1904 in Russia - Russo-Japanese War, Siege of Port Arthur, Battle of Port Arthur, Battle of Chemulpo Bay, Battle of Liaoyang, 1904 Moscow Tornado (Paperback)

Please note that the content of this book primarily consists of articles available from Wikipedia or other free sources online. Pages: 21. Chapters: Russo-Japanese War, Siege of Port Arthur, Battle of Port Arthur, Battle of Chemulpo Bay, Battle of Liaoyang, 1904 Moscow tornado. Excerpt: The Russo-Japanese War (8 February 1904 - 5 September 1905) was "the first great war of the 20th century" which grew out of the rival imperial ambitions of the Russian Empire and Japanese Empire over Manchuria and Korea. The major theatres of operations were Southern Manchuria, specifically the area around the Liaodong Peninsula and Mukden, the seas around Korea, Japan, and the Yellow Sea. The Russians sought a warm water port on the Pacific Ocean, for their navy as well as for maritime trade. Vladivostok was only operational during the summer season, but Port Arthur would be operational all year. From the end of the First Sino-Japanese War and 1903, negotiations between Russia and Japan had proved impractical. Japan chose war to maintain dominance in Korea. The resulting campaigns, in which the Japanese military attained victory over the Russian forces arrayed against them, were unexpected by world observers. As time transpired, these victories would transform the balance of power in East Asia, resulting in a reassessment of Japan's recent entry onto the world stage. After the Meiji Restoration in 1868, the Meiji government embarked on an endeavor to assimilate Western ideas, technological advances and customs. By the late 19th century, Japan had emerged from isolation and transformed itself into a modernized industrial state in less than half a century. The Japanese wished to preserve their sovereignty and to be recognized as an equal with the Western powers. Russia, a major Imperial power, had ambitions in the East. By the 1890s it had extended its realm across Central Asia to Afghanistan, absorbing local states in the process. The Russian Empire stretched from Poland in the w...