From Revenge To Restoration

Japan has been characterized in many ways. When people think of Japan, it often conjures up images of tie clad business men or pig tailed, sword wielding, Samurai but, the one thing that each of these images have in common is the trait that has survived in Japan through all of their historical periods. The Japanese do nothing in half measures and if there is anything to characterize them, above all else, I believe that to be it. This was very true of Japan in 1901 but, it was hard for the Europeans to see this because Japan was a land in the middle of a major transformation.

Europeans of the time understood that Japan was trying to make themselves into a European styled state but, they did not seem to ever grasp the significance of this and, hence, did not put it in it’s proper perspective. Indeed, this also seems to be the case of Europe’s views of the rest of the world. By the first year of the twentieth century, Europe had come to so technologically dominate the rest of the planet that there was hardly anyone in Europe who believed that it could have ever been any other way. The truth was something else altogether and this was particularly the case with east Asia where, the Chinese and Japanese had been far ahead of the rest of the planet in technology, economics, and culture, for many centuries.

There are those who claim that the Europeans, once they reached the far east, had stolen Asian ideas and made them their own. This is largely untrue because the Europeans did invent most of their own technology and proved to be far more effective at employing it. Even so, the Asians still remained more advanced for over a century after regular and speedy trade routes were established. In fact this situation was ultimately the reason behind several wars between the Euro’s and China where Asian trade goods were so vastly superior that they were causing a trade imbalance that England and France could not tolerate or watch their economies collapse. This is where China’s over bearing attitudes of superiority did not serve her well.

From the 16^th century onward, the world was rapidly changing and these were changes that East Asia was not well suited to deal with, mainly because people in this region valued stability over progress. These new changes would push the region for many centuries and would eventually cause the Chinese government to collapse. In Japan, they were faced with the exact same problems only the results were quite different. A civil war erupted and, while you can find many causes, again, it was ultimately the result of the world globalization that was currently in progress. The Japanese isolationists would take the day. They would push Japan back to it’s romanticized medieval roots and this would hold sway over the country from two centuries. Then the Americans showed up.

The American fleet, that demanded a treaty with Japan, was met with shock by the Japanese. It was not the threat of force but, the level of advancement that genuinely impressed the many factional leaders of this country. There had always been those who agitated for opening Japan’s borders but, until the US fleet was anchored in their harbors, this progressive faction had nothing to argue with. Now it was obvious that going feudal was futile and that Japan was now, not only, no longer ahead but, way behind the rest of the world.

This started the movement that has come to be known as the Meiji Reform. While it outwardly appeared to be a complete make over, in the western style, the truth of it is that it remained largely Japanese in nature. The Shoguns (translation being a group of petty dictators who ruled their fiefdoms absolutely and the nation in a confederated style) were over thrown and, at least in theory, the power was restored to the Emperor. The reality of it was that the more progressive Shoguns ousted the isolationist faction and began changing Japan from the bottom up. The Emperor was largely a figurehead and the real power remained in the hands of a few key men, all former Shoguns, most of whom have names that have lived on to this very day in the names of the international companies that they founded at the start of the Meiji period.

These changes did not happen over night, although, in relative terms this reform/revolution did happen relatively quickly and was very thorough in changing Japanese society. It still took decades and it had an important impact on the war. The Imperial Japanese Navy, that replaced the Shogunate Fleet, was seriously lagging behind in it’s development in 1898 when the war broke out. The reason for this was that Japan was a nation with limited resources and, due to the constant rebellions from many ousted Shogun’s, they concentrated more on developing their new conscripted army and kept putting off the upgrades of their navy.

The changing point came in 1895 when Japan went to war with the Qing Dynasty, over Korea. The Japanese army was more than successful in routing the Chinese and while their navy did well, they found themselves at the mercy of two Chinese battleships that were both built in Germany. The Japanese had no guns that could do any damage too them at all. Despite being ultimately victorious the weakness was seen by Europe and this is primarily what cost the Japanese their ultimate prize of Port Arthur. This would become their Casus Belli for joining in the war in 1898.

The only reservations that the Japanese had about going to war had not been any high minded reasons about the immorality of war. In truth, it was all about the weakness of their navy. In 1898 the Japanese had abandoned the theory that they could make due with a coastal defense fleet, torpedo boats for offensive capabilities, and commerce raiding cruisers. As the war would prove, Japan’s older and lightly armored cruisers (indeed considered corvettes by European standards) were not up to the job of slugging it out with the far more modern French and American ships of similar class.

