Booklet 1 - The Russo Japanese War 1904-05

Question 1

What was the motive behind the war?

Answer 1

To show the world that Russia was a strong and powerful nation.

Question 2

What were the causes of the war?

Answer 2

• Russia wanted to expand in the far East
• Wanted to make up for their Russian decline in Europe
• Russia wanted to be a great naval power in the Pacific
• Attempt to move attention away from domestic troubles
• Japan was chosen because Russia saw it as a weak country
• Russia and Japan were in dispute over Korea and Manchuria for a long time

Question 3

How did the war start?

Answer 3

• 1904- Russian authorities rejected proposals from Japan for the settlement of Korea
• They hoped for a military response
• Japan attacked Russia in port Arthur

Question 4

What happened during the war?

Answer 4

• It was not the success Russians hoped for
• Japan wasn’t as backwards as Russia hoped
• Japan was better equipped than Russia and were better prepared
• War ended the Treaty of Portsmouth - September 1905
• Russia withdrawed from Manchuria and accepted Japanese control of Korea and Port Arthur

Question 5

Why did Russia lose the war?

Answer 5

• Bad military preparation
• Army not familiar with Japanese army or the territory
• The distance of which men and supplies had to travel made reinforcements impossible

Question 6

What are the somewhat positives of the war?

Answer 6

It opens the door for revolution as people didn’t want the war in the first place and people were extremely unhappy - it was the last straw