World War Zero - The Russo Japanese War 1904-1905 (Documentary)

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The Russo-Japanese War is nicknamed World War Zero - it was a clash between two world powers that foreshadowed war on an industrial scale as seen just 10 years later again. Gigantic land battles like the Battle of Mukden showed the true cost in manpower and materiel when modern armies clashed and the naval side of the war showed the strategic importance of modern navies.
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» BIBLIOGRAPHY
Akiyama Saneyuki, Gundan (Tokyo : Jitsugyō no Nihonsha, 1917)
Atsuo Yokoyama; Toshikatsu Nishikawa & Ichō Konsōshiamu, Heishitachi ga mita Nichi-Ro sensō, (Tokyo : Yūzankaku, 2012)
Corbett, Julian S. Maritime Operations in the Russo-Japanese War, 1904-1905, Volume I, (Annapolis, MD : Naval Institute Press, 2015)
Corbett, Julian S. Maritime Operations in the Russo-Japanese War, 1904-1905, Volume II, (Annapolis, MD : Naval Institute Press, 2015)
Деникин А. И. Путь русского офицера. (Нью-Йорк: Изд. им. А. Чехова, 1953)
Forczyk, Robert, Russian Battleship vs Japanese Battleship: Yellow Sea 1904-05, (Oxford : Osprey Publishing Ltd, 2009)
Hamby, Joel E, “Striking the Balance: Strategy and Force in the Russo-Japanese War” Armed Forces & Society, Vol. 30, No. 3 (2004)
Hosokawa Gentarō, Byōinsen Kōsai Maru kenbunroku (Tokyo : Hakubunkan Shinsha, 1993)
Ivanov, A & Jowett P, The Russo-Japanese War 1904-05, (Oxford : Osprey Publishing Ltd, 2004)
Jacob, Frank, The Russo-Japanese War and its Shaping of the Twentieth Century, (London : Routledge, 2017)
Jukes, Geoffrey, The Russo-Japanese War 1904-1905, (Oxford : Osprey Publishing Ltd, 2014)
Kowner, Rotem (ed), Rethinking the Russo-Japanese War, 1904-5, Volume 1: Centennial Perspectives, (Folkestone : Global Oriental, 2007)
Lynch, George & Palmer, Frederick, In Many Wars By Many War Correspondnets, (Tokyo : Tokyo Printing Co. 1904)
Mozawa Yusaku, Aru hohei no Nichi-Ro Sensō jūgun nikki (Tokyo : Sōshisha, 2005)
Murakami Hyōe, Konoe Rentai ki (Tokyo : Akita Shoten, 1967)
Paine, S. C. M. The Japanese Empire: Grand Strategy from the Meiji Restoration to the Pacific War, (Cambridge : Cambridge University Press, 2017)
Steinberg, John W; Meaning, Bruce W; Schimmelpennick van der Oye, David; Wolff, David & Yokote, Shinji (eds.), The Russo-Japanese War in Global Perspective: World War Zero, (Leiden : Brill, 2005)
Stille, Mark, The Imperial Japanese Navy of the Russo-Japanese War, (Oxford : Osprey Publishing Ltd, 2016)
Takagi Suiu, Jinsei hachimenkan (Tokyo : Teikoku Kyōiku Kenkyūkai, 1927)
van Dijk, Kees, Pacific Strife: The Great Powers and Their Political and Economic Rivalries in Asia and the Western Pacific, 1870-1914, (Amsterdam : Amsterdam University Press, 2015)
Warner, Denis & Warner, Peggy, The Tide at Sunrise: A History of the Russo-Japanese War 1904-1905, (London : Angus & Robertson, 1974)
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»CREDITS
Presented by: Jesse Alexander
Written by: Jesse Alexander
Director: Toni Steller & Florian Wittig
Director of Photography: Toni Steller
Sound: Toni Steller
Editing: Jose Gamez
Motion Design: Elise Heersink, Philipp Appelt
Mixing, Mastering & Sound Design: above-zero.com
Research by: Jesse Alexander
Fact checking: Florian Wittig
Channel Design: Yves Thimian
Contains licensed material by getty images
Maps: MapTiler/OpenStreetMap Contributors & GEOlayers3
All rights reserved - Real Time History GmbH 2022

[@gorotv5826]

One of the reasons Japan was able to develop into a strong country in the 30 years since it started modernization was the high literacy rate in Japan during the Edo period. In the 1700s and 1800s, Japan had the highest literacy rate in the world, and both the rural samurai and the urban common people were highly educated. No wonder they understood Western technology so quickly that they became brilliant engineers and workers.

[@TheGreatWar]

very interesting detail, thanks

[@onylra6265]

Even in its isolation some Japanese scholars studied Western sciences through contact with Dutch traders for hundreds of years. Called Rangaku, or 'Dutch Learning'. While not widespread until the late 18th century, Japanese had much more extensive knowledge of subjects like chemistry, biology, physics, and engineering than many foreign contemporaries suspected.

[@mmathrills7190]

When the Portuguese first discovered Japan, they reasoned not to subjugate the country because, as their artwork was so refined, they couldn't be considered heathens. However they did leave guns and Christianity...

[@MalaiischeIntelligez]

​@@onylra6265Yes Sakamoto Ryoma and his pioneer were struggling to learn from the westerner. at beginning they want to have western medical knowledge then they break the Dymio Rules to go abroad. Japanese went to Europe, Malaya, Dutch East India (Now Indonesia) and United State to learn that the world is not small. Japanese been living under pressure of Samurai System for century and the kasta system really unpleasant to tell. No one talk about the farmer force to be foot soldier when the war lord decide go for War. The beautiful castle in Japan was made by farmer force labor. The samurai keep pressing the lower class and they got no where to go other die working for land lord. I think Japan pay a heavy price to free themselves and 2 atomic bombs was a mark of the end of arrogant and ignorant of themselves.

