[Illustration:
_Frontispiece_
THE BATTLEGROUND OF THE RUSSO-JAPANESE WAR
]
A PHOTOGRAPHIC RECORD
OF THE
RUSSO-JAPANESE WAR
EDITED AND ARRANGED BY
JAMES H. HARE, War Photographer
WITH PHOTOGRAPHS BY
VICTOR K. BULLA, ROBERT L. DUNN, JAMES F. J. ARCHIBALD, RICHARD BARRY,
ASHMEAD BARTLETT, JAMES RICALTON
TOGETHER WITH AN ACCOUNT OF THE BATTLE OF THE SEA OF JAPAN BY CAPTAIN A.
T. MAHAN, U. S. N., RETIRED
[Illustration: [Logo]]
NEW YORK
P. F. COLLIER & SON
1905
COPYRIGHT 1905 BY P. F. COLLIER &
SON
The photographs reproduced in this
volume are fully protected by
copyright in the United States and
Great Britain. Their reproduction,
without express permission, is
hereby forbidden.
The work of Messrs. Hare, Dunn,
Archibald, and Barry, under adverse
conditions in the field, was greatly
facilitated by the use of the films
and developing machine of the
Eastman Kodak Company, to whom they
feel this acknowledgment is due.
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
PAGE
The Battleground of the Russo-Japanese War—_Frontispiece_ 2
Nicholas II, Emperor of Russia 7
Mutsuhito, Emperor of Japan 7
Vice-Admiral Alexieff 8
Marquis Ito Hirobumi 8
Typical Street Scene in Russia’s Capital City 10
An Everyday Scene in One of the Large Cities of Japan 11
Japanese Troops Preparing for War 13
Training Japanese Cavalrymen at the Tokio Barracks 14
Changing Guard at the Oyama Barracks in Tokio 15
Swapping Stories in the Guard House at Oyama Barracks 16
Cleaning and Oiling Rifles in Preparation for War 17
Departure of Baron Rosen from Yokohama 18
Russian Minister to Korea Departing from Seoul 19
Newspaper Bulletins on the Chemulpo Battle 20
Patriotic Citizens Awaiting Their Turn to Enlist 21
Building Temporary Stables in Tokio 21
Mobilization of Troops in Tokio at the Outbreak of War 22
Troops Marching to Station Through the Streets of Tokio 23
Departure of Japanese Troops for Korea 24
Japanese Troops Detraining at Hiroshima 25
Cavalry Train Leaving Shimbashi Station 26
Men of the Army Service Corps Ready to Entrain 27
“Sayonara!”—Good-By 27
Engineers at Hiroshima, Practicing Building Bridges 28
Bridge at Hiroshima Ready for the Pontoons 29
“Tikoku Banzai!”—“Long Live the Empire!” 30
Destruction of the “Variag” and “Korietz” 32
Wrecks of the Russian Warships in Chemulpo Harbor 33
Japanese Salvage Corps on the Wreck of the “Variag” 34
The Night Landing of the Japanese Troops at Chemulpo 35
Coolies Handling Japanese Supplies 36
Mrs. Pavlov, Wife of the Russian Minister to Korea 37
Dr. H. N. Allen, United States Minister to Korea 37
The Japanese Advance Through Korea 38
The Japanese Occupation of Seoul 39
Japanese Troops Waiting to Cross at Ping-Yang 40
Koreans Watching the Entry of the Japanese at Seoul 41
The Japanese Red Cross Hospital at Chemulpo 42
Russian Ladies Sewing for the Red Cross 44
With the Russian Army on its March to the Front 45
The Autocrat of Russia and the Royal Family 46
The Czar Leaving the Winter Palace to Bid Farewell to Troops 47
Departure of Red Cross Nurses from St. Petersburg 48
The Czar Reviewing an Infantry Regiment 49
Procession in Honor of the Chemulpo Sailors 50
Twenty-Third Artillery Brigade About to Leave Gatchina 51
The Czar Bidding Farewell to Commanders 52
Grand Duke Alexandrovitch Leading His Marines in Review Before
the Czar 53
International Balloon Contest at St. Petersburg 54
Landing the Men who Fought at the Yalu 56
Artillerymen Landing at Chenampo 57
Japanese Bluejackets Coming Ashore at Chenampo 58
Grooming Cavalry Horses at Chenampo 59
Japanese Troopers Caring for a Sick Horse 60
Koreans and Japanese Salesman at Chenampo 61
With the Japanese on the Advance to the Yalu 62
Screens which Hid the Movements of the Japanese 63
General Kuroki and His Staff at Headquarters 64
Russians Crossing Lake Baikal in Midwinter 66
With the Russian Forces on Their Way to the Front 67
Caissons and Sledges About to Cross Lake Baikal 68
Russian Soldiers Marching Across Frozen Lake Baikal 69
Russian Infantry Warming Up with Hot Tea 70
The Russian Advance to the Front 71
Traveling Soup Kitchen and Soup-Kettle Ovens 72
With the Russians During the Advance to the Front 73
Chinese Coolies with Russian Overseer Ready for Work 74
Cossacks Dismounted and Lined Up for Inspection 75
