"Mukden meat grinder": Why Russia's victory over Japan led to disaster

2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55

On February 19, 1905, the bloodiest land battle of the Russo-Japanese War began. The three-week battle, in which about half a million people were involved, took place on the territory of a third country - China, near the city of Mukden. Almost a third of the personnel of the opposing armies suffered in the battle, but none of the parties could be called the unconditional winner.

How the military situation developed at the front before the battle of Mukden

By the beginning of the confrontation near Mukden, the warring parties were approximately equal in number of manpower. In terms of technology, the Russians had superiority in artillery pieces, and the Japanese in machine guns. The battle was of great strategic importance for both armies. Japan, after a difficult victory at Port Arthur, was practically drained of blood, the country's financial and economic capabilities were limited. The commander-in-chief of the army, Marshal Oyama, realized that the very shabby units left after Port Arthur were the last reserve that he could get for reinforcements. But the morale of his soldiers, inspired by previous successes, was high, which instilled confidence in good luck.

In the Russian army, commanded by General Alexei Kuropatkin, the picture was somewhat different. There was no shortage of manpower, equipment and ammunition, since replenishment was constantly coming through the Transsib. However, the new arrivals had a significant drawback - basically, they were not career soldiers, but storerooms without sufficient experience and training. Intelligence was acting unsatisfactorily. In addition, a number of battles lost due to the mistakes of the command, as well as the news that reached the trenches about the revolutionary events in St. Petersburg, acted on the soldiers as corrupting.

What were the plans of the Russian and Japanese command

The command of the Land of the Rising Sun in the decisive battle chose an active-offensive tactic that has become habitual throughout the war. In his strategic developments, Oyama relied on the stretching of the Russian army. Therefore, the grouping of his troops assumed the creation of superiority on the flanks in the absence of an overall superiority in forces. This made it possible to cover the main enemy forces. The first move was to be a powerful attack on the enemy's left flank in order to divert his reserves. Next, a roundabout strike was planned on the opposite flank, and then the link between these two units in the Russian rear. And the main forces - three armies in the center - were to deliver the main blow.

How the Japanese attacked the eastern flank of the Russians

The beginning of 1905 became in Russia a period of sharp exacerbation of the internal political situation. The echoes of “Bloody Sunday” echoed across the country - strikes, strikes, rallies. As a means to raise its own prestige, the government of Nicholas II chose successes in the war with Japan, and therefore demanded decisive action from Kuropatkin in Manchuria. The general succumbed to pressure and began to develop an offensive plan. According to his plan, it was supposed to inflict a decisive blow on the enemy on the left flank on February 25.

But the Japanese preempted this maneuver: on the night of the 19th, they threw one of their armies onto the eastern flank of the enemy and drove the advanced Russian detachments from their positions. Despite desperate defense and attempts to counterattack, the position of the Russian units deteriorated. A number of tactical miscalculations of our command finally tipped the scales in Japan's favor, among which are unsuccessful maneuvering, frequent and unreasonable rotations of the command staff, the formation of mixed units from unprepared people. After another breakthrough of the enemy, Kuropatkin gave the order to retreat the entire army, and on March 10 the Japanese occupied Mukden.

The battle of Mukden was beyond the strength of either side. Both armies suffered colossal casualties. It was a real bloody "meat grinder": more than 8 thousand killed and about 51 thousand wounded by the Russians, almost 16 thousand killed and 60 thousand wounded by the Japanese.

How the results of the Mukden battle made a depressing impression on both sides of the conflict

The capture of Mukden did not at all mean an unconditional victory for Japan. Marshal Oyama reported to his emperor that after the Mukden Pyrrhic victory, a new land offensive would be a tragic mistake, fraught with increased losses. Indeed, at that time, the number of people drafted into the army reached a critical value for the country, and the enemy has a huge reserve of manpower and has the ability to easily transfer it to the East. Equipment and ammunition to continue fighting against a powerful enemy is also not enough. Based on this, Oyama called on the government to find an acceptable option for concluding peace.

The hopes of the Russian government to raise its reputation thanks to the victorious military actions did not come true. After the defeat at Mukden, Russian society showed an extremely negative attitude towards the war, in which at that time two billion rubles had already been invested. At the request of Nicholas II, Grand Duke Nikolai Nikolaevich, a generally recognized military authority, made a report on the prospects for the continuation of the confrontation with Japan. According to his calculations, it took at least a year for the victorious end of the armed conflict. The estimated costs were about a billion rubles, and the loss of the killed (excluding the wounded and prisoners) - up to 200 thousand people. Such a disappointing forecast prompted the emperor to reconsider his opinion on the need to continue the Russo-Japanese War, and in August 1905 the Portsmouth Peace Treaty was signed.

Surprisingly today the Japanese are very fond of Russian holidays, especially the carnival.