[@gorotv5826]

@@MalaiischeIntelligez Generally, sengoku daimyo (feudal lordand) and farmers had an employment relationship, and farmers who participated in wars or built castles were paid. Then, after Oda Nobunaga appeared, each feudal lord established a permanent army and farmers were able to concentrate on agriculture. Rather, the farmers volunteered to participate in the war for the spoils possessed by the fallen samurai. At the Battle of Sekigahara, the biggest war in Japan, many farmers watched the war from the hills near the battlefield with lunch boxes and stole the spoils from samurai who died after the battle ended. Also, from the 1600s, Japan became a peaceful society, and farmers were rarely involved in war or castle construction. The misconception that foreigners like you tend to have is that the samurai class, as the overwhelming rulers, used to enslave and utterly suppress farmers, artisans and merchants. During the Edo period, commerce developed, and some rather wealthy merchant classes lived better than many samurai class people, while ordinary people in urban areas enjoyed popular culture. The common people enjoyed sushi, soba, ukiyoe, sumo and gardening. Japan in the feudal era had the same system as other countries in the world, and it was not particularly ignorant or arrogant. It is totally inappropriate and ridiculous for you to refer to a war of aggression and two atomic bombs in the early 1900s while referring to long feudal Japan.

[@Masada1911]

Seven Years War officially will be referred to as World War -1 from here on out.

[@Game_Hero]

what about the franco-prussian war of 1870?

[@ShubhamMishrabro]

@@Game_Hero seven years war happened way before

[@petermann673]

Eh, more like original trilogy. (7yW, American revolution, napoleonic wars; with first 2 being pyrrhic victories leading to the succeeding wars)

[@paulconrad6220]

@@Game_Hero WW -0.5

[@tommyodonovan3883]

@@ShubhamMishrabro SYW aka the "continental war," in USA we call it the French-Indian war. It is said that George Washington started the SYW war when he as OIC ambushed a French (Quebec) peace delegation of about 70 lightly armed men and had most of the survivors executed to cover up his mistake.

[@ysbee]

OMG, this is my Grandpa's war. When the Russo-Japan War happened, he was a sailor of the Japanese Navy under Admiral Togo, specialized in decoding the Morse code of the enemy force caught in their transmission. That how he caught up and decoded the Russian Navy ships' communications for movements, and Japanese Navy won in the Battle of Port Arthur. Later he was given honorable medal and gifted a travel around Europe. It was his memorable story long long tome ago, even way before I was born. (I’m one of those Baby Boomers.)

[@samuraijosh1595]

Legendary grandpa you have there!

[@ommerommer7152]

My Russian girlfriend who's father toke to BERLIN, together with the ingeneer sergei KOROLEV, and safte care of tons of document for the Rocket knowledge before the Americans could get their hands on this. THE WEST knew of a mysterious Chief Engineer.. but knew nothing about Him.!! HER father, walked in the front row, in the first victory parade in the Red Square after the war. there are videos of Him on the net... HE was involved in the launch of JURI GARGARIN.! personally, in 1980 I was presented with the ice hockey jersey of the great ice hockey star Alexander Yakusev by the Soviet ambassador The greatest thing that has happened in my life. SLAVA MOTHER RUSSIA 🇷🇺THIS 🇷🇺COUNTRY,🇷🇺 who🇷🇺 sacrificed🇷🇺 his 🇷🇺life 🇷🇺 for 🇷🇺our 🇷🇺freedom🇷🇺

[@karlgustov9648]

@@ommerommer7152 and then everyone clapped. An that boys name..? *ALBERT EINSTEIN*

[@iamzora]

Did you know the Port Arthur named by British in mid-19th? they named China land ,then Russia and Japan fight for our land? for us,England, Russia and Japan are all invaders.

[@mirektobiasz7420]

Was his name Isoruku Yamamoto?

[@breider1116]

My grandfather (Volga German)was drafted into Russian army in 1904. After serving he was due to get extended for another tour. He packed up family before they grabbed him and came to America. Thank you grandpa.!!!

[@unterhau1102]

Volga German? So just russian then?

[@breider1116]

They considered themselves German as they immigrated in 1763 when Catherine the great invited them to come to Russia offering free land. They could speak German. Have their own schools churches and villages. They were exempt from military service. All change by end of 19th century. Therefore my German ancestors immigrated to USA.

[@bethparker1500]

My great grandfather was a Finn, but used like a slave to find gold in Cuba being a geologist. Jumped off that Russian ship!

[@ISCARI0T]

@@unterhau1102so a horse that lives with pigs becomes a pig? Makes sense!😊

[@Volodimar]

To Kansas?

[@anxiousfoodperson8116]

My great grandfather left Russia in 1905 to avoid being drafted and sent to fight in Manchuria. Basically the Russo-Japanese war is one of the reasons why I'm writing this comment in English.

[@bigboizism]

My great great grandfather served in the Russian artillery at Port Arthur. He was wounded and later died from his wounds en hospital.

[@deadby15]

a wise man sees a problem rising afar, and starts preparing to avoid it

[@NeostormXLMAX]

Arent you more glad you haven’t been around during communism? After this you would have been forced to fight in the soviet armies later if you stayed there

[@anxiousfoodperson8116]

I have family who stayed and fought in the Red Army. I'm extremely proud of them.

