The operation against Qingdao was carried out mainly by Japanese forces with the symbolic participation of a British battalion. On September 2, Japanese troops began landing on the Shandong Peninsula in neutral China; On September 22, an English detachment arrived from Weihaiwei; On September 27, the offensive began on the advanced German positions near Qingdao; On October 17, an important point was taken - Mount Prince Henry, 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 sunk all the ships, the Germans capitulated on November 7. During the siege of Qingdao, the Japanese used naval aviation against ground targets for the first time in history: seaplanes based on the Wakamiya aircraft bombed targets on the territory of Qingdao.
1915 Campaign
Since the war in the European theater became protracted, Japan actually 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 a document that went down in history as the “Twenty-one Demands.” Sino-Japanese negotiations took place from early February to mid-April 1915. China was unable to provide effective resistance to Japan, and the Twenty-One Demands (with the exception of the fifth group, which caused open indignation by the Western powers) were accepted by the Chinese government.
In February 1915, when a mutiny of Indian units broke out in Singapore, a landing force of Japanese marines, landed from the cruisers Tsushima and Otowa, suppressed it together with British, French and Russian troops.
In the same year, the Japanese fleet provided great assistance in the hunt for the German cruiser Dresden. He also guarded the American-owned port of Manila to prevent German ships from using it. Throughout the year, Japanese ships based in Singapore patrolled the South China Sea, the Sulu Sea, and off the coast of the Dutch East Indies.
1916 campaign
In February 1916, Britain again requested help from Japan. After the death of several ships by mines laid by German auxiliary cruisers, it was necessary to increase the number of ships hunting these raiders. The Japanese government sent a flotilla of destroyers to Singapore to guard the critical Malacca Strait. A division of cruisers was assigned to patrol the Indian Ocean. On several occasions, Japanese ships reached the island of Mauritius and the shores of South Africa. The most powerful and modern light cruisers, Tikuma and Hirado, accompanied military convoys from Australia and New Zealand.
In December 1916, Great Britain purchased 6 merchant ships with a capacity of 77,500 GRT from Japan.
1917 campaign
In January 1917, Japan, taking advantage of the tense situation on the fronts in Europe, demanded a formal commitment from Great Britain to transfer the rights to the former German leaseholds in Shandong at the post-war peace conference. In response to British objections, the Japanese stated that they were asking for no more than the Russians, who had been promised Constantinople. After lengthy discussions, in mid-February the Japanese government received corresponding secret commitments from Great Britain, and then from France and Russia. This agreement between Japan and the Entente countries was not known to the United States until the very beginning of the peace conference at Versailles.
In February 1917, the Japanese agreed to expand their participation in the war and extend their naval patrol area to the Cape of Good Hope. The Japanese navy also became involved in protecting shipping off the eastern coasts of Australia and New Zealand.
In May 1917, the British asked the Japanese to deliver workers recruited in China to Europe.
In mid-1917, Admiral Jellicoe offered to purchase two battlecruisers from Japan, but the Japanese government flatly refused to sell or transfer any ships to the British.
In 1917, Japan built 12 Kaba-class destroyers for France in 5 months; Japanese sailors brought these ships to the Mediterranean Sea and handed them over to the French.
On November 2, the prominent diplomat Ishii Kikujiro signed the “Lansing-Ishii Agreement” with US Secretary of State R. Lansing, which allowed the Americans to transfer some ships to the Atlantic to help the British. Under a secret agreement, Japanese ships patrolled Hawaiian waters until the end of the war.
On March 11, the first Japanese ships (the light cruiser Akashi and the 10th and 11th Destroyer Flotillas) set sail for the European theater of operations via Aden and Port Said. They arrived in Malta during the worst period for the Allies. And although the arrival of 1 cruiser and 8 destroyers could not change the situation in the Mediterranean, nevertheless, the Japanese received the most important task - to accompany troop transports that were carrying reinforcements to France. Japanese ships escorted transports from Egypt directly to France; They entered Malta only if convoys were formed on this island. As submarines became increasingly active in the Mediterranean, two British gunboats and two destroyers were temporarily manned by Japanese sailors; The number of Japanese squadrons in the Mediterranean Sea reached 17 ships. On 21 August, Rear Admiral George E. Ballard, commanding naval forces at Malta, reported to the Admiralty:
French efficiency standards are lower than British ones, but Italian standards are even lower. With the Japanese things are different. Admiral Sato's destroyers are kept in perfect condition and spend as much time at sea as our ships. It is significantly larger than that of French and Italian ships of any class. Moreover, the Japanese are completely independent in matters of command and supply, while the French will not do anything themselves if the work can be delegated to others. The efficiency of the Japanese allowed their ships to spend more time at sea than any other British ally, increasing the effect of Japanese ships in the Mediterranean.
1918 Campaign
During the German Spring Offensive on the Western Front, the British needed to transfer large numbers of troops from the Middle East to Marseille. Japanese ships helped transport more than 100,000 British soldiers across the Mediterranean in the critical months of April and May. After the crisis ended, Japanese ships began transporting troops from Egypt to Thessaloniki, where the Allies were preparing for the autumn offensive. Until the end of the war, the Japanese squadron carried 788 Allied transports across the Mediterranean and helped transport more than 700,000 soldiers. The Japanese squadron had 34 collisions with German and Austrian submarines, in which the destroyers Matsu and Sakaki were damaged.
After the armistice, Admiral Sato's Second Special Squadron was present at the surrender of the German fleet. 7 submarines were given to Japan as trophies. The last Japanese ships returned to Japan on July 2, 1919.
Sources
- “History of the East” in 6 volumes. Volume V “East in modern times (1914-1945)” - Moscow, publishing company “Oriental Literature” RAS, 2006. ISBN 5-02-018500-0
- A. Bolnykh “Sea battles of the First World War: On the ocean expanses” - Moscow, AST Publishing House LLC, 2000. ISBN 5-17-004429-1
- Zayonchkovsky A. M.. - St. Petersburg. : Polygon, 2000. - 878 p. - ISBN 5-89173-082-0.
- “Overseas Theaters of the First World War” - AST Publishing House LLC, Transitkniga LLC, 2003 ISBN 5-17-018624-X
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An excerpt characterizing Japan in World War I
- How is it that they are the same? I can’t think the way they want, can I?.. People can’t think the same?!- You are mistaken, my Light One... This is exactly what they want - for us all to think and act the same... This is the whole morality...
“But this is wrong, dad!..” I was indignant.
– Take a closer look at your school friends - how often do they say things that are not written? – I was embarrassed... he was, again, as always, right. “This is because their parents teach them to be just good and obedient students and get good grades.” But they don’t teach them to think... Perhaps because they didn’t think very much themselves... Or maybe also because fear has already taken root in them too deeply... So move your brains, my Svetlenka, to find for yourself, what is more important to you is your grades, or your own thinking.
– Is it really possible to be afraid to think, dad?.. After all, no one hears our thoughts?.. What then is there to be afraid of?
– They won’t hear if they hear... But every mature thought shapes your consciousness, Svetlenka. And when your thoughts change, then you change with them... And if your thoughts are correct, then someone may very, very not like them. Not all people like to think, you see. Many people prefer to put this on the shoulders of others like you, while they themselves remain only “fulfillers” of other people’s desires for the rest of their lives. And happiness for them if the same “thinkers” do not fight in the struggle for power, because then it is not real human values that come into play, but lies, bragging, violence, and even crime, if they want to get rid of those who think with them “ out of place”... Therefore, thinking can be very dangerous, my Light One. And it all depends only on whether you will be afraid of this or prefer your human honor to fear...
