A Lost Victory

The conflict between Tsarist Russia and Imperial Japan, which was the culmination of the struggle for power in the Far East, specifically for influence in Korea and Manchuria, took place between 8 February 1904 and 28 May 1905. It began with a surprise attack by the Japanese fleet under the command of Admiral Tōgō on the legendary Russian naval base of Port Arthur, continued with the Japanese victory at Mukden, and ended with the crushing of the Russian Baltic Fleet at Tsushima. Diplomatic negotiations in Portsmouth, USA, on 5 September 1905, definitively ended the conflict. The war, in which approximately 130,000 men on both sides lost their lives, confirmed Japan's dominant position in the Far East, but without further economic or territorial gains for Tokyo. The book is supplemented with previously unpublished, unknown, or little-known behind-the-scenes facts, especially from the fields of intelligence, diplomacy, and finance. The 12th volume of the Half-Forgotten Wars series.