[@zulimanismail1966]

Your grandparents do the right thing..👍

[@michaelsinger4638]

Japan managing to modernize and become a major world power in such a short amount of time, is truly impressive. Also the parallels between the attacks on Port Arthur and Pearl Harbor later on, are pretty obvious.

[@Aegor1998]

So technical pearl harbor wasn't a sneak attack. Its just we received a declaration of war in Japanese and they had already pulled their people from the country. I think it took almost a day to translate and by that time pearl; harbor had already been bombed.

[@reginabillotti]

@@Aegor1998 The legal, official declaration of war came after the attack. Intercepting their coded communications does not count as getting an official declaration of war.

[@michaelsinger4638]

Pretty much yeah. I was not INTENDED to be an attack before war was declared.

[@RolfHartmann]

More of a significant regional power than a world power, but the point stands.

[@anythingthoughanythingthou2453]

@@Aegor1998 shut up with your damn revisionism

[@ted1045]

The Japanese transformation from a feudal/renissance era society to what was then a fairly modern one is absolutely one of the most striking and amazing transformations in human history. The fact that they beat Russia is even more incredible considering some 50 years prior they had no experience with any of the then modern technology with regards to military weaponary only makes it that much more strking.

[@rishz7857]

Propaganda of cheapening the individual's life and elevating duty the state had a huge impact. It wasn't about an individual's freedom that was worth fighting for.

[@ted1045]

@@rishz7857 Well if you don't like the comment you can just ignore it.

[@robcanisto8635]

​@@rishz7857so scared to give credit like wow lol so brave huh😊

[@robcanisto8635]

Further reinforcing the truth that Russia has always been and always will be a pretender. All of the worst aspects of both East and West lol

[@whitewolf2767]

@@rishz7857 just say you cant digest the fact

[@user-kl9th8rs7p]

1人の日本人である僕にとって1番面白いのは動画より日本の近代について外国人が様々な意見を述べている事だ。色々なものがあって面白い

[@KhersonUA4ever]

My great-grandfather took part in that war. He had been one of the defenders of Port Arthur, became a prisoner of war after General Stessel surrendered the fortress to the Japanese. I still have some of the artifacts he brought back from captivity.

[@blackdeath4eternity]

thanks for sharing.

[@tylerkelley4788]

what kind of artifacts? like documents/papers or like mess kit stuff you might be issued as a POW?

[@may-ky6jl]

I think that captured Russian were sent to Matsuyama Camp in Shikoku . There are records that Russian were formed concerts and German songs were sang by Russians first time in J history. They loved weather and environment. Russian must have had hard time, even at homeland back then.

[@AddiDizeL]

@@tylerkelley4788 I have a saber, 1905, but it needs to be repaired, I need to order a new handle to polish the blade, my grandfather fought with the Turks at Sarykamysh

[@mathjeopardy]

Let me guess his name was Vasisuali Lohankin

[@okancanarslan3730]

"a decade of training to perform a 30 minutes maneuver" that explains the victory of japan in this war. History telling gives too much importance in leaders, generals or other top people but indeed it is the discipline and dedication of ordinary minions that make the majority of difference.

[@yrobtsvt]

The guy who did that decade of training, Akiyama Saneyuki, is profiled in Shiba Ryotaro's book "Clouds Above the Hill". He came from an impoverished samurai family and worked his way up the ranks

[@OneofInfinity.]

Also the only names mentioned in history, its always a team effort.

[@_ArsNova]

That's how it works in the navy. It takes years, or decades, to train men to perform single maneuvers that will determine the fate of a battle and thousands of lives. Such as Admiral Scheer's fleet-wide 180-degree turn at Jutland under fire from the entire Grand Fleet.

[@jeffreyestahl]

A quote from Napoleon is apt: "Soldiers win battles. Generals get the credit."

[@rajanlad]

And hunger of ordinary minions for BANANA!!

[@Jkeb19]

I learnt about the war briefly in history class, but we only really discussed the impact that it had on Russia and how it led to the 1905 revolution. Very interesting to see it explained in such detail.

[@peterchessell28]

1917

[@WhenDoesTheVideoActuallyStart]

​@@peterchessell281905*

[@junkobash2365]

I love how it is objective, fact-based, no-propaganda and very well illustrated with a geographical map. I was getting tired of history videos full of one-sided perspective and propaganda. You've earned a new sub and I hope the channel will grow more!

[@bluewhitespartan5258]

You do not understand culture and history as a concept. Propaganda is an essential part of that concepts. We got an narrative as our enemies have. Deal with it.

[@NamKhanhDHABui]

we dont want to hear any sides' narratives at all, just facts.

[@creatoruser736]

For all the times people have said Japan attacking the United States in 1941 was a foolish move that was doomed from the start, you can see from their previous experiences, especially this one, how they didn't see it that way. Russia also had superior manpower and economic resources than Japan, yet a surprise attack and quick, decisive victories caused the country which was superior on paper to become demoralized and sue for peace. Japan showed before that it could defeat larger and supposedly stronger adversaries, it was just a question of if they could so it fast enough. We too often look at things from hindsight, not from the perspective of people observing their own history and applying that to events moving forward.

[@creatoruser736]

@crassgop They literally say Russia had more financial resources, and it didn't matter that Japan suffered "unsustainable casualties" because Russia entered peace talks before that became too much of an issue. This is what I'm saying, too many "but actually" people thinking they know so much better when they see more clearly than people who lived during the actual time. I'm not saying it was a smart plan, I'm saying based on their experience it is reasonable to see why they would have thought the way they did. You don't have to be Captain Obvious with "of course they were wrong in what they guessed."

