Russia - The Russo-Japanese War 1904-5

?
  • Created by: T Colby
  • Created on: 27-02-16 18:46
What were the three main motives for Russia to go to war with Japan?
To pursue an expansionist policy in the Far East, to obtain an ice free port and to distract attention from Russia's domestic troubles.
1 of 37
Why did Russia want to pursue an expansionist polict in the Far East?
This was to make up for what it saw as a relative decline in Europe.
2 of 37
Why did Russia want to obtain an ice-free port?
All Russia's major ports on its northern coastline were frozen up for some part of the year.
3 of 37
How would the war distract attention from Russia's domestic troubles?
By rallying the nation in a patriotic struggle.
4 of 37
Who was Russia's leader at the time of the war?
Tsar Nicholas II.
5 of 37
Who was the main person pushing for war?
Vyacheslav Plehve, the Interior Minister.
6 of 37
What were his words on his reasoning for war?
"We need a small, victorious war to avert a revolution".
7 of 37
Research shows that Plehve was deliberately misrepresented by who?
Sergei Witte, his political opponent.
8 of 37
In reality what was Plehve's view on a war?
He was reluctant to go to war.
9 of 37
Why did Witte want to go to war?
He wished to see Russia expand economically into the Far East and he knew that this made confilct with Japan a strong possibility.
10 of 37
How did Russians look upon Japan?
As an inferior nation that was no match for themselves.
11 of 37
What disputes were long standing between the two countries?
Territorial disputes over Korea and Manchuria.
12 of 37
What did the Russian government reject from Japan in 1904?
Proposals for the settlement of the Korean question.
13 of 37
Why were proposals rejected?
In the hope of a military response.
14 of 37
What did Japan do in retaliation to the Russian rejection of their proposals?
It attacked the Russian fleet in Port Arthur.
15 of 37
Why did the Russians see Japan as inferior?
It saw it as a backward state.
16 of 37
What caused the modernisation of Japan?
Under the Meiji emperors (1869-1912) Japan embarked on reforms aimed at rapid modernisation along western lines.
17 of 37
Why did Japan win a series of military victories over Russia?
The Japanese army and navy were far better prepared and equipped than the Russian forces.
18 of 37
When did Port Arthur fall to Japan after a long siege?
January 1905.
19 of 37
What did Japan seize the following month which exploited their advantage?
The Manchurian town of Mukden.
20 of 37
How many Russians died in the conflict?
120,000.
21 of 37
How many Japanese died in the conflict?
75,000.
22 of 37
When did the conflict start?
February 1904.
23 of 37
When was the Russian fleet sunk at Tsushima?
May 1905.
24 of 37
When was the Russo-Japanese peace treaty?
September 1905.
25 of 37
How long did it take the Russian fleet to reach the Far East after dispatching in 1904?
Eight months.
26 of 37
What happened at the Treaty of Portsmouth?
Russia to agreed to withdraw its remaining forces from Manchuria and accepted Japanese control of Korea and Port Arthur.
27 of 37
Where was the Treaty of Portsmouth signed?
At the Portmouth Naval Shipyard in Kittery in Maine USA.
28 of 37
Why did Russia lose the war?
Not because its troops fought badly but because its military commanders had not prepared effectively.
29 of 37
What two things did Russia's commanders not understand?
The Japanese enemy and the land which the war was being fought.
30 of 37
The Russian commanders' unimaginative strategy allowed the Japanese to do what?
Outmanoeuvre Russian forces.
31 of 37
What geographical issue faced the Russian military?
The distance over which men and materials had to be transported from western Russia made it impossible to provide adequate reinforcements and supplies.
32 of 37
What railway provided little value and why?
The Trans-Siberian Railway which was still incomplete in a number of sections.
33 of 37
Why was the war a national humiliation for Russia?
It was defeated at the hands of a small, supposedly inferior Asian country.
34 of 37
What did the war reveal about the Russian government?
It was incompetent.
35 of 37
What did the war do in Russian society?
It excited the social unrest that it had been specifically designed to dampen.
36 of 37
What direct challenge to Russian tsardom did the war defeat cause?
The 1905 Revolution.
37 of 37

Other cards in this set

Card 2

Front

Why did Russia want to pursue an expansionist polict in the Far East?

Back

This was to make up for what it saw as a relative decline in Europe.

Card 3

Front

Why did Russia want to obtain an ice-free port?

Back

Preview of the front of card 3

Card 4

Front

How would the war distract attention from Russia's domestic troubles?

Back

Preview of the front of card 4

Card 5

Front

Who was Russia's leader at the time of the war?

Back

Preview of the front of card 5
View more cards

Comments

No comments have yet been made

Similar History resources:

See all History resources »See all Russia - The Russo-Japanese War 1904-5 resources »