The Sino-Japanese War and the Russo-Japanese War
Japan Rises in the East
The Tokugawa shogunate had fallen and been replaced by the Meiji Restoration. Meiji means enlightened rule. The Meiji Emperor’s capital moved from Kyoto to Edo, which was renamed Tokyo: Eastern Capital. The Han system ended and feudal domains were replaced by prefectures as administrative units. Loyalty to one’s daimyo (the lord of each domain) was replaced with loyalty to the emperor and to the nation.
One of the first steps accompanying imperial rule was the Five Charter Oath in 1868. It provided for a deliberative assembly, incorporation of all classes into affairs of state, ending the caste system, modernization of customs and laws and seeking knowledge from around the world.
Officials from Satsuma and Choshu, who had successfully battled the Tokugawa and restored imperial power, were rewarded with important positions in the new administration.
Land and tax laws were updated. Private and personal ownership of land was legalized. Taxes were based on fair market value of land and now paid in cash, rather than in kind. Tax rates were slightly reduced. Roads were improved and railroads constructed. The first Japanese railroad, between Tokyo and Yokohama, the port just south of Tokyo, opened in 1872. Construction involving foreign experts happened in a way so that Japanese would be trained in the process. Japan wanted to learn from the west but be self-sufficient in time. They also used British financing for the railroad project. Initially, locomotives were imported. By 1912, Japanese manufactured locomotives were used and imports of them stopped except for very few experimental models.
The Tokyo Stock Exchange and Osaka Stock Exchange opened in 1878. Initially government bonds, gold, silver and currencies were the most traded items. With time, privately issued stocks grew in importance.
Japan hired more than 3000 foreign teachers for subjects like science, mathematics, technology, and foreign languages.
The Bank of Japan was founded and financed steel and textile factories. Textiles are an interesting example of rapid development. In 1886, Japan imported 60% of its yarn. By 1902, most was produced locally. By 1913, Japan was the 4th largest exporter of yarn in the world. In eleven years from 1886, its production of yarn increased from 12 million yen to 176 million yen. That was a 14-fold increase in 11 years.
Japan also brought in foreign experts to assist with industrialization. The Japanese government subsidized large firms like Mitsubishi and monitored and pushed for modernization.
A Conscription Law was passed in 1873. Every able-bodied male Japanese citizen, regardless of class, would serve a mandatory term of four years with a further three years in the reserves. The law was initially unpopular both with the samurai, who resented the erosion of their military role, and peasants who considered it a blood tax.
In 1877, the new national army faced its first real test with a rebellion of samurai led by Saigo Takamori of Satsuma prefecture. During the Battle of Tabaruzuka, two similar sized forces faced off in a grueling hand to hand battle. There were about 4000 casualties and both sides regrouped. The national army was better able to reconstitute through new arrivals of conscripts and by the end of the year the rebels were defeated and a wounded Saigo was honourably beheaded by his retainer. The national army had proved itself to be the better organizational structure. The samurai era was truly over. The Meiji government was also close to bankruptcy. They sold off some state enterprises to well connected industrialists. This helped the developments of conglomerates like Mitsubishi further.
The national conscription project was also connected with education. The first year of conscription included learning to read and write. Illiteracy was rampant in the Tokugawa period and the new authorities wanted their soldiers to be literate.
In 1882, a law made orders from military superiors equivalent to orders from the emperor. The military came to be highly respected and associated with the divine emperor.
Initially, the Imperial Japanese Army was modelled after the French army. In 1886, it converted to the German – Prussian system. It took on a German advisor who helped them strengthen logistics, transportation, and organization. This increased Japan’s military mobility.
Japan’s imperial navy learned from Great Britain, then the world’s leading naval power. British instructors were hired, and Japanese naval officers travelled to the United Kingdom.
In 1871, four ships left Okinawa, one of the Ryukyu islands. At this point, Ryukyu was considered a tribute state in the Chinese system. That made it like Korea in its relationship with the Qing Empire. But it was also considered part of the feudal domains of Satsuma in Japan. A year later in 1872, Japan dethroned the king of the Ryukyu islands and assumed control. In 1871 when these ships left, a typhoon hit. One vessel was lost. One made it to another Ryukyu island and two landed on Taiwan. The one that landed on Taiwan’s west coast was helped by Qing officials and able to depart. The ship that landed on Taiwan’s south coast was damaged. Three sailors died and sixty-six made it to shore. They were warned by locals against travelling inland because of the indigenous Paiwan people. Chinese they met robbed them. The sailors travelled west and met Paiwan people who took them to Kuskus village, where they received water, food, and housing. The Ryukyu sailors said they were robbed there as well. The next morning, a Kuskus hunting party went out. The local version is that they were going to hunt for a feast later. The sailors were afraid of the head-hunting reputation of the indigenous people and decided to leave. They found shelter with an old Hakka man. Then the Paiwan people found them and killed 54 of them. Survivors then eventually made it back to the Ryukyu islands via Fujian province on the Chinese coast.
