Still no update? In the words of Frank Costanza, "Serenity Now"
Gah!
To All: I deeply apologize for my long absence. I had no idea someone could be so busy while unemployed!
Things are going well, so far (I have weeks before I'll feel any financial crunch), and I'm taking the opportunity to write various short stories, and to hopefully get a business plan together for some consulting. Ideally, the consulting will be my side income, and writing will be my primary, but that all requires the buy-in of various editors, many of which I hope to be soliciting soon.
Now, on with the story!
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The first major battle of the 4th Russo-Japanese War, in the very beginning of 1900, was a Russian incursion into Utchan, just south of the Siberian coast. Gen. Maresuke Matsudaira met Gen. Nikolaevich’s assault, and his troops were steadfast. The Russians dashed themselves upon his defensive works, and barely made a scratch. They were forced to retreat by the middle of January, having taken 25,000 casualties to only 900 Japanese (+4.9 warscore).
But this first clash was not typical of engagements in this war. At Jirim Chuulgan, Gen. Yoshida Arisugawa’s venture into Russian territory was quickly worn down and beaten by Gen. Dragomirov.
Dragomirov then advanced against Qiqihar, where he met Gen. Yoshida Katsu in what appeared to be an almost evenly matched battle (the Japanese had fewer troops, but they were dug into defensive terrain). This battle became somewhat of an epic test of might and wills.
Meanwhile, Gen. Taruhito Kuroda was landed at Okhotsk, and despite the difficulties of terrain, made a successful assault against the Russian garrison there, which was comprised primarily of untrained conscripts, and who were out of their league. To follow up his landing, the aggressive Kuroda left a garrison at Okhotsk and immediately marched west against Ayan in an attempt to rout the troops from Gen. Nikolaevich’s command, who had retreated there to recoup.
And at Manzhouli, Gen. Goro Okada made a relatively successful stand against Gen. Tukachevskiy, who arrived with superior numbers, but was unable to seize the initiative in his assault. By the first week in March, the battle was essentially concluded as a draw, with equal losses on each side, but the Japanese yielded the ground (-0.6 WS).
At Yevensk, in far eastern Siberia, Gen. Yasuyoshi Katsura was proving his worth against the best men of the Siberian garrison. By all rights, this veteran team of Russian soldiers should have fared well, even against an attacking force nearly 4 times their size. But Katsura’s men attacked with ferocity and quickly seized the advantage, such that the enemy was quickly flanked and their position made untenable. The Russians surrendered in toto on March 25 (+1.1 WS).
((OOC: Look at that! I have rarely seen an enemy’s organization falter that quickly – 50 points in 2 days – even with a not-so-bad die roll, modified rolls being 10 for Japan, 7 for Russia – demonstrates that combined arms and superior numbers, in the right combination, can be decisive))
Dragomirov’s advance to Qiqihar, hitting the Japanese defenders at the beginning of April, turned out to be one of their most successful forays of the war. He found Gen. Katsu in a strong defensive position, and the Russians suffered high casualties. But, when the Japanese resolve began to falter, Dragomirov took advantage, and the casualty ratio reversed. By mid-March, Katsu was forced to retreat, and 18,000 Russians and 15,000 Japanese were dead. The battle renewed at the beginning of April, with Gen. Arisugawa’s relatively rested army attacking his old enemy Dragomirov. But by mid-May, Arisugawa’s force had also been ground down, and he withdrew from the indeterminate situation.
At Ayan, in early April, Gen. Kuroda’s troops were tired, and ultimately the battle was not a successful one. This was his followup from the campaign at Okhotsk. But he did further weaken the Russian position, which lost more men than it killed of the attacking force. This would put the Russians in a disadvantageous position later.
Overall, the war had been hit and miss, for both sides. Russia was doing anything but proving superiority – another embarrassment for this middling power. But Japan was taking territory, and Russia was not. The Kurils had fallen, and many provinces along the seacoast. A venture was made for pece, which the Russians refused. Soon after, Japanese ironclads were clashing with Russian troop transports at the exit of the Red Sea – another sign that Japan would not be an easy foe.
By May, Japan was beginning to show some decisive initiative. Nearly 10,000 Russians fell at Aigun, to Gen. Okada’s forces, which were soon under attack again, with similar result. And when a Russian army penetrated to Mukden – that traditional bloodsink, which seemed always to be the site of destruction – Gen. Matsudaira wreaked such vengeance upon the Russian army that the mismatch was compared to the battles against China.
Gen. Hyoe Kodama met a similar Russian penetration at Jinzhou, just to the east, and while the figures of battle were not so extreme, the Russians again questioned why they had gone to war with such an unpredictably vicious enemy.
At the beginning of June, the Russians withdrew from Mukden, having suffered a grievous defeat (+2.8 Warscore – I was robbed!!!). Gen. Matsudaira followed them to Jilin, where another similar bloodbath ensued, the Japanese having marched faster, around a different route from the Russians, and having taken up defensive positions which the Russians were forced to attack.
With Okada’s victory at Aigun, and Matsudaira’s victory at Jilin, both in June, Japan pursued peace once more, for just the Kuril Islands. It seemed clear that this was a generous peace offer, for having been the aggrieved party, but again the Russians refused. They retained confidence in their superior arms and the strength of numbers – neither of which, to outside observers, seemed to be very much in evidence.
Gen. Kodama, by the first week of July, had secured a devastating victory over the Russian Gen. Pavlov. Not only had 22,000 Russians died, but the remainder of Pavlov’s command – the remaining 15,000 – were forced to surrender, as their routes of escape toward either Mukden or Jirim Chuulgan were both closed off.
And, by coincidence, Japan’s first prototype pre-dreadnought was launched from Edo harbor that week, also. Japan’s confidence soared. In spite of the Russian rebuffs, visions of vengeance began to be talked about in the halls of the Emperor’s court. Could this become a war of conquest, over not just the Japanese islands in question, but of, perhaps, Okhotsk, or some other more defensible portion of the Russian coast?
The Emperor offered a voice of moderation, noting that China still lurked as both, a likely enemy, and a likely prospect of empire. Much remained to be seen, and it would be best to see how this war developed, beyond just the summer of 1900.
Perhaps his ambition was tempered by recent news from the south. The French had conquered the last of the holdout lands within their region of French Indochina, and now her empire spanned across a vast wall, to the south of Japan’s growing possessions.
The Emperor could foresee a possible war with France, someday. And there were more dangers, besides just France, Russia or China.
Many of the powers of Europe had been embroiled in one of their periodic mass wars, the Austrians having gone to war to re-secure the territory of Bohemia to her traditional place among the Habsburg possessions.
Indeed, Prussia, hard-pressed, had startled the world when she had yielded in that conflict. Though one combatant – Britain – still contested with Austria-Hungary for control of portions of the Adriatic coast.
Once these great powers were done with their distractions at home, would they, perhaps, turn their eyes east, once more? There was much uncertainty in Japan’s future.
