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The result of the sortie, however, dispelled that hope.
Long before Rozhdestvensky reached the Far East, he fell into touch
with Japanese scouts, and every movement of his ships was flashed to
the enemy. That Vladivostok was his objective and that he would try
to reach that place if possible without fighting, were unquestionable
facts. But by what avenue would he enter the Sea of Japan? The query
occupied attention in all the capitals of the world during several
days, and conjectures were as numerous as they were conflicting. But
Admiral Togo had no moment of hesitation. He knew that only two
routes were possible, and that one of them, the Tsugaru Strait, could
be strewn with mines at very brief notice. The Russians dare not take
that risk. Therefore Togo waited quietly at his base in the Korean
Strait and on the 27th of May his scouts reported by wireless
telegraphy at 5 A.M., "Enemy's fleet sighted in 203 section. He seems
to be steering for the east channel."
In the historic action which ensued, Rozhdestvensky had under his
command eight battle-ships, nine cruisers, three coast-defence ships,
nine destroyers, an auxiliary cruiser, six special-service steamers,
and two hospital ships. Togo's fleet consisted of five battle-ships
(one of them practically valueless), one coast-defence vessel, eight
armoured cruisers, ten protected cruisers, twenty destroyers, and
sixty-seven torpedo-boats. Numerically, the advantage was on the
Japanese side, although in first-class fighting material the
disparity was not remarkable. As for the result, it can only be
called annihilation for the Russian squadron. Out of the thirty-eight
ships composing it, twenty were sunk; six captured; two went to the
bottom or were shattered while escaping; six were disarmed and
interned in neutral ports to which they had fled; one was released
after capture, and of one the fate is unknown. Only two escaped out
of the whole squadron. This wonderful result justifies the comment of
a competent authority:
"We can recognize that Togo is great--great in the patience he
exercised in the face of much provocation to enter upon the fight
under conditions less favourable to the success of his cause; great
in his determination to give decisive battle despite advice offered
to him to resort to methods of evasion, subterfuge, and finesse;
great in his use of not one but every means in his power to crush his
enemy, and great, greatest perhaps of all, in his moderation after
victory unparalleled in the annals of modern naval war.
"The attitude of the Japanese people in the presence of this
epoch-making triumph is a sight for men and gods. They have the grand
manner of the ancients, and their invariable attitude throughout the
war, whether in the hour of victory or in that of disappointment, has
been worthy of a great people. No noisy and vulgar clamour, no
self-laudation, no triumph over a fallen enemy, but deep
thankfulness, calm satisfaction, and reference of the cause of
victory to the illustrious virtue of their Emperor."*
*The War in the Far East, by the Military Correspondent of "The
Times."
The Japanese losses in the two-days' fighting were three
torpedo-boats, and they had 116 killed and 538 wounded.
PEACE RESTORED
After the battles of Mukden and Tsushima, which were great enough to
terminate the greatest war, the Russians and the Japanese alike found
themselves in a position which must either prelude another stupendous
effort on both sides or be utilized to negotiate peace. Here the
President of the United States of America intervened, and, on the 9th
of June, 1905, the American minister in Tokyo and the ambassador in
St. Petersburg, instructed from Washington, handed an identical note
to the Japanese and the Russian Governments respectively, urging the
two countries to approach each other direct. On the following day,
Japan intimated her frank acquiescence, and Russia lost no time in
taking a similar step. Two months nevertheless elapsed before the
plenipotentiaries of the two powers met, on August 10th, at
Portsmouth, New Hampshire. Russia sent M. (afterwards Count) de Witte
and Baron Rosen; Japan, Baron (afterwards Marquis) Komura, who had
held the portfolio of Foreign Affairs throughout the war, and Mr.
(afterwards Baron) Takahira. The Japanese statesmen well understood
that much of the credit accruing to them for their successful conduct
of the war must be forfeited in the sequel of the negotiations. For
the people of Japan had accustomed themselves to expect that Russia
would recoup a great part, if not the whole, of the expenses incurred
by their country in the contest, whereas the ministry in Tokyo knew
that to look for payment of indemnity by a great State whose
territory has not been invaded effectively or its existence menaced
must be futile.
