Japan's goals in World War I. Japan during the First World War

The entry into the war of 1914 was connected by the Japanese government with the fulfillment of its allied duty. In reality, Japanese imperialism has taken advantage of the conflict between the two imperialist factions, aiming to carry out territorial seizures in China.

By the time the aggravation of Anglo-German relations had reached its highest point, the allied relations between England and Japan had been largely undermined. main reason exacerbation of relations was the policy of the powers in China. Japan tried to undermine the still strong positions of the British, actively penetrating into the "cradle" of British capital - into the basin of the river. Yangtze, successfully competing in trade in other areas. This was convincingly evidenced by the statistics of the English Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai. At the same time, Japan did not dare to break allied relations with England and take the side of Germany, with which government, especially military, circles had close ties. At the beginning of August 1914, the Japanese government informed the powers that it was ready to fulfill its allied duty if England entered the war. The Western powers understood that Japan could use their preoccupation with military operations in the West by gaining "a free hand in China. The obviousness of aggressive actions on the part of Japan was also foreseen by the Chinese government, which turned to the United States with a request to limit the war to Europe and not to conduct military operations on Far East. On August 23, 1914, Japan declared war on Germany (and even the day before, the entire Japanese press was filled with unbridled anti-British propaganda and benevolent information about Germany). The military actions of the Japanese were limited to the capture of the small Qingdao territory leased by Germany in Shandong. Japan lost 2,000 killed and wounded in the war. In January 1915, the Japanese government, taking advantage of the international situation that had developed successfully for it, presented China with "21 demands" - a program of political, economic and military subjugation of China. The 21 Demands consisted of five groups. The first group of demands related to the Shandong province. It provided for the recognition by China of all agreements that could be concluded between Germany and Japan regarding Shandong, and the non-alienation of parts of the province's territory. It also provided for the transfer to Japan of the right to build railways, the opening for Japan of the main cities and ports. The second group concerned South Manchuria and the eastern part of Inner Mongolia. Japan demanded an extension of the lease of Port Arthur and Dairen, the South Manchurian and Andong-Mukden railways to 99 years, granting the Japanese the right to acquire and lease land, the right to reside, move and engage in any type of activity in this territory, inviting the Japanese as advisers on political, financial or military issues, as well as the granting of the Jilin-Chanchun railway to Japan for 99 years. A third group proposed turning the Hanyepe Industrial Combine into a joint Japanese-Chinese enterprise, which united mines and ironworks. The fourth group prohibited China from alienating and leasing harbors, bays and islands along the Chinese coast. The fifth group called for the invitation of the Japanese as advisers to the central government on political, financial and military matters, the recognition of land ownership in China for Japanese temples, hospitals and schools, the establishment of a Japanese-Chinese police force, the construction of Japanese-Chinese military factories, and the use of Japanese aid by engineers and materials, granting Japan rights to build railways, consultations with Japan in the case of building railways, mines and ports in Fujian Province, granting the Japanese the right to religious propaganda in China.

The 21 Demands did significant damage to the positions of Japan's imperialist rivals in China. However, neither England, whose interests in the river basin. The Yangtze was directly affected by the third group of demands, and the US did not go beyond formal protests, believing that Japan's financial weakness would not allow it to implement a grandiose program of economic and political subjugation of China. China could not offer armed resistance to Japan. The "21 Demands" (with the exception of the fifth group of demands, which aroused the indignation even of the Western powers) were accepted by the Chinese government and became the basis for a broad program of colonial plunder of that country by Japanese imperialism.

On August 15, 1914, Japan entered World War I on the side of the Entente. Far from the main theater of war, the country used the outbreak of conflict to improve its position in East Asia - and it succeeded.

During the First World War, trenches did not plow the Japanese soil, broken rifles and bloody corpses of soldiers did not fall into it. Japan avoided the terrible human and financial losses that accompanied the First World War in Europe. By the time of the armistice in November 1918, the number of Japanese killed in battle was about two thousand people - less than 1% of the British losses in the Battle of the Somme alone. The war did not exhaust the Japanese economy, on the contrary: it made it possible to create large markets for the arms industry. In Japanese cities, there are practically no memorials to this war, and Armistice Day (November 11) is not a public holiday, unlike the United States, Britain or France.

Japan's participation in the First World War was connected, first of all, with the solution of its personal problems in the region. After the victory in the Russo-Japanese War, the Land of the Rising Sun began to gain a foothold on the world stage. The Portsmouth Peace Treaty untied Japan's hands in Korea and Manchuria. Korea was completely annexed by 1910, in Manchuria there was an active development of resources and markets for Japanese goods. The Far East rivalry between Japan and the United States originates there. During the design of the South Manchurian Railway - a large infrastructure facility, which included the port of Dalniy (Dairen), a number of local enterprises, mines and land - the American tycoon E. Harriman put forward a proposal for its joint operation. Japan rejected this proposal. As a result, it became the main trading partner of Manchuria, displacing the United States.

