"Under current conditions, it is impossible to end the war. It is a disgrace."
British satirical magazine Punch, 1905. Drawing illustrating the loss of prestige of the Russian Empire after the country's defeat. The hourglass represents the decline of Russia's prestige
Oh, Rus! Forget former glory -
The double-headed eagle is defeated,
And yellow children for fun
Given the shreds of your banners.
Resigned to awe and fear
Who could forget the covenant of love ...
And the Third Rome lies in dust
And there shouldn’t be a fourth.
Poet S. M. Solovyov.
The double-headed eagle is defeated,
And yellow children for fun
Given the shreds of your banners.
Resigned to awe and fear
Who could forget the covenant of love ...
And the Third Rome lies in dust
And there shouldn’t be a fourth.
Poet S. M. Solovyov.
prehistory
Despite the loss of Port Arthur, the destruction of the Pacific fleet and failures in the Manchurian theater, Russia did not lose the war (Mukden; Tsushima tragedy). The land army only became stronger and could go on the counteroffensive to throw the enemy into the sea and recapture positions in Manchuria and Korea.
The Japanese Empire was completely exhausted and could not fight any more. There was no money, no people. Its army was bled dry, communications were stretched. More than half of the budget was spent on the war, the empire could not fight any more. The Japanese authorities were feeling out the possibility of a peace agreement through Europeans and Americans.
Russia was much stronger than Japan in military and economic terms and could continue the war further. However, resounding defeats at the front, the tragic loss of the fleet and unrest in the country, and the pressure of the world community of that time forced St. Petersburg to agree to a peace that was disadvantageous to Russia.
Thus, if we compare the military and financial capabilities of Russia and Japan, it is obvious that if the war continued, the Japanese would suffer defeat. The Japanese command realized that the army was on the brink of danger, and a new clash could lead to a decisive defeat. Therefore, the Japanese generals pressured the government, demanding that peace be concluded while the situation at the front was still favorable for Japan.
It is not surprising that just three days after the victory in the Tsushima Strait, Japanese Foreign Minister Yutaro Komura instructed the Japanese ambassador in Washington to find out whether American President Roosevelt would undertake a mediation mission. On May 23 (June 5), Roosevelt instructed the US ambassador to Russia, George Meyer, to obtain an audience with Emperor Nicholas II and “try to convince him that further continuation of the war is absolutely hopeless and could lead to the loss of all of Russia’s Far Eastern possessions.”
The Big Game
England and the United States initially stood behind Japan, setting it first against China and then against Russia. The masters of the Anglo-Saxon world considered Russian civilization to be the main opponent in the Great Game, the goal of which was control over humanity (the planet). The Anglo-Saxons did not like direct fights with a strong opponent, preferring to rake in the heat with someone else's hands. Thus, England used to pit Russia against Sweden, Turkey and France. In 1904, they set Japan against Russia, and then managed to pit Germany and Russia, the two strongest opponents of the Anglo-Saxons in Europe, against each other.
The Japanese Empire would not have been able to wage war without relying on military-material and financial support from English and American capital. Even before the war, the English financed Japan and its military training, and actually created a first-class navy for it.
After the war began, in order to support Japan, in April 1904, the banker Schiff and the large banking house of Kuhn, Loeb and Company, together with a syndicate of English banks, including Hong Kong and Shanghai, provided Tokyo with a loan in the amount of 50 million dollars at a high interest rate (6% per annum); half of the loan was placed in England, half in the USA.
In November 1904, a new Japanese loan was placed in England and the USA for 60 million dollars (also 6% per annum). In March 1905, a third Anglo-American loan followed, this time for 150 million dollars (4,5%). In July 1905, Japan received a fourth loan for 150 million dollars (4,5%). This allowed Japan to cover more than 40% of all military expenses of the country, which reached 1730 million yen and continued to grow.
England and the USA actually stood behind Japan and poured their money into it so that the Japanese would fight the Russians. The Japanese acted as "cannon fodder" for the Anglo-Saxons in this war. Without English and American money, Japan would not have been able to fight for a long time.