I climbed onto my dad’s sofa and curled up next to him, imitating the (very dissatisfied) Grishka. Next to my dad, I always felt very protected and peaceful. It seemed that nothing bad could get to us, just as nothing bad could happen to me when I was next to him. Which, of course, could not be said about the disheveled Grishka, since he also adored the hours spent with dad and could not stand it when anyone intruded on these hours... He hissed at me very unfriendly and with all his appearance showed that it was better I wish I could get out of here as quickly as possible... I laughed and decided to leave him to calmly enjoy such a dear pleasure for him, and I went to get some exercise - play snowballs in the yard with the neighbor kids.
I counted the days and hours left until my tenth birthday, feeling almost “all grown up”, but, to my great shame, I was not able to forget for a minute my “birthday surprise”, which, of course, was nothing didn’t add anything positive to my same “adulthood”...
I, like all the children in the world, adored gifts... And now all day long I wondered what it could be, what, in my grandmother’s opinion, with such confidence I should have “liked very much”?..
But the wait wasn’t that long, and very soon it was completely confirmed that it was very worth doing...
Finally, my “birthday” morning was cold, sparkling and sunny, as befits a real holiday. The air “burst” from the cold with colored stars and literally “ringed”, forcing pedestrians to move faster than usual... All of us, going out into the yard, took our breath away, and steam literally billowed from “everything living” around, funny making everyone look like multi-colored locomotives rushing in different directions...
After breakfast, I simply could not sit still and followed my mother, waiting to finally see my long-awaited “surprise”. To my greatest surprise, my mother went with me to the neighbor’s house and knocked on the door... Despite the fact that our neighbor was a very pleasant person, what she could have to do with my birthday remained a mystery to me...
– Oh, our “holiday” girl has arrived! – Opening the door, the neighbor said cheerfully. - Well, let's go, the Blizzard is waiting for you.
And then my legs literally gave way... Purga (or rather, in Lithuanian, Puga) was an amazingly beautiful neighbor’s horse, which I was very often allowed to ride. And I simply adored her!.. Everything about this wonderful horse was beautiful - her appearance, her sensitive “horse” soul, and her calm, reliable character. In my opinion, she was generally the most beautiful and most wonderful horse in the world!.. She was silver-gray in color (which was also called gray-haired), with a snow-white long tail, all “strewn” with light gray and white apples. When I came, she always said hello, poking her surprisingly soft nose into my shoulder, as if saying:
- Well, I’m so good, take me for a ride!!!
She had a very beautiful face, very graceful, with huge, soft, kind eyes that seemed to understand everything. And it would be simply a “crime” not to love her...
Despite the fact that our yard was very large, and it was always full of all kinds of domestic animals, we could not keep a horse for the simple reason that it was not so easy to buy one. The Arabian stallion was very expensive for us (by the standards of that time), because my dad at that time worked at the newspaper much less hours than usual (since, by general agreement of the family, he was busy writing plays for the Russian drama theater), and therefore , we didn’t have much finance at that moment. And although it was already the right time for me to really learn horse riding, the only opportunity to do this was to ask sometimes to go for a walk with Purga, who for some reason also loved me very much and always gladly went out for a ride with me.
But lately Purga has been very sad and has not left her yard. And, to my great regret, it has been more than three months since I was allowed to go for walks with her. A little over three months ago, her owner died suddenly, and since they always lived with Purga “in perfect harmony,” it was apparently difficult for his wife to see Purga with anyone else for some time. So she, the poor thing, spent whole days in her (admittedly very large) pen, immensely yearning for her beloved owner, who had suddenly disappeared somewhere.
It was to this wonderful friend that they took me on the morning of my tenth birthday... My heart was literally jumping out of my chest with excitement!.. I simply couldn’t believe that now my biggest childhood dream could come true. !.. I remember since the first time I managed to climb Purga without outside help, I endlessly begged my mom and dad to buy me a horse, but they always said that now is a bad time for this and that they “will definitely do it, we have to.” just wait a little."
Purga greeted me, as always, very friendly, but over these three months she seemed to have changed something. She was very sad, with slow movements, and did not express too much desire to come out. I asked the owner why she was so “different”? The neighbor said that poor Purga apparently misses her owner and she feels very sorry for her.
“Try,” she said, “if you manage to “revive” her, she’s yours!”
I simply could not believe what I heard, and mentally vowed not to miss this chance for anything in the world! Carefully approaching Purga, I affectionately stroked her wet, velvety nose, and began to quietly talk to her. I told her how good she was and how much I loved her, how wonderful it would be for us together and how much I would care about her... Of course, I was just a child and sincerely believed that Purga would understand everything I said. But even now, after so many years, I still think that somehow this amazing horse really understood me... Be that as it may, Purga affectionately poked my neck with her warm lips, making it clear that she ready to “go for a walk with me”... I somehow climbed onto it, out of excitement, not getting my foot in the loop, tried my best to calm my heart, which was rushing out, and we slowly moved out of the yard, turning along our familiar path into the forest , where she, just like me, really loved to be. The unexpected “surprise” shook me all over, and I couldn’t believe that all this was really happening! I really wanted to pinch myself, and at the same time I was afraid that suddenly, right now, I would wake up from this wonderful dream, and everything would turn out to be just a beautiful holiday fairy tale... But time passed and nothing changed. Purga - my beloved friend - was here with me, and only a little was missing for her to truly become mine!..
My birthday that year fell on a Sunday, and since the weather was simply magnificent, many neighbors were walking along the street that morning, stopping to share the latest news with each other or just to breathe in the “freshly smelling” winter air. I was a little worried, knowing that I would immediately become the object of public attention, but, despite the excitement, I really wanted to look confident and proud on my beloved beauty Purga... Gathering my “disheveled” emotions into a fist, so as not to let my wonderful girlfriend down, I I quietly touched her side with my foot, and we drove out of the gate... Mom, dad, grandmother and neighbor stood in the yard and waved after us, as if for them, just like for me, this was also some incredibly important event ... It was kindly funny and amusing and somehow immediately helped me relax, and we moved on calmly and confidently. Neighborhood kids also poured into the yard and waved their arms, shouting greetings. In general, it turned out to be a real “holiday mess”, which amused even the neighbors walking on the same street...
Soon the forest appeared, and we, turning onto a path that was already familiar to us, disappeared from sight... And then I gave free rein to my emotions, screaming with joy!.. I squeaked like an incredibly happy puppy, kissed a thousand times There was a blizzard in her silky nose (the amount of which she could not understand...), she loudly sang some absurd songs, in general she rejoiced as soon as my happy childish soul allowed me...
- Well, please, my dear, show them that you are happy again... Well, please! And we will ride together a lot, a lot again! As much as you want, I promise you!.. Just let them all see that you’re okay...” I begged Purga.
I felt wonderful with her, and really hoped that she, too, would feel at least a part of what I felt. The weather was absolutely amazing. The air literally “crackled”, it was so clean and cold. The white forest cover shone and sparkled with millions of small stars, as if someone’s big hand had generously scattered fabulous diamonds over it. The blizzard ran briskly along the path trampled by skiers, and seemed completely content, to my great joy, starting to come to life very quickly. I was literally “flying” in my soul with happiness, already anticipating that joyful moment when they would tell me that she was finally truly mine...
