rank V.F. Rudnev entered into battle with 14 enemy ships.

January 27 - December 20, 1904. Defense of the naval fortress Port Arthur. During the siege, new types of weapons were used for the first time: rapid-fire howitzers, Maxim machine guns, hand grenades, and mortars.

Commander of the Pacific Fleet, Vice Admiral S. O. Makarov prepared for active operations at sea and the defense of Port Arthur. On March 31, he took his squadron to the outer roadstead to engage the enemy and lure his ships under the fire of coastal batteries. However, at the very beginning of the battle, his flagship Petropavlovsk hit a mine and sank within 2 minutes. Most of the team, the entire headquarters of S. O. Makarov, died. After this, the Russian fleet went on the defensive, since the commander-in-chief of the Far Eastern forces, Admiral E. I. Alekseev, abandoned active operations at sea.

The ground defense of Port Arthur was headed by the head of the Kwantung fortified area, General A. M. Stessel. The main struggle in November took place over Mount Vysoka. The boss died on December 2 ground defense, its organizer and inspirer General R. I. Kondratenko. Stoessel signed on December 20, 1904 surrender . The fortress withstood 6 assaults and was surrendered only as a result of the betrayal of the commandant, General A. M. Stessel. For Russia, the fall of Port Arthur meant the loss of access to the ice-free Yellow Sea, a worsening of the strategic situation in Manchuria and a significant aggravation of the internal political situation in the country.

October 1904 Defeat of Russian troops on the Shahe River.

February 25, 1905 Defeat of the Russian army near Mukden (Manchuria). The largest land battle in history before the First World War.

May 14-15, 1905 Battle of the Tsushima Strait. The defeat by the Japanese fleet of the 2nd Pacific squadron under the command of Vice Admiral Z.P. Rozhdestvensky, sent to the Far East from Baltic Sea. In July, the Japanese occupied Sakhalin Island.

REASONS FOR RUSSIA'S DEFEAT

• Support for Japan from England and the USA.
• Russia's poor preparation for war. Military-technical superiority of Japan.
• Mistakes and ill-considered actions of the Russian command.
• Inability to quickly transfer reserves to the Far East.

Russo-Japanese War. RESULTS

• Korea was recognized as Japan's sphere of influence;
• Japan took possession of South Sakhalin;
• Japan received fishing rights along the Russian coast;
• Russia leased the Liaodong Peninsula and Port Arthur to Japan.

Russian commanders in this war: A.N. Kuropatkin, S.O. Makarov, A.M. Stoessel.

Consequences of Russia's defeat in the war:

• weakening of Russia's position in the Far East;
• public discontent with the autocracy, which lost the war with Japan;
• destabilization of the political situation in Russia, the growth of the revolutionary struggle;
• active reform of the army, a significant increase in its combat effectiveness.