[@Ugly_German_Truths]

Yeah, it also ignores that in the Russo Japanese War they wanted a bit of real estate nobody too desperately wanted (Korea/Manchukuo) while with the Attacks that started making WW II global they went for a massive chunk of ressource rich and profitable colonies for 5 still pretty much global powers (US, UK, NL, FR and Portugal) that would NEVER stay unanswered and unretributed. They already had overplayed their amount of tolerance by the major powers through the chinese invasion and continued cruelties there, which was a reason for the harsh sanctions issued against them by those colonial powers, withholding ressources important to continue warfare from Japan. So no, nothing like "a surprise Attack and quick decisive victory" would ever have gotten them a peace contract to their benefit here. If anything the distraction of most participants through the war in Europe allowed them to gain false confidence and use that to spool off the rope to hang themselves in by overextending their pretty limited forces. Had the Allies had a choice to immediately send appropriate reaction forces to the Chinese Sea, they would never have gotten as close to their goal of the "Greater East Asia Co-Prosperty Sphere" as they did and hte fighting would probably have been a LOT harder due to the Japanese having had the reserves to concentrate at any attack.

[@deadeyecpt.7765]

Problem with Pearl Harbor is that the plan was foiled the moment they realized the carriers weren't were they thought they'd be. Those were the priority targets afterall. One more thing, no matter how hard a blow they couod strike to the US it wouldn't last long if the US still had the facilities to repair that damage, pump out new ships and get them ready for combat. Should have hit maintenance and fuel supplies as well, then they might had a chance at keeping the US out if the Pacific long enough to get their hands on the territory and resources they needed so that they could strenghten their position to hopefully settle some kind of accord with the US, since they might have been in a strong enough position that the US would find a war with Japan not worth the cost. Just my opinion again, probably guided by a bit of hindsight and the luxury of time to think about this.

[@TheStewart46]

Had they studied US history, they would have realised that early victories are meaningless. The Northern States suffered numerous setbacks in the Civil War, but never contemplated giving in and went on to annihilate the Confederacy.

[@deadeyecpt.7765]

@@TheStewart46 i don't remember who exactly, but I read somewhere that some of the IJN admirals were trying to push for a plan that aimed at striking a deal with the US and avoid a full on war after the raid at Pearl Harbor. The idea being crippling the US Navy enough to make a full scale Pacific conflict to "inconvenient" for the US. That idea never took off and things went as we all know today, but if I recall it was some of the admirals that had studied in the US and had witnessed the industrial capacity, which was the real strenght of the US war effort.

[@turkishmauser1174]

Japan victory was celebrated then in my country , turkey . Some families named their sons as TOGO , which was inspire to japan naval commander admiral togo

[@travis080]

Impresive. We Japanese are still grad for turkish action in Iran, 1985. Love you guys.

[@sutapasbhattacharya9471]

@@travis080 As the video stated at the end, colonized people celebrated the Japanese victory [regardless of what the motives were] as it marked the first major victory by an Asian power over the Europeans for over 200 years [in India the Mughals had defeated the British in 1690 after the Anglo-Mughal War]. Later in the 1939-45 great war [although many see it as starting with the Japanese invasion of China in 1937], Subhas Chandra Bose would get most of the Indian sepoys [mercenaries serving European colonial masters] captured at Singapore to form the Indian National Army and fight with the Japanese in Burma against the British colonial parasites. On Republic Day [26th Jan] this year a holographic image of Subhas Chandra Bose was projected onto the empty plinth at India Gate where the statue of the British King-Emperor had once stood. A real stone statue - with Bose in the famous Chalo Delhi, Lal Qila [Let's go to Delhi, the Red Fort speech pose to the INA] will be placed on the empty plinth in the near future. Hypocritical Westerners still demonize Subhas Chandra Bose as he met with Hitler after he escaped House Arrest [as Stalin would not help him as he knew that he would soon need British help against Germany] and fought with Fascist Japan - but Bose remains a hero to all Indian Nationalists. Similarly, fellow Bengali - the judge Radhobhinod Pal remains a hero in Japan - as he was the only non-European judge at the Tokyo War Crimes tribunal and he revealed the hypocritical 'Victor's Justice' meted out by the Europeans [inc. Americans] to Japan for crimes which were no different from European colonial crimes. The British and Americans suppressed his book in their countries. I had a similar experience myself in regard to the Japanese and Western hypocrisy. I am actually the man who identified the physical correlate of the Inner Light of Pure Consciousness [aka Atman, Buddha Nature, al haq, Holy Spirit, Sophia etc.]. I recall that when my impromptu speech stole the show at very end of a 1999 Cambridge conference about the true nature of Consciousness [as understood by Indian Philosophy and many Japanese - as a Japanese physicist reader of my 1999 book Shiuji Inomata told me - 10 million Japanese watched a TV programme for a conference in which they stressed the Indian metaphysical view of Universal Consciousness as being the true view] - the man sitting next to me asked me for a copy of my [1999] book as he had seen how the Chairman and others were showing me so much attention and now heard my speech. He said his name was Oliver Knowles OBE and he worked at the Alastair Hardy Centre for the Study of Religious Experience, Oxford University and would review my book in their journal called De Numine. However, when Knowles wrote the review [published in 2000], although impressed by my work in metaphysics, he cynically mocked me as I my book included historical sections in which I pointed out the British crimes in India and had a whole section praising the exploits of Subhas Chandra Bose. It turned out that Knowles had fought in the British Indian Army against the Japanese in Burma and Imphal. He raged against the brutal Japanese treatment of British prisoners of war. But in 2001 I came across the book 'Late Victorian Holocausts' by Mike Davis which showed that the British had created dozens of manmade famines in occupied India [by exporting India's foodgrains for British Food Security and profit] killing tens of millions of Indians. In 1877 they had even set up so-called 'Relief Camps' for victims of the Madras Famine - these camps gave less starvation rations than the Germans gave at Buchenwald - and killed 94% of the inmates. The photographs of the survivors are just like the bags of bones that you see in the German Death Camps. Millions died in the 1877 Madras Famine whilst the British exported record amounts of Indian grain lowering prices for Westerners. Whilst 100,000 a week died in Madras, Disraeli organized the biggest feast in human history - feasting 60,000 British and their Indian princeling collaborators for a whole week in the 1877 Delhi Durbar - which made Victoria 'Empress of India' so that she could have the same imperial title as her relative the Kaiser. I forwarded these details to Knowles to point out the British hypocrisy over Japanese [and German Crimes Against Humanity]. The British are currently demonizing Russia and Stalin's famine in Ukraine but covering up the fact that they killed millions by forced starvation many many times. The final time was linked to Japan and Subhas Bose. As Scientific American editor Madhushrie Mukerjee showed in he 2010 book 'Churchill's Secret War', Winston Churchill was a War Criminal himself in regard to the 1942-3 Bengal Famine. As usual there was plenty of surplus food in other parts of India but this was not sent to feed the drought-stricken people in East Bengal [now Bangladesh]. Churchill wanted to punish Bengal collectively as it had produced Subhas Bose [Collective Punishment of a population is a War Crime]. When the British cover-up of the famine was blown by a British newspaper in Calcutta after a year in 1943 - the USA, Canada, Australia and even Japan offered Food Aid to Bengal. But Churchill lied to the Western donors that there was no shipping available to take the food to Bengal [when in fact there was a glut of shipping as the U-boats had been defeated] and he lied that Bengalis would rather die than eat wheat [wheat is a regular part of the Bengali diet in bread]. Instead, he diverted the food to Britain - to hoard and manipulate food prices after the war and to feed 'white' Europeans in Italy [who had been enemies]. Denying Food Aid is also a War Crime - even the Germans allowed Red Cross Food Aid to Greek famine victims in 1941.