Not much was made of the episode at the time. There had been hundreds of shipwrecks over the centuries.
But in 1874, 3 years after the incident and 2 years after Japan deposed the Ryukyu king, Japan launched a punitive expedition against Taiwan using this story as the reason. The Japanese invaders struggled with ambushes by the local indigenous populations. However, they were able to establish a presence, although malaria took its toll on the Japanese soldiers. Western powers encouraged a settlement to avoid a broader conflict which would have impacted trade. The agreement between China and Japan ending that conflict on Taiwan called for a 500,000-tael indemnity from the Qing to Japan and the Japanese interpreted it as ending Chinese claims of suzerainty over the Ryukyus. Japan now had the Ryukyu islands as its vassals. The Japanese left Taiwan, for now.
The Japanese military had struggled, but the Qing looked even worse for their impotence.
In 1875, a Japanese vessel was surveying Korean coastal waters. It put a party ashore on Korea’s Ganghwa Island to request water and provisions. Korean forts fired on the vessel. The Japanese retaliated and killed about 35 Korean soldiers and burned some houses. Japan used more modern weapons than the Koreans. The Imperial Japanese Navy then blockaded the area and requested an apology from the Korean government. The resulting Treaty of Ganghwa on February 27, 1876, opened the Korean Peninsula to Japanese trade.
Japan had already twice used gunboat diplomacy since the Meiji Restoration.
In Korea, Japan pushed for influence and for modernization. Korean conservatives in government wanted to modernize more gradually and maintain traditional links to China. In 1882, the Imo incident started because of food issues and local corruption by Korean officials. It then spread to include violence against local Japanese, including diplomats. China intervened and restored order. A treaty between Korea and Japan followed which indemnified the families of the fallen, provided small reparations and allowed Japanese guards to be stationed at its legation in Seoul.
In 1884, there was an attempted coup, supported by Japanese. The coup was meant to bring Korean independence from Chinese suzerainty. Chinese troops intervened under Yuan Shikai, and the coup failed. A Korean mob killed some Japanese and members of the coup party fled to Japan.
Japan then sent two battalions and 7 warships to Korea. Negotiations took place between China and Japan about Korea. The Li-Ito Convention resulted and one of its terms was that neither China nor Japan would send troops to Korea without first notifying the other. The two countries agreed that Korea was a co-protectorate, without China having primacy. Yuan Shikai, who will be discussed more in future episodes as a 20th century ruler of China, stayed on as Chinese resident in Korea.
The Chinese perspective on these events will be discussed more in the next episodes. For today, the focus is on Japan’s growth in economic, military and political power.
By 1885, Japanese thinkers like Fukuzawa Yukichi imagined war with China was necessary for Japan to take a place among the Western Powers. In the following years, there were tensions and incidents between China and Japan. Things came to a head in 1894 during a large Korean peasants’ revolt. Rumors of intervention by China and Japan led the rebels to agree to a ceasefire to prevent foreign involvement. But the Japanese decided to send troops anyways if China did. The Korean government requested aid from China, which was prepared to maintain order. China did not want a war with Japan. China chartered some British vessels to transport its troops. Japan sent warships and even more troops to Korea in response.
Japan argued that China’s actions were a violation of the Li-Ito Convention, but China stated that it had notified Japan in advance. That seems likely, since Japanese soldiers landed the day before the first Chinese did and Japanese warships arrived in Korea the same day that the first Chinese troops landed from the British vessels. Diplomacy failed and in June 1894, Japan seized the Korean king and occupied part of Seoul. A pro-Japanese government was installed. Qing soldiers had already been leaving Korea at this point, but the new government ordered the Japanese to force the Chinese out.
At this time, the Imperial Japanese Navy had 12 modern warships, (with one more cruiser added during the Sino-Japanese war), eight corvettes, one ironclad warship, 26 torpedo boats, and numerous merchant ships that acted as auxiliaries to the Imperial Navy. One Japanese shipping company received subsidies to provide its merchant ships in times of war. Japan had not yet received any battleships.
