Why did Japan win the Russo-Japanese War?

Superior Training and preparation
1. Japanese soldiers were better educated - most were literate
2. Russian soldiers were mostly illiterate peasants from the east
3. Japanese officers were promoted based on merit, not so in the Russian army
4. In the Russian army, seniority was given precedence over talent
5. Russians were reluctant to do target practice for fear of wasting ammunition
Military and communications advantages
1. Japanese used local spies, as well as officers disguised as fishermen in the Battle of Yalu River
2. Russian army had no Japanese speakers
3. Most Japanese naval ships were built in Britain
4. Russian had more ships, but they were an assortment of slower, inferior ships
5. Japanese used locals to aide their transportation and communication
Differences in morale
1. Japanese soldiers considered it an honour to fight for their country, and a privilege to die for it
2. Most Russian soldiers were conscripts who cared little
3. Russian soldiers had been known to flee
4. Russian army went long stretches without eating while travelling
5. The Japanese had 6 food stops in a 37 hour train journey
6. Better officer-men relationship in the Japanese army
Russian incompetence
1. Sent the Baltic fleet to the Pacific - took 7 1/2 months and only 3 of the 39 ships arrived
2. When doing target practice off the coast of Africa, the only ship they hit was their own
3. Fired on North Sea trawlers thinking they were Japanese destroyers
4. Get drunk to celebrate the Tsar's coronation the night before the siege on Port Arthur
5. Admiral Rozhdestvenski did not tell anyone that his second in command had died, so when he was injured, no on ewas in command for several hours

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Why did Japan win the Russo-Japanese War?

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	Created by sophieb-96 almost 11 years ago