General Herschelmann’s Division of Cavalry at Antung 76
Russian Artillery Advancing Toward the Yalu 77
Russian Cobblers at Work in the Field on Soldiers’ Boots 78
Dinner Time with the Nineteenth Siberian Rifle Corps 79
General Sassulitch and Staff at the Battle of the Yalu 80
Incidents of the Battle of the Yalu 82
The Crossing of the Yalu 83
With the Wounded After the Fight at the Yalu 84
Hospital Corps and Wounded Japanese 85
Japanese Reserves Watching the Battle 86
Artillery Spoils Captured by the Japanese 87
Some of the Wounded Russian Prisoners 88
Japanese Burying a Russian Captain 89
Japanese Transportation Trains and Infantry 90
Fire and Devastation in the Wake of the Retreating Army 91
The Japanese Occupation of Feng-Wang-Cheng 92
English Nurses Sent by the Queen to Inspect the Workings of the
Japanese Red Cross 93
Shinto Ceremony Held by the Japanese 94
Feng-Wang-Cheng After the Japanese Occupation 95
Japanese Getting Ready to Push on into Manchuria 96
Recreations of the Japanese Between Battles in Manchuria 97
Japanese Battery Going into Action at Feng-Wang-Cheng 98
With the Japanese Invaders in Manchuria 99
Whiling Away the Time Between Battles 100
Incidents of the Advance from Feng-Wang-Cheng 101
Crossing the So River in the Advance on Liao-Yang 102
General Nishi and His Staff Halting to Study Maps and Scouts’
Reports 103
With the Victorious Japanese at Lienshankwan 104
Arrival of Mail for the Army in the Field 105
Into Manchuria with the Japanese Invaders 106
Kwantei Temple Near Motien Pass 107
Detachment of Japanese Coming Up at the Double-Quick 108
Sharpshooters Covering the Advance 109
Scenes During the Battle of Motienling 110
General Kuroki and His Chief of Staff, Lieutenant-General Fuji,
Watching the Fight at Motienling 111
Bringing Wounded Russians to the Dressing Station 112
Russian Red Cross Soldier Wounded at Motien Pass 113
Russian Wounded and Dead at Motien Pass 114
With the Wounded and Captured at Motien Pass 115
Japanese Skirmishers Advancing to Flank the Enemy 116
Prisoners and Captors at Motienling 117
Incidents of the Attempt to Recapture Motien Pass 118
General Okasaki, who Defeated the Russians 119
Field Dressing Station for Those Severely Wounded 120
With the Japanese Advance from the Yalu 121
With the Japanese During the Fighting Near Anping 122
Japanese and Captured Russians in Manchuria 123
Smokeless Batteries Hidden in Fields of Kowliang 124
In the Neighborhood of Towan During the Fighting 125
Difficulties of Campaigning During the Rainy Season 126
Russian Guns Captured at Nanshan Used by the Japanese 127
Along the Line of Battle in the Manchurian Passes 128
Pressing the Russians in the Neighborhood of Liao-Yang 129
With the Japanese on August 30 130
View of the Harbor Entrance of Port Arthur 132
Looking Southward Across the Docks at Port Arthur 133
Scenes Along the Water Front at Port Arthur 134
Naval and Civilian Activity in Port Arthur 135
Russian Warships in the Harbor at Port Arthur 136
Getting Ready for the Japanese on a Russian Warship 137
Russian Ships at Port Arthur 138
Part of Russia’s Fighting Fleet at Port Arthur 139
The Man who Bottled Up Port Arthur, and His Flagship 140
Russian Troops Detraining at Mukden Early in March 142
Mukden when the Japanese were Still Many Miles Away 143
Russians at Mukden on Their Way to the Front 144
With the Russians in Manchuria 145
Passing General Herschelmann’s Division 146
With the Russian Advance in Manchuria 147
In the Field with the Russians in Manchuria 148
General Kuropatkin at the Telescope 149
With the Russians on the Way to the Front 150
General Kuropatkin Inspecting the Staff of the Fourth Army
Corps 151
Part of the Movement of Forty Thousand Men 152
Scenes at Liao-Yang on the Arrival of the Russians 153
Courtyard of Rich Manchurian’s House at Liao-Yang 154
When News from the Firing Line Came Back to Those who had not
yet Met the Japanese 155
A Disheartened Japanese Spy 156
Russian Battery Getting into Position at Kansuitan 157
One of the Shrewdly Screened Russian Batteries 158
The Sixth East Siberian Regiment Calculating the Range 159
Russian Infantry Marching to Their Position 160
With the Russian Troops Near Haicheng 161
With the Russian Troops During the Engagement with the Japanese
