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1904-1905 CEReputable source · 2 sourcesWell documented

Japan Defeats Russia, the First Modern Asian Win Over a European Power

A surprise attack on Port Arthur and a costly war end with an American-brokered treaty and a new Asian great power

On the timeline · around 1904-1905 CE · Meiji Japan and the Age of EmpireMeiji Japan and the Age of EmpireJapan Defeats Russia, the First Modern Asian Win Over a European Power18701880189019001910192019301940

Quick facts

Dates
1904-1905 CE
Opening move
Surprise attack on Port Arthur, 1904
Treaty
Treaty of Portsmouth, 1905 (brokered by Theodore Roosevelt)
Territory gained
Control of Korea and southern Manchuria, southern Sakhalin

What happened

Russia's expansion into Manchuria after the First Sino-Japanese War, including its seizure of the warm-water port of Port Arthur, put it on a collision course with Japan over Korea and Manchuria. In 1904 Japan attacked the Russian fleet at Port Arthur before Moscow had even received the formal declaration of war, catching the Russian navy by surprise and winning an early advantage. Over the following year Japanese and Russian forces clashed in Korea and the Sea of Japan, with Japan scoring costly but significant victories on both land and sea. By 1905 the financial and human toll of the war pushed both sides toward peace, and Japan asked U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt to broker an agreement; the resulting Treaty of Portsmouth confirmed Japanese control over Korea and southern Manchuria, including Port Arthur and its railway, and ceded the southern half of Sakhalin Island to Japan.

Why it matters

Japan's victory was the first time in the modern era that an Asian nation had decisively defeated a major European power in a full-scale war, a result that reverberated well beyond East Asia and encouraged anti-colonial movements elsewhere in Asia. Domestically, it cemented Japan's claim to control over Korea, which it would formally annex five years later, and confirmed Japan's arrival as a great power on equal footing with Western nations.

How we know

The war's key battles and the Treaty of Portsmouth negotiations are documented in official U.S., Japanese, and Russian diplomatic records, since President Roosevelt personally brokered and hosted the peace talks in Portsmouth, New Hampshire.

Sources

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Japan Defeats Russia, the First Modern Asian Win Over a European Power · History of Japan · SourcedStory