[@ninja.saywhat]

fkin weebs 🤣

[@turkishmauser1174]

@@travis080 we Turks revere and respect japan . The turkish War prisoners in captivity in russia during ww1 was brought back to turkey by japan navy , which is another favour for us

[@ajaysidhu471]

@@sutapasbhattacharya9471 you realise many of the colonies who were captured by Japan were treated even worse than before?

[@RayearthIX]

There are two ships from the Battle of Tsushima still around in the world. Admiral Togo's flagship, Mikasa, is in port in Yokosuka. It is the only pre-dreadnought battleship left in the world. Meanwhile, the Russian cruiser Avrora can be seen in St. Petersburg, though it gained fame a decade later when, according to legend, the firing of its guns after the crew mutinied marked the beginning of the October Revolution.

[@adamrules01]

Imagine sailing 8 months around the world only to surrender and become a prisoner of war in the first battle, or worst still get killed at sea.

[@YayoLife]

Facts: - General Nogi lost 2 of his boys during this war; - He broke down to the emperor when he was recounting the story to his highness after the war, feeling sorry for the young lives lost. He asked to commit 'seppuku', the Emperor Meiji rejected, saying not until he's alive - General Nogi and his wife took their lives during/after the emperor's funeral in 1912.

[@fisterB]

'not until I'm alive'??

[@georgew2014]

And from 1908 until his suicide, Nogi mentored Prince Hirohito.

[@johndough111]

@@fisterB maybe implying he's so depressed/pitiful that seppuku in that state of mind would have no honor/point? just sacrificing a corpse. Just a guess

[@MajinOthinus]

@@johndough111 No, he meant "Not while Emperor Meiji is still alive", thus why he commited seppuku after after Meiji's death.

[@antonioformacion7441]

@@johndough111 he was distraught of his failure towards his men and country and seppuku would allow him to die honorably.

[@chrisg5219]

This is absolutely fantastic! Nobody EVER talks about the land campaign in particular and it's so gratifying to see it covered.

[@kleinmeisterlein]

But even here the land operations are treated just like some minor occurrence.

[@user-sarumane_puyo]

Thank you for uploading

[@paulvonblerk9365]

Thank you so very much for an exceptional video. Excellent presentation and so informative.

[@Tadicuslegion78]

Tsar Nicholas II: If I had a nickel for every war I screwed up, I'd have two nickels. Which isn't a lot, but it's weird that it happened twice

[@paulmicheldenverco1]

The Russian technology was lagging behind other countries, so it's not really surprising they lost a second war. One thing that the Germans did to really complicate the future was to give Vladimir Lenin safe passage to Russia. I'm not saying the Soviet Union wouldn't have been founded without him, but it might not have. A Twentieth Century without communism would have affected the world in unknown ways, but one would think a world without communist states would be a much better one. Perhaps we should have held the bomb over the Soviet's heads to force them to stand down. It would have been immoral to doublecross a recent ally, but think of the lives it would have saved. "You just lost twenty million people in the war, but we're going to need you to go ahead and step down, Stalin, and take all of your communists with you. Thanks." The Bill Lumbergh school of International Relations.

[@AddiDizeL]

@@paulmicheldenverco1 Of course, it's better if you live in a class society, without social lifts, the right to education, and a 12-hour working day, without medical care.

[@user-ld9hx7eh8b]

@@paulmicheldenverco1 If you were really interested in the revolution in Russia, then you would know that Lenin learned about the revolution in Russia from the newspapers while drinking coffee in Switzerland ...

[@nmarbletoe8210]

@@user-ld9hx7eh8b Coffee is truly a powerful drink.

