While Japan was actively preparing for war, there were two factions in Russia on the issue of war with Japan.
One group was represented by Finance Minister Witte and Foreign Minister Ramsdorf. They saw Russia's difficulties both domestically and internationally (including in Europe and the Far East) and suggested not to launch a war against Japan easily but to make certain concessions.
At the same time, the economic plunder and war preparations for the Northeast are strengthened. When the Trans-Siberian Railway is fully opened to traffic, the transportation capacity is improved, and Lushun and its peripheral fortresses are completed, then wait for the opportunity for a decisive battle.
The other faction was represented by the Imperial Minister Alexander Bezobrazov, the Minister of Internal Affairs Vyacheslav Plevi, the Governor of the Far East Alexeyev and others.
This is a group of fanatical chauvinists and imperialist adventurers. They despise Japan's power and believe that it is a small country that is vulnerable to a single attack.
"You can crush it by throwing a hat", "Russia needs a small victorious war in order to stop the revolution", "Only by making Japan understand unambiguously that Russia is prepared to defend its interests in Manchuria, if necessary, that is,
Only by resorting to force can we hope for success in negotiations," and so on, thus advocating a tough stance against Japan.
In addition, the closer the revolutionary climax in Russia is approaching, the more this group of people want to find a way out through war.
As for Tsar Nicholas II himself, he hated Japan very much. Because when he was the crown prince, he visited Japan and was assassinated. For this, he even got so angry that he cursed in Russian in the hospital: Damn Japanese apes, barbaric dwarfs.
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Of course, the assassination incident alone was unforgettable for Nicholas, let alone the fact that this Japanese dwarf actually dared the great Russia to compete for the Northeast region.
However, although Nicholas II was dissatisfied with Japan, he had two views on the timing of launching war.
He knew that Russia was ill-prepared and hoped to postpone the war, believing that "time is Russia's best ally" and "every year will strengthen our strength." However, he was convinced that the best way to postpone the war was to adopt a tough policy and "make concessions."
It always leads to new concessions.” His thoughts actually supported the tough ideas of Bezobrazov’s group.
Before this, Russia was actually not ready for war, because it only had more than 98,000 regular army troops (148 guns, 8 machine guns) in the Far East. At the same time, the Russian Navy had more than 200 warships, including the Pacific Squadron.
It has more than 60 combat ships (more than 192,000 tons).
As for its opponents, the Japanese Navy has about 80 warships (more than 260,000 tons). Most of the main warships are new ships built in the UK, with good performance and uniform specifications. The total army strength is 245,000 (1,170 guns), of which 210,000
Personnel can be used in operations outside of Japan.
Judging from the paper data, the Russian army in the Far East is completely at a disadvantage, but the arrogant Russian government believes that the Japanese do not dare to offend the great Russian Empire.
As for Japan, on May 2, 1903, Japan decided to sever diplomatic relations with Russia. At the same time, the Japanese government instructed that military operations could begin. Togo Heihachiro, commander of the Japanese Combined Fleet, summoned subordinate commanders on May 3 to inform the government
command, and ordered the entire fleet to sail to the Yellow Sea to attack the Russian ships anchored in Lushun and Inchon respectively.
At this critical moment, Russian officers and soldiers are still in a state of peaceful paralysis. The Pacific Squadron is anchored in the outer port of Lushun, and the warship alert still follows the usual regulations. It has been decided to take supplementary measures to strengthen the alert, but it has not been implemented yet. Mine protection is not turned on at night.
net, but the entrance and exit of the inner harbor were brightly illuminated by the searchlights on the warships.
Governor Alekseev and his cronies knew about the breakdown of Japan-Russia negotiations, but did not take contingency measures. Until a few hours before the Japanese attack on Port Arthur, Fleet Chief of Staff General Witthoft said that "the war cannot be fought."
At this time, the Russian Pacific Fleet was divided into three parts. The main force was anchored at Port Arthur under the command of Admiral Stark. In addition, there was a squadron in Vladivostok commanded by Rear Admiral Essen, with the "Diana" and "Bow"
Kadir" two cruisers and several destroyers. In North Korea's Incheon Port, two Russian cruisers "Varyag" and "Korean" are moored.
Togo Heihachiro sent Vice Admiral Uemura Hikonosei to lead the second detachment to the north to prepare for the attack of the Russian Vladivostok fleet, sent Vice Admiral Ha Shigehara to lead the third detachment to take charge of the response near the North Korean coast, and sent Vice Admiral Kuai Gaiyoshi to command six cruisers.
Incheon attacked "Varyag" and "Koryo", and the rest of the main force of the combined fleet, personally commanded by Togo Heihachiro, went to Port Arthur for a sneak attack.
At 9:30 pm on May 4, the Japanese fleet arrived outside the port of Lushun. At this time, the Russian Pacific Fleet was unprepared. In fact, the diplomatic negotiations between Japan and Russia had officially broken down, and the Japanese had already left Lushun.
Evacuation of overseas Chinese began.
Faced with so many obvious signs of war, Russian Governor of the Far East Alexeyev and Pacific Fleet Commander Stark turned a blind eye, did not take them to heart at all, and did not take any measures to strengthen war preparations.
At midnight, a group of Japanese torpedo boats sneaked into Lushun Port. The battleship Perthwaite, which was anchored outside the port, first noticed that something was wrong and immediately turned on its searchlight to search. Seeing that they had been discovered, the Japanese torpedo boats immediately fired their torpedoes
.As a result, the battleship Perthveite and the nearby cruiser Parada were both hit. The fleet's flagship Kronprinz was also unfortunately hit by a torpedo.
The roar of torpedoes and the indiscriminate firing of Russian warships reached the shore. General Stark and others were confused. Some said it was a warship firing a salute, while others said it was a warship conducting a drill. Until someone came to report
When the Japanese ships attacked, everyone was shocked, and General Stark was stunned.
After dawn, Togo Heihachiro commanded the main force of the fleet in an attempt to rush in and annihilate the Russian fleet in one fell swoop. However, the fortress at Lushunkou had been repaired by the Qing Dynasty and the Russians and was extremely strong after all. The forts on the shore opened fire quickly, and the Russian warships also opened fire to meet the attack. The Japanese
Seeing that they could not get any advantage, the fleet had no choice but to leave in anger.
The battle in Inchon, North Korea was an overwhelming victory. The two Russian warships were no match for the Japanese warships. They were eventually forced to sink themselves into the sea.
Regarding the news that their fleet was attacked by the Japanese, many senior Russian officials were quite angry, especially Nicholas II.
As for Foreign Minister Ramsdorf, he felt as if he had eaten a fly the next day. He received a declaration of war from the Japanese Ambassador Iwase Kazuo. Iwase Kazuo’s excuse was that the telegraph machine was broken, which was why the declaration of war was delayed.
Ramsdorf said with a look of disdain on his remarks when the letter was delivered. Your country's shameless remarks are quite disgusting, and we will make your country pay the price.