After about half an hour, we turned back so as not to make my whole family, who was already worried about me constantly, worry. The neighbor was still in the yard, apparently wanting to make sure with her own eyes that everything was okay with both of us. Immediately, naturally, grandmother and mother ran out into the yard, and dad was the last to appear, carrying some kind of thick colored cord in his hands, which he immediately handed over to the neighbor. I easily jumped to the ground and, running up to my dad, with my heart pounding with excitement, buried myself in his chest, wanting and afraid to hear such important words for me...
- Well, honey, she loves you! – the neighbor said, smiling warmly, and, tying the same colored cord around Purga’s neck, she solemnly led her to me. “It was with this same “leash” that we brought her home for the first time. Take it - it's yours. And happiness to both of you...
Tears glistened in the eyes of the kind neighbor; apparently even good memories still deeply hurt her heart, which had suffered for her lost husband...
– I promise you, I will love her very much and look after her well! – I stammered, choking with excitement. - She will be happy...
Everyone around me smiled contentedly, and this whole scene suddenly reminded me of a similar episode I had already seen somewhere, only there a person was awarded a medal... I laughed cheerfully and, hugging my amazing “gift” tightly, vowed in my soul never to part with it .
Suddenly it dawned on me:
- Oh, wait, where will she live?!.. We don’t have such a wonderful place as you do? – I asked my neighbor, upset.
“Don’t worry, honey, she can live with me, and you will come to clean her, feed her, look after her and ride her - she’s yours.” Imagine that you are “renting” a house from me for her. I won’t need him anymore, because I won’t get any more horses. So use it for your health. And I will be pleased that Purga will continue to live with me.
I gratefully hugged my kind neighbor and, holding the colored cord, led (now mine!!!) Purga home. My childish heart rejoiced - it was the most wonderful gift in the world! And it was really worth the wait...
Already around noon, having recovered a little from such a stunning gift, I began my “spy” forays into the kitchen and dining room. Or rather, I tried... But even with the most persistent attempts, unfortunately, I could not get into it. This year, my grandmother, apparently, firmly decided not to show me her “works” until the time for the real “celebration” came... And I really wanted to at least get a glimpse of what she was doing so diligently for two days there, not accepting anyone's help and not letting anyone even outside the threshold.
But finally, the long-awaited hour arrived - around five in the evening my first guests began to appear... And I, in the end, got the right to admire my festive table... When the door to the living room was opened, I thought that I was in some kind of fabulous, paradise garden!.. Grandma smiled cheerfully, and I threw myself on her neck, almost sobbing from the feelings of gratitude and delight that overwhelmed me...
The whole room was decorated with winter flowers... Huge cups of bright yellow chrysanthemums created the impression of many suns, which made the room light and joyful. And the festive table was a real work of grandma’s art!.. It was fragrant with absolutely stunning aromas and shocked with the variety of dishes... There was also a duck covered with a golden crust, with my favorite pear sauce, in which whole halves stewed in cream were “drowned”, cinnamon-smelling pears... And tantalizing with the most delicate smell of mushroom sauce, a chicken dripping with juice, bursting with porcini mushrooms and nuts filling, and literally melting in your mouth... In the middle of the table, a terrible pike was “impressive” with its size, baked whole with juicy pieces of sweet red pepper in lemon-lingonberry sauce... And from the smell of plump, juicy turkey legs bursting from the blazing heat under a crust of cranberry mousse, my poor stomach jumped right up to the ceiling!.. Garlands of all kinds of smoked sausages cut into thin pieces, strung on the thinnest twigs like kebab, and garnished with pickled tomatoes and pickled homemade cucumbers, “killed” with the smells of the famous Lithuanian “smoked meats”, in no way inferior to the intoxicating smell of smoked salmon, around which juicy salted milk mushrooms, sprinkled with sour cream, rose in cheerful heaps... Golden fried round pies puffed on hot steam, and around them a completely unique “cabbage” aroma hovered in the air... All this abundance of my grandmother’s most skillful “works” completely shocked my “hungry” imagination, not to mention the sweets, the pinnacle of which was my favorite, whipped with cherries , cottage cheese pie melting in your mouth!.. I looked at my grandmother in admiration, thanking her with all my heart for this fabulous, truly royal table!.. And she only smiled in response, pleased with the effect produced, and immediately began with the greatest zeal treat my guests, stunned by such abundance.
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 conflict to improve its position in East Asia - and it succeeded.
During the First World War, Japanese soil was not crisscrossed with trenches, and 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 - less than 1% of the British losses in the Battle of the Somme alone. The war did not deplete the Japanese economy, on the contrary: it made it possible to create large sales markets for the arms industry. There are virtually no memorials to the war in Japanese cities, and Armistice Day (November 11) is not a public holiday, unlike the US, UK 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 strengthen on the world stage. The Portsmouth Peace Treaty freed Japan's hands in Korea and Manchuria. Korea was completely annexed by 1910, and Manchuria was actively developing resources and markets for Japanese goods. The Far Eastern rivalry between Japan and the United States originates there. During the design of the South Manchurian Railway - a large infrastructure facility that included the Dalniy port (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 Manchuria's main trading partner, supplanting 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 preserve peace in the Far East,” but the interests of industrialists prevailed: trading with China was more profitable than fighting. The situation was complicated by Japan's economic lag behind Western countries. In addition, there was no clarity about the new government of Yuan Shikai. Political and military elites feared that if a government crisis occurred in China, wealthy Western investors would take advantage of the situation and divide 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 current situation catastrophic. In April 1914, he resigned, leaving his successor a memorandum stating 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 fleet to "hunt down and destroy armed German vessels" in Chinese waters, appealing to the Anglo-Japanese cooperation agreement. Shigenobu Okuma's government decided to use this "one in a million" chance to establish Japanese dominance in the Pacific and China within 36 hours. Foreign Minister Takaaki Kato realized 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 be the best solution. Germany had taken a good position in China, so Japan received 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 leased it from China for a period of 99 years. The leased area included the city of Qingdao, one of the largest trading 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 a 50-kilometer neutral zone, was Germany's main bridgehead 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 well 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” on the part of Russia. Despite the signing of Russian-Japanese agreements on cooperation and mutual assistance in 1907, by 1909 the naval forces of the Asian empire had doubled in size. British Foreign Secretary Edward Gray was concerned about Japan's military activity and sought to place a geographical limit on Japanese military operations. This may have been the reason for the cancellation of the British request for military assistance on August 10, which put the Japanese government, according to Minister Kato, in an “extremely awkward position,” since Japan’s intention to enter the war with Germany was by that time generally known. Two days later, the British government accepted Japan's participation in the First World War, although it wanted to keep the Japanese army's combat area to a minimum.
German position at Qingdao
http://topwar.ru
On the other hand, Japan's actions were closely monitored by the United States and China. Since 1899, the United States has supported China's territorial integrity to maintain balance in the region and thereby secure its Pacific borders. On the eve of the war, the Chinese government sent a draft agreement to the US State Department to maintain 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 move against Germany in the near future. The current situation forced America to suspend development of the project until Japan fulfilled its role in the unfolding military confrontation.
Japanese troops shell 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 said 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 on August 8 - a week before the ultimatum was presented. On August 23, when the deadline for responding to the ultimatum had expired, Japan unilaterally declared war on Germany and began bombing Qingdao.