China’s army had not evolved as much as Japan’s. One of the most noticeable changes in China’s army since the First Opium War was the Huai Army. That was a name for the provincial army that had begun during the Taiping Rebellion. The Huai Army was considered the strongest of the Chinese forces and better than the Bannermen or Green Standard Army, which were discussed in the episodes about the Opium War.
Railroad expansion had also been much slower in China than in Japan. China had expanded its navy, but still depended on British vessels for troop ferries. Logistics and troop movements were Chinese weaknesses compared to the Japanese. At this time, China did not have engineers, quartermasters, transportation, signal or medical troops as part of their military structure. Civilians provided supplies and medicine. China’s soldiers had a hodgepodge of weapons that varied from modern rifles to muskets, to bows and arrows. This disorganization caused issues with ammunition. Ammo did not get to the right spot with any reliability.
China’s navy appeared stronger. Unlike Japan, China had two German built battleships. But they were short barrelled, could only fire in restricted arcs and were inaccurate at long ranges. Chinese navel tactics were also poor. Signal books were only in English, which few Chinese officers could read. As a result, the Chinese ships followed the visible movements of the flagship. Also, the Chinese ships were trained to fire end-on, which was left over from traditional cannon placement on obsolete Chinese warships.
As we will learn more in the episodes to come, Emperor Guangxu was uninterested in military matters and his main advisor, his tradition minded Grand Tutor, had cut spending on the army and navy in the years before the Sino-Japanese conflict since China was not then at war.
On July 25, 1894, three Japanese cruisers intercepted a British merchant vessel that was ferrying over 1000 Chinese soldiers who were travelling to reinforce Asan. It also captured the Chinese escort ship.
The Japanese ordered the British ship to go to a Japanese port. The Chinese soldiers on board wouldn’t have it. After 4 hours, the Japanese fired, and it started sinking. Three British crew and 50 of the more than 1000 Chinese soldiers were rescued and transported to Japan. Around 200 Chinese troops were rescued by German and French ships. China lost good troops from the sinking. Britain protested and it was decided that Japan had not violated maritime law because the Chinese soldiers had mutinied rather than allow the British captain to navigate towards Japan.
Japanese troops then left Seoul heading south to attack the Chinese on the coast around Asan. The Chinese had been awaiting the reinforcements there who never arrived because of the sinking of the troop transport ship. The Chinese had wanted to surround the Japanese in Seoul. Troops from Asan in the south would advance north, while Chinese troops near Pyongyang would come south.
The Japanese were able to outflank the Chinese outside Asan and gain ground. The Chinese retreated to Asan and then from Asan north to meet up with the troops near Pyongyang. As a result, Japan was able to avoid being encircled and controlled southern Korea.
Only after this, on August 1, 1894, was war declared.
In early September, the Chinese wanted to send 4500 more soldiers by 5 chartered troop ships from Tianjin to reinforce Pyongyang. They successfully ferried them from Tianjin to Dalian, about half the distance to Pyongyang. The Chinese fleet was present. A reconnaissance sortie found two Japanese cruisers and believed they were part of the Japanese main fleet. The Chinese fleet spent a day looking for the Japanese fleet before returning to Dalian. That was September 15th, 1894.
Also, on September 15, 1894, the Japanese attacked the Chinese soldiers at Pyongyang. They were able to get behind the Chinese and part of the attack was from the rear. The Chinese resisted but were defeated. Some surrendered and others retreated further north towards Uija, on the Korean side of the Yalu River which separates China from northern Korea. Both sides suffered losses, but the Chinese losses far exceeded the Japanese.
Chinese communication was good here. The Chinese navy realized Pyongyang was lost and the troop ferries now aimed for the Yalu River rather than the river by Pyongyang. On September 16th, the Chinese fleet was disembarking troops at the Yalu River, which continued until the next morning.
Then the Japanese fleet arrived during the morning of September 17th. The Chinese were able to complete the troop landings but lost 8 of their 10 ships. The two remaining battleships were almost out of ammunition. Japan gained control of the Yellow Sea and achieved a strategic and morale boost.
The Chinese infantry regrouped on the Chinese side of the Yalu River. Japanese reinforced and moved north towards China. Quietly and by surprise, Japanese troops erected a pontoon bridge and crossed the river. The next day, they attacked the Chinese who were unprepared and abandoned their positions. Japanese forces were now in China. The Japanese 1st Army split in two. One part moved towards Shenyang, the old Manchu capital. The other part moved south towards the Liaodong Peninsula, which included the strategic port of Dalian.