In 1911, a revolution began in China, as a result of which the Qing dynasty was overthrown. The Japanese military seriously discussed the possibility of intervention in China "in order to maintain peace in the Far East", but the interests of industrialists prevailed: it was more profitable to trade with China than to fight. The situation was complicated by Japan's economic lagging behind Western countries. In addition, there was no clarity about Yuan Shikai's new government. Political and military elites feared that if a government crisis hit China, wealthy Western investors would take advantage of the situation and carve up the country among themselves. In this case, Japan would be denied access to Chinese markets, mines and railways. Japanese Foreign Minister Nobuaki Makino considered the situation catastrophic. In April 1914, he resigned, leaving a memorandum to his successor, which spoke of the need to take the most decisive measures to defend Japanese interests in China.

Yuan Shikai (center) after his appointment as interim president of China
https://en.wikipedia.org

Under these conditions, the outbreak of the First World War in Europe was a real gift for Japan. On August 7, 1914, the British government asked the Japanese Navy to "hunt down and destroy armed German ships" in Chinese waters, invoking an Anglo-Japanese cooperation agreement. The Shigenobu Okuma government decided within 36 hours to use this "one in a million" chance to establish Japanese dominance in pacific ocean and in China. Foreign Minister Takaaki Kato understood that the situation had not yet reached the point where the rules of the alliance would oblige Japan to declare war on Germany. However, he clearly realized that Japan's entry into the war would best solution. Germany was in a good position in China, so Japan was getting a huge advantage from its elimination.

Germany owned the territory of Jiaozhouwan on the Shandong Peninsula with a total area of ​​more than 500 square kilometers. The Germans rented it from China for a period of 99 years. The leased area included the city of Qingdao, one of the largest commercial ports in China, located north of the Yangtze River. The Germans fortified the port of Qingdao and used it as their naval base. This territory, surrounded by 50 kilometers of the neutral zone, was the main German foothold in the region. In addition, the Germans built a railway in Shandong from Qingdao to the city of Jinan, which connected there with the main line to Beijing.

Sketch of a map of Qingdao, circa 1906
wikipedia.org

Japan was perfectly prepared for new conquests. At the end of 1905, the government began developing a 15-year program to rearm the army and navy, allegedly fearing the "possibility of revenge" from Russia. Despite the signing in 1907 of Russian-Japanese agreements on cooperation and mutual assistance, by 1909 military naval forces Asiatic empires have doubled. British Foreign Secretary Edward Gray was concerned about Japan's military activity and sought to set a geographic limit on Japanese military operations. Perhaps this was the reason for the cancellation of the British request military aid August 10, which put the government of Japan, according to Minister Kato, in an "extremely awkward position", since Japan's intention to enter the war with Germany was by that time well known. Two days later, the British government resigned itself to Japan's participation in the First World War, wishing, however, to reduce the combat zone of the Japanese army to a minimum.

German position at Qingdao
http://topwar.ru

On the other hand, Japan's actions were closely watched by the United States and China. Since 1899, the US has supported China's territorial integrity in order to maintain a balance in the region and thereby secure its Pacific borders. On the eve of the war, the Chinese government submitted to the US State Department a draft agreement on maintaining the status quo of Chinese territories. Perhaps its signing would have kept Japan from expanding on the mainland. However, time was not on China's side: it was during these days that the United States government became aware of Japan's intention to oppose Germany in the near future. The current situation forced America to suspend the development of the project until Japan fulfills its role in the unfolding military confrontation.

Japanese military shelling Qingdao
http://www.china-mike.com

The Japanese got a chance to seize new territories in China in a legal and even noble way in the context of a world war. On August 15, Japan issued an ultimatum to Germany, which it notified the British government after the fact. It contained a demand to withdraw German ships from the territorial waters of not only Japan, but also China, and also to transfer the port of Qingdao to Japan free of charge. The document stated that the purpose of this step was its subsequent return to China, but in reality the situation was somewhat different. Despite the peace-loving statements of the prime minister, Japanese ships appeared in Chinese waters already on August 8 - a week before the ultimatum was presented. On August 23, when the deadline for responding to the ultimatum expired, Japan unilaterally declared war on Germany and began bombing Qingdao.

Shelling of Qingdao
http://www.china-mike.com

The military neutrality of China did not prevent Japan from fighting on its territory. Soon the Chinese government got tired of this, and it allocated a separate military zone, within which fighting shouldn't have come out. The Japanese obeyed, since this restriction had practically no effect on the success of their event: by November 7, the imperial army had captured not only Qingdao, but almost the entire province of Shandong. On top of military successes, before the end of the year, Japan occupied the Marshall, Mariana and Caroline Islands, which previously belonged to Germany. The goal was achieved, the August threats were fulfilled.

The diplomatic front was no less important for the country. Japan aspired to join the great world powers. This required not only new territories, but also serious geopolitical agreements. First of all, Japan began to build a new policy towards China. At the beginning of 1915, in response to the demand to withdraw troops from Shandong, the Japanese ambassador in Beijing presented Japan with "21 demands" to the President of China. This lengthy document included five groups of requirements. The first group concerned the transfer of German rights in Shandong to Japan. The second group expanded Japanese preferences in southern Manchuria and the eastern part of Inner Mongolia. The third group demanded Japan's participation in the development of Chinese natural resources at the enterprises of the Hanyeping Company. The fourth group provided that China would not cede or lease to third countries any harbors or bays along its entire coast or islands near it.