[@LathropLdST]

@@paulmicheldenverco1Marx and Engels would have still existed. ...Mussolini and Hitler came into shape from somewhat socialist-leaning organizations. Maybe their ascent to power would have been slower, and the 1929 crisis less global, but if it happened, Russia could still have gone communist. Ugh, historiography is a bad drug.

[@steveelliott8640]

Several of the Japanese baftleships were built in Barrow-in-Furness. There are a few streets in Barrow with Jaranese names and a samuri sword donated to the town is on display at the town hall, which is regulary visited by japanese tourists.

[@BG-wm2tw]

@Derrick Bridges and you are a shill for which country?

[@ShadowSumac]

@Derrick Bridges Take your meds.

[@isorokudono]

@@BG-wm2tw I shill for your mommy.

[@redwater4778]

The British wanted the Japanese to fight the Russians for them .

[@savasolarov8424]

Nice and informative video, thanks for the upload.

[@jamesalexander3530]

Excellent documentary! Thank you for sharing.

[@briankearney5994]

This is a real masterpiece, production value was always high, but you have really managed to condense so much into such a nice video.

[@RaulFelixINC]

Finally an in-depth documentary on the Russo Japanese War. Thank you so much. So much to learn here.

[@joelgonzalez9248]

Outstanding work. Keep it up. I love your channel.

[@mjc11a]

Excellent presentation. Interesting as it is educational. Thanks very much for posting and be safe 🙏

[@earlystrings1]

Excellent documentary on an important war I barely knew anything about and a great start to the new series!

[@halfsquatchshortbeard3435]

“In 20 yrs. they gained what took us centuries…” …that’s why it only took em 20 yrs. the knowledge was there and the Japanese are strict and dedicated. Crazy what a little discipline and dedication can accomplish.

[@tylerscherer57]

That and desperation.

[@AbuHajarAlBugatti]

Anglosaxons forced japan to become westernized after they broke their isolation with War and destroyed their century old shogunate

[@Joy3269]

Thank You Very Much for this Video, it was really very Nice & Informative. Thank You.

[@whynot-tomorrow_1945]

I swear the Russian military has two settings: 1. World-altering juggernaut of patriotism and ferocity 2. "What is this 'maintenance' and 'training' you speak of? The numbers on our clipboard are already perfect."

[@s.k902]

It is surprising that Samurai country defeated Russia in only thirty years after modernization.

[@prevost8686]

Timing is everything in every thing.

[@JasonSputnik]

Been waiting for a video about this infamous war for quite some time, ありがとうございます guys!

[@tamlynburleigh9267]

Thank you for this posting. Very interesting.

[@christaylor6654]

Amazing video along with footage

[@jatelvidio]

I have been waiting for this topic. Thanks.

[@Whatlidell]

Thank you! This is such beautiful content and wonderfully presented!

[@clvrswine]

War is beautiful?

[@brianbanks703]

excellent first-rate doc, intelligently knowledgeable and well-illustrated. Many thanks

[@AntonioSantos66]

Great video. Thanks!

[@kiefershanks4172]

This war was way more intense than I thought it was. Great video!

[@user-nk4il3ht5n]

怖すぎる泣いたすぎて泣いた!

[@milangovedarica6952]

Compliments guys, I have never seen or heard the Russo-Japanese war of 1904 covered in such detail. Battle of Tsushima and the siege of Port Arthur are well known but the ground warfare further inland is rarely mentioned.

[@McRyach]

I like the conclusion that it was the first time Asian forces defeated the European army serving an anti-colonial cause.

[@casienwhey]

Great video. I learned a lot and appreciate the content. Interesting conflict.

[@uprightape100]

Thank you so much. Beautifully presented.

[@tyberfen5009]

Thank you a lot for this amazing documentary. It was a pleasure to see this often ignored conflict unfold

[@dustylover100]

I've started watching these videos and am enjoying and learning from them.

[@samrowland5208]

Fantastic video! Really nice work 😊

[@dansmith4077]

For the algorithm and great episode thank you all.

[@yuniwakamatsu2376]

I learned this war in history class in Japan but this video is the most comprehensive cover among what I've encountered! Thanks for the hard work.

[@giorgimerabishvili8194]

Absolutely great channel! Subscribed. Keep it up!

[@TheGreatWar]

welcome!

[@ptrekboxbreaks5198]

It's amazing to think how modern this war seemed when the American civil war was only some 35-40 years earlier.... and they fought with single shot muskets in lines of soldiers shooting at eachother with cannons in the rear....amazing what would become of war fighting in such a short time

[@rayzas4885]

The American Civil War was much like ww1. It used outdated tactics that were nullified by brand new technologies and resulted in extremely high casualties. Best example imo is pickets charge. It would be sound in the napoleonic era, but because of rifled muskets and grape shot it lead to the complete annihilation of many units.

[@williamlydon2554]

Excellent overview of the war. Like many foreign conflicts, it is not always easy to find English sources on the Russo-Japanese War, making this invaluable for anyone curious about the early 20th century.

[@FatNature]

This channel still posting awesome content, great work lads

[@nathandehoyos8796]

You guys are awesome! Really my favorite war documentary channel. You do your homework, thank you.

[@sdgakatbk]

Well done. This was very interesing.

[@bdcochran01]

1. What is not mentioned is that the Japanese army commander regretted the war and losses. Upon return to Japan, he asked permission to commit suicide and was refused by the Emperor. As soon as the Emperor died, he did commit suicide. 2. In 1976, I had a conversation on the slopes of Mt. Hakone with a retired professor from Tokyo U. who had been naval officer at the battle in 1905. He was brought up in the old educational tradition of the upper class and was unchanged in philosophy. Very interesting.