in the Neighborhood of Haicheng 162
Battery of the Sixth East Siberian Artillery in Position 163
With the Russian Officers and Fighting Men 164
With the Russian Troops During the Early Campaigning 165
With the Russians at Towan Pass 166
Russian Firing Line Just Before the Battle at Yushuling 167
Japanese Shells Bursting Near the Yushuling Battery 168
Rewards of Valor with Kuropatkin’s Army in Manchuria 169
With the Russian Forces in Manchuria 170
Russian Skirmishers Advancing Against the Japanese 171
With the Tenth Russian Army Corps at Yushuling 172
With the Russian Troops During the Early Campaigning 173
With the Russian Red Cross Service in Manchuria 174
War Balloon and Gas Bag Used by the Russians 175
In the Russian Trenches During the Fighting at Taling 176
Japanese Resting on the Banks of the Tang River 178
On the Last of the Hills, on September Third 179
Searching Out and Burying the Dead 180
Incidents of the Evacuation of Liao-Yang 181
Views of Fortifications and Entanglements 182
Liao-Yang the Morning of Its Occupation by the Japanese 183
The First Entry of the Japanese into Liao-Yang 184
Scenes in Liao-Yang After Its Capture 185
Liao-Yang After Its Occupation by the Japanese Forces 186
Liao-Yang Immediately After the Capture of the City 187
Dr. Westwater, Medical Missionary 188
Dr. Westwater and Rev. T. McNaughton in a Bomb-Proof 188
Operating on Manchurian who had Forty-Seven Wounds 188
Innocent Manchurian Victims of the War 188
Liao-Yang Before and After the Arrival of the Japanese 189
After the Russians Evacuated Liao-Yang 190
Japanese Activity at Liao-Yang 191
Liao-Yang After Oyama’s Armies had Taken the City 192
General Kuroki, Staff, Correspondents, and Attachés 194
Correspondents with the Russian Forces in Manchuria 195
Civilians and Military Attachés with the Russian Forces 196
The Target-Shoot Given for the Military Attachés 197
Military Attachés Firing at a Target-Shoot 198
With the War Correspondents in Korea and Manchuria 199
Attachés and Correspondents with General Kuroki’s Army 200
Scenes During the Fighting Early in October 202
Close to the Firing Line Near Yentai Coal Mines 203
Russian Shells Bursting Close to Japanese Battery 204
Photograph Showing Shrapnel Shells Bursting 204
With the Japanese on October Tenth at the Sha-Ho 205
On the Sha-Ho Battlefield with the Japanese 206
Victors and Vanquished of the Sha-Ho 207
The Aftermath of Battle in the Neighborhood of Yentai 208
Preparing Charcoal for the Army while it was Encamped 209
Winter Quarters with the Japanese Army on the Sha-Ho 210
Japanese Army in December in Camp on the Sha-Ho 211
Between Battles with the Japanese Near the Sha-Ho 212
With the Japanese in Winter Quarters at the Sha-Ho 213
Typical View of Manchurian Peasants 214
Scenes at Newchwang After the Fall of Port Arthur 215
Josses of an Ancient Chinese Temple 216
With the Japanese During the Last Days of the Siege 218
The Great Siege Guns Throwing Eleven-Inch Shells 219
Two of the Great Twenty-eight Centimeter Siege Guns 220
Shells Waiting to be Hurled into Port Arthur 221
Scenes Near Port Arthur During the Long Siege 222
Infantry Hidden by Cornfields and Ravines 223
Japanese Infantry Creeping Through a Cornfield 224
Japanese War Balloon Near Port Arthur 225
General Nogi and His Staff, Conquerors of Port Arthur 226
With the Japanese as They Closed in Around Port Arthur 227
Incidents of the Surrender of Port Arthur 228
One of the Many “Bomb-Proofs” Used by Civilians 229
Engineers’ Stores Set on Fire by Japanese Shells 230
Japanese Shell Bursting in the Basin 231
View of the Old Town After a Bombardment 232
The Price of Victory 233
Russian Dead Awaiting Burial 234
Photographer’s Studio at Port Arthur After it had been Struck
by Japanese Shells 235
Views of Port Arthur in October 236
Inside Some of the Russian Forts After the Surrender 237
Scenes at Port Arthur After the Surrender 238–239
Sunken Russian Battleships 240
Harbor of Port Arthur when the Japanese Took Possession 241
Convalescent Russian Sailors and Japanese Nurses 242
Views at Port Arthur and with a Russian Battery on the Hun
River 244
Russian Cavalry and Native Horsemen in the Neighborhood of
Mukden 245
Muster of One of Kuroki’s Divisions After the Battle of Mukden 246