Shelling of Qingdao
http://www.china-mike.com
China's military neutrality 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 hostilities were not supposed to extend. The Japanese obeyed, since this limitation had virtually no effect on the success of their event: by November 7, the imperial army captured not only Qingdao, but also almost the entire Shandong province. To top off its military successes, by the end of the year Japan occupied the Marshall, Mariana and Caroline Islands, previously owned by Germany. The goal was achieved, the August threats were fulfilled.
The diplomatic front was no less important for the country. Japan aspired to become one of the world's great powers. This required not only new territories, but also serious geopolitical agreements. First of all, Japan began to build a new policy towards China. In early 1915, in response to demands to withdraw troops from Shandong, the Japanese ambassador in Beijing presented the Chinese President with “21 demands” from Japan. This lengthy document included five groups of requirements. The first group concerned the transfer of German rights to Japan in Shandong. The second group expanded Japanese preferences in southern Manchuria and eastern Inner Mongolia. The third group demanded Japanese 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 coastline or islands near it.
The fifth group of demands 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, purchase 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 for Japanese hospitals and temples and allow missionary activities 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: while Western countries were busy with the war in Europe, Japan tried behind their backs to squeeze maximum geopolitical benefits out of weak China. When these demands became known to the United States and Great Britain, they expressed natural dissatisfaction with the foreign policy of their 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 face any serious obstacles on its way to China. After eliminating the scandalous fifth group of demands, the document was adopted.
Postcard from the 1920s. showing the South Manchurian Railway (highlighted in red)
https://en.wikipedia.org
At the same time, Japan was negotiating with Russia to gain its diplomatic support on the world stage. At the beginning of 1916, the Japanese ambassador to the Russian Empire sent a note with proposals to guarantee the inviolability of Russia's Far Eastern borders, 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 Kuangchenzi station, as well as benefits for its traders 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 gained a powerful counterweight to the United States, which sought to actively participate in China’s domestic politics. This agreement was no less beneficial for the second 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:
- Noriko Kawamura. Turbulence in the Pacific: Japanese-U.S. Relations During World War I. Praeger, 2000.
- Frederick R. Dickinson. War and National Reinvention: Japan in the Great War, 1914–1919. Harvard University Asia Center, 1999.
- Molodyakov V. E., Molodyakova E. V., Markaryan S. B. History of Japan. XX century M., 2007.
- History of Japan. T. II. 1868–1998. M., Institute of Oriental Studies RAS, 1998.
- Koshkin A. A. Russia and Japan: Knots of Contradictions. M, 2010.
Before the war
Despite strong economic (including in the military sphere) and political ties with Germany, the Japanese Empire decided to take the side of the Entente in the impending world war. The reasons for this step by Japan are obvious: the policy of expansion on the continent, the most striking manifestations of which were the Sino-Japanese and Russian-Japanese wars, could only have prospects under the conditions of Japan's participation in the war as part of one of two military-political groupings - the Entente or the Triple Alliance. Speaking on the side of Germany, although it promised Japan maximum benefits in case of victory, did not leave any chance of victory. If the war at sea at first could have been quite successful for Japan, then victory in the land war, where Japan would have been opposed primarily by Russia, was out of the question. After all, Russia’s efforts would be immediately supported by naval and land (from India, Australia, New Zealand) forces of Great Britain and France. If Japan spoke out against the Entente, there was also a high probability that the United States would enter the war against Japan. Considering that Japan would have to fight the war alone, it would be suicide to oppose the Entente. A completely different picture emerged in relation to Germany. In less than half a century, Germany colonized a number of territories in the Pacific Ocean (the islands of Yap, Samoa, Marshall, Caroline, Solomon Islands, etc.), and also leased from China the territory of part of the Shandong Peninsula with the port fortress of Qingdao (as for this only fortified point of Germany on Pacific Ocean, the Qingdao fortress was built to repel attacks by Russian, French or English expeditionary forces. It was not designed for a serious fight with the Japanese army.) . Moreover, Germany did not have any significant forces in these possessions (the islands were generally defended only by the colonial police), and given the weakness of its fleet, it could not deliver troops there. And even if Germany had quickly won the war in Europe (the German General Staff allotted 2-3 months for this; Qingdao had to hold out all this time), peace would most likely have been concluded with Japan on the terms of restoring the pre-war status quo. As for the Entente, the basis for the alliance with it was the Anglo-Japanese agreement of 1902 (and extended in 1911), which initially had an anti-Russian orientation. In addition, the Anglo-Japanese rapprochement was facilitated by the policy of the First Lord of the Admiralty, Winston Churchill, aimed at concentrating the main forces of the British fleet in the Atlantic, when control in the Pacific and Indian Oceans was entrusted to Japan. Of course, the union of the British and Japanese Empires was not a “Concord of the Heart.” Japan's expansion in China greatly worried England (British Foreign Secretary Sir Edward Gray was generally against Japan's participation in the war), but in the current situation it was possible to either attract Japan into the anti-German coalition or push it into the enemy's camp. As for Japan, the main goal of its participation in the war was maximum advancement in China, unhindered by European countries.
The war has begun
The war in China began on August 1, 1914. On the Shandong Peninsula, the German concession in Qingdao and the British concession in Weihaiwei began to be greatly strengthened. Immediately after the outbreak of war in Europe, Japan declared neutrality, but promised to support England if it asked for help in repelling German attacks on Hong Kong or Weihaiwei. On August 7, 1914, London called on Japan to conduct operations to destroy armed German ships in Chinese waters. And already on August 8, Tokyo decided to enter the war on the side of Great Britain, guided by the Anglo-Japanese Treaty of Alliance of 1911. And on August 15, Japan presented Germany with an ultimatum:
1) Immediately recall all warships and armed vessels from Japanese and Chinese waters, disarming those that cannot be recalled.
2) Transfer to the Japanese authorities no later than September 15, 1914 the entire leased territory of China without any conditions or compensation...
If a German response was not received by 12 noon on August 23, 1914, the Japanese government reserved the right to take “appropriate measures.” German diplomats left Tokyo on August 22, and on the 23rd, Emperor Yoshihito declared war on Germany. Austria-Hungary behaved rather strangely at first - having declared its neutrality towards Japan, on August 24 the crew of the Austrian cruiser Kaiserin Elisabeth, stationed in Qingdao, was ordered to arrive by rail in the Chinese city of Tianjin. But on August 25, Austria declared war on Japan - 310 Austrian sailors returned to Qingdao, but 120 people remained in Tianjin.
Actions immediately followed against Germany's island possessions in the Pacific Ocean: in August - September 1914, Japanese landing forces captured the islands of Yap, Marshall, Caroline and Mariana, and the New Zealand Expeditionary Force (and the Australians) occupied German bases in New Guinea, New Britain, and the Solomon Islands. islands, based at Apia in Samoa. Moreover, the British were so afraid of Admiral Spee’s raiding squadron that they allocated large forces to guard the landing convoys (in particular the battleship Australia). After the capture of Jaluit in the Marshall Islands, Admiral Tamin’s squadron appeared in the beautiful harbor of Truk on October 12 in the Caroline Islands. On October 1, the squadron of Rear Admiral Tatsuo Matsumura captured the German port of Rabaul on the island of New Britain. On October 7, she arrived on the island of Yap (Carolina Islands), where she met the German gunboat Planet. The crew hastily scuttled the tiny ship to prevent it from falling into Japanese hands. The island itself was occupied by the Japanese without incident. At the end of 1914, 4 Japanese ships were stationed in Suva harbor in Fiji, and 6 were based in Truk. By early November 1914, the only territory in the Pacific controlled by Germany was the fortress port of Qingdao.