Nevertheless, diplomacy required that this conviction should be
concealed, and thus Russia carried to the conference a belief that
the financial phase of the discussion would be crucial. Baron
Komura's mandate was, however, that the only radically essential
terms were those formulated by Japan prior to the war. She must
insist on securing the ends for which she had fought, since she
believed them to be indispensable to the peace of the Far East, but
beyond that she would not go. The Japanese plenipotentiaries,
therefore, judged it wise to submit their terms in the order of the
real importance, leaving their Russian colleagues to imagine, as they
probably would, that the converse method had been adopted, and that
everything prefatory to questions of finance and territory was of
minor consequence.
The negotiations, commencing on the 10th of August, were not
concluded until the 5th of September, when a treaty of peace was
signed. There had been a moment when the onlooking world believed
that unless Russia agreed to ransom the island of Saghalien by paying
to Japan a sum of 120 millions sterling,--$580,000,000, the
conference would be broken off. Nor did such an exchange seem
unreasonable, for were Russia expelled from the northern part of
Saghalien, which commands the estuary of the Amur, her position in
Siberia would have been compromised. But Japan's statesmen were not
disposed to make any display of territorial aggression. The southern
half of Saghalien had originally belonged to Japan and had passed
into Russia's possession by an arrangement which the Japanese nation
strongly resented. To recover that portion of the island seemed,
therefore, a legitimate ambition. Japan did not contemplate any
larger demand, nor did she seriously insist on an indemnity. Thus,
the negotiations were never in real danger of failure.
The Treaty of Portsmouth recognized Japan's "paramount political,
military, and economic interests" in Korea; provided for the
simultaneous evacuation of Manchuria by the contracting parties;
transferred to Japan the lease of the Liaotung peninsula, held by
Russia from China, together with that of the Russian railways south
of Kwanchengtsz and all collateral mining or other privileges; ceded
to Japan the southern half of Saghalien, the fiftieth parallel of
latitude to be the boundary between the two parties; secured
fishing-rights for Japanese subjects along the coasts of the seas of
Japan, Okhotsk, and Bering; laid down that the expense incurred by
the Japanese for the maintenance of the Russian prisoners during the
war should be reimbursed by Russia, less the outlays made by the
latter on account of Japanese prisoners, by which arrangement Japan
obtained a payment of some four million sterling $20,000,000, and
provided that the contracting parties, while withdrawing their
military force from Manchuria, might maintain guards to protect their
respective railways, the number of such guards not to exceed fifteen
per kilometre of line. There were other important restrictions:
first, the contracting parties were to abstain from taking, on the
Russo-Korean frontier, any military measures which might menace the
security of Russian or Korean territory; secondly, the two powers
pledged themselves not to exploit the Manchurian railways for
strategic purposes, and thirdly, they promised not to build on
Saghalien or its adjacent islands any fortifications or other similar
works, or to take any military measures which might impede the free
navigation of the Strait of La Pérouse and the Gulf of Tatary.
The above provisions concerned the two contracting parties only. But
China's interests also were considered. Thus, it was agreed to
"restore entirely and completely to her exclusive administration" all
portions of Manchuria then in the occupation, or under the control,
of Japanese or Russian troops, except the leased territory; that her
consent must be obtained for the transfer to Japan of the leases and
concessions held by the Russians in Manchuria; that the Russian
Government should disavow the possession of "any territorial
advantages or preferential or exclusive concessions in impairment of
Chinese sovereignty or inconsistent with the principle of equal
opportunity in Manchuria," and that Japan and Russia "engaged
reciprocally not to obstruct any general measures common to all
countries which China might take for the development of the commerce
and industry of Manchuria."
This distinction between the special interests of the contracting
parties and the interests of China herself, as well as of foreign
nations generally, is essential to clear understanding of a situation
which subsequently attracted much attention. From the time of the
Opium War (1857) to the Boxer rising (1900), each of the great
Western powers struggled for its own hand in China, and each sought
to gain for itself exclusive concessions and privileges with
comparatively little regard for the interests of others and with no
regard whatsoever for China's sovereign rights. The fruits of this
period were permanently ceded territories (Hongkong and Macao);
leases temporarily establishing foreign sovereignty in various
districts (Kiao-chou, Weihaiwei, and Kwang-chow); railway and mining
concessions, and the establishment of settlements at open ports where
foreign jurisdiction was supreme.
