The Lesson of Port Arthur

Abstract

T HE origin of the Russo-Japanese War of I904-05 can undoubtedly be traced to the part played by Russia in the settlement between China and Japan following their war of I89495. Prior to that time Japan had not been considered a country of sufficient military strength to deserve much attention. However, in I894 the Russian military attache in Japan, Colonel Vogak, reported: Now I have no doubt whatsoever that in Japan we have a neighbor deserving full attention on our part. ... I would not be surprised if within ten or fifteen years the Japanese army will become a first class one.... Having won a war against China, it will have no other objective than to measure its strength against a European country, and because of the very nature of the situation in the Far East, this country can only be Russia or England. It is significant that realizing her inability to fight England and Russia simultaneously, Japan, through her special envoy, Marquis Ito, tried to establish an understanding with Russia. Failing in this, in I 902 Japan signed a defensive alliance with England, and shortly afterwards Russian representatives in Japan and Korea indicated their awareness of the gathering danger. Although as early as 1900, a number of defensive measures were outlined and approved in Russia, including that of establishing a powerful naval force, many of these measures were never put into effect, partly because some of the highest officials felt that the greater the Russian efforts for military preparedness, the greater would become those of the possible enemy. As a result, only half-measures were taken for a long period of time and all out preparations for a possible war were only begun in January 1904. On the night of January 26, 1904, although there had been no declaration of war, a division of Japanese torpedo boats made a surprise attack upon the Russian fleet anchored in the outer harbor of Port Arthur.