The fifth group of requirements caused the most controversy. China was supposed to invite "influential Japanese" as political and military advisers, create a joint administration in a number of regions of the country, buy weapons from Japan, transfer to it the rights to build a number of railways, consult with Japan in case of attracting foreign capital, provide land to Japanese hospitals and temples and allow missionary activity in the country. Later, Japanese diplomats tried to present this group of demands as “wishes”, but even in this case it became clear to everyone: for now Western countries busy with the war in Europe, Japan tried behind their backs to squeeze the maximum geopolitical benefits out of weak China. When the United States and Great Britain became aware of these demands, they expressed their natural dissatisfaction. foreign policy its Asian ally. However, despite the cooling of diplomatic relations, they still needed the Japanese army and weapons to continue the war with Germany. Therefore, Japan did not have any serious obstacles on the way to China. After the exclusion of the scandalous fifth group of requirements, the document was adopted.

1920s postcard depicting the South Manchurian Railway (highlighted in red)
https://en.wikipedia.org

In parallel, Japan was negotiating with Russia to enlist its diplomatic support on the world stage. In early 1916, the Japanese ambassador to Russian Empire handed over a note with proposals to guarantee the inviolability of the Far Eastern borders of Russia, supply it with weapons and ammunition and provide financial assistance. In exchange, Japan wanted to receive a section of the Chinese Eastern Railway from Harbin to Kuanchenzi station, as well as benefits for its merchants and fishermen in the Far East. The agreement signed on July 3 also contained a secret part concerning "the preservation of China from the political domination of any third power." Thus, Japan found a powerful counterbalance to the United States, which sought to actively participate in domestic politics China. This agreement was no less beneficial for the other side: Russia received a guarantee of security in the east and could fully concentrate on the fronts of the First World War.

List of used literature:

1. Noriko Kawamura. Turbulence in the Pacific: Japanese-U.S. Relations During World War I. Praeger, 2000.
2. Frederick R. Dickinson. War and National Reinvention: Japan in the Great War, 1914–1919. Harvard University Asia Center, 1999.
3. Molodyakov V. E., Molodyakova E. V., Markaryan S. B. History of Japan. XX century. M., 2007.
4. History of Japan. T. II. 1868–1998 M., Institute of Oriental Studies RAS, 1998.
5. Koshkin A. A. Russia and Japan: Knots of contradictions. M, 2010.

Choosing a strategy

Before the war, the Empire of Japan had strong economic (including in the military-technical sphere) and political ties with Germany. However, Japan decided in the First World War to take the side of the Entente. This was dictated by the expansion policy pursued by Japan in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

Sino-Japanese War 1894-1895 and the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-1905. showed that the Empire of Japan claims a wide sphere of influence in the Asia-Pacific region. In the future, the Japanese wanted to push the European powers out of the Pacific and dominate this vast region. The need for expansion was economic background(lack of resources needed for development on the Japanese islands) and spiritual and cultural (education of the elite in a military way).

The expansion of Japan's sphere of influence in the Asia-Pacific region could only have prospects in the context of the country's participation in one of the two military-political coalitions - the Entente or the Triple Alliance. Alone, Japan could not challenge the United States, Great Britain, France, Germany, Russia, which had the most convenient territories for capturing in the Asia-Pacific region. Japan "won" Russia only thanks to the active support of England and the United States, and instability political power, which, under pressure from the revolutionary public and the "fifth column" in the person of Sergei Witte and other agents of influence of the "world community", in fact, surrendered on the verge of a radical turning point in the war in favor of the Russian army. In the new war of the Japanese Empire against Russia, the Entente countries (England and France) were not interested. London and Paris needed "Russian cannon fodder" in the war with Germany.

The Japanese could not attack China again. China was weak and looked like easy prey. However, it was divided into spheres of influence by the powerful "white" powers - England, France, Germany and the USA. They were not interested in the further strengthening of Japan in China. Japan could not challenge them. It was necessary to negotiate with some power, or alliance, in order to be able to get part of the possessions of the losing country in China.

The performance of the Japanese Empire on the side of the Second Reich seemed to promise the Japanese maximum benefits. They could profit from the possessions of France and England. Force Russia to open a second front. However, such an offensive could only lead to short-term success. Germany did not have significant forces in the Pacific. There was no chance for power from Europe - the powerful British fleet, with the support of the French fleet, reliably blocked all communications from Europe to the Pacific Ocean. If the war at sea at the first stage could be successful for the Japanese Empire, then in the land theater, where Japan would have to fight Russia again, the Japanese had no chance. The mighty British Empire and the United States did not stand behind them in this war. All the efforts of the Russian Empire were immediately supported by all their land and sea forces, England and France (it was their fundamental interests), which were located in China, Indo-China, India, Australia and New Zealand. In addition, there was a strong possibility that the United States would support the Entente. So it will happen - the United States will enter on the side of the Entente. And such a war of the Japanese Empire would have to be fought alone. It was suicide.

Therefore, Japan chose a more sensible strategy. The Empire of Japan joined a stronger coalition in the Asia-Pacific region. By declaring war on Germany, Japan could profit from its possessions in the Pacific. In less than half a century, the German Empire colonized a number of territories in the Pacific Ocean - Samoa, the Marshall Islands, the Carolines, the Solomon Islands, etc. The Germans also rented (de facto took by right of the strong) from China the territory of part of the Shandong Peninsula with the port-fortress Qingdao. In 1897, Germany forced the degraded Qing Empire to give Qingdao a concession for 99 years. The port became the center of all Asian possessions of the German colonial empire.