Mukden Neighborhood Before the Japanese were Near 247
Where Some of the Shells Burst During the Artillery Duels Near
Mukden 248
Desolation in the Path of the Japanese Attack 249
Scenes in the Vicinity of Mukden 250
Fighting Ships of Various Classes in Russia’s Baltic Fleet 253
Formidable Fighting Ships of Russia’s Baltic Fleet 254
Four of the Battleships of Russia’s Baltic Fleet 255
The Battleground of the War and the Victorious Progress of the
Japanese 256
INTRODUCTION
[Illustration:
NICHOLAS II
EMPEROR OF RUSSIA, WORRIED BY THE WAR
]
The Russo-Japanese War was notable for the fact that, although there
were more men on the spot ready to transmit the news to the world than
there have been in any other war in modern times, there never has been a
war since the days of the telegraph and the professional correspondent
the daily news of which the world at large knew so little. There is,
therefore, a unique interest in so vivid and comprehensive a pictorial
history as that gathered by Collier’s correspondent photographers and
presented in the following pages. Practically all the photographs, with
the exception of a very few of those depicting scenes in Russia’ and
with the Russian forces, were taken originally and exclusively for
Collier’s, and they have not appeared elsewhere except by special
arrangement and permission. A large number of these photographs have
never been printed in Collier’s, and they are published in this book for
the first time. Even these were chosen from many hundreds of others, and
they represent but a small part of the great mass of photographs which
were secured by Collier’s indefatigable representatives at the front. In
each weekly issue of Collier’s it was obviously impossible to devote
more than a few pages exclusively to war pictures, and in such a small
space it is a task of exceeding difficulty to convey to the casual
reader any adequate realization of the unique value and the
comprehensive extent of Collier’s Russo-Japanese War service. In this
book the cumulative effect of many pictures helps to give at least a
partial idea of the amount of material gathered by Collier’s
correspondents, and it should be further explained that almost every one
of the pictures herein reproduced is chosen from perhaps a dozen or
score of photographs of similar scenes.
[Illustration:
MUTSUHITO
EMPEROR OF JAPAN, WHO BEGAN THE WAR
]
Since the days of the telegraph and the modern war correspondent, there
has never been a war in which the work of the chroniclers was beset with
such difficulties. During the early months of hostilities practically
all of the correspondents were bottled up in Tokio, chafing at their
delay, beseeching this official and that, buying winter outfits only to
be compelled to change them for summer equipment, and wasting their
energies during this fretful period of uncertainty in the description of
conventional phases of Japanese life or of the entertainments given them
by their inscrutable hosts of the Japanese war departments. It was only
by some rare stroke of forehandedness, daring, or luck, by which he
escaped temporarily from the Japanese watchfulness and censorship, that
any correspondent was able at this time to do effective work. Of the
little army of men who tried to chronicle the war, with pencil or
camera, none more really “made good” than Collier’s photographer, James
H. Hare. Mr. Hare worked in Tokio before war was declared, and he
followed Kuroki’s army from its landing in Korea through the Yalu
campaign and until the battle of the Sha-Ho. Mr. Hare is a specialist
not in any sense a “button-pusher,” as he calls the amateur who carries
a camera as an incidental. “When we stood on the heights of Wiju,” wrote
Collier’s correspondent, Frederick Palmer, “the soldiers appeared only
as the veriest specks to a camera lens. Jimmy wanted to see the charge
as much as the rest of us. But the detail had to be shown and the
photographer must be near the detail, so Jimmy slipped away when the
censor wasn’t looking. I wonder if those who saw the realistic pictures
of the groups of wounded around the hospital tents at the Yalu realized
at all what they cost this little man, who is nearing his fiftieth year.
