Table Of ContentRussia against Japan, 1904-1905 : A New
title:
Look At the Russo-Japanese War
author: Westwood, J. N.
publisher: State University of New York Press
isbn10 | asin: 0887061915
print isbn13: 9780887061912
ebook isbn13: 9780585091297
language: English
subject Russo-Japanese War, 1904-1905.
publication date: 1986
lcc: DS517.W48 1986eb
ddc: 952.03/1
subject: Russo-Japanese War, 1904-1905.
Russia Against Japan, 1904-05
A New Look at the Russo-Japanese War
J. N. Westwood
State University of New York Press
First published in USA by State University of New York Press Albany
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or
transmitted, in any form or by any means, without permission
© J. N. Westwood 1986
For information, address State University of New York Press. State
University Plaza, Albany, N.Y., 12246
Printed in Hong Kong
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
Westwood, J. N.
Russia against Japan, 1904-05.
Bibliography: p.
Includes index.
1. Russo-Japanese War, 1904-1905. I. Title.
DS517.W48 1986 952.03'1 85-22112
ISBN 0-88706-191-5
Page v
Contents
List of Illustrations vi
Preface viii
Map x
1 The Inevitable War? 1
2 The Contenders 24
3 Admiral Togo Strikes 37
4 The War in Manchuria 52
5 The End of the Russian Squardron 72
6 The Siege of Port Arthur 94
7 The Road to Mukden 116
8 Tsushima 137
9 Peace and its Sequel 152
Notes and References 164
Bibliography 173
Index 178
Page vi
List of Illustrations
Plates
1a. General Kuropatkin
1b. General Stoessel
1c. Admiral Togo
1d. Admiral Rozhestvensky
2a Japanese cavalryman
2b. Russian cavalry
3a. Russian mobilisation
3b. Quarterdeck of Asahi
4a. Japanese sailors
4b. Japanese infantry
5a. Russian squadron returns to Port Arthur
5b. Cruiser Varyag
5c.
Loss of the Petropavlovsk
5d.
6a. Russian reservists
6b. Russian howitzer
7a. Japanese field artillery
7b. General Zasulich
8a. Captured Russian guns
8b. On the South Manchuria Railway
9a. Russian infantry at field kitchen
9b. Japanese balloon
10a. Japanese howitzer
10b. A Russian missile is launched
11a. End of the Rurik
11b. Damage of Rossiya
12a. Interment of Russian casualty
12b. Japanese infantry
13a. Suvorov officers
13b. Wardroom of Aleksandr 111
14a. The Tsar aboard Svetlana
14b. 2nd Squadron nears Tsushima
15a. Admiral Nebogatov surrenders
15b. Vladivostok in 1905
16a. Japanese mule carts
16b. The negotiators at Portsmouth
Page vii
(Table is on previous page.)
With two exceptions, all the photographs were first published during
or soon after the war in Russian, British and American periodicals.
After so many years it has not been possible to identify those to whom
credit should be given for some of these pictures. It is known that on
the Russian side many photographs were made by Viktor Bulla,
whose work was used by the magazine Niva and syndicated abroad.
Other photographs were copyrighted by Underwood & Co., H. C.
White & Co., and Collier's Weekly, but the individual photographers
were not identified. Some pictures were retouched to suit them for
publication. Where considerable artwork was used the words 'from a
photograph' have been included in the captions.
Map
The war zone
Page viii
Preface
Every decade or so a new book appears about the RussoJapanese War,
usually fatter than this one. So the appearance of yet another volume
on the subject needs to be explained, if not excused.
Until August 1914 put it into the background, this war attracted
enormous interest. First came the newspaper accounts, then the first
memoirs translated from Russian or Japanese, or written by western
attachés, correspondents and freelances who had followed the
campaigns in person. In the military and naval world, painstaking
analyses were made, sometimes for the interested public and
sometimes for restricted circulation. It was felt at the time that this
war, with its combination of advanced technology and massive human
involvement, was a precursor of things to come. By 1914 the military
and naval staffs of all the great powers were well advanced in the
publication of multi-volume official histories of the war that were
intended for the education of their officers. Of these, the British
Official History is probably the best, and has served as a basis for
subsequent, more popular, accounts.
However, apart from its justifiable neglect of the non-military aspects
of the war, the Official History makes over-confident use of
questionable Russian and Japanese sources. As with most wars, the
first books to be written (and translated) were not the best; the more
thoughtful and reliable accounts too often came after intense public
interest had subsided, and they were not translated. Subsequent
general books for general readers relied on the Official History,
memoirs of doubtful reliability and, worst of all, contemporary
newspaper accounts. Most writers accepted that unreliable sources
make the most exciting narratives.
In this volume a few examples will be noted of distortions that have
long been treated as historical evidence, but the main purpose is to
draw upon the enormous stock of neglected, mainly Russian-
language, material. The result is a book which omits, as unreliable,
much anecdotal and hitherto unchallenged material recycled in
Page ix
previous works, and which at the same time seeks to view the events
of 1904-05 from new or long-forgotten angles.
J. N. WETWOOD
BRISTOL
Page x
Map
