The Commencement of Hostilities.

The theatre of war.

Without a formal declaration of war, on 5^th February 1904, the Japanese Vice Admiral, Heihachiro Togo ordered 10 of his destroyers to attack the Russian fleet at Port Arthur, while on the following day he left the port of Sesebo with the First and Second Japanese fleets and made full steam for Port Arthur himself. On the night of February 8^th Togo’s 10 advanced destroyers surprised two of their Russian counterparts who were patrolling outside the harbour, and thereafter a swarm of Japanese torpedo boats came dashing through the spray and darkness as their main fleet arrived on the scene, hitting the Russian ships before they had time to fully deploy their anti-torpedo nets or clear for action. The result was a shambles in which two Russian battleships and a cruiser were sunk in a matter of minutes, leaving the rest of the fleet in such confusion that it did not even manage to return fire. The following day the Russian fleet came out as if to seek a reckoning, but after engaging the Japanese for only forty indecisive minutes they returned to port. This, as General Fuller says: “vindicated Japan’s claim to be considered a first-class naval power and broke the spell of Russia’s naval supremacy.”

Japanese troops landing at Inchon,  February 1904

While Togo’ s fleet kept watch on Port Arthur, The Japanese put their land forces in motion, and a landing was made at Chempulo on 9^th February by General Temetoko Kuroki’s 12^th Division. After establishing a firm bridgehead, the 22^nd Division and the Guards were landed, all three divisions being grouped together to form the Japanese 1^st Army under Kuroki’s command. Soon after Pingyang and Anju were occupied, but the spring thaw caused further forward movement to become painfully slow. On 1^st May the Battle of the Yalu River was fought, in which the Russians under General Zasulich were driven back. Although casualties on both sides were not great, its outcome proved to the rest of the world that Japan was a military force to be reckoned with. It also forced the Russian Commander-in Chief in Manchuria, General Alexie Nikolaevich Kuropatkin onto the defensive, a position from which he was unable to oppose the landing of the 2^nd Japanese Army under General Baron Yasukata Oku on 5^th May, as they came ashore on the Liaotung Peninsula, severing Kuropatkin’s communications with Port Arthur. This landing took the Russians by surprise, and the rapid advance of Oku’s divisions to seal off the peninsula was completed at the Battle of Nan-Shan (24^th-26^th May), where, despite a skilfully conducted defence by the Russian Colonel Tretyakov, the outnumbered defenders were forced to relinquish their position. Since the Japanese had now achieved the first part of their plan, the isolation of Port Arthur, without too much opposition, they persisted in their thinking that a swift attack on the port would cause its immediate surrender.

The attack on Nanshan.

After their victory at Nan-Shan the Japanese were able to occupy the port of Dalny, where the docks were still intact. This facilitated the landing of their 11^th Division, which, together with the First were now formed into the 3^rd Army under the command of General Maresuke Nogi, with orders to advance directly down the peninsular against Port Arthur. While Nogi was making his drive on the port, General Oku moved to block the advance of a Russian relief force under General Stackelberg, which he defeated at Telissu on 15^th June. Meanwhile Nogi had received additional reinforcements consisting of the Japanese 9^th Division, which gave him an overall strength of between 80,000-90,000 men.