He was the first of the correspondents’ corps to cross the river. He
trudged through miles of sand up to his knees. His pony was worn out;
his weary servant promptly resigned. But Jimmy himself was up the next
morning at daybreak, ill and pale, developing the first photographs of
the army at the front to be published.”
[Illustration:
VICE-ADMIRAL ALEXIEFF
RUSSIAN VICEROY IN THE FAR EAST
]
[Illustration:
MARQUIS ITO HIROBUMI
JAPAN’S GREATEST LIVING STATESMAN
]
Another of Collier’s photographers, Robert L. Dunn, was sent to Chemulpo
before hostilities broke out and “beat” the newspaper and periodical
world with his pictures of the first battle of the war and the landing
of Japanese troops. The greater portion of the Russian pictures were
taken by Victor K. Bulla, whose work in this country was controlled
exclusively by Collier’s. Dozens of photographs which the reader may
survey at his ease were taken only after long marches over frozen and
wind-swept country. Films were developed in the field with the help of
Korean coolies or Japanese commissary officers, and they reached
Collier’s office only after being carried scores and perhaps hundreds of
miles by coolie runners through a country where a mail service was
unknown. Every one of the photographs printed in this book represents an
outlay of time, energy, and money of which the uninitiated reader can
have only a slight understanding.
CHAPTER I
THE CAUSES OF THE RUSSO-JAPANESE WAR
The war between Russia and Japan was a fight for disputed territory. Its
immediate cause was the failure of the two nations to agree on the
relation which each should maintain toward Korea and Manchuria. The
underlying cause of the struggle was the mighty clash that was bound to
come when those measures which Japan believed were necessary to her
self-existence met the glacier-like progress of Russia eastward toward
the Pacific. Through nearly three centuries the Russian Empire had
advanced from the Ural Mountains to outposts and outlets on the Pacific
Coast. Her mighty plans met no serious check until they came athwart the
ambitions and policy of the modernized Japan, which saw in this alleged
expansion for industrial development a menace to her integrity as a
kingdom. Korea, a buffer between these two powers, became involved in
the dispute by the results of the war between Japan and China in 1894.
The intervention of the European Powers in the terms of treaty
settlement robbed Japan of her chief spoil, the Liaotung Peninsula,
whose stronghold was Port Arthur. Russia, Germany, and France intimated
that Japanese occupation of this base must be regarded as a permanent
threat to the independence of China and Korea. Three years later, Russia
began to fortify Port Arthur, on the pretext that German acquisition of
Kiaochau would otherwise disturb the balance of power in North China.
The Boxer outbreak of 1900 furnished Russia reasons for vastly
increasing her military strength in Manchuria, to safeguard her railway
across Siberia and her rapidly expanding commercial and colonization
interests. Promises were made, and broken, that Manchuria would be
evacuated and restored to Chinese control as soon as peaceful conditions
were resumed in accordance with the joint agreements of the powers that
the integrity of China should be preserved. When it became certain that
Russia had no intention of loosening her grip on Manchuria, the Japanese
Government proposed a conference, in July of 1903, for the purpose of
assuring the lasting peace of Eastern Asia, by agreeing upon a working
basis for settlement of the points at issue with Russia. Japan wished
guarantees of the territorial integrity of China and Korea, and the
“open door” in both countries for commercial opportunity. Russia replied
that she was ready to recognize the rights of Japan as the predominating
influence in Korea, but refused to discuss further pledges regarding the
future of China and Manchuria. The Russian attitude was influenced most
strongly by the facts that Russia wanted an outlet to the Pacific, and
that the outlay of three hundred million dollars in Manchuria, to make
that province both Russian and prosperous, called for some tangible
return. Japan refused to consider herself outside the sphere of active
interest in Manchuria, and negotiations came to a deadlock early in
1904.
On January 4, Japanese advices said that a conflict with Russia was
inevitable, that the newspapers were urging the opening of hostilities,
and that the Government was massing troops ready to embark on
transports. The diplomats in St. Petersburg were delaying over the final
reply to the Japanese note and were not expecting war, according to
their assurances.