Moreover, the Germans did not have in their possessions how many significant military forces that could offer serious resistance. So, the islands were generally protected only by the colonial police. Germany also did not have such a fleet that could break through the British blockade at the beginning of the war and deliver additional forces to the colonies from the mother country. Only Qingdao had a small force - a battalion of marines and the East Asian cruiser squadron of Admiral Spee. However, the cruising squadron had other tasks - before the start of the war, she left Qingdao to wage a cruising war off the coast of America, and died there. In addition, the Qingdao garrison was not tasked with fighting the entire Japanese army. The fortress of Tsingtao was built to repel attacks by relatively small French, British or Russian expeditionary forces and had to hold out for some time until Germany gained the upper hand in the European theater of operations.

In addition, Japan did not risk anything. Even in the event of a German victory in Europe - the German General Staff set aside 2-3 months for this, there was no reason for Berlin to continue to fight the Japanese. Most likely, peace would have been concluded with Japan on the terms of restoring the pre-war status quo.

Japan had a good official reason for starting hostilities against Germany. The basis of the alliance with the Entente was the Anglo-Japanese Treaty of 1902 (extended in 1911), which initially had an anti-Russian orientation. In addition, the policy of the First Lord of the Admiralty, Winston Churchill, contributed to a new rapprochement between the British and Japanese empires. He pursued a policy of concentrating the main forces of the British fleet in the Atlantic in order to contain the growing power of the German fleet. And control over the Pacific Ocean was assigned to allied Japan. Japan was more than satisfied with such a policy. Japan itself claimed dominance over the Pacific region. It is clear that the expansion of the Japanese in China greatly worried the British. Thus, the head of the British Foreign Office, Sir Edward Gray, was generally against Japan's participation in the war, fearing its excessive strengthening in the Pacific Ocean, while the great powers were busy with the war in Europe. The confrontation between the British Admiralty and the Foreign Office continued until the outbreak of war. In the current situation, coldness towards Japan could push her into the camp of the enemy. Therefore, in the end, they decided to involve Japan in the anti-German coalition.

It should also be noted that the main goal of the Empire of Japan was not so much the colonial possessions of Germany in the Pacific Ocean (comparatively small), but the maximum advance in China, not restrained by the European powers. The resources of China, and after the death of the Russian Empire, the Russian lands, attracted Japan the most.

Because of China, relations between England and Japan were badly damaged by the beginning of the war (despite the existence of an agreement). The statistics of the English Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai indicated that the Japanese were successfully undermining Britain's still strong economic positions in China. Japan was slowly but surely ousting the British from the domestic Chinese market. However, military-strategic interests turned out to be more important than economic ones. Japan did not dare to break allied relations with England and take the side of Germany, with which the Japanese military had close ties. Although the Japanese army was built according to the Prussian model, trained by German officers, and in the war with Russia tried to follow the German school (unlike the army, the fleet was mainly created with the help of England).

At the same time, the Japanese hid their plans until the last moment. Until the declaration of war on Germany, expressions of friendly attitude towards the German Empire and dislike towards Great Britain were actively disseminated in all state publications of Japan.

I must say that the Japanese government generally tried not to particularly cover its participation in the First World War. Most Japanese did not understand why they needed to fight at all. There was no threat from Germany. In the Japanese hinterland, people did not even know that Japan was at war. Actually, her participation in the war was limited to the capture of Qingdao, the capture of a number of German colonies and fleet operations.

The beginning of the war

Immediately after the outbreak of war in Europe, the German concession in Qingdao on the Shandong Peninsula and the British concession in Weihaiwei began to strengthen strongly. The British Foreign Secretary, Sir Edward Grey, despite the objections of the Admiralty, who wanted to use the potential of the Japanese fleet in the interests of Britain, informed his Japanese counterpart Kato Takaaki that England would need help only in the event of an attack on her Far Eastern possessions.

First Lord of the Admiralty Churchill continued to defend his position. He believed that while the main forces of the British fleet were concentrated to blockade the German fleet in Germany, the small British naval forces in the Pacific, where only old ships remained, were vulnerable. France took over responsibility for the Mediterranean. In addition, soon Italy was to join it, which was inclined in favor of the Entente. Japan, according to Churchill, was supposed to play leading role in the protection of maritime communications in the Pacific Ocean (in the future, in the Indian Ocean). On August 11, 1914, Churchill told Gray that his policy towards Japan could lead to dangerous consequences: “You can easily deal a mortal blow to our relations, the consequences of which will be felt for too long. The storm is about to break." This helped change the position of the British Foreign Secretary.

Japan initially declared neutrality. At the same time, the Japanese promised to support the British if London asked for help to repel German attacks on Hong Kong or Weihaiwei. On August 7, 1914, Britain called on Japan to begin operations to destroy German naval forces in China's territorial waters. On August 8, Tokyo decided to declare war on the German Empire.