[@AnIdiotsLantern]

What did this professor tell you??

[@joshuashalom4594]

This was an amazing documentary. Well done!!

[@joereilly1519]

What a lot of people don't realize that the Battle ship Mikasa, was built in the United Kingdom, a lot of the early IJN ships were. The Japanese learned from the Royal Navy on how to behave.

[@John451vfr]

Interestingly one unmentioned strategic advantage the Japanese Navy had, was using the much cleaner burning Welsh coal Vs the dirty Russian coal, this meant the Japanese could see the Russian ships at further distances.

[@user-pe6vb5kv4l]

yeah. it's cold shimose gunpowder''下瀬火薬''

[@BlessedFallout]

Wow! Didn’t know that!

[@georgenish]

The British refused to sell the cleaner coal to the Baltic Fleet on their way to Tsushima.

[@zincman1995]

Very professionally done; very interesting and easy to follow.

[@derekscott7912]

Excellent work guys, great video

[@sabumiko701]

Before the first attack, Japanese artillery bombard the fortress for two days with their 150mm cannon but couldn't penetrate the concrete at all. So general Nogi asked to bring 280mm cannon from Japan and also ordered to dig a tunnel to the fortress so that the Japanese can attack from a better position. Eighteen 280mm cannons had arrived but even the 280mm cannon was not enough to penetrate the fortress. After the failure of the third attack, the Japanese navy was so much frustrated and asked general Nogi to change the attacking direction and try to take the 203 hill from where the artillery could bombard the Russian fleet in the harbor from afar. After the bloody fighting eventually Japanese took the hill and from where they could eliminate the whole fleet.

[@user-jc1zo1qe4z]

that's right　　203 highlands was lifeline japan was anytime Ukraine

[@franciscusjohannesburger3720]

Thanks for the video !

[@JAGtheTrekkieGEMINI1701]

Extremely underrated war Event. Thanks for covering!

[@imaniodufuye7536]

Imma agree with Bribe, an impressive doc. One of the best documentaries I've ever seen considering I've seen hundreds, well written very articulate, easily understood Jesse you basically performed a masterclass in how docs should be performed. Thank you, buddy. I will not only subscribe I already signed up for the bundle at curiosity stream.

[@jessealexander2695]

Thanks a lot, appreciate that!

[@hurdygurdyman1905]

Who is Imma?

[@GillAgainsIsland12]

Very informative and engaging. Thank you.

[@deaddocreallydeaddoc5244]

Great presentation of a rarely discussed or considered war.

[@davidswift7776]

Another absolutely insightful and pragmatic introspect of The Great War. Bravo Jesse 👍 World War Zero… profound.

[@JO3BID3N-is-a-P3D0]

i LOVE how unbiased ya'll are! keep the great content coming!!! excellent , clean presentation. your hard work shows !

[@AJ-et3vf]

Awesome video! Thank you!

[@terryanderson8354]

Excellent content as usual!

[@theromanorder]

Thank u ive missed your uploads ots felt like FOREVER.

[@TheGreatWar]

we wanted to get it right and invested more time and resources into this.

[@theromanorder]

@@TheGreatWar well congrats because you have achieved a masterpiece worth of making u a "professional" as the "normal" world of historians call it i sulot u 💂‍♂️(this is the only military emoji lol)

[@eternalobi]

As a direct result of Japan winning this war. It prevented Russia from annexing the entirety of Manchuria(still annexed a lot of Manchuria). And then Japan invaded China again in the 1930 just as CCP was about to be wiped out by the KMT. So Imperial Japan indirectly helped China/CCP twice ironically.

[@josephguo3429]

KMT never conquered more than 1/3 of China for 22 years. The fall of KMT was not because the invasion but corruption and crippledom. see

[@geoffreycharles6330]

I don't think Russia wanted all of Manchuria. I think they only the region around Harbin city in the north.

[@josephguo3429]

@@geoffreycharles6330 without russian stay at Siberia and the peninsulas, there will be no more China existed . Believe or not, Japan n the US had more interest to these lands than russia. China is lucky that some one keep protecting her back door for hundred years, free of charge.

[@geoffreycharles6330]

@@josephguo3429 what? What peninsulas? What interest did Japan and the U.S. have to partition China? What are you talking about?

[@obsidianstatue]

what are you on about? the CPC was created in 1921 in Shanghai, how is that related to the fate of Manchuria in 1905?

[@michaeldavidson1909]

Well presented. Thank you.

[@kevinkoepke8311]

Very well done. Thanks

[@jonathanwilliams1065]

Fun fact the war officially ended in 2006 when Japan signed a peace treaty with Montenegro which had declared war on Japan in support of Russia

[@TacticalGAMINGzz]

Great series, always excited to see new stuff from you guys. Can't wait for the Balkan Wars episode!

[@DStageGarage]

I'm from Poland, my grandma had a photo of my great-great-grandfather in Russian military uniform from the time he fought in that war. Back then Poland was not on the map being divided between Prusia, Austria and Russia and the area where my grandma is from was in Russia so he was put in Russian military.

[@olegshtolc7245]

Damn, what a story. I wonder did poles fight each other in ww1?

[@DStageGarage]

@@olegshtolc7245 There were many cases of forced enlistment of polish men to all occupant armies. So basically yes but of course there was a huge resistance and in the end the efforts of yet non existing Poland meaning the underground army as well as polish battalions fighting in allied forces led to the point number 13 of Woodrow Wilson 14 points: "An independent Polish state should be erected which should include the territories inhabited by indisputably Polish populations, which should be assured a free and secure access to the sea, and whose political and economic independence and territorial integrity should be guaranteed by international covenant."