Long before Rozhdestvensky reached the Far East, he fell into touch
with Japanese scouts, and every movement of his ships was flashed to
the enemy. That Vladivostok was his objective and that he would try
to reach that place if possible without fighting, were unquestionable
facts. But by what avenue would he enter the Sea of Japan? The query
occupied attention in all the capitals of the world during several
days, and conjectures were as numerous as they were conflicting. But
Admiral Togo had no moment of hesitation. He knew that only two
routes were possible, and that one of them, the Tsugaru Strait, could
be strewn with mines at very brief notice. The Russians dare not take
that risk. Therefore Togo waited quietly at his base in the Korean
Strait and on the 27th of May his scouts reported by wireless
telegraphy at 5 A.M., "Enemy's fleet sighted in 203 section. He seems
to be steering for the east channel."
In the historic action which ensued, Rozhdestvensky had under his
command eight battle-ships, nine cruisers, three coast-defence ships,
nine destroyers, an auxiliary cruiser, six special-service steamers,
and two hospital ships. Togo's fleet consisted of five battle-ships
(one of them practically valueless), one coast-defence vessel, eight
armoured cruisers, ten protected cruisers, twenty destroyers, and
sixty-seven torpedo-boats. Numerically, the advantage was on the
Japanese side, although in first-class fighting material the
disparity was not remarkable. As for the result, it can only be
called annihilation for the Russian squadron. Out of the thirty-eight
ships composing it, twenty were sunk; six captured; two went to the
bottom or were shattered while escaping; six were disarmed and
interned in neutral ports to which they had fled; one was released
after capture, and of one the fate is unknown. Only two escaped out
of the whole squadron. This wonderful result justifies the comment of
a competent authority:
"We can recognize that Togo is great--great in the patience he
exercised in the face of much provocation to enter upon the fight
under conditions less favourable to the success of his cause; great
in his determination to give decisive battle despite advice offered
to him to resort to methods of evasion, subterfuge, and finesse;
great in his use of not one but every means in his power to crush his
enemy, and great, greatest perhaps of all, in his moderation after
victory unparalleled in the annals of modern naval war.
"The attitude of the Japanese people in the presence of this
epoch-making triumph is a sight for men and gods. They have the grand
manner of the ancients, and their invariable attitude throughout the
war, whether in the hour of victory or in that of disappointment, has
been worthy of a great people. No noisy and vulgar clamour, no
self-laudation, no triumph over a fallen enemy, but deep
thankfulness, calm satisfaction, and reference of the cause of
victory to the illustrious virtue of their Emperor."*
*The War in the Far East, by the Military Correspondent of "The
Times."
The Japanese losses in the two-days' fighting were three
torpedo-boats, and they had 116 killed and 538 wounded.
PEACE RESTORED
After the battles of Mukden and Tsushima, which were great enough to
terminate the greatest war, the Russians and the Japanese alike found
themselves in a position which must either prelude another stupendous
effort on both sides or be utilized to negotiate peace. Here the
President of the United States of America intervened, and, on the 9th
of June, 1905, the American minister in Tokyo and the ambassador in
St. Petersburg, instructed from Washington, handed an identical note
to the Japanese and the Russian Governments respectively, urging the
two countries to approach each other direct. On the following day,
Japan intimated her frank acquiescence, and Russia lost no time in
taking a similar step. Two months nevertheless elapsed before the
plenipotentiaries of the two powers met, on August 10th, at
Portsmouth, New Hampshire. Russia sent M. (afterwards Count) de Witte
and Baron Rosen; Japan, Baron (afterwards Marquis) Komura, who had
held the portfolio of Foreign Affairs throughout the war, and Mr.
(afterwards Baron) Takahira. The Japanese statesmen well understood
that much of the credit accruing to them for their successful conduct
of the war must be forfeited in the sequel of the negotiations. For
the people of Japan had accustomed themselves to expect that Russia
would recoup a great part, if not the whole, of the expenses incurred
by their country in the contest, whereas the ministry in Tokyo knew
that to look for payment of indemnity by a great State whose
territory has not been invaded effectively or its existence menaced
must be futile.