On August 15, Tokyo issued an ultimatum to Berlin. The Japanese demanded: 1) to immediately withdraw all German warships and armed vessels from Japanese and Chinese waters and to disarm those ships that cannot be withdrawn for any reason; 2) the Germans were to disarm Qingdao and transfer to the Japanese authorities no later than September 15, 1914, all leased lands in China without any conditions and compensation; 3) the Japanese also demanded the transfer of the Pacific possessions of Germany to them. Germany had to respond by 12 noon on August 23, 1914. If there was no response, the Japanese government reserved the right to take "appropriate measures" against Germany.

On August 22, German diplomats left Tokyo. Having received no response to the ultimatum, on August 23, the Japanese emperor Yoshihito Yoshihito declared war on the German Empire. The war was explained as a German threat to "our trade and that of our ally" (England). Interestingly, the Austro-Hungarian Empire, an ally of Germany, declared its neutrality towards Japan. On August 24, the crew of the Austrian cruiser "Kaiserin Elisabeth" - the ship served in the German port of Qingdao, received an order to railway evacuate to chinese city Tianjin. However, on August 25, Austria-Hungary declared war on Japan. The crew of the cruiser was instructed to return to Qingdao - about 300 Austrian sailors returned to the port, some remained in Tianjin.

Actions of the Japanese fleet

Under an agreement between British, French and Japanese representatives, the Japanese fleet was responsible for security in the zone north of Shanghai. By August 26, Japanese ships were deployed in three squadrons: the 1st squadron deployed to protect communications north of Shanghai; The 2nd squadron supported the operation to capture Qingdao; The 3rd squadron controlled the area between Shanghai and Hong Kong. In addition, two Japanese cruisers (Ibuki and Tikuma) participated in the British squadron under the command of Admiral Jeram in search of the German Spee squadron. They were sent to Singapore. They took part in the search for the German armored cruiser Emden.

While Kamimura's 2nd Squadron assisted in the siege of Tsingtao, the ships of the 1st Squadron began searching for the German cruiser squadron. Vice Admiral Tamin Yamaya sent the cruiser Kongo to Midway. The armored cruiser Izumo, which at that time was off the coast of Mexico, was instructed to protect allied communications off the coast of America.

In addition, the Japanese seized the colonial possessions of Germany. On September 12, Japan announced the occupation of the Caroline and Mariana Islands, and on September 29, the capture of the Marshall Islands. The Japanese squadron under the command of Vice Admiral Yamai occupied Jaluit, and on October 12 appeared in the harbor of Truk. On October 1, the Japanese squadron under the command of Rear Admiral Tatsuo Matsumura occupied the port of Rabaul on the island of New Britain. On October 7, the Japanese squadron arrived on the island of Yap (Caroline Islands). Here was the German gunboat Planet. The crew flooded it so that the ship would not fall into the hands of the enemy. The island itself was captured by the Japanese without resistance. At the end of 1914, several Japanese ships were stationed in Suva harbor in Fiji, and Japanese naval forces were also based at Truk. As a result, by the beginning of November 1914 the only territory on the Pacific Ocean, which remained under the control of the Germans, was the port-fortress of Qingdao.

The Australian and New Zealand expeditionary forces occupied territories in New Guinea, New Britain, the Solomon Islands, and the Apia base in Samoa. Moreover, the British were so afraid of the East Asian squadron of Admiral Spee that they allocated large forces to protect the landing transports.

It must be said that the captures of the Japanese alarmed the authorities of Australia and New Zealand. They themselves expected to profit from the German possessions. By the end of 1914, London and Tokyo had struggled to settle the issue of seizing German colonies in the Pacific. In order not to irritate Japan, England agreed that the troops of the British Commonwealth would not operate north of the equator. The Marianas, Carolines and Marshall Islands remained under Japanese control.

Also in 1914, Japan began to provide assistance to the Entente with the supply of weapons to Europe. The Japanese handed over to Russia two battleships and a cruiser, which were captured during the Russo-Japanese War.

To be continued…

In the beginning. XX century Taishō's short democratic period gave way to a rise in militarism and expansionism. Japan took part in the First World War on the side of the Entente, expanding its political influence and territory. Japan received its first constitution in 1889. A parliament appeared, but the emperor retained his independence: he was at the head of the army, navy, executive and legislative powers. However, the main political power remained in the hands of the Genro members - Emperor Meiji agreed with most of their actions. Political parties have not yet had sufficient influence, primarily due to constant internal strife. The conflict between China and Japan over the division of spheres of influence in Korea led to the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1895. The Japanese won and captured Taiwan, but were forced by the Western powers to return the rest of their conquered territories to China. This forced the Japanese army and navy to accelerate rearmament. A new conflict of interest in China and Manchuria, this time with Russia, led to the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-1905. Japan also won this war, expanding its territory and gaining international respect. Japan later increased its influence in Korea and annexed it in 1910. These military successes led to an unprecedented rise in nationalism. Emperor Meiji died in 1912. The era of Genro's reign is over. Militarism and World War II. During the reign of the weak Emperor Taishō (1912-1926), political power gradually shifted from the Genro oligarchs to the parliament and democratic parties. In the First World War, Japan joined the Entente, but played a very minor role in the battles with the German troops in East Asia.

