Chapter 1016 The Russo-Japanese War broke out
December 27, 1903.
“The Russians have not responded to our reasonable demands. The Russian diplomats are stalling for time. This will only become more and more beneficial to Russia’s war preparations. Russian troops are continuously moving from Europe to Asia. If we don't respond, we will not only be unable to penetrate into the Far East Empire, but we will even lose the Korean colony. After I go back, I will state Russia's attitude to His Majesty the Japanese Emperor. War is inevitable."
At the end of 1903, after the negotiations between Japan and Russia broke down again, Ito Hirobumi said angrily to his entourage.
Faced with Russia's aggressiveness, the current Japanese government is actually adopting a tolerant attitude. After all, anyone with a discerning eye knows that Japan and Russia are not countries of the same size. Even if Russia's power in the Far East is relatively weak, then It is also for Russia itself. From the perspective of neighboring countries, Russia's military power in the Far East is very powerful.
Although the Japanese government likes to be gamblers, they are not stupid, so their attitude towards launching a war with Russia is relatively positive.
So in the early diplomatic negotiations with Russia, Japan did not expect to expel Russian forces in a short time, but hoped that Russia would guarantee Japan's interests and status in North Korea. However, Russia not only rejected the Japanese government's "reasonable" demands, and also opposes Japan’s request to use Korean territory for military purposes, which is obviously unacceptable to the Japanese government.
Negotiations between the two countries began at the end of last year. After a year-long negotiation, the Japanese government’s patience also ran out. Of course, Japan’s weak performance in the negotiations does not mean that Japan Love peace, the reason is very simple, Russia needs time, the same goes for Japan.
After a year of delayed negotiations, it is difficult to say whether Russia is ready or not. The expansion of Japan's navy has basically been completed.
After the breakdown of negotiations in December, the Japanese imperial government finally made up its mind to strike first.
……
Lushun.
Time flies to 1904. Lushun, as the most important port in the northeastern region of the Far Eastern Empire, is now illegally occupied by the Russians.
Now it is one of the important bases of the Russian Navy in the Pacific region. The number of warships has remained at more than 40 all year round, and the supporting Lushun Fortress has been built. While tens of thousands of army troops are stationed, it is equipped with more than 100 warships. Port Arthur with this specification should be regarded as impregnable to Russia.
On the night of January 3rd, Lushun was extremely peaceful tonight. The Russian sailors were sleeping, and the warships were parked in the port without any warning, but they did not know that the disaster was quietly approaching.
"It is now 12:30 at midnight, and the Russian warships are in front of us. Whether the empire can rise depends on this battle. We will definitely annihilate the Russian Far East Navy here!" Hataro Kodaira said to his subordinates.
As a rare year-round ice-free port in the northern Far East, Lushun’s geographical location is very advantageous, which also allows the Japanese Navy to achieve its goals and take risky night voyages to reach nearby waters. This also explains from the side. Japan is well prepared.
At 1:13 in the morning, the Japanese troops were basically in position. The mine commander of the "Baiyun" heard a banging sound coming from the receiver.
"Dang, clang, clang, clang", two short intervals and three short intervals, this is the battle preparation order sent by the captain. "Prepare the torpedoes!" the mine leader shouted in a low voice.
The torpedo soldiers immediately started to move. They skillfully unscrewed the tail bolt of the launch tube, filled the powder bag and connected the firing circuit. Then they turned off the safety of the torpedo head, while the mine commander himself worked hard to adjust the sight. Use the flickering lights to estimate the distance of the surrounding Russian ships.
At this time, Russian patrols identified at least seven Japanese warships on the dark sea and quickly reported them. During this gap, the Japanese navy launched an attack.
"Boom..."
"?" Lyles, an intelligence officer of the East African Defense and Security Agency lurking in Lushun, was awakened by the sound of artillery.
The sound of artillery did not stop, but continued to sound. Lyles quickly got up and came to the window. Looking in the direction of the sound, he saw that there was already a raging fire in Port Arthur. "Has it started!"
