The Special Campaign Series

Part of the acclaimed “Special Campaign” series of works intended for serious professional students of military history, each volume is interspersed with strategical and tactical comments and illustrated by numerous sketches.

The Russo-Japanese War was fought during 1904 and 1905 between the Russian Empire and the Empire of Japan over rival imperial ambitions in Manchuria and Korea.

The major theatres of operations were the Liaodong Peninsula and Mukden in Southern Manchuria and the seas around Korea, Japan and the Yellow Sea. The Battles of Yalu, Nanshan, Telissu, Tashichiao, Hsimucheng, and the Battle on the East Front, 31st of July all receive good coverage.

Russia suffered multiple defeats by Japan, but Tsar Nicholas II was convinced that Russia would win and chose to remain engaged in the war. The complete victory of the Japanese military surprised world observers. The consequences transformed the balance of power in East Asia. It was the first major military victory in the modern era of an Asian power over a European one. Military scholars continue to debate the historical significance of the war.