World History
Russo-Japanese War Research Society. This site has narratives of the campaigns, a selection of maps and images, text of documents, and biographies of the major personalities. This is a well designed site with easy navigation and tons of great content.
The Russo-Japanese War is the first war in modern history where an Asian nation beat a European nation. It was humiliating for Russia and signaled that Japan was a major world power. The loss showed how weak the Czarist government was and lead to the Russian Revolution of 1905. Japan gained a lot of respect internationally and the success in the war may have been one of the reasons Japan joined with the allies in the First World War.
One interesting side note to the war is that American President Teddy Roosevelt helped to negotiate the end of hostilities. For his efforts, Roosevelt became the first US President to win the Nobel Peace Prize.
From the site:
The Russo-Japanese War of 1904-05, which began with the Japanese naval attack on Port Arthur, had its roots in the simultaneous determination of both Japan and Russia to develop 'spheres of influence' in the Far East, mainly at the expense of China. Japan fought a very successful war against the crumbling Chinese Empire in 1894-95 and imposed a severe treaty. Japan demanded from China a heavy war indemnity, the island of Formosa, and Port Arthur and its hinterland. The European powers, while having no objection to the indemnity, did feel that Japan should not gain Port Arthur, for they had their own ambitions in that part of the world. Russia persuaded Germany and France to join her in applying diplomatic pressure on the Japanese, with the result that Japan was obliged to relinquish Port Arthur. Two years later Saint Petersburg forced the Chinese into leasing Port Arthur to Russia, together with the Liaotung Peninsula on which it stood. For Russia this meant the acquisition of an ice-free naval base in the Far East to supplement Vladivostok. For Japan it was a case of adding insult to injury.
The Boxer Rebellion of 1900 caused the European powers and Japan to send troops to China to suppress the rebels. When the fighting was over, Russian troops were occupying Manchuria. Russia promised to withdraw these forces by 1903, but failed to do so, wishing to hold Manchuria as a springboard for further expansion of her interest in the Far East. Meanwhile Japan was heavily engaged in Korea, successfully increasing her influence in that country. Russia also had interest in Korea, and although at first Russians and Japanese managed to peacefully coexist, it was not long before tensions on both sides led to hostilities. Negotiations between the two nations began in 1901 but made little headway. Japan then strengthened her position by forming an alliance with Britain. The terms stated that if Japan went to war in the Far East, and a third power entered the fight against Japan, then Britain would come to the aide of the Japanese.
During her negotiations with Japan, Russia did not expect the Japanese to go to war. After all, Japan was a newly emergent country, whose naval officers might have been trained in Britain and her army officers in Germany, but several of those officers had begun their careers wearing armor and brandishing swords. The Russian army was the world's most powerful, or at least that is what the Russians believed. But the Japanese had other ideas. Japan knew that they could not win a long war fought over a vast expanse, but they could win a short localized war.
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World History
Russo-Japanese War Research Society
Russo-Japanese War Research Society. This site has narratives of the campaigns, a selection of maps and images, text of documents, and biographies of the major personalities. This is a well designed site with easy navigation and tons of great content.
The Russo-Japanese War is the first war in modern history where an Asian nation beat a European nation. It was humiliating for Russia and signaled that Japan was a major world power. The loss showed how weak the Czarist government was and lead to the Russian Revolution of 1905. Japan gained a lot of respect internationally and the success in the war may have been one of the reasons Japan joined with the allies in the First World War.
One interesting side note to the war is that American President Teddy Roosevelt helped to negotiate the end of hostilities. For his efforts, Roosevelt became the first US President to win the Nobel Peace Prize.
From the site:
The Russo-Japanese War of 1904-05, which began with the Japanese naval attack on Port Arthur, had its roots in the simultaneous determination of both Japan and Russia to develop 'spheres of influence' in the Far East, mainly at the expense of China. Japan fought a very successful war against the crumbling Chinese Empire in 1894-95 and imposed a severe treaty. Japan demanded from China a heavy war indemnity, the island of Formosa, and Port Arthur and its hinterland. The European powers, while having no objection to the indemnity, did feel that Japan should not gain Port Arthur, for they had their own ambitions in that part of the world. Russia persuaded Germany and France to join her in applying diplomatic pressure on the Japanese, with the result that Japan was obliged to relinquish Port Arthur. Two years later Saint Petersburg forced the Chinese into leasing Port Arthur to Russia, together with the Liaotung Peninsula on which it stood. For Russia this meant the acquisition of an ice-free naval base in the Far East to supplement Vladivostok. For Japan it was a case of adding insult to injury.
The Boxer Rebellion of 1900 caused the European powers and Japan to send troops to China to suppress the rebels. When the fighting was over, Russian troops were occupying Manchuria. Russia promised to withdraw these forces by 1903, but failed to do so, wishing to hold Manchuria as a springboard for further expansion of her interest in the Far East. Meanwhile Japan was heavily engaged in Korea, successfully increasing her influence in that country. Russia also had interest in Korea, and although at first Russians and Japanese managed to peacefully coexist, it was not long before tensions on both sides led to hostilities. Negotiations between the two nations began in 1901 but made little headway. Japan then strengthened her position by forming an alliance with Britain. The terms stated that if Japan went to war in the Far East, and a third power entered the fight against Japan, then Britain would come to the aide of the Japanese.
During her negotiations with Japan, Russia did not expect the Japanese to go to war. After all, Japan was a newly emergent country, whose naval officers might have been trained in Britain and her army officers in Germany, but several of those officers had begun their careers wearing armor and brandishing swords. The Russian army was the world's most powerful, or at least that is what the Russians believed. But the Japanese had other ideas. Japan knew that they could not win a long war fought over a vast expanse, but they could win a short localized war.
- Japanese Invasion Of Korea
Japanese Invasion of Korea Japanese warlord Toyotomi Hideyoshi dreamed of conquering China and launched two invasions of Korea, in 1592 and 1597, in order to do so. Although he ultimately failed, the wars inflicted terrible devastation on Korea. Because...
- History Of South Korea
History of South Korea. This short essay highlights the key events in the history of the Asian nation of South Korea. Of course, South Korea is a divided part of a single Korean nation. Since the taint of communism infected the northern part of the country,...
- Japan, Korea And 1597: A Year That Lives In Infamy
Japan, Korea and 1597: A Year That Lives in Infamy - Excerpt of a New York Times article detailing Japan's invasion of Korea in 1597 and Korean resentment lingering from it. From the site: When they invaded Korea 400 years ago, Japanese samurai...
- Teaching About Japan
Teaching about Japan This essay gives ideas for teaching about Japan in American classrooms. This includes ideas for history instruction. From the site: Present a historical perspective whenever possible. This notion is very closely tied to the...
- World War Ii - Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia
World War II - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia This is a detailed article on World War II at Wikipedia. As with all Wikipedia content, you can volunteer to edit this article if you want to do so. From the site: World War II was the most extensive...