Japan did have a battleship at the start of the war and, finally after great trouble with the British, got their second in early 1901. This was an empty accomplishment since the Mikasa was only half finished when it arrived in Japan. The ship was a rushed job. She was, however, completely seaworthy but, she was also barely armed and actually had to be escorted by the Royal Navy from the shipyards, in Britain, where she was built. The truth of the matter was that Japan had not reached the point where she could build her own capital ships and this would not just be a liability for her naval operations, it would also cripple Japanese foreign policy as well.

Japan required Britain’s help in everything that she did and, despite the fact that this was for the common good, Britain did not do so freely. The British wanted something every single time the Royal Navy aided the Japanese. Considering the strategic situation, this was often and, as the leaders of Japan realized, it was quickly turning them into a client state much in the same way that the CSA was. This would begin to slowly start driving a wedge between Japan and her allies, although, oddly enough, it would be the beginning of a partnership between Japan and the Confederate States who were now players in the region since the CSA took possession of the Philippines from Spain.

What the small oligarchy of business interests in Japan realized, by 1901, was that they were going to have change the situation in order to come out of the war with their very independence in tact. This was even in the best case scenario which was an allied victory and, at the time, there was no guarantee of that. In Korea, the Japanese Army had managed to hold their own but, it was now clear that they were never going to be able to dislodge the Russo-American Army who were occupying fortified positions along the Yalu river. Like in most theaters of war, Korea had become a stalemate but, here, it was becoming a liability.

The new commander of the British East Asian Fleet, Arthur Moore, upon relieving Admiral Seymour, had done a complete survey of the strategic situation upon taking command. Since he had been in theater all along, commanding the Australian Squadron, he was already aware of this information but, he wanted it in writing so that he could present it to the Japanese government. It suggested the evacuation of the Korean peninsula and cited many reasons, all of which the Japanese already knew. Supplying the Japanese army in Korea was becoming expensive in terms of the ships that were lost due to enemy raiding.

Not only was the Japanese and British merchant fleets paying a heavy price for this but, Moore was having to use capital ships to protect the convoys due to the presence of the American Fleet at Port Arthur. The run from Japan to Korea was a short one but, the routes were well known and the restricted waters left few options of getting from point A to B. Enemy cruisers were having a field day. This also resulted in the supply operations being less than successful. The main thing that kept the Japanese Army, with their superior numbers, from overwhelming Entente forces in the region was the fact that they could never build up enough logistics to get a full offensive going. This is why the British considered Korea a write off.

The Japanese found a retreat completely unacceptable for any number of reasons. Just the loss of face was enough to keep this from ever happening but, there were far more sound reasons. The biggest of these was that the loss of Korea would leave Japan open to an attack on her home islands. The other reason was that, should the Japanese Army be effectively removed from the war then, after it’s conclusion, Japan would have far less say in the peace that came afterwards. During the conflict this would be a minor point but, after the war, it would become everything.

The Boxer Rebellion changed the entire picture. Not only did it change the situation in China but, it prompted a response from the Entente and it was not the kind that Japan could easily ignore. Not only did it prompt Russia to send critical reinforcements from the west but, now the Americans were also assembling troops to deploy to the region. As we will see, Theodore Roosevelt was looking far more outward than had Elihu Root and with Vancouver effectively neutralized, he had some soldiers to spare.

Up until this time, US troops in China, had been a small expeditionary force consisting of mostly US Marines and some Cavalry. These were elite troops and this made up for their lack of numbers in many ways but, at the end of the day, there is no substitute for having the biggest battalions. The US was now preparing to send two entire divisions to join the rapidly growing Russian Army. The Japanese knew they would be hard pressed to hold that back let alone achieve their war aims of taking their stolen prize of Port Arthur.

The Japanese leaders argued ferociously over what to do about this and, ultimately, they settled on a very pragmatic solution. If they could not take Port Arthur then another port in mainland China would be required for their future policy goals. The question was which one and the choices were limited at best. The majority of the Chinese ports were already under foreign control. Taking a French treaty port seemed the most attractive option but, if the Royal Navy could not take them then Japan realized it was beyond their ability. That left ports under friendly control and the Boxer Rebellion gave Japan it’s best option for establishing itself in China.