[Illustration:
TYPICAL STREET SCENE IN RUSSIA’S CAPITAL CITY
This photograph represents a procession leaving St. Catherine’s
Church, in St. Petersburg, to
go down to the Neva to bless the river waters, an example of that
picturesque mediaevalism
which survives in so many forms, and as such a real part of the
everyday life of the people
]
During the following week, Russia was hurrying troops toward the
frontier and buying horses, while the Argentine cruisers, _Nisshin_ and
_Kasuga_, bought by Japan, were making ready to leave Genoa with rush
orders to proceed to Yokohama. Meantime, the negotiations were continued
with proposals and counter-proposals that made no progress.
On January 13, a conference before the Throne in Tokio decided upon the
final terms to be sent to Russia, the only conditions which could avert
war. Russia started two divisions of troops over the Trans-Siberian
Railway to China, an obvious war measure. Two days later two transports
crowded with Russian troops for the Far East sailed through the
Bosphorus. Russia asked Turkey for permission to send the Black Sea
fleet through the Dardanelles, and Lord Lansdowne said that such action
would be considered a breach of treaty in which Great Britain could not
acquiesce.
There was a lull of nearly two weeks, while Tokio fretted over the delay
of the Russian reply. Japan adopted plans for raising seventy-five
million dollars of an emergency war fund.
The long-drawn tension of January ended with a pretence of negotiations
oscillating between Tokio and St. Petersburg, but by this time the
pursuits of diplomacy had become a farce, and both nations were making
all possible preparations for a long struggle at arms. Although the
Russian ultimatum had not been officially delivered, its contents were
forecasted, and it was known that Japan’s final demands had been evaded.
On February 2, the mobilization of the Manchurian reserves was
announced, and on the next day a semi-official despatch from Vladivostok
reported that the Russian squadron there had been stripped for action,
and that the ships in the harbor of Port Arthur had joined those in the
outer roadstead to unite the fighting strength for aggressive action.
The Russian General Staff granted to Alexieff the right to declare war.
Nearly a week before the first blow was struck, it was seen that the
prolonged tension had reached the breaking point. At one of the last
Cabinet conferences in Tokio hope of peace was abandoned, for the reason
that, while Russia was unreasonably delaying her reply to the last
Japanese note, she was daily increasing her warlike activities. It was
known in advance that while Russia partly conceded the demands of Japan
regarding Korea, important reservations were made, and that as regards
Manchuria the reply would refuse to place on record recognition of the
sovereignty of China, or even to discuss that question with Japan.
Japanese residents were told to leave Vladivostok, and 20,000 Russian
troops were moving with the view of occupying Northern Korea. Japan
continued extraordinary preparations for instant action, but the plans
of her army and navy were so carefully guarded that no news of them was
published up to the day war was declared by the first overt act.
[Illustration:
AN EVERYDAY SCENE IN ONE OF THE LARGE CITIES OF JAPAN
These are the little people whose surface daintiness covers a martial
spirit more truly Spartan
than that manifested by any other nation of the modern world. This
street, gay with Japanese
flags, is the “Isezakicho,” which has sometimes been called the Bowery
of Yokohama
]
On Saturday, February 6, the Russian note was already in the hands of
Baron de Rosen, the Russian Minister at Tokio, for delivery to Baron
Komura, the Japanese Foreign Minister, when at four o’clock in the
afternoon, M. Kurino, the Japanese Minister at St. Petersburg, called
personally to inform the Russian Government that, in view of the delays
in connection with the Russian replies, and the obvious futility of the
negotiations, Japan considered it useless to continue diplomatic
relations. Japan would take such steps as she deemed proper for the
protection of her interests, therefore M. Kurino asked for his
passports. The Russian Minister, a few hours later, prepared to leave
Tokio as soon as possible.
The startling action of Japan, in severing diplomatic relations before
the actual delivery of the Russian note, came like a bolt from a clear
sky at St. Petersburg. It was expected that Japan would invade Korea and
seek a naval battle within the next twenty-four hours. This was an
accurate surmise, for in even less time forty Japanese transports were
loaded with troops to be landed at various points in Southern and
Central Korea. One naval division sailed from Japanese waters for
Chemulpo, and another for Port Arthur, as soon as the news that there
could be no peace was sent by wireless telegraphy to the waiting ships.