30. Japan during the First World War.

Japan took part in World War I on the side of the Entente. Japan's participation in this war had its own specifics. In Japan, the army command had much more weight than the navy. For the Anglo-German war, these two types armed forces looked at from opposite points of view. The Japanese army was built on the Prussian model and trained by German officers; The Japanese fleet was created with the help of Great Britain and trained in the English manner. All this served as a source of constant disputes in the Japanese leadership. At the same time, the average Japanese did not understand at all why it was necessary to fight: in Japan, no one felt any threat from Germany. Therefore, the Japanese government, while supporting the Entente, tried not to give the public too much information about the war. British officer Malcolm Kennedy, who visited the Japanese hinterland, was struck by the fact that the peasants with whom he spoke did not even suspect that their country was at war. Despite the conclusion of the Anglo-Japanese alliance, the expansion of Japan in Asia caused serious concern in the UK. The British Foreign Secretary, Sir Edward Gray, feared that if Japan entered the war, it would expand its holdings beyond all limits. Despite all the objections of the Admiralty, he tried to prevent Japan from entering the war. On August 1, 1914, Gray informed his Japanese colleague Kato that Britain would only need help in the event of an attack on the Far Eastern colonies. Gray feared not only Japanese expansion, but also the reaction of Australia, New Zealand and the United States to such expansion. The results of the war: In general, the World War of 1914-1918 allowed the Empire of Japan to justify its title: from a regional power, it turned, if not into a world power, then at least become a powerful dominant in Asia and the Pacific. By the end of 1918, Japanese troops, in addition to the former German possessions in Shandong and the Pacific Ocean, occupied part of the territory of China proper, part of Northern Manchuria and part of Eastern Siberia. However, not everything was so smooth, the consolidation in Asian Russia and China was far from complete. The internal political situation in Japan itself was not simple - since August 1918, the country was shaken by the so-called. "rice riots". Certain consequences of the war were new relations with yesterday's allies, primarily with Great Britain and the USA. Mutual hostility and hostility led to the rupture of the Anglo-Japanese alliance in 1921 (immediately after the end of joint actions in Russia). For the United States, Japan never ceased to be a potential enemy. This led to a rapprochement between Japan and Germany. The consequences and results of the new, post-war realities are well known to all.

31. Features of the structural crisis of the Qing Empire in early XIX century. "Discovery" of China. After the defeat of the Peasants' War of 1796-1804 inner world did not come to the empire. In the provinces of Hunan and Guizhou, the Miao uprising broke out in 1801, which was finally suppressed only in 1806. In 1802-1803, the poor of the Huizhou region of Guangdong Province, united by the secret "Society of Heaven and Earth" ("Triad"), took up arms. In 1805, an offshoot of the White Lotus rebelled in Shaanxi Province, and in 1807 another sect followed suit. Rogue freemen of the South China and East China Seas began to provide ever-increasing resistance to the Qing authorities. The pirate war lasted ten years (1800-1810), and only the joint actions of the squadron of the governor of Liangguang and the flotilla of the Nguyen who ruled northern Vietnam managed to destroy the pirate ships. In 1813, an uprising of the "Heavenly Mind" sect began - another of the offshoots of the "White Lotus". Some of the rebels in the capital even managed to break into the imperial palace. However, by the end of 1814, this uprising was crushed. Most modern researchers believe that China's position towards the West was expressed in the "policy of self-reinforcement" (Ziqiang) or "movement to assimilate overseas affairs" (Yangyuyundong). This position boiled down to "using foreigners against foreigners themselves." The principle proposed by Li Hongzhang and other leading political figures of China - "control of officials, entrepreneurship of merchants" (guantushanban), aimed at attracting Chinese entrepreneurial capital to organize their own enterprises, was also connected with this. The state, which controls but does not interfere in the affairs of entrepreneurs, was supposed to become a kind of guarantor of this event. However, this policy was beneficial to the capitalist powers and did not contradict, or, to be more precise, corresponded to their foreign policy in the Far East. However, one must take into account the fact that the Qing rulers had no reason to voluntarily "open up" and transform themselves to the West. On the contrary, they sought to isolate themselves as much as possible from everything alien to the Empire. Therefore, one of the main tasks facing the UK was to transform Chinese society "by the hands of the Chinese themselves."

