37. Reilly Riles Up the Far East
After the Boer War, Reilly spent years in the Far East, under cover of working for a trading company in Russian-controlled Port Arthur, Manchuria. There, Reilly not only spied for the British, but also got a side gig as a double agent spying for the Japanese, who were keenly interested in Port Arthur’s defenses.
Early in 1904, shortly before the Russo-Japanese War, Reilly stole the Port Arthur harbor defense plans for the Japanese. That helped the Japanese Navy to navigate through minefields protecting the harbor, and launch a surprise attack on the night of February 8 – 9, 1904, against the Russian Far East Fleet. Although Japan eventually won the war, that opening attack did not go exactly as planned. Still – things could have gone worse for the Japanese Navy if not for Reilly.