The original psychological reason for confrontation — during a trip to Japan, at the age of twenty-three, the Emperor Nicholas II receives saber attacks from the samurai, who believes that the emperor is given excessive honors. The attacker dies three months after the sentence is passed (life imprisonment), but the emperor harbors anger at everything Japanese. The external reason is the unrestrained advance of Russian troops to Korea, the construction of military fortifications, despite all the agreements with Japan. In addition, the intention of the samurai to saddle China’s 450 million and put the foundation of a new world superpower with unclear goals, also causes a desire to somehow stop them.
... Before, in the First Sino-Japanese War (also, initially, for control of Korea), the Japanese acquire extensive practical experience of waging war on the sea with the most modern (for their time) armored ships. In the autumn of 1894, a battle will take place at the mouth of the Yalu River (northwest coast of Korea), approximately equal strength (12 and 18 pennants respectively). Japan has 4 ships seriously damaged, 100 people killed. China loses 5 cruisers sunk, and 650 sailors. In fact, the Qing empire wins the battle - drives the Japanese squadron away from its transport ships, however, the government of the Celestial Empire, fearing new losses, demoralizing the army, prohibits the fleet from entering the open sea.
In early 1895, the battle for Weihaiwei (now the administrative district of the PRC) will take place. The Japanese attack the encircled Chinese fleet (27 pennants, including two modern battleships of Italian construction), destroy it completely, together with 2,000 sailors, while losing "only" 200 of their fighters and 2 destroyers.
A serious defect of Chinese flotillas is the extreme shortage in their ammunition of high-explosive shells. Available armor piercing discs cause Japanese ships minimal damage.
And, as is typical, Russian naval officers do not bother with a detailed analysis of the very instructive battles of the "Asian powers".
In the winter of 1904, Japan begins the war, two days later officially informs about it. After the exhaustion of forces (the Japanese foreign debt is quadrupled, the Russian foreign is only one-third) and huge losses for those times - the Japanese army - 80,000 killed, the Russian army is 60,000, both sides are making peace with the mediation of the United States and personally Theodore Roosevelt. Japan receives half of Sakhalin, Korea and the territory of modern China.
The reasons for Russia's defeat are the uncertainty of the purpose of the war for the people, and so possessing significant untapped territories. The lack of initiative of Russian naval commanders. Maneuvers, real combat training, they were considered by them usually as unworthy of a solid adult officer "playing the war"; the main thing is to keep the outer gloss and survive to retirement without any extra hassle. Dismissal in the Gunners reserve, for 7 years learned to shoot accurately - leaving them on a long-term service would mean charging higher salaries. Japanese artillerymen, training, shoot two gun barrels to the full wear and remain in service as the main value of the fleet. The content of explosives in Japanese shells is three times the mass of pyroxylin in Russian shells (48 kg against 15 kg of the main caliber), they unfold the armor not with their kinetic energy, but, above all, with a powerful explosion. Fuzes of Russian shells are set to explode only after the penetration of thick armor, (very) often fail when hit in a slightly armored shell or water. Correction of the fire in this regard is extremely difficult (the effectiveness of shooting is not evaluated by command in advance). And why, in fact, the projectile to explode inside, in a coal bunker? The greatest effect is given by a two-meter hole in the hull at the waterline, the pumps can not cope with pumping out the water with a hole diameter of more than 30 cm. Maybe the artillery engineer realized that he did everything wrong, but hid it, pinned papers to committee members with theoretical calculations, got money , and tried to forget everything? It would be interesting to know who he is.
In May 1905, the famous battle of Tsushima took place. About 85 ships of the Japanese fleet are attacked following 38 Vladivostok pennants of the 2nd Pacific squadron Admiral Rozhdestvensky. The flagship "Mikasa" receives 40 hits of large-caliber (305 mm.) Russian shells, but due to their "tight" fuses and overestimated "for the safety of travel in the tropics" humidity of pyroxylin, does not cause serious damage. Formed in the armored neat holes Japanese jam.
The ships of the Pacific squadron, after several discouraging collisions, one by one break through to their destination, fight, throw themselves on the shallows, or surrender. Only three of them come to Vladivostok. Admiral Z. Rozhdestvensky, the bearer and distributor of sacrificially-suicidal moods throughout the Russian fleet, rises aboard the Mikasa ...
Japan loses two or three destroyers in this battle.
In total, in battles took from each side about one hundred main and auxiliary ships. Loss of the Russian fleet 64 ships, Japanese squadrons 24; most of them were destroyed by mines.