32. The policy of "self-strengthening" of the ruling circles of China (1860-1895): causes and essence. After the defeat in the second opium war in the ruling circles of China, there was a need to try to find a way out of the current unfavorable situation that threatened to turn the largest state of the East into an appendage of the Western powers. As a result, a new line of development was worked out, which in historiography was called "the policy of self-strengthening -" Zi Qiang ". There are three main stages in its implementation. 1) 1861 - 70 years. the main attention of the ruling circles was focused on suppressing the resistance of the Chinese peasants and national minorities. 2) 1870 - 85 years. characterized by the formation in the ruling camp of two main groups that fought for their influence on the implementation of internal transformations. 3) 1885 - 1895 the victory of the Li Hongzhang group, and the subsequent removal of its leader from power after the defeat of China in the war with Japan. The idea to borrow from foreigners and introduce the best achievements in the field of science and technology became the main one during the reform period of 60-70 years. 19th century In January 1861, the Chancellery for Public Administration of the Affairs of Various Countries was established in Beijing. It became the highest advisory council of the Chinese Empire. In August 1861, Emperor Yi Zhu died and his young son Zai Shun ascended the throne. The mother of the new ruler managed to agree with the half-brothers of the emperor on a joint regency. For the next 10 years, until the death of Zai Shun, the country was actually ruled by the Ci Xi group. Its main efforts were aimed at reforming the army in order to achieve a decisive turning point in actions against the internal rebellion. After the suppression of the Taiping uprising, emphasis began to be placed on the construction of modern machines and ships, military enterprises. The leader of the Anhui group, Li Hongzhang, was the most successful in this regard. In violation of the instructions of the court, he did not withdraw his army from the capital province and seized control of domestic and foreign trade in Northern China. Then Li Hongzhang set about creating a northern, Beiyang squadron of naval forces. In 1877, his troops numbered about 40 thousand people. armed with modern weapons. Li Hongzhang did not consider the interests of the central government and cared only about his own enrichment and strengthening his military power. In early 1875, Emperor Zai Shun died and his three-year-old nephew Guangxu ascended the throne. This circumstance further strengthened Cixi's position in the real management of China. Six main components were officially proclaimed in the implementation of the policy of self-reinforcement - the training of soldiers, the construction of ships, the production of machines, the search for funds for the maintenance of the armed forces, involvement in management capable people and determination for the long-term implementation of the above activities. This line was carried out in virtually unchanged form until 1895. In the first half of the 70s. gg. 120 Chinese youths were sent to study in the United States. Nevertheless, already in the early 80s. for fear that they were too imbued with Western ideology, they were recalled to their homeland. In the late 70s - early 80s. on the initiative of Li Hongzhang, mine-torpedo and telegraph schools, as well as two military schools, were opened in Tianjin. Here, along with the Confucian theory traditional for China, Western sciences were also taught. It was from their graduates that the scientific and technical intelligentsia was formed in China.

Japan took part in World War I on the side of the Entente. Japan's participation in this war had its own specifics.

In Japan, the army command had much more weight than the navy. These two types of armed forces looked at the Anglo-German war from directly opposite points of view. The Japanese army was built on the Prussian model and trained by German officers; The Japanese fleet was created with the help of Great Britain and trained in the English manner. All this served as a source of constant disputes in the Japanese leadership. At the same time, the average Japanese did not understand at all why it was necessary to fight: in Japan, no one felt any threat from Germany. Therefore, the Japanese government, while supporting the Entente, tried not to give the public too much information about the war. British officer Malcolm Kennedy, who visited the Japanese hinterland, was struck by the fact that the peasants with whom he spoke did not even suspect that their country was at war.

Despite the conclusion of the Anglo-Japanese alliance, the expansion of Japan in Asia caused serious concern in the UK. The British Foreign Secretary, Sir Edward Gray, feared that if Japan entered the war, it would expand its holdings beyond all limits. Despite all the objections of the Admiralty, he tried to prevent Japan from entering the war. On August 1, 1914, Gray informed his Japanese colleague Kato that Britain would only need help in the event of an attack on the Far Eastern colonies. Gray feared not only Japanese expansion, but also the reaction of Australia, New Zealand and the United States to such expansion.

However, the First Lord of the Admiralty, Winston Churchill, had a very different view on these things. Due to the fact that all British dreadnoughts were concentrated in Europe, only old ships remained in the Pacific. Defending the correctness of this disposition of forces, Churchill in March 1914, during a speech in the House of Commons, said that the defeat of the main forces of the British fleet in Europe would make the small squadron in the Pacific helpless. Any British squadron in this area will inevitably be inferior to the main forces of the fleet of European opponents. Churchill stated that

... two or three dreadnoughts in Australian waters will be useless after the defeat of the British fleet in domestic waters.

This policy led to an increase in Britain's dependence on the allies. France assumed responsibility for the Mediterranean and Japan was to play a major role in protecting China's seas. On August 11, 1914, Churchill, fearing that Gray would nevertheless oppose Japan's participation in the war or try to limit such participation, told him:

I think you can definitively cool them down. I don't see a middle ground between their participation and non-participation. If they enter the war, we must welcome them as comrades. Your latest telegram to Japan is almost hostile. I am afraid that I simply do not understand the course of your thoughts, and in this aspect I cannot follow your intentions. This telegram makes me tremble. We are all one, and I would like to give full support to your policy. But I strongly object to obstructing the Japanese. You can easily deal a death blow to our relationship, the effects of which will be felt for far too long. The storm is about to break.

Churchill's speech helped change Gray's position.

On August 15, 1914, the Japanese government issued an ultimatum to Germany, demanding the withdrawal of German troops from the Pacific Ocean. The Germans were required to withdraw ships from Qingdao, blow up the fortifications of the port and transfer the Shandong Peninsula to Japan. The Japanese also demanded that the German Pacific colonies be handed over to them. Having received no response to the ultimatum, on August 23, 1914, Japan declared war on Germany with an imperial manifesto:

Hereby we declare war on Germany and command our army and navy to open hostilities against this Empire with all might...

With the outbreak of a real war in Europe, the disastrous consequences of which we look with great regret, we, for our part, cherished the hope of maintaining peace in the Far East, observing strict neutrality. But Germany is making hasty military preparations in Jiaozhou, and her armed ships cruising in East Asian waters threaten our trade and that of our ally. And with deep sorrow, we, despite our devotion to the cause of peace, were forced to declare war ... We deeply wish that thanks to the devotion, duty and courage of our faithful subjects, peace will soon be restored and the glory of the empire will shine.