[@phils5423]

First time seeing one of your videos it was fantastic thank you

[@ryue65]

Very impressive. I am a first time viewer of your channel. Well researched, and a great combo of story, video and photos. Your pronunciation of the Japanese names was pretty much spot on. You have a new subscriber.

[@TheGreatWar]

thanks and welcome to the show

[@Qadir-24]

I remember watching this on world of warships documenting on the battle of Tsushima between battleship Mikasa and Cruiser Aura (if am spelling that correctly). Thanks for covering the Russo-Japanese war.

[@mindaugasdacys6921]

Great content, thank you.

[@45641560456405640563]

Liked within moments. Great subject.

[@acosorimaxconto5610]

Fantastic presentation on a little known war that deserves to be better known

[@Chris-zo4vu]

Pronunciation on point!! Thank you for paying respect in that fashion, great video!

[@panzerjagear]

What a fantastically succinct yet thorough examination of this war!

[@CastleBomb44]

I haven't finished watching it all yet. But I really appreciate the map and movements on the maps. That was my biggest complaint on your earlier videos. So much better!!! Your World war Zero comment makes me think about how sets up further frustrations for the future war to try and resolve (nothing was resolved)

[@durhamdavesbg4948]

Although the map of the night attack is heavily abstracted, the point labelled second attack is over 20km from the port.

[@psycrofice]

My grandfather joined this war for the Japanese because at that time it was Manchukuo and the land was dominated by Japan. He crossed the Heilongjiang(Amur River) and was wounded in the battle, when he woke up from the coma he knew he was rescued by a Russian family. He lived with that family for a while and get recovered, although the grandma did not want him to leave he still managed to back to his homeland. It's a pity that I did not have a chance to talk with my grandfather face to face since he left long before I was born. When I was watching this video there was only one thing in mind: My grandfather was there.

[@iamzora]

What a story! He was a victim also a lucky man.

[@tsvetislavrangelov5932]

Thank you for sharing this, I had the exact same feeling when learning about the Bulgarian Independence War, where my 3-time great-grandfather fought and lost both of his legs.

[@wuhaninstituteofvirology5226]

Actually, Manchuria was completely dominated by Russia before 1904.

[@psycrofice]

@@wuhaninstituteofvirology5226 You are right. Thank you for pointing out the mistake.

[@linderoes7832]

R U Chinese?

[@stacey_1111rh]

Excellent work

[@paulbasaur]

amazing job

[@jjp_nl]

Little talked about conflict. I knew about Adm. Togo and the Tsushima strait naval battle and the ultimate Japanese victory that put Japan on the map as major power in the region. I had no idea it was so costly though, not to mention the Japanese apparently losing substantially more men then the Russians...that is not to say the Russian side didn't lose much.

[@georgew2014]

General Nogi, whose strategy led to 16K casualties in one battle, would commit hara-kiri to atone for their deaths. He wanted to do it when he returned to Japan. But the Emperor forbid it. Nogi waited until the Emperor died in 1912. BTW, from 1908 until his suicide, Nogi was mentor to Emperor Meiji's oldest grandson, Prince Hirohito.

[@robertgittings8662]

@@georgew2014 *Hmm ... I am not sure about "Japan lost substantially more men" - - since most of the source I read Russian did lost more ... and I and sort of Russo - Japanese history buff have lived in Russia and Japan most of my life*

[@TheGearhead222]

Great video! I knew nothing of the Russo-Japanese war until stationed in Tokyo bay on the USS Moblile Bay. Admiral Togo's flagship, the "Mikasa" is in concrete right next to the bay. As mentioned, it was built in Britain for the japanese navy-John in Texas

[@sabumiko701]

I am Japanese. There are many books about this war. I think Russian army lost more than Japanese army. By the way, general Nogi's strategy was criticized a lot even at that time. He changed his strategy after he failed the first attack but still it took a lot time to conquer the fortress. He eventually changed the attacking direction and took a important hill from where he could bombard harbor a far.

[@carlreed6186]

@@robertgittings8662 Sources do not agree on a precise number of deaths from the war because of a lack of body counts for confirmation. The number of Japanese Army dead in combat or died of wounds is put at around 59,000 with around 27,000 additional casualties from disease, and between 6,000 and 12,000 wounded. Estimates of Russian Army dead range from around 34,000 to around 53,000 men with a further 9,000-19,000 dying of disease and around 75,000 captured. source Wikipedia.

[@edyr]

Thanks for this

[@guozijian]

Excellent. Thank you.

[@ViralKinesis]

I've been anticipating this one for a while. Thank you and keep up the excellent work! Cheers from Texas!

[@TheGreatWar]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@clvrswine]

How could you possibly be anticipating this? For a while? Really?

[@yrobtsvt]

@@clvrswine They pre-announced it on their channel, I've been excited too!

[@ViralKinesis]

@@clvrswine Because it was announced a while back? Not hard to comprehend, bud

[@VictorElGreco]

Thank you for this video. My family were unlucky enough to be non-combatant merchants in Port Arthur right at that time. They had moved there from Vladivostok in 1901; as the war broke out, they worked their way back to Harbin, then back into Siberia.

[@RJFPme]

That sounds like an epic trial and journey many could not make . Their integrity under the stress of war is admirable .

[@Leonfromre4and2]

And yet you have a pontic Greek surname. What a fascinating world we live in

[@tomofuru400]

分かり易かったです。解説ありがとうございました。

[@uleinfamous]

I enjoyed this tremendously

[@afalk1024]

Fantastic work!

[@jessealexander2695]

Thanks!

[@renanfelipedossantos5913]

And we are about to see its second edition!