THE A TO Z OF THE RUSSO-JAPANESE WAR
ROTEM KOWNER
SCARECROW PRESS, INC., 2009
QUALITY SOFTOCVER, $38,00, 568 PAGES, PHOTOGRAPHS, MAPS, ACRONYMS, BIBLIOGRAPHY, ABBREVIATIONS, CHRONOLOGY, APPENDIX, INDEX
Japan's swift victory over China in 1894-1895, had already forced the West to take notice of this emerging rival in the East. But the East Asian island empire had yet to take on a European opponent. That would be the real test of Japan's military might. It came in 1904, when Japan clashed with Russia over the hegemony of the Hermit Kingdom of Korea and Manchuria. On paper, Russia seemed vastly superior. Czar Nicholas II had a standing army of 1,100,000 men, with a reserve of 2,400,000 men. Japan's regular army numbered 283,000 men and 870 artillery pieces, with 400,000 trained reserves. The Russian paper pre-dominates, however, was worth little more then the paper bearing the flat statistics.
East of Lake Baikal, in Russia's Far Eastern provinces, were only 83,000 field troops backed by 196 guns, along with 25,000 garrison troops and 30,000 railroad troops. For reinforcements and supply, the czar's army had to depend upon the 5,500-mile single track line of the Trans-Siberian Railroad, connecting Moscow and Port Arthur, but including a 100-mile gap around Lake Baikal. On the sea, Russia could float 7 old battleships, 9 armored cruisers, 1 old cruiser, 25 destroyers, 17 torpedo boats, and 12 gunboats in the theater of operations. Most of the fleet was based at Port Arthur, which was located at the tip of the Liaotung Peninsula, a prime Japanese target. Four cruisers were based at Vladivostock and two more at Chemulpo (now Inchon). Japan had a modern fleet of 6 new battleships armed with 12-inch guns, 1 old battleship, 8 armored cruisers, 25 light cruisers, 19 destroyers, 85 torpedo boats, and 16 smaller vessels, manned by a total of 36,000 officers and men. The Japanese could match 14 modern capital ships firing a broadside of 37,600-pounds against Russia's 11 seaworthy capital ships with a 26,500-pound broadside.
The conflict, in reality, matched the Russian Army against the Japanese Navy, for with Japan's command of the sea, the East Asian power would put its entire army ashore within weeks-an army that, with Japan's Samurai tradition and the nation's adaptability to modern military technology, was superior to Russia's in training, leadership, and most of all, morale. THE A TO Z OF THE RUSSO-JAPANESE WAR is a well-researched and long overdue book on the 20th Century's first real modern war. The 500-plus entries covers personalities, ships, weapons, battles, acronyms, abbreviations, and a chronology. Further complimenting this text are a listing of military ranks, well drawn maps, war documents, and photographs. This book goes a long way in shedding light on one of history's most overlooked wars.
Lt. Colonel Robert A. Lynn, Florida Guard
Orlando, Florida
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ISBN-13:
978-0810868410
ISBN-10:
0810868415
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