Siege of Qingdao
Back in August, Germany tried to transfer the leased territory to China, but due to the opposition of England and France and Chinese neutrality, this move failed.
Strengths of the parties
The governor of Qingdao and the commander of all the forces located there was Captain 1st Rank Meyer-Waldeck. In peacetime, he had 75 officers and 2,250 soldiers under his command. The fortress was thoroughly fortified: It had 2 lines of defense on the land front and 8 coastal batteries covering the fortress from the sea. The first line of defense, located 6 km from the city center, consisted of 5 forts surrounded by a wide ditch with a wire fence at the bottom. The second line of defense relied on stationary artillery batteries. In total, there were up to 100 guns on the land front and 21 guns on the sea front. In addition, support could be provided by 39 naval guns of the Austrian cruiser Kaiserin Elisabeth, destroyers No. 90 and Taku, and gunboats Jaguar, Iltis, Tiger, and Luke (most of the German fleet left Qingdao even before the beginning of the war). By calling up volunteers, Meyer-Waldeck managed to bring the fortress garrison to 183 officers, 4572 privates with 75 machine guns, 25 mortars and 150 guns.
The enemy forces were an order of magnitude higher: to capture Qingdao, a Japanese expeditionary force was formed (reinforced 18th division - 32/35 thousand people with 40 machine guns and 144 guns) under the command of Lieutenant General Kamio Mitsuomi (chief of staff - General of the Engineering Troops Hanzo Yamanashi). The siege corps landed in 4 echelons with more than fifty ships. These impressive forces were joined by an English detachment from Weihaiwei under the command of General N.U. Bernard-Diston - a battalion of Welsh (South Wales) border guards and half a battalion of a Sikh infantry regiment, a total of 1,500 people. However, the British units did not even have machine guns. The naval group of the Allies was also impressive: the Japanese 2nd squadron of Admiral Hiroharu Kato had 39 warships: the battleships “Suvo”, “Iwami”, “Tango”, coastal defense battleships “Okinoshima”, “Mishima”, ironclads cruisers “Iwate”, “Tokiwa”, “Yakumo”, light cruisers “Tone”, “Mogami”, “Oyodo”, “Chitose”, “Akashi”, “Akitsushima”, “Chiyoda”, “Takachiho”, gunboats “Saga” ”, “Uji”, destroyers “Shirayuki”, “Novake”, “Shirotae”, “Matsukaze”, “Ayanami”, “Asagiri”, “Isonami”, “Uranami”, “Asashio”, “Shirakumo”, “Kagero” , “Murasame”, “Usoi”, “Nenohi”, “Wakaba” “Asakaze”, “Yugure”, “Yudachi”, “Shiratsuyu”, “Mikazuki” (among these ships were: 3 former Russian battleships, 2 former Russian coastal defense battleship, 7 cruisers, 16 destroyers and 14 auxiliary ships.). This squadron also included an English detachment consisting of the battleship Triumph and the destroyers Kennet and Usk (one of the destroyers was also used as a hospital ship).
Progress of hostilities
Even before the Entente siege forces arrived, clashes began in the Qingdao area. So on August 21, 5 British destroyers noticed destroyer No. 90 leaving the port and chased after it. The fastest destroyer, the Kennet, rushed forward and began a firefight at 18.10. Although the English ship had much more powerful weapons (4 76 mm guns versus 3 50 mm guns on the German destroyer), at the very beginning of the battle she was hit under the bridge. 3 people were killed and 7 wounded, including the commander of the Kennet, who later died. Destroyer No. 90 managed to lure its enemy into the fire zone of coastal batteries, but after their very first salvos, the Kennet left the battle.
Hiroharu Kato's squadron approached Qingdao on August 27, 1914 and blocked the port. The next day the city was bombed. On the night of August 30-31, the Japanese squadron suffered its first losses - the destroyer Shirotae ran aground near Lentao Island. The damage was too great and the crew was taken off by another destroyer. The Germans took advantage of the gift of fate. On September 4, the gunboat Jaguar went out to sea and, under the cover of coastal batteries, completely destroyed the Japanese destroyer with artillery fire.
Landing began only on September 2, in Longkou Bay in neutral China, approximately 180 kilometers from Qingdao. The first combat contact occurred on September 11, when a Japanese cavalry regiment (Major General Yamada) encountered German patrols at Pindu. On September 18, Japanese paratroopers captured Lao Shao Bay northeast of Qingdao to use it as a forward base for further operations against the fortress. A complete blockade of Qingdao from land was established on September 19, when the railway was cut. Japanese troops entered the territory of German possession only on September 25; the day before, English units joined the Japanese siege corps. The first massive attack on the German positions was carried out on September 26 and was generally successfully repulsed by the Qingdao defenders, but the commander of the Japanese 24th Infantry Brigade, Horiuchi, managed to outflank the German positions and forced the Germans to retreat. The Japanese continued their offensive - a landing force of sailors was landed at Shatzykou Bay. Having lost 8 guns in the battles, the Germans retreated to the last line of defense - Prince Heinrich Hill, but on September 29 they abandoned it too. The subsequent attack from the Qingdao fortress was repulsed.
The ships of the parties actively participated in the struggle: Entente battleships repeatedly fired at German positions (however, the results of the shelling turned out to be more than doubtful. A large percentage of the shells did not explode, almost no direct hits were recorded.). But only once did the ships suffer from fire from coastal batteries. On October 14, the battleship Triumph was hit by a 240-mm shell and was forced to leave for Weihaiwei for repairs. Intensive mine sweeping work cost the Japanese dearly. The minesweepers Nagato-maru No. 3, Kono-maru, Koyo-maru, and Nagato-maru No. 6 were blown up by mines and sank. Seaplanes from the Wakamiya transport began reconnaissance. They also carried out the first successful “carrier attack” in history, sinking a German mine at Qingdao. Throughout the siege, the troops constantly required the assistance of naval artillery and seaplanes.
The German ships supported their left flank with fire (the firing position was in Kiaochao Bay) until the Japanese brought up heavy guns. After this, the gunboats could not operate freely. The most striking episode in the course of operations at sea was the breakthrough of destroyer No. 90.