Japan was exhausted by the war and could no longer fight. Japan spent about 2 billion yen on the war and increased its national debt from 600 million yen to 2400 million, and the interest paid annually on loans was 110 million yen.
The Russian Empire hardly felt any economic or financial difficulties due to the war. The harvest of 1904 was good. Industrial growth continued in 1904. Taxes were collected as in peacetime, and the gold reserves of the State Bank continued to grow and increased by 1904 million rubles in 150.
Russia's military expenditures, which amounted to about 600 million rubles in the first year of the war, were covered partly by the free cash of the treasury (budget balances from previous years), partly by foreign loans. The subscription to two loans exceeded the issue amount several times. In May 1904, a loan followed in France for 300 million rubles, and at the very end of 1904, in Germany for 232 million rubles. That is, in continental Europe, Russia had a solid rear - France and Germany were friendly towards Russia, and it could calmly continue the struggle in the Far East.
The French were official allies of Russia, and the Germans wanted the Russians to get stuck in the Far East and interfere less in European affairs. The German Kaiser Wilhelm II even began to call Nicholas II "Admiral of the Pacific Ocean" and de facto offered Russia an alliance. Unfortunately, the supporters of the Entente and Westerners thwarted the possibility of such an alliance and ultimately pitted the Russians and Germans, who had no fundamental differences at the time, against each other. And Britain and the United States received all the benefits.
After the Hull incident (October 1904), the British government issued threats against Russia. Berlin immediately supported St. Petersburg. On October 27, German Kaiser Wilhelm II personally telegraphed Russian Emperor Nicholas II, reporting that Britain intended to prevent Germany from supplying coal to the Russian navy. Wilhelm proposed to jointly put an end to this insolence. To create a "powerful combination" against England and jointly force France to join Russia and Germany in a joint rebuff to the British.
The Russian Foreign Minister Lamsdorf, who was a Francophile, opposed this step. Tsar Nicholas II replied: “I am now in favor of an agreement with Germany and France. We must rid Europe of England’s insolence,” and on October 16 he telegraphed Kaiser Wilhelm: “Germany, Russia, and France must unite. Will you please draft such a treaty? As soon as we accept it, France must join her ally. This combination has often occurred to me.” This alliance could save Europe from the great war that the Anglo-Saxons were preparing.
In Berlin, a draft of an alliance treaty was immediately drawn up. It stated: “In the event that one of the two empires is attacked by one of the European powers,” the draft stated, “its ally will come to its aid with all its land and sea forces. If necessary, both allies will also act together to remind France of the obligations it has assumed under the terms of the Franco-Russian alliance treaty.”
The implementation of this idea would have led to the emergence in Europe of an anti-English continental bloc under the leadership of Germany and Russia, with the participation of France, or to the rupture of the Franco-Russian alliance, which was already harmful to Russia, since it made the Russians “cannon fodder” in the hands of England and France.
Unfortunately, Petersburg was never able to escape from this trap. The agents of influence of England and France in Russia managed to persuade Nicholas II to abandon the alliance with Germany. As a result, the Russians and Germans were turned into "cannon fodder", their empires were destroyed and plundered.
Then came the Moroccan Crisis (March 1905 to May 1906), which arose from a dispute between France and Germany over control of Morocco. It almost led to war between Germany and France.
It is clear that in such a situation Russia had a quiet rear in Europe, since both France and Germany were interested in its location. Russia could calmly continue the struggle in the Far East.
Many people already understood the provocative role of England and the USA at that time. In particular, the press regularly published corresponding cartoons. A. A. Radakov's cartoon in the magazine "Shut" "Inflate, inflate... I can't do it myself anymore!" The author's irony is obvious: the word "naduvat" has several meanings in Russian. In addition to the main one - "to fill with air", it is used in the sense of "to deceive".