In the afternoon of February 8 a fleet of Japanese transports, escorted
by a squadron of battleships and powerful cruisers, appeared off the
harbor of Chemulpo. The Russian gunboat _Korietz_, on its way to Port
Arthur with despatches, sighted the hostile craft; the commander cleared
for action, fired a shot at the Japanese torpedo scouts, then returned
at full speed to shelter near the Russian cruiser _Variag_, inside the
Korean harbor. This proved to be the first shot of the war, and was so
claimed by the Japanese when accused of attacking Port Arthur without
formal declaration of war later in the same day. Early on the morning of
February 9, Admiral Uriu, commander of the Japanese fleet, notified the
two Russians that they must surrender or leave the harbor by noon, else
he would attack them where they lay. The Russians did not surrender, but
sailed out of the bay, with bands playing, to certain destruction. By
four o’clock that afternoon the _Variag_ and the _Korietz_ were at the
bottom of Chemulpo Harbor, and the war was on.
The man who judges things by weight, bulk, and dollars may well wonder
at Japanese temerity. To Japan, with her 147,000 square miles, the
annexation of Korea, with 82,000 square miles, meant what the annexation
of Mexico would to the United States. To Russia, with her 8,666,000
square miles, it meant less than Southern California to us. Russia’s
population was 140,000,000; Japan’s 44,000,000. On a peace footing the
Russian army had 1,000,000 officers and men; the Japanese, 175,000. On a
war footing, the Russian 4,600,000 and the Japanese 675,000.
Russia is the Christian nation which has been slowest in development.
Mentally, she is just out of the Dark Ages, equipped with the mechanical
progress of modern times. Japan is the pagan nation which has been
foremost in adopting the worldly essentials of a civilization which is
Christian in its origin. Russia is a union of nomadic races, but lately
ushered into feudalism, which have, in turn, conquered many other races.
Japan has had a stable, organized government longer than England, and
the Japanese were a free people when the Saxons were the serfs of the
Normans. The Czar is a pope; the Mikado divinity itself. If the Jews
were still a nation and a descendant of Moses were their king, he would
mean to them what the Mikado means to the Japanese. For all the
centuries of the nation’s existence the Japanese had known no
acquisition of territory. The Russians have lived by this.
[Illustration:
RECRUITS GOING THROUGH FIRING DRILL WITHOUT RIFLES
]
[Illustration:
INFANTRY DRILLING IN HEAVY MARCHING ORDER
]
[Illustration:
SOLDIERS LEARNING HOW TO CARRY WOUNDED COMRADES
]
[Illustration:
RIFLE PRACTICE ON THE PARADE GROUND
]
JAPANESE TROOPS PREPARING FOR WAR
These photographs were taken on the parade ground at the Oyama Barracks
in Tokio just before the outbreak of the war. Japan had already been
practically on a war footing for months, and the busy work of
preparation here suggested was typical of the spirit that prevailed
throughout the nation and brought Japan’s army to a state of
preparedness perhaps never before duplicated in the history of war.
[Illustration:
LEARNING HOW TO JUMP
]
[Illustration:
PRACTICING THE SABRE THRUST
]
[Illustration:
CAVALRY RECRUIT LEARNING TO RIDE WITHOUT STIRRUPS OR BRIDLE
]
[Illustration:
TRAINING JAPANESE CAVALRYMEN AT THE TOKIO BARRACKS
]
The Japanese cavalry was the weakest branch of the service. The Japanese
are not natural horsemen, and both the men and their mounts were
inferior, in a military sense, to the other branches of the service. The
horses were scrubby little beasts with neither speed nor tractability.
The trooper whose mount finally succeeded in clearing the bar shown
above thought the feat very remarkable
[Illustration:
CHANGING GUARD AT THE OYAMA BARRACKS IN TOKIO
]
[Illustration:
SWAPPING STORIES IN THE GUARD HOUSE AT OYAMA BARRACKS
]
In spite of his inscrutable manner the Japanese soldier when with a
crowd of his comrades becomes almost as loquacious as the typical
regular of other countries. In the Oyama Barracks, where this photograph
was taken, a large number of troops were quartered ready to be rushed to