By November 21, 1894, the Japanese had captured Dalian. They massacred thousands of inhabitants. International audiences had trouble believing that. They could not yet imagine Japanese capable of such deeds. So instead of seeing this as an early example of Japanese brutality, most at the time believed that it was Chinese propaganda.
The remaining Chinese fleet retreated behind mines in a port on the Shandong peninsula 120 km south of Dalian and across the bay. In January and February 1895, the Japanese launched a siege. After 23 days, with attacks by land, the Japanese succeeded in capturing that port.
They were now on Chinese soil southeast and northeast of Beijing. The Imperial Japanese Navy also controlled the sea approaches to Beijing.
The Japanese invaded the Pescadores Islands in March 1895. Also called Penghu, these are about 90 islands between Fujian province and Taiwan. There was resistance, but the Japanese were able to capture key ports and positions on those islands. That would challenge any efforts to reinforce Taiwan from the mainland.
In April 1895, China agreed to the Treaty of Shimonoseki with Japan to end the war. It was brutal for China. For reasons that will be discussed more in the coming episodes, harsh terms were imposed on China. Korean independence from China was established. The Penghu Islands, as well as Taiwan which had not been conquered, were ceded to Japan in perpetuity. So too was the Liaodong Peninsula, which was west of Korea along the coast, and which included Dalian. 200 million taels of silver were imposed as indemnity, which far exceeded Japanese military expenses in the war and made Japan a handsome profit. Japan was also granted trading rights and a concession on the Yangtze River.
France, Russia and Germany intervened, and the Liaodong Peninsula was returned to China a few days later in exchange for a further payment of 30 million taels of silver by China to Japan.
Following the treaty, Japan sent troops to Taiwan to take control. Many local Taiwanese resisted. The short-lived Republic of Formosa was declared and survived about 5 months. Guerrilla attacks on the Japanese continued for about 2 years, including by indigenous peoples.
As a result of this Sino-Japanese war in 1894-1895, the power balance in the region switched from China to Japan.
The effect on China was devastating, both directly and indirectly as western powers viewed China as weak. As we will discuss more soon, they started to grab what they could in China. To better protect against Japan, China invited Russia to build a railroad south into Dalian. Russia leased Dalian for 25 years (with a possibility of extension) and called it Port Arthur. As a result, Russia was able to get its first year-round ice-free port on the Pacific coast. Vladivostok, which it had gained from China near the end of the Second Opium War, experiences ice in winter.
Tensions between Russia and Japan built as each had an interest in land bordering each other. Japan considered Korea to be in its sphere of influence and Russia considered Manchuria and the Liaodong peninsula to be in its influence.
Britain was concerned by Russia’s growing maritime presence on the Pacific. In 1894, it signed a new treaty with Japan. In 1902, Britain signed an alliance with Japan. Britain wanted to protect China’s territorial integrity to prevent Russia from absorbing Manchuria. Initially, it was also meant to protect Korean territorial integrity, although that was renegotiated in Japan’s favour in 1905. Most importantly, it meant that if Japan was at war with more than one western power, then Britain would join the war on Japan’s side.
When Russia and Japan were negotiating, if Russia’s allies, such as France, joined it against Japan, then they could expect a war with Great Britain, the world’s leading economic and naval power, too. Intelligence was also exchanged between Britain and Japan under their treaty.
Britain meant it as a warning to Russia. Japan saw it as an invitation for imperial expansion.
In 1904, Japan wanted acknowledgement by Russia that Korea was entirely in its sphere of influence, in exchange for recognition that Manchuria was in Russia’s. Russia wanted Korea north of the 39th parallel (today’s North Korea) as a neutral buffer state between Japanese controlled southern Korea and Russia controlled Manchuria.
Tsar Nicholas stalled negotiations, mostly on two grounds. The Trans-Siberian Railroad was not yet fully complete as there was a gap near Irkutsk and Lake Baikal. Secondly, he believed that Japan would not want to go to war with a European power. He later compounded his mistake, by refusing Japanese openness to a quick peace treaty with arbitration.
In early 1904, Japan launched a surprise attack on the Russian Eastern Fleet in Port Arthur (the once and future Dalian of China.) This was a violation of the Hague Convention, to which Russia and Japan were signatories. This would not be the last time that Japan violated international norms during its period of imperial expansion.