Talks
Seeing that Japan could no longer continue and would be further defeated, the masters of England and the USA decided to fix the result. The English, having spoiled relations with Russia, could not claim the role of mediator in peace negotiations. Then the Americans got busy.
The first successes of the Japanese in the war were welcomed by the American government and press. However, subsequent events did not suit Washington. The Americans did not want either the complete defeat of Russia, which would lead to an excessive strengthening of Japan's position in the Pacific Ocean and in China, where Washington had its own interests, or the possible defeat of Japan.
Thus, in March 1904, when the war was just beginning, in a conversation with the German ambassador, American President Theodore Roosevelt frankly said that the United States was interested in Russia and Japan "troubling each other as much as possible and so that after the conclusion of peace, such geographical areas in which there is friction between them do not disappear, so that in terms of the boundaries of their spheres of interest they would confront each other approximately as before the war. This would keep them in a state of military readiness and moderate their appetites in other areas. Japan would then not threaten Germany in Jiaozhou, and America in the Philippines."
The Russian leadership lacked the will to continue the war. In connection with the defeat at Tsushima and the development of revolutionary events in Russia, many believed that peace was necessary.
On May 24 (June 6), 1905, a military conference chaired by Nicholas II was held in Tsarskoye Selo on the need for peace. Opinions were divided. Minister of War General Sakharov declared: “Under current conditions, it is impossible to end the war. Given our complete defeat, without a single victory or even a successful undertaking, this is a disgrace. This will lower Russia’s prestige and remove it from the ranks of the great powers for a long time. We must continue the war not for material gains, but to wash away this stain that will remain if we do not have the slightest success, as has been the case until now.”
The Minister of War was supported by the State Controller Pavel Lobko, who noted that in the event of peace, “the return to Russia of an army oppressed and not having won a single victory will worsen, rather than improve, the internal situation of the country.” Grand Duke Vladimir Alexandrovich spoke out in favor of negotiations.
On May 25, 1905, the American ambassador Meyer arrived at the Grand Tsarskoye Selo Palace and urgently requested an audience with the Tsar. Meyer gave a whole speech about the need to conclude peace as soon as possible. The Tsar, as usual, remained silent.
In the end, Nikolai agreed to negotiate. On June 29, the Chairman of the Committee of Ministers, Sergei Witte, was appointed the chief commissioner for conducting peace negotiations with Japan. Nikolai, instructing Witte, emphasized that he wanted peace, but not at any price, without territorial concessions and payment of indemnities to Japan.
On July 29 (August 9), a peace conference opened in the resort town of Portsmouth on the Atlantic coast of the United States. The Japanese delegation was headed by Baron Yutaro Komura. His right hand at the negotiations was the Japanese envoy to the United States, Kogoro Takahira.
On July 30 (August 10), after an exchange of powers and brief introductory statements, the head of the Japanese delegation, Komura, handed Witte a note with 12 points of demands. The Japanese insisted on the annexation of Sakhalin with the adjacent islands, compensation for military expenses (indemnity), limitation of Russian naval forces in the Far East, and the surrender to Japan as a prize of all Russian ships interned in neutral ports. Japan demanded a free hand in Korea, the complete evacuation of Russian troops from Manchuria, the transfer of lease rights on the Liaodong Peninsula with Port Arthur and Dalny, and the cession of the entire railroad between Port Arthur and Harbin with coal mines.
Tokyo agreed to Russia retaining the CER, but with a limited right to use the road for economic purposes only. The Japanese demanded unlimited fishing rights along the Russian coast of the Sea of Japan, the Sea of Okhotsk, and the Bering Sea, including rivers, bays, and gulfs.
The most difficult questions were about contributions and ownership of Sakhalin. If Tsar Nicholas II was not ready for territorial concessions and did not want to pay, then Witte was a more flexible politician and clarified the options - only money or only territory. The Japanese wanted to get everything and demanded a huge sum of 1,2 billion yen.