In the current situation, the only real combat unit of the defenders of Qingdao was the destroyer No. 90 of Lieutenant Commander Brunner. Neither the Kaiserin Elisabeth nor the gunboats could do absolutely anything. No. 90 was an old coal destroyer, promoted to the rank of destroyer on the occasion of the war. But still, he had some chance of carrying out a successful torpedo attack. At first it was planned to attack Japanese ships while they were shelling coastal positions, but the command quickly came to the correct conclusion that a daytime torpedo attack by a single ship was hopeless. Therefore, by mid-October a new plan was developed. Lieutenant Commander Brunner had to sneak out of the harbor unnoticed at night and try to pass the first line of patrols unnoticed. There was no point in contacting enemy destroyers. He was supposed to attack one of the large ships on the second or third blockade lines. After this, No. 90 should break through into the Yellow Sea and go to one of the neutral ports, for example, Shanghai. There they could try to refuel with coal in order to attack the blockade forces again, this time from the sea. On October 17 at 19.00, after dark, No. 90 left the harbor, although the sea was quite strong. The destroyer passed between the islands of Dagundao and Landao and turned south. After 15 minutes, 3 silhouettes were seen on the right bow, moving towards the intersection to the west. Brunner immediately turned right. Since No. 90 followed a medium speed, neither the sparks from the pipes nor the breakers gave it away. The German ship passed under the stern of a group of Japanese destroyers. Brunner managed to slip through the first line of the blockade. At 2150 No. 90 turned west in the hope of meeting one of the larger ships. The Germans still did not increase the speed. At 23.30, Brunner turned back to the harbor before dawn, moving under the coast from the Haisi Peninsula, unless there was a meeting with the enemy. On October 18 at 0.15 at a distance of 20 cables, a large silhouette of a ship was seen following a counter course. No. 90 turned onto a parallel course. The target was moving at a speed of no more than 10 knots. Since the enemy ship had 2 masts and 1 funnel, Brunner decided that he had encountered a coastal defense battleship. In fact, it was the old cruiser “Takachiho”, which that night with the gunboat “Saga” was on patrol duty on the second blockade line. Brunner turned slightly to the south, gave full speed and from a distance of 3 cables fired 3 torpedoes with an interval of 10 seconds. The first of them hit the bow of the cruiser, the second and third - in the middle. The Japanese were taken by surprise. There was a terrible explosion that literally tore the cruiser into pieces. 271 people died, including the ship's commander. No. 90 turned south. Although “Takachiho” did not have time to radio about the attack, a huge column of flame was and ideas were very far away. Brunner had no doubt that the Japanese would give chase, and did not try to break through back to Qingdao. He headed southwest, and at about 2.30 passed away with a Japanese cruiser hurrying north. Early in the morning, the destroyer landed on rocks near Tower Point, about 60 miles from Qingdao. Brunner solemnly lowered the flag, after which the team landed on the shore and moved on foot in the direction of Nanjing, where they were interned by the Chinese.
The siege of Qingdao was carried out slowly and methodically: siege artillery destroyed fortifications, individual detachments and reconnaissance battalions broke through between German positions. Before the decisive assault, a 7-day artillery preparation was carried out, especially intensifying from November 4th. 43,500 shells were fired, including 800 280 mm shells. On November 6, the Japanese made passages through the ditch near the central group of forts, Japanese assault troops reached the rear of the German fortifications on Mount Bismarck and west of Mount Iltis. Everything was ready for the decisive assault, but at 5.15 am on November 8, the commandant, Governor Meyer-Waldeck, gave the order to stop resistance. The last to surrender at 7.20 am were the defenders of the fort on Mount Iltis.
Losses of the parties
The calculations of the German command for long-term resistance (2-3 months of active fighting) to Qingdao did not come true. The fortress held for 74 days (from August 27 to November 8), but real combat operations on land took place for 58 days (from September 11 to November 8), of which only 44 days (from September 25 to November 8) were in direct battles near Qingdao . The reasons for such a short-lived resistance of the fortified fortress are not only the skillful actions of Japanese officers and soldiers (remember that the landing and deployment of the Japanese siege corps was carried out at a very slow pace), but also the lack of will among the leadership of the German defense for a tough defense. The number of prisoners and captured property speaks volumes about this.
202 officers and 4,470 soldiers were captured, 30 machine guns and 40 vehicles were captured (more significant property was destroyed before the surrender). The losses of the defenders amounted to about 800 people. The defense possibilities were by no means exhausted.
Japanese forces lost more than 2,000 people (the Japanese Army lost 414 killed and 1,441 wounded; the Navy lost 317 sailors and 76 were wounded, mostly on the Takachiho). The 2nd squadron of Japan suffered noticeable losses (the patrol ship "Takachiho", the minesweepers "Nagato-maru No. 3", "Kono-maru", "Koyo-maru", "Nagato-maru No. 6", another list of losses includes the destroyer “Sirotae”, destroyer and 3 minesweepers). In addition, after the surrender of Qingdao, on November 11, destroyer No. 33 was struck by mines and sank.
Japanese fleet in the Pacific
The Siege of Qingdao was the most significant operation of the Japanese armed forces in the First World War, however, Japan's participation in the war did not end there. Immediately after the outbreak of war, Vice Admiral Tamin Yamaya sent the battlecruiser Kongo to Midway to monitor communications passing through the area. The armored cruiser Izumo, located off the coast of Mexico, was ordered to protect allied shipping off the coast of America. On August 26, Admiral Tamin sent the armored cruiser Ibuki and the light cruiser Chikuma to Singapore to strengthen the Allied fleet in Southeast Asia. “Tikuma” took part in the search for the cruiser “Emden”, which was conducted in the Dutch East Indies and the Bay of Bengal. Admiral Matsumura Tatsuo, together with the battleship Satsuma and the cruisers Yahagi and Hirado, patrolled the sea lanes leading to Australia.
The actions of the cruiser-raider Emden forced the armored cruiser Ibuki to leave for Wellington (New Zealand). Subsequently, this cruiser was engaged in escorting transports with ANZAC troops (Australian and New Zealand Corps) to the Middle East (usually Japanese ships only reached Aden). The Japanese also provided transportation for French troops from Indochina.
In October 1914, the Japanese squadron of Admiral Tochinaya Shojiro, reinforced by British ships, searched for German raiders in the Indian Ocean. The admiral had at his disposal the cruisers Tokiwa, Yakumo, Ibuki, Ikoma, Nissin, Chikuma, Hirado, and Yahagi. On November 1, 1914, the Japanese agreed to the British request to patrol the area east of the 90th meridian. Most of Admiral Tochinai's squadron and ships arriving from Qingdao guarded the indicated area until the end of the month. After the arrival of the German gunboat Geyer in Honolulu, the battleship Hizen and the cruiser Asama approached the port and remained there until the Geyer was interned by American authorities on November 7. Then “Hidzen” and “Asama”, together with “Izumo”, began to comb the shores of South America, trying to find German ships.
Among other things, it is worth noting the assistance provided by Japan to the Entente with the supply of weapons to Europe in 1914. In 1914, Japan returned to Russia 2 battleships and a cruiser captured during the Russo-Japanese War.
The results of the war in 1914 were quite successful for Japan: the occupation of a number of islands north of the equator, an important bridgehead in China, and a wide military presence in the Pacific Ocean. And all this with a very limited use of its military forces. However, political recognition of these gains was still a long way off. After the occupation of Qingdao, which, by agreement, Japan promised to transfer to China for payment, friction arose with Great Britain, because Japan had no intention of keeping its promises. Australia and New Zealand were extremely unhappy with Japan's occupation of the islands in the Pacific Ocean.
1915
Japan began this year by presenting a number of political and economic demands to China. January 18, 1915 Japan makes “Twenty-one demands” to China for territorial, economic and political rights in China. When Chinese President Yuan Shikai leaked information about these demands to the foreign press in order to draw attention to Tokyo's claims to too much influence and privilege in China, England and the United States sent a protest to Japan. By agreeing to drop some demands, Tokyo forced Yuan to recognize the remaining ones and enshrine them in treaties and agreements signed on May 25, 1915.