Japan’s attack damaged Russia’s heaviest warships and Russia’s most experienced Admiral died, but the battle was indecisive since the Russian fleet stayed in port and was protected by the coastal batteries. Japan then blockaded the port.
A few months later, two Russian battleships tried to break the blockade but struck mines. One sunk and the other had to be towed back to port for serious repairs. A month later, two Japanese ships sunk after contacting Russian laid mines. In June 1894, another attempt by the Russians to breakout, failed.
Earlier in 1904, Japanese infantry had crossed the Yalu River from Korea into Manchuria and pushed Russian troops back. They moved south and battled for Nanshan Hill. It was a deadly battle, with 6000 Japanese casualties, but they took it, and Russia abandoned the valuable port beside it. It was similar to later World War I battles, with huge expenditure of munitions and heavy offensive casualties. On one day of the battle, Japan fired more than 2 million rifle and machine gun rounds. That was more than the Prussians had fired in the whole Austro-Prussian War. And in this battle, Japan fired more artillery shells than they had during the entire Sino-Japanese war. The Japanese had to re-arm themselves and could not advance before more munitions arrived.
For 8 months in 1904, the Japanese laid siege to Port Arthur. They tried numerous attacks by land and were repulsed. But finally, near the end of the year, after 8 months, they were able to take a hilltop and to bring up their howitzer artillery. Using a spotter and telephones, they were then able to fire on the Russian ships from the far side of the hill where the Russian ships could not easily fire back. Four Russian battleships and two cruisers sank, and another had to be later scuttled. All the capital ships of the Russian Eastern Fleet were lost. This may have been the most successful land-based artillery attack against ships in history.
Russian attempts to relieve Port Arthur by land had failed and once their fleet was lost, any further attempts stopped.
By October 1904, after some false starts, the Russian Baltic Fleet set sail from northern Europe towards the Pacific.
In early 1905, there was a huge land battle near Shenyang, the old Manchu capital. At this time, it was called Mukden. There were over 600,000 combatants between both sides and 160,000 casualties. In this 18-day battle, the Japanese fired more artillery shells than Prussia had in its successful Franco-Prussian War, which had taken more than 6 months. The Russians fired even more but lost the battle and retreated. By now, Russia was experiencing its 1905 revolution and with that, and the incomplete Trans Siberian Railroad, further reinforcements could not be relied upon.
The final chapter of the war was the Baltic Fleet’s arrival in the Pacific. It was expected by both sides. Britain had reported its progress as it passed British areas of control, like Singapore and Hong Kong. Russia knew that Port Arthur had fallen, so the fleet was heading for Vladivostok. It could voyage the long way around Japan or a short way through the narrow waters between Korea and Japan. It chose the short route and travelled by night. Following the rules of war, two trailing hospital ships kept their lights on at night which made it easier for the Japanese to find the Russian fleet. A Japanese merchant cruiser transmitted the sighting by wireless. The Japanese fleet met the Baltic Fleet in the Tsushima Straights.
The Russian ships and crew had just weathered a trip halfway around the world. Without time to rest or to repair and with coal on their decks to assist with the long-distance logistics, they were routed.
Thanks both to British support, and to Japanese engineering, Japan had superior weaponry. The Japanese ships were slightly faster. The Japanese had installed their own wireless systems on all the ships because they found the Marconi models too expensive. Even with fog and mist, they knew exactly where the Russian ships were. They had also innovated with high explosive and smokeless shots. Using British technology and training, they were better at ranging their weapons and updating the aim in real battle. Once the real fighting began, the Russians got in some early shots on the Japanese flagship before being overwhelmed by shots being fired at them.
After much fighting and realizing that the Japanese could fire at greater range, Russian admirals surrendered six ships. All told, Imperial Russia lost 11 battleships, 6 cruisers, 6 destroyers and some minor vessels, either completely or through surrender. The Japanese lost 3 torpedo boats. Only 1 cruiser and two destroyers from the Baltic fleet ever reached Vladivostok. Three Russian cruisers fled to Manila.
This was the final battle of the war. The peace treaty was negotiated with the assistance of former US President Teddy Roosevelt as Arbitrator. Japanese imperial subjects became angry that Roosevelt did not require any war reparations from Russia or award any territory to Japan. But Japan’s ascendancy was clear.
Nationalists and anti-colonialists in Asia were heartened by the Japanese victory in the war. It was seen as an Asian win over Europe and undermined claims of white supremacy. Sun Yat-sen and other Chinese nationalists took note.