On August 25, Austria-Hungary declared war on Japan. Japan's entry into the war on the side of the Entente allowed Russia to transfer the Siberian corps to the European theater of operations.

Campaign of 1914

Main article : Siege of Qingdao

Preparations for the operation against the German naval base of Qingdao began on August 16, when an order was issued in Japan to mobilize the 18th Infantry Division. From the moment the Japanese ultimatum was issued, the Japanese population began to secretly leave Qingdao, and by August 22, not a single Japanese remained there.

In accordance with the agreement between the representatives of England, France and Japan, the Japanese fleet was responsible for security in the area north of Shanghai. Therefore, by August 26, the following deployment of the Japanese fleet was established:

1) 1st Japanese squadron - cruising in the water area north of Shanghai to protect sea lanes;

2) 2nd squadron - direct actions against Qingdao;

3) 3rd squadron (of 7 cruisers) - securing the area between Shanghai and Hong Kong;

4) the cruisers "Ibuki" and "Tikuma" as part of the squadron of the English Admiral Jerama participate in the search for German ships of the squadron of Admiral Spee in Oceania.

Japanese aircraft "Wakamiya"

The operation against Qingdao was carried out mainly by Japanese forces with the symbolic participation of an English battalion. On September 2, Japanese troops began landing on the Shandong Peninsula in the territory of neutral China; On September 22, an English detachment arrived from Weihaiwei; On September 27, an offensive began on the advanced German positions near Qingdao; On October 17, an important point was taken - Mount "Prince Heinrich", an observation post was established on it, and siege weapons were demanded from Japan. By October 31, everything was ready for a general attack and bombardment of the forts. The bombardment began on November 5, but for the first three days the weather did not allow the fleet to take part in it. Having previously flooded all the ships, the Germans capitulated on November 7th. During the siege of Qingdao, the Japanese used carrier-based aircraft against ground targets for the first time in history: seaplanes based on the Wakamiya aircraft bomber bombed targets in Qingdao.

While Kamimura's 2nd Squadron helped capture Qingdao, ships from 1st Squadron joined British and Australian ships in search of von Spee's squadron. Immediately after the start of the war, Vice Admiral Yamaya sent the battlecruiser Kongo to Midway to control communications passing through the area. The armored cruiser Izumo, which was off the coast of Mexico, was ordered to protect allied shipping off the coast of America. On August 26, Admiral Yamaya sent the armored cruiser Ibuki and the light cruiser Tikuma to Singapore to reinforce the Allied fleet in Southeast Asia. The Tikuma took part in the search for the Emden in the Dutch East Indies and the Bay of Bengal. Admiral Matsumura, along with the battleship Satsuma and the cruisers Yahagi and Hirado, patrolled the sea lanes leading to Australia.

Urgent tasks forced the Ibuki to move from Singapore to Wellington: he was the first of the Japanese ships to take part in escorting transports with ANZAC troops to the Middle East, covering them from a possible attack by the German cruiser Emden. The Japanese also provided transportation for French troops from Indochina.

In October 1914, the Japanese squadron of Admiral Shojiro, reinforced by British ships, was looking for German raiders in the Indian Ocean. On November 1, 1914, the Japanese agreed to the request of the British to introduce patrols in the zone east of the 90th meridian. Most of the squadrons of Admiral Shojiro and the ships that arrived from Qingdao guarded the indicated area until the end of the month. After the German gunboat Geyer arrived in Honolulu, the battleship Hizen and the cruiser Asama approached the port and stayed there until the Geyer was interned by the American authorities on November 7. Then Hizen and Asama, together with Izumo, began to comb the shores South America trying to find the German ships.

Despite the formal alliance, a race was unfolding between Japan on the one hand and Australia and New Zealand on the other to seize German possessions in the Pacific Ocean. On September 12, Japan announced the occupation of the Caroline and Mariana Islands, and on September 29, the capture of the Marshall Islands. On October 12, Admiral Yamai's squadron appeared in the harbor of Truk in the Caroline Islands, and on October 1, Matsumura's squadron captured the German port of Rabaul on the island of New Britain. On October 7, she arrived on the island of Yap (Caroline Islands), where she met the German gunboat Planet, hastily scuttled by the crew. Australian troops managed to land on Samoa under the very nose of the Japanese.

By the end of 1914, the Japanese and British governments had difficulty resolving the issue of the seizure of German possessions in the Pacific. To avoid further incidents, the British agreed that the troops of the British Commonwealth would not operate north of the equator.

In 1914, Japan returned to Russia two battleships and a cruiser captured during the Russo-Japanese War.

Campaign of 1915

Since the war in the European theater took on a protracted character, in fact, Japan received complete freedom of action in the Far East, and took full advantage of it. In January 1915, Japan handed over to Chinese President Yuan Shikai the document that went down in history as the "Twenty-One Demands." Japanese-Chinese negotiations took place from early February to mid-April 1915. China was unable to offer effective resistance to Japan, and the Twenty-One Demands (with the exception of the fifth group, which aroused the open indignation of the Western powers) was accepted by the Chinese government.