The negotiations dragged on, which was perceived nervously by the Japanese military leadership. The Japanese military was simply afraid of the resumption of hostilities. The Japanese army could suffer a crushing defeat. Japanese researcher Shumpei Okamoto noted that "Commander-in-Chief of the Manchurian Army Komada, irritated by the slow pace of negotiations, urgently telegraphed his government to conclude peace as soon as possible. Naval Minister Yamato desperately pushed for concessions in the name of concluding peace...". The military understood that the Japanese armed forces could no longer resist Russia.
On August 28 (new style), a joint meeting of the genro (informal council under the emperor), the government, and the highest military officials was held in the presence of Emperor Mutsuhito. Finance Minister Sone reported that it was impossible to continue the war, since the Japanese Empire could not find additional sources for its financing. The outcome of the meeting was an instruction to Komura "to reach an agreement in the negotiations as soon as possible, even if it were necessary to abandon the demands for monetary compensation and territories."
At the moment when the Japanese leadership was ready to abandon its main demands for territorial concessions, the Americans intervened again. Roosevelt sent a telegram to the Russian Tsar, putting pressure on him. The American president expressed confidence in the insurmountability of the Japanese Empire's claims and threatened that continuing the war could lead to the loss of all Russian territory east of Lake Baikal, that is, to the end of Russia's existence as a Pacific power.
At the same time, the American ambassador to Russia, Meyer, began to persuade Nicholas II to make concessions, promising the US mediation in the matter of "persuading" Japan to refuse the contribution. Inexperienced in the art of diplomacy, Nicholas II generally remained silent, but then "in passing" noted that Russia might consider the possibility of ceding South Sakhalin. This information was immediately passed on to Washington, and from there to Tokyo. As a result, the Japanese continued to demand territorial concessions.
Russia ceded the southern part of Sakhalin to Japan along the 50th parallel. Witte could only reject the demand to hand over all Russian ships interned in the ports of China, Indonesia and the Philippines. And the question of indemnity was not completely closed. The Russian government paid 46 million rubles in gold for the maintenance of Russian prisoners in Japan.
On August 23 (September 5), 1905, the Portsmouth Peace Treaty was signed. The peace treaty proclaimed peace and friendship between the emperors of Russia and Japan, between the states and their subjects.
According to the treaty, Russia recognized Korea as a sphere of Japanese influence, ceded to Japan the lease rights to the Liaodong Peninsula with Port Arthur and Dalny, part of the South Manchurian Railway from Port Arthur to Kuanchengzi, and agreed in Article 12 to conclude a convention on fishing along the Russian shores of the Sea of Japan, the Sea of Okhotsk, and the Bering Sea. The treaty secured only the commercial use of Manchurian roads by both parties.
Russia ceded to Japan the south of Sakhalin (from the 50th parallel) and “all islands adjacent to the latter.” The parties agreed to exchange prisoners of war.
China also had to pay for Russia's defeat in the war. The Qing government was forced to recognize all the provisions of the Treaty of Portsmouth, including the transfer of the lease of the Liaodong Peninsula with Port Arthur and the South Manchurian Railway to Japan. The Chinese agreed to Japan's construction of a railway from the mouth of the Yalu River to Mukden. They pledged to open 16 cities in Manchuria for international (i.e. Japanese) trade, including Jilin, Harbin, Hailar, and Ainun.
Portsmouth negotiations. Russian delegation (far side of the table) - Korostovets, Nabokov, Witte, Rosen and Planson; and Japanese (near side of the table) - Adachi, Ochiai, Komura, Takahira and Sato
Value
Russia suffered a major strategic defeat, losing a significant part of its positions in the Far East. Moreover, Russia's weakness in the Far East allowed Japan to develop its success, which predetermined Japanese expansion in the following decades, until Russia took over in August 1945. historical revenge (Manchurian Blitzkrieg of the Soviet Army).
The plans of the masters of Britain and the USA to pit Russia and Japan against each other and weaken Russia were realized. At the same time, both Russia and Japan were dissatisfied with the results of the war and maintained hostility, to the delight of England and the USA.
