Russo-Japanese War

During the late 19th century, both Russia and Japan competed over influence in East Asia's borderlands; namely Korea, Manchuria, and the coast of China. The former a classic autocratic military power; the latter, an increasingly industrialised naval empire much like its ally, Great Britain. Tsar Nicholas II was spurred by Kaiser Willhelm II to pursue war with Japan, leading Russian leadership to believe they would receive aid from the extremely powerful German army and navy. This did not become a reality when the Japanese declared war over the issue of Port Arthur, a Russian exclave in Manchuria. Japanese offensive minelaying and torpedo destroyers forced the Russian Far-East Fleet to remain in port, effectively turning the situation into a siege. Eventually, through costly frontal assaults and endless bombardment using modern heavy howitzers, the Japanese achieved victory and annihilated the Russian fleet. News of the war's gloomy situation, and the Tsar's continued mishandling of it all, triggered the Russian Revolution of 1905's beginning. Soon, at the Battle of Mukden, the Japanese annihilated the Russian Manchurian Army and only a few months later, at the Battle of Tsushima, the Imperial Baltic Fleet (which had sailed around Cape Hope to reinforce Russia's Far-East Fleet) was completely exterminated. The war ended in a total Japanese victory, and directly led to the Russian Revolution of 1905.