No matter how many significant military operations the Japanese armed forces have conducted this year. In February 1915, when a mutiny of Indian units broke out in Singapore, a marine landing force was landed from the ships of Admiral Tsuchiya Matsukane's squadron (the cruisers Tsushima and Otowa), which, together with British, French and Russian troops, suppressed the rebellion. Also in 1915, the Japanese fleet provided great assistance in the hunt for the German cruiser Dresden. He also guarded the American-owned port of Manila to prevent German ships from using it. Throughout the year, Japanese ships based in Singapore patrolled the South China Sea, the Sulu Sea, and off the coast of the Dutch East Indies. Diplomatic contacts resulted in German attempts to begin separate negotiations with Japan, and there were also two requests from Great Britain to send a Japanese squadron to the Mediterranean and the Baltic, but none of this yielded results.
1916
In February 1916, Sir Edward Gray again requested help from the Japanese. After the death of several ships by mines laid by German auxiliary cruisers, it was necessary to increase the number of ships hunting these raiders. The Japanese government sent a flotilla of destroyers to Singapore to guard the critical Malacca Strait. A division of cruisers was assigned to patrol the Indian Ocean. Ships of the Japanese 3rd Fleet patrolled the Indian Ocean and the Philippines. The cruisers Yahagi, Niitaka, Suma, Tsushima and a flotilla of destroyers patrolled in the South China Sea, the Sulu Sea and off the coast of the Dutch East Indies. On several occasions, Japanese ships reached the island of Mauritius and the shores of South Africa. The most powerful and modern light cruisers, Tikuma and Hirado, accompanied military convoys from Australia and New Zealand.
Economic interaction also continued in 1916: In December 1916, Great Britain acquired 6 merchant ships with a capacity of 77,500 GRT from Japan.
On July 3, 1916, a Russian-Japanese treaty on an alliance between Russia and Japan for a period of 5 years was signed in Petrograd. The parties pledged not to conclude a separate peace, and to consult with each other regarding actions that may be required if the territorial rights or interests of each party are threatened by a third power in Asia. Germany this year continued to probe the issue of concluding a separate peace with Japan.
1917
In 1917, Japan attempted to consolidate recent gains in China and the Pacific by improving relations with Britain and the United States.
In the Mediterranean
At the end of 1916 - beginning of 1917. The Entente's demands to send Japanese naval forces to the Mediterranean Sea became more frequent. In January, Tokyo agreed to send warships to the Mediterranean in exchange for London recognizing Japanese rights to former German possessions in Shandong and the Pacific islands north of the equator. On March 11, the first Japanese ships under the command of Admiral Sato Kozo left Singapore. Sato led the light cruiser Akashi and the destroyers Ume, Kusunoki, Kaede, Katsura, Kashiwa, Matsu, Sugi and Sakaki to Malta, which together made up the 10th and the 11th Destroyer Flotilla. On the way across the Indian Ocean, the unit took part in the search for German raiders and arrived in Aden on April 4. On April 10, Sato, in response to urgent requests from the British, agreed to escort the British troop transport Saxon. He left Port Said for Malta, accompanied by “Ume” and “Kusunoki”. The remaining ships of the Japanese squadron followed them and began operations against German and Austrian submarines that threatened Allied transports in the Mediterranean.
The 10th and 11th flotillas arrived in Malta during the worst period for the Allies. In April 1917, the Allies lost 218,000 tons in the Mediterranean, which amounted to 7% of losses during the entire war. The Allies were desperately short of transport and were seriously considering the idea of reducing the number of ships sailing through the Mediterranean by diverting them around the Cape of Good Hope and evacuating British troops from Thessaloniki. The arrival of 1 cruiser and 8 destroyers of Admiral Sato could not change the situation in the Mediterranean Sea. However, the Japanese received the most important task - to accompany troop transports that were carrying reinforcements to France. The French army was drained of blood after fruitless offensives near Arras and Champagne. The appearance of Japanese ships in Malta allowed the Allies to speed up the dispatch of transports. Japanese ships escorted transports from Egypt directly to France. They entered Malta only if convoys were formed on this island.
In June 1917, the cruiser Akashi was recalled. It was replaced by the old armored cruiser Izumo. Together with him, the destroyers Kashi, Hinoki, Momo and Yanagi arrived in Malta. Since submarines in the Mediterranean were increasingly active, Japanese sailors temporarily manned 2 British gunboats, named Tokyo and Saikyo, and 2 destroyers, named Kanran and Sendan. The number of Japanese squadrons in the Mediterranean Sea reached its maximum and amounted to 17 ships. The help of the Japanese turned out to be especially important when the spring offensive on the Western Front began in 1918. The British had to transfer a large number of troops from the Middle East to Marseille. Japanese ships helped transport more than 100,000 British troops across the Mediterranean during the critical months of April and May. The crisis ended, and Japanese ships began transporting troops from Egypt to Thessaloniki, where the Allies were preparing for the autumn offensive. By the end of the war, the Japanese squadron had carried 788 Allied transports across the Mediterranean and helped transport more than 700,000 troops. The Japanese squadron had 34 collisions with German and Austrian submarines, in which the destroyers “Matsu” and “Sakaki” were damaged (on June 11, 1917, the Austrian submarine U-27 attacked an allied convoy near Crete. It crept up to the target literally 200 meters and fired a torpedo. It hit the destroyer "Sakaki" between the forward pipes and turned the bow of the ship. Its crew gathered in the bow quarters for lunch and therefore suffered huge losses. The explosion and the fire that started took the lives of 67 sailors and the commander of the destroyer. But, despite everything that the ship remained afloat and reached Piraeus.).
Japanese ships remained in European waters until May 1919. After the armistice, Admiral Sato's Second Special Squadron was present at the surrender of the German fleet. The cruiser Izumo and the destroyers Hinoki and Yanagi left Malta for Scapa Flow to guard German ships and take 7 captured submarines allocated to Japan to Japan. Sato sent the destroyers Katsura, Matsu, Sakaki, Kaede to Brindisi to assist in the surrender of German and Austrian ships in the Mediterranean. In December 1918, he sent the armored cruiser Nissin along with 8 destroyers to Constantinople. Leaving the destroyers Kashiwa, Kanran and Sendan there (the latter two were to be returned to the Royal Navy in 1919), the squadron returned to Malta. There she received an order to accompany the German submarines transferred to her as reparations to Japan. Sato sent Ume and Kusunoki on patrol in the Adriatic and headed for England, collecting the rest of the Japanese ships along the way. On January 5, 1919, the Japanese squadron left Portland. Sato's fleet was joined by Izumo, Hinoki, Yanagi and 7 German submarines. At the end of March in Malta they were joined by “Ume” and “Kusunoki”. The floating base “Quanto” provided the basing of boats in Malta. Together with the cruiser Nissin and 2 flotillas of destroyers, she led the boats to Japan. All ships arrived in Yokosuka on June 18, 1919 without incident. Izumo and the last group of destroyers left Malta on April 10 for a short voyage in the Mediterranean. They visited Naples, Genoa, Marseille and several other ports and returned to Malta on 5 May. After 10 days, the last Japanese ships headed home and arrived safely in Yokosuka on July 2, 1919.
The actions of Japanese ships in the Mediterranean deserve the highest praise. Japanese destroyers spent 72% of their time at sea, the highest of any warring fleet. The British spent only 60% of their time at sea, the French and Greeks - no more than 45%. British officers believed that the Japanese ships performed very well, at least they did not deviate from plan. Post-war claims that the Japanese “performed worse than our sailors” when faced with an unexpected situation are biased and not supported by documents. We have examples of a purely Japanese understanding of debt. Several Japanese commanders committed hara-kiri when the transports they were escorting were killed.