At this time, Lyles didn't dare to confirm his guess. He picked up the telescope on the window sill and began to observe carefully. With the faint light, he could vaguely see the body of the warship floating on the sea, and the source of the cannonballs was these. It is not yet certain which country it belongs to.
However, thinking of the instructions from his superiors, Lyles did not dare to neglect, did not bother to get dressed, turned on the light, and began to operate the telegraph machine in the room.
Lyles checked the time and then began to report: "At 1:20 in the morning on January 4, 1904, the Russian Port of Port Arthur was attacked by unknown armed warships. Many Russian warships were in the Port of Port Arthur. It was bombed, the specific casualties are unknown..."
Soon the East African mainland also received the news and called back: "Continue to investigate the specific situation and provide timely feedback on the information."
...
Rhine city.
With the focus of the East African government, news of the Japanese attack on Port Arthur was quickly reported to the East African mainland, and Ernst held a special meeting for this purpose.
“According to the intelligence department, just yesterday afternoon (East African time), Japan launched an attack on Russia in an undeclared war. The Russian Far East Fleet suffered heavy losses, and Japan blocked the Port of Port Arthur. , it is now basically certain that the Russo-Japanese War has officially broken out.”
Ernst’s news can be said to have caused thousands of waves. Although the East African government had already predicted it, in the face of the sudden outbreak of the war and Japan’s unwillingness to do so, The martial ethics of war still aroused heated discussions among East African government officials.
The Russian Far East Navy cannot be underestimated, and its strength can even be said to be very powerful. This Far East fleet owns the "Crown Prince", "Petropavlovsk", and "Letvizan" , "Peresvet", "Victory", "Poltava", "Sevastopol", a total of seven battleships, with a displacement of more than 10,000 tons, as well as a large number of cruisers, etc. Combat ships.
Even the East African Navy did not dare to say that it was 100% sure in front of the Russian Far East Fleet. As a result, this huge Russian Far East Fleet lost its combat effectiveness overnight, which is simply unimaginable.
I have to lament the strength of the Russian Navy. Although the combat effectiveness of the Russian Navy is easily questioned, before the Russo-Japanese War, the Russian Navy ranked third in the world in terms of scale, second only to the British Royal Navy and French Navy.
The total tonnage of the Russian Navy is as high as 500,000 tons, while the British Royal Navy was only about one million tons at this time. From this point of view alone, the Russian Navy is nearly three times the size of the East African Navy.
The East African Navy, without participating in the naval military competition, currently has a total tonnage of nearly 200,000 tons, mainly due to the construction of more battleships and submarines in recent years, and the lightly armed Japanese Navy Pretty much the same.
The total tonnage of the Japanese Navy is about 200,000 tons, which is slightly higher than that of the East African Navy. After all, Japan has been desperately expanding its navy. Most of the national funds are invested in the bottomless pit of naval construction, while East Africa is comprehensive Entering the stage of economic development.
"Now keep an eye on the actions of the Russian government. They are bound to ask for help from us. At this time, if Russia wants not to lose the war, it can only mobilize troops from the Baltic Sea or Black Sea Fleet to participate in the war in the Far East. The Black Sea Fleet can be excluded. After all, the British It is impossible for Russian warships to pass through the Dardanelles Strait under the control of the Ottoman Empire.”
“Even if Russia takes the risk of crossing the Dardanelles Strait, it will be blocked by the British in the Suez Canal, so Russia. Able to mobilize There is only the Baltic Fleet, and the Baltic Fleet will most likely pass through the east and west coasts of our country. This is a bargaining chip for us to further negotiate with Russia."
"At the same time, we will definitely not be able to participate in the war between the two countries in the Far East. We can only. Do the first half of the preparations and provide certain services to the Russian Navy. As for the direction of the war, it is impossible to change because of this slight change."
(End of this chapter)