If one day you're asked to name which war from history
best encapsulates the crane kick scene from Karate Kid,
I'd suggest you pick this war.
Really, talk to different people.
These are some really weird conversatons you're having.
Hello and welcome to Feature History,
featuring the Russo-Japanese War,
named as such because... well, take a wild guess.
As a first true conventional war of the 20th century,
it had a lot to show the world about how new war works.
Though really, all anyone took away was that Russia is stupid.
However today, using my amazing video creation and writing skills,
we can take a delve into the past and learn much more
from this slightly interesting conflict.
In the late 19th century, Japan had broken from its feudal past
and rapidly modernized, outdoing many European nations.
I made a video about this, you can just look it up.
Still unproven, they sought to do as any other empire would: expand.
Tsarist Russia of the same era
had entered under the reign of Nicholas II,
soon to be subject to his infamously inept reign.
The great power had built one of the largest empires,
stretching from Eastern Europe to the more eastern East Asia.
Their modernization, however, wasn't great,
and they began to find themselves sliding further into debt
as national pride and unity dipped.
However, with the construction of the Trans-Siberian Railway,
the road that would connect all of Russia,
Nicholas dreamt of imperial expansion in the East,
one that might just cross over with Japan.
The 1890s saw the Qing and Japan butting heads
over who had exclusive influence into Korea.
The Qing challenged Japan, and it just so happned,
Japan was happy to show off,
crushing them in the Sino-Japanese War.
Japan had a field day claiming their influence over Korea
and taking Taiwan in the Liaodong Peninsula.
Germany, Russia, and France stepped in to explain
"You just can't do that."
Forcing Japan to let go of the peninsula, much to its frustration.
Japan's emperor, Meiji, realized Western powers
were very intent on carving up the declining middle kingdom
and sought to push Japan out of the picture.
Japan would make friends in Britain for assistance.
In 1897, Russia played their hand,
releasing the warm-water Port Arthur from the Qing.
You see, Russia loves warm-water ports, can't get enough of them.
They also began building another railroad
to connect to the really big railroad they were still building.
You see, Russia also loves railroads.
On the turn of the century, the Boxer Rebellion broke out in China,
and everyone worth their salt pitched in some troops
to the Eight Nation Alliance that sought to put it down.
Russia had a big army just sit on their railroad.
They really didn't want anyone breaking it.
When the rebellion past, Russia's troops returned home.
Wait, no, the exact opposite, actually.
They sent more troops in.
Japan wasn't a big fan of a lot of armed Russians
loitering where they looked to expand,
and so asked if they could kindly piss off.
Russia thought this was a joke,
and confident Japan wouldn't do a thing,
asked Japan to piss out of Korea instead.
The only thing pissing off, however, would be both members
from the negotiation table.
Nicholas was assured in victory if war came.
This would be the triumph to drive his nation naysayers
into one proud country.
Russia would win. It had three times the population,
five times the military,
and practically unlimited resources.
Yes, it was on the complete opposite side of the country,
but Russia would win because they were European.
Europeans don't lose.
Japan declared war on the 8th of February, 1904,
several hours after they had attacked Port Arthur
and crippled Russia's Pacific Fleet.
They also began to quickly usher their armies into Korea.
The Russian troops hastily prepared trenches and barriers on the Yalu River.
The outnumbering Japanese would channel their routes in bushido,
death before dishonor, no retreat, no surrender,
to scare the Russians back.
Once the Russians were behind the walls of Port Arthur,
they could do nothing but wait as the stronghold was surrounded
and besieged by the Japanese.
The Tsar on the backfoot had to find out
how to reinforce his position.
Land?
Well, the railroad isn't finished.
Sea? All the other fleets are in Europe.
So then we're going to do both of those.
Reinforcements were ushered across the incomplete railroad
and the untrained Baltic fleet was directed to the Pacific ocean.
Before the fleet had even exited the Baltic Sea,
they fired on British ships they thought were Japanese.
Japanese in the Baltic Sea.
The British weren't having it, and shut the seawards canal to Russian ships,
forcing the fleet to take one of the longest sea routes in the world.
The Baltic fleet blundered its way across the African coast,
managing to fire on themselves repeatedly,
buying exotic pets that killed crew,
and purchasing a snake that wouldn't let the captain near the mast.
The rail troops finally arrived in 1905,
shortly after Port Arthur surrendered.
The Japanese began to strengthen their defences
and went toe-to-toe agains the outnumbering Russians
in the largest pre-World War land battle,
the Battle of Mukden.
Yet again, the Japanese, thanks to their sentiment for sacrifice,
repelled the superior Russian force.
The battered Baltic fleet finally arrived in the straits of Tsushima in May,
and were quickly and decisively crushed by the smaller Japanese fleet.
Back in St. Petersburg, the people were sick of war, and more generally everything,
and staged a revolt.
The only fleet Tsar had left to send to war mutinied,
spelling doom for any comeback.
It was deemed the imperial army must be turned on the revolution,
and negotiations opened between the belligerents.
Concluding in the Treaty of Portsmouth on September 5th, 1905.
Russia would abandon its imperial ambitions in the era
and recognize Japan's influence in the region.
Handing over the lease to Port Arthur and parts of Sakhalin Island.
The war was certainly a shock to the international community
who had watched it closely.
A European power had been brought to its knees by an Asian one.
Russia an embarrassment, and Japan now the preeminent Asian power.
The people of Japan were not happy with such middling gains
for such sacrifice.
However, the imperial court ignored them
and used the war to pave their way to annexing Korea in 1910
and further expanding into Manchuria and China down the road.
The revolution in Russia was put down,
but at the expense of Nicholas II being very publicly exposed as a moron.
His people hated him,
and his enemies in Germany and Austria-Hungary
felt confident in combating him.
Leading to his eventual deposer and assassination in the second revolution.
The war set the scene for the World Wars to follow
and stood as a testament to the prospects of war
in the early 20th century.
But it's more enjoyable to just laugh at all the political cartoons
that thought Russia would kick Japan's ass.
Thanks to the patrons, and personal mentions
to Anal_Scrubs, Steve Graham, Zedphyr, Thrace Vega, and Grandpa Hexxe.
Yeah, I don't have any clever joke today.
It's kind of depressing, actually.
Eh.