The Armies.

Russia had over 4,000,000 trained soldiers to Japans 800,000. However with the outbreak of war the Russians had no more than 130,000 men and 200 guns in Manchuria, while the Japanese could place their entire invading army of 283,000 men and 870 guns on the shores of Korea far more quickly than the Russians could be reinforced.

Russian Troops Parading  (note the white summer uniforms)

The main problem for the Tsarist government, which, in effect was the Tsar himself, was that all of the best regiments, such as the Guards and Grenadiers, had to be kept at home for fear of any unforeseen developments in Europe, and particularly any new revolt that might be contemplated by the Poles. There was also the growing unrest in the industrial cities, which was being fuelled by revolutionary agitation. But even with these factors taken into account there would still be well over a million men available for a war in Manchuria. Unfortunately the archaic and often brutal Tsarist regime even caused some of its own generals to question the dependability of its fighting men: “To maintain discipline in an army is almost impossible when the mass of the nation has no respect for authority, and when the authorities actually fear those under them.” As if to compound this fact, Russian reservists, rather than being amalgamated into the regular army, were formed into separate corps, which made them, as coherent fighting units, almost worthless.

Although the Japanese army was small and her financial situation incapable of sustaining a prolonged conflict she did have one great advantage over the might of the Romanov Empire, and that was her nationalistic and patriotic approach to the conflict. The Japanese were educated in their modern elementary schools to a high standard of respect and discipline, being taught that to serve in her armed forces was both heroic and in keeping with the traditions of the Samurai. Thus, in terms of morale, her troops were superior in their resolve to win the war and regain the territories humiliatingly snatched from them by Russia.

Japanese Guard units in training

Both sides were armed with magazine rifles and breech loading rifled artillery. The machine-gun had now been developed into a formidable battlefield weapon, and the introduction of barbed wire added to the perils of any army attacking prepared positions. The only handicap that plagued both armies was their reliance on the bayonet, and on tactics that has proven outdated as far back as the Crimean War.