the front as soon as hostilities were declared
[Illustration:
CLEANING AND OILING RIFLES IN PREPARATION FOR WAR
]
[Illustration:
DEPARTURE OF BARON ROSEN, THE RUSSIAN MINISTER, FROM YOKOHAMA
]
On the breaking off of diplomatic relations the Russian Minister took
passage for Marseilles on the French steamship “Yarra.” He left Yokohama
on February 12, when war had actually been begun by the actions at
Chemulpo and Port Arthur. The French and Belgian Ministers and attaches
and a few other friends from the diplomatic circle accompanied him to
the dock to bid him farewell
[Illustration:
MINISTER PAVLOV LEAVING LEGATION UNDER ESCORT
]
[Illustration:
REPRESENTATIVES OF NEUTRAL POWERS TALKING WITH M. PAVLOV AT THE WHARF
]
RUSSIAN MINISTER TO KOREA DEPARTING FROM SEOUL
[Illustration:
NEWSPAPER BULLETINS ON THE CHEMULPO BATTLE IN THE MAIN STREET OF TOKIO
]
[Illustration:
PATRIOTIC CITIZENS STANDING IN THE RAIN WAITING THEIR TURN TO ENLIST
]
[Illustration:
BUILDING TEMPORARY STABLES IN TOKIO IMMEDIATELY FOLLOWING THE
DECLARATION OF WAR
]
[Illustration:
ENLISTED TROOPS, NEWLY ARRIVED IN TOKIO, WAITING THEIR TURN TO BE
FITTED OUT
]
[Illustration:
IN HEAVY MARCHING ORDER READY TO DEPART
]
[Illustration:
TROOPS BILLETED AT PRIVATE HOUSES IN TOKIO
]
MOBILIZATION OF TROOPS IN TOKIO AT THE OUTBREAK OF WAR
[Illustration:
TROOPS MARCHING TO STATION THROUGH THE STREETS OF TOKIO
]
[Illustration:
ENTRAINING AT THE SHIMBASHI STATION, TOKIO
]
[Illustration:
JAPANESE CAVALRYMEN ABOUT TO TAKE THE TRAIN
]
[Illustration:
TROOPS ASSEMBLING IN STREETS NEAR THE STATION
]
[Illustration:
INDUCING A FRACTIOUS CAVALRY HORSE TO BOARD THE TRAIN
]
DEPARTURE OF JAPANESE TROOPS FOR KOREA
[Illustration:
EXAMINING CAVALRY HORSES AFTER ARRIVAL AT HIROSHIMA
]
[Illustration:
UNLOADING THE LIGHT PORTABLE TRANSPORT CARTS
]
[Illustration:
UNLOADING CAVALRY HORSES FROM BOX CARS
]
[Illustration:
TRANSPORT CARTS LOADED WITH SUPPLIES
]
JAPANESE TROOPS DETRAINING AT HIROSHIMA
At Hiroshima the troops were detrained for the port of Ujina, whence a
large part of the Japanese forces were embarked for Korea. Many of the
cavalry horses were injured during their railroad journey by kicking
each other or their stalls. The light “collapsable” carts shown here
were one of the features of the mobile Japanese equipment. They kept
pace with the marching column
[Illustration:
JAPANESE CAVALRYMEN IN RAILWAY CARRIAGE
]
[Illustration:
TROOPERS IN CHARGE OF CARS CONTAINING HORSES
]
[Illustration:
OFFICERS IN COMMAND OF CAVALRY REGIMENT
]
CAVALRY TRAIN LEAVING SHIMBASHI STATION
[Illustration:
MEN OF THE ARMY SERVICE CORPS READY TO ENTRAIN
]
[Illustration:
“SAYONARA!”—GOOD-BY
]
It was not until the troops had been departing from Tokio for several
days that the general populace showed any such resemblance to Occidental
enthusiasm as this. When some of the members of the staff left Tokio,
they awakened and behaved like any other crowd at such a time. They
shouted good-bys and the band, in a quaint imitation of Western customs,
played “Auld Lang Syne”
[Illustration:
FIFTH DIVISION ENGINEERS STUDYING PLANS
]
[Illustration:
FIRST SECTION FINISHED SHOWING MANNER OF CONSTRUCTION WITH TIMBER AND
ROPES
]
[Illustration:
PUSHING THE FIRST STAGING OUT INTO THE RIVER
]
ENGINEERS AT HIROSHIMA PRACTICING BUILDING BRIDGES LIKE THOSE USED AT
THE YALU
[Illustration:
BRIDGE AT HIROSHIMA READY FOR THE PONTOONS
]
The bridges used at the Yalu were all planned and constructed in
practice in Japan long before war was declared. After being built they
were taken apart, carried along with the rest of the equipment, and put
together when the time came. The Japanese engineers had complete maps
and measurements of the streams in Manchuria, so that they always knew
just what difficulties were to be met
[Illustration:
“TIKOKU BANZAI!”—“LONG LIVE THE EMPIRE!”
]
Enthusiasm at Kobe upon the departure of a troop train for Ugina, a port
of embarkation for Korea. On leaving for the front the Japanese soldier
suppressed all emotions of sorrow. Not to be impassive was unmanly. It
was only at such times as this that the collective enthusiasm showed
itself, and it was not until a number of trains had passed en route for
the front that it awoke.