Nevertheless, diplomacy required that this conviction should be
concealed, and thus Russia carried to the conference a belief that
the financial phase of the discussion would be crucial. Baron
Komura's mandate was, however, that the only radically essential
terms were those formulated by Japan prior to the war. She must
insist on securing the ends for which she had fought, since she
believed them to be indispensable to the peace of the Far East, but
beyond that she would not go. The Japanese plenipotentiaries,
therefore, judged it wise to submit their terms in the order of the
real importance, leaving their Russian colleagues to imagine, as they
probably would, that the converse method had been adopted, and that
everything prefatory to questions of finance and territory was of
minor consequence.
The negotiations, commencing on the 10th of August, were not
concluded until the 5th of September, when a treaty of peace was
signed. There had been a moment when the onlooking world believed
that unless Russia agreed to ransom the island of Saghalien by paying
to Japan a sum of 120 millions sterling,--$580,000,000, the
conference would be broken off. Nor did such an exchange seem
unreasonable, for were Russia expelled from the northern part of
Saghalien, which commands the estuary of the Amur, her position in
Siberia would have been compromised. But Japan's statesmen were not
disposed to make any display of territorial aggression. The southern
half of Saghalien had originally belonged to Japan and had passed
into Russia's possession by an arrangement which the Japanese nation
strongly resented. To recover that portion of the island seemed,
therefore, a legitimate ambition. Japan did not contemplate any
larger demand, nor did she seriously insist on an indemnity. Thus,
the negotiations were never in real danger of failure.
The Treaty of Portsmouth recognized Japan's "paramount political,
military, and economic interests" in Korea; provided for the
simultaneous evacuation of Manchuria by the contracting parties;
transferred to Japan the lease of the Liaotung peninsula, held by
Russia from China, together with that of the Russian railways south
of Kwanchengtsz and all collateral mining or other privileges; ceded
to Japan the southern half of Saghalien, the fiftieth parallel of
latitude to be the boundary between the two parties; secured
fishing-rights for Japanese subjects along the coasts of the seas of
Japan, Okhotsk, and Bering; laid down that the expense incurred by
the Japanese for the maintenance of the Russian prisoners during the
war should be reimbursed by Russia, less the outlays made by the
latter on account of Japanese prisoners, by which arrangement Japan
obtained a payment of some four million sterling $20,000,000, and
provided that the contracting parties, while withdrawing their
military force from Manchuria, might maintain guards to protect their
respective railways, the number of such guards not to exceed fifteen
per kilometre of line. There were other important restrictions:
first, the contracting parties were to abstain from taking, on the
Russo-Korean frontier, any military measures which might menace the
security of Russian or Korean territory; secondly, the two powers
pledged themselves not to exploit the Manchurian railways for
strategic purposes, and thirdly, they promised not to build on
Saghalien or its adjacent islands any fortifications or other similar
works, or to take any military measures which might impede the free
navigation of the Strait of La Pérouse and the Gulf of Tatary.
The above provisions concerned the two contracting parties only. But
China's interests also were considered. Thus, it was agreed to
"restore entirely and completely to her exclusive administration" all
portions of Manchuria then in the occupation, or under the control,
of Japanese or Russian troops, except the leased territory; that her
consent must be obtained for the transfer to Japan of the leases and
concessions held by the Russians in Manchuria; that the Russian
Government should disavow the possession of "any territorial
advantages or preferential or exclusive concessions in impairment of
Chinese sovereignty or inconsistent with the principle of equal
opportunity in Manchuria," and that Japan and Russia "engaged
reciprocally not to obstruct any general measures common to all
countries which China might take for the development of the commerce
and industry of Manchuria."
This distinction between the special interests of the contracting
parties and the interests of China herself, as well as of foreign
nations generally, is essential to clear understanding of a situation
which subsequently attracted much attention. From the time of the
Opium War (1857) to the Boxer rising (1900), each of the great
Western powers struggled for its own hand in China, and each sought
to gain for itself exclusive concessions and privileges with
comparatively little regard for the interests of others and with no
regard whatsoever for China's sovereign rights. The fruits of this
period were permanently ceded territories (Hongkong and Macao);
leases temporarily establishing foreign sovereignty in various
districts (Kiao-chou, Weihaiwei, and Kwang-chow); railway and mining
concessions, and the establishment of settlements at open ports where
foreign jurisdiction was supreme.
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