18. The Siege of Port Arthur, 1904-1905
The largest land battle of the Russo-Japanese War, the siege of Port Arthur provided a glimpse of the fighting to be expected during the First World War one decade later. Machine gun nests, entrenchments topped with barbed wire, searchlights, control of troop movements by radio transmissions, electrically charged fences, rapid-firing light cannons, and bolt action magazine fed rifles all made their appearance. The Japanese believed they could capture the heavily fortified Russian positions at Port Arthur through a quick and decisive assault, instead, it took five months and a day. Port Arthur was heavily defended as a base for the Russian Pacific Fleet.
During the course of the siege, the fleet was destroyed by Japanese bombardment, though some ships were scuttled to prevent them from falling into Japanese hands. The Japanese suffered over 91,000 casualties during the siege, compared to about 31,000 for the Russians, though another 24,000 surrendered. The Russian defeat was a blow to the Tsar and created further unrest throughout much of the Russian Empire. The following year mutinies among military units, worker strikes, and other forms of protest led to constitutional reforms and a weakening of the Tsar’s grip over the Russian people.