The "rehearsal" for the First World War was successful, revealing Russia's weaknesses.
Most Russians perceived the outcome of the war and the Treaty of Portsmouth as an insult to Russia. It was not for nothing that the leader of the Russian civilization and the Russian superethnos, Joseph Stalin, remembered this. He understood perfectly well the need to restore positions in the Far East (Southern Sakhalin, the Kuril Islands and Port Arthur)Why Stalin Started the War Against Japan).
The Japanese Empire lost about 135 people killed or died of wounds and diseases in this war. About 554 wounded and sick people passed through medical institutions.
Russia's total losses in people amounted to about 400 people, including those killed, wounded, missing, and evacuated due to illness. Russia spent 2347 million rubles on the war and about 500 million rubles, which is the cost of the railroads, ports, and sunken navy, both military and merchant, that went to Japan.
Among the main prerequisites that led Russia to defeat are: 1) Petersburg’s indifference to the cause of military and economic development of the Far East; 2) the lack of iron will of the military-political leadership of Russia in the conduct of war; 3) the degradation of the military elite of the Russian Empire, the supreme posts were occupied by mediocre careerists, people with connections, outspoken marauders (in plundering the country), generals and peacetime admirals unable to lead troops and fleets into battle; 4) financial, military-technical and political support for England and the United States, which were behind Japan; 5) the remoteness of the Manchurian theater from the European part of Russia, where the main military and economic resources of the empire were located.
Almost no one was held accountable for the "brainlessness" of our generals and admirals. Witte, who was effectively an agent of Western influence and played a huge role in dragging Russia into a conflict with Japan, was elevated to the rank of count by Nicholas II. For this, he was sarcastically nicknamed "Count Polusakhalinsky".
The Chief of the Fleet and the Naval Department, General Admiral, Grand Duke Alexei Alexandrovich, who was responsible for the "excellent" training of our armed forces in the Far East, retired while retaining the rank of General Admiral and went to Paris for a "well-deserved rest." A favorite place of the then Russian elite. His rival in the affairs of the fleet management and at the same time an accomplice in the Manchurian financial adventures, Grand Duke Alexander Mikhailovich, also went to the Cote d'Azur for several years.
The following were put on trial: the head of the Kwantung fortified region, Lieutenant General Stessel, the commandant of the Port Arthur fortress, Lieutenant General Smirnov, the head of ground defense, Lieutenant General Fok, the chief of staff of the Kwantung fortified region, Major General Reis, Vice Admiral Stark, and Rear Admirals Loshinsky, Grigorovich, and Viren.
The Supreme Military Criminal Court passed a sentence: Lieutenant General Stessel was to be executed "by firing squad", and Lieutenant General Fok was to be reprimanded. The court acquitted Smirnov and Reis, and the other charges were rejected even earlier. Tsar Nicholas II commuted Stessel's sentence to ten years of imprisonment in a fortress. But Stessel only spent about a year in the Peter and Paul Fortress and was released.
A similar situation occurred with the "heroes" of the Battle of Tsushima. Admiral Rozhestvensky was acquitted by the naval court, as he had been seriously wounded in the battle. The court found the detachment commander, Rear Admiral Nebogatov, and three ship commanders guilty of criminally surrendering ships to the enemy and sentenced them to death "by firing squad". The tsar replaced the death sentence with ten years of imprisonment in a fortress for all those sentenced to death. They served only a few months, and were then released.
This was already a systemic crisis of both the civilization and the Romanov project, as well as the state, leading to catastrophe.
The day after the peace was concluded, Punch published a cartoon with the significant title "Peace - and then?", in which the author's position was clearly visible. The wings of the angel of peace were spread over the soldiers of both armies leaving their positions. But above the head of the Japanese soldier, a laurel wreath of victory was visible, and at his feet, an oar with the inscription "Anglo-Japanese Alliance". And while the Japanese, followed by a white dove, moved towards the rising sun, the Russians were leaving into a thunderstorm.
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