In the oceans
In February 1917, the Japanese agreed to expand their participation in the war and extend their naval patrol area to the Cape of Good Hope. The Japanese navy also became involved in protecting shipping off the eastern coasts of Australia and New Zealand. The cruisers Izumo, Nisshin, Tone, Niitaka, Akashi, Yakumo, Kasuga, Chikuma, Suma, Yodo and 3 destroyer flotillas took part in these operations.
After entering the war, the United States was forced to temporarily “forget” its anti-Japanese policy (American leaders accused Japan of dishonest behavior and attempts to achieve political and territorial advantages in China), because The United States found itself dependent on Japan's benevolence and assistance in the Pacific. The Japanese mission in Washington, headed by Ishii Kikujiro, concluded an agreement that allowed the Americans to transfer some of their ships to the Atlantic to help the British. Under a secret agreement, Japanese ships patrolled Hawaiian waters until the end of the war. In October 1917, the armored cruiser Tokiwa replaced the largest American ship in Hawaii, the armored cruiser Saratoga.
Military-economic cooperation
In 1917, Japan built 12 Kaba-class destroyers for France in 5 months. Japanese sailors brought these ships to the Mediterranean Sea and handed them over to the French. In May 1917, the British asked the Japanese to deliver recruited Chinese workers to Europe. A little later, Japan and the United States came to an agreement to build merchant ships with a total capacity of 371,000 GRT in Japanese shipyards for the American Shipping Board. Although the war ended before they were built, Japan still completed them. In addition, Japan transferred part of its merchant fleet to the allies. However, Great Britain's attempt to purchase (in mid-1917) 2 battleships from Japan to compensate for losses failed
Diplomacy
The situation in Russia required the development of new schemes in the system of international relations. Already on November 2, the US-Japan Lansing-Ishii Agreement was concluded in Washington on US recognition of Japan’s “special interests” in China. Secret articles stipulated joint actions in the Far East and in Siberia (to Irkutsk).
1918
Throughout 1918, Japan continued to expand its influence and privileges in China. Another important direction of Japanese policy was Russia (intervention in the Far East began on January 12, 1918). As for participation in the First World War, in addition to the actions of the Mediterranean squadron, patrolling of the Pacific and Indian Oceans continued. In August 1918, the cruiser Asama replaced Tokiwa and provided security for the Hawaiian Islands until her return to Japan in February 1919. Actually, this is where the First World War ended (from the point of view of Japanese geopolitics, the war in 1918 continued, so to speak, by inertia). for Japan.
Results of the war
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In general, the world war of 1914-1918 allowed the Japanese Empire to justify its title: from a regional power it turned, if not into a world power, then at least to 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 still 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 United States. Mutual dislike 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 everyone.
Losses
Japan took part in the First World War 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 naval command. 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 controversy within the Japanese leadership. The average Japanese, however, 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 outback, was amazed that the peasants with whom he talked did not even suspect that their country was at war.
Despite the conclusion of the Anglo-Japanese Alliance, Japan's expansion in Asia caused serious concerns in Great Britain. The British Foreign Secretary Sir Edward Gray feared that if Japan took part in the war, Japan would expand its possessions 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 counterpart Kato that Great Britain would only require assistance if the Far Eastern colonies were attacked. Gray feared not only Japanese expansion, but also the reaction of Australia, New Zealand and the United States to such expansion.
However, First Lord of the Admiralty Winston Churchill had a completely different view of these things. Due to the fact that all British dreadnoughts were concentrated in Europe, only old ships remained in the Pacific Ocean. Defending the correctness of this arrangement 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 Ocean 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 would be useless after the defeat of the British fleet in domestic waters.
This policy led to an increase in Britain's dependence on its allies. France assumed responsibility for the Mediterranean, and Japan was to play a major role in protecting the Chinese 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 cool them down completely. I don't see a middle ground between their participation and non-participation. If they enter the war, we should welcome them as comrades. Your last telegram to Japan is almost hostile. I am afraid that I simply do not understand your train of thought, and in this aspect I cannot follow your intentions. This telegram makes me tremble. We are all one, and I would like to give my full support to your policies. But I strongly object to obstructing the Japanese. You could easily deal a fatal blow to our relationship, the consequences of which will be felt for too long. The storm is about to break.
Churchill's speech helped change Gray's position.
On August 15, 1914, the Japanese government presented Germany with an ultimatum, demanding the withdrawal of German troops from the Pacific Ocean. The Germans were required to withdraw ships from Qingdao, blow up the port fortifications and hand over the Shandong Peninsula to Japan. The Japanese also demanded that the German Pacific colonies be transferred to them. Having received no response to the ultimatum, Japan declared war on Germany on August 23, 1914 with an imperial manifesto:
Hereby we declare war on Germany and command our army and navy to open military operations against this Empire with all our might...
With the outbreak of a real war in Europe, the disastrous consequences of which we look upon with great sorrow, we, for our part, cherished the hope of maintaining peace in the Far East, observing strict neutrality. But Germany is making hasty military preparations at Jiaozhou, and its armed ships cruising in East Asian waters threaten our trade and that of our ally. It is with deep sorrow that we, notwithstanding our devotion to the cause of peace, have been forced to declare war... It is our deepest desire that, through the devotion, duty and courage of our faithful subjects, peace may soon be restored and the glory of the empire may shine forth.
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 Siberian corps to the European theater of operations.
1914 Campaign
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 published, the Japanese population began to secretly leave Qingdao, and by August 22, not a single Japanese remained there.
In accordance with the agreement between 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 routes;
2) 2nd squadron - direct action 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 Jeram are participating in the search in Oceania for the German ships of Admiral Spee’s squadron.
Japanese aircraft "Wakamiya"
The operation against Qingdao was carried out mainly by Japanese forces with the symbolic participation of a British battalion. On September 2, Japanese troops began landing on the Shandong Peninsula in neutral China; On September 22, an English detachment arrived from Weihaiwei; On September 27, the offensive began on the advanced German positions near Qingdao; On October 17, an important point was taken - Mount Prince Henry, 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 sunk all the ships, the Germans capitulated on November 7. 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 bombed targets on the territory of Qingdao.
While Kamimura's 2nd Squadron helped capture Qingdao, ships from the 1st Squadron joined British and Australian ships in searching for von Spee's squadron. Immediately after the outbreak of war, Vice Admiral Yamaya sent the battlecruiser Kongo to Midway to monitor communications passing through the area. The armored cruiser Izumo, located 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 Chikuma to Singapore to reinforce the Allied fleet in Southeast Asia. "Tikuma" took part in the search for "Emden", which was carried out in the Dutch East Indies and the Bay of Bengal. Admiral Matsumura, together 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: it was the first Japanese ship to take part in escorting transports with ANZAC troops to the Middle East, protecting them from a possible attack by the German cruiser Emden. The Japanese also provided transportation for French troops from Indochina.
In October 1914, Admiral Shojiro's Japanese squadron, reinforced by British ships, searched for German raiders in the Indian Ocean. On November 1, 1914, the Japanese agreed to the British request to patrol the area east of the 90th meridian. Most of Admiral Shojiro's squadron and ships arriving from Qingdao guarded the indicated area until the end of the month. After the arrival of the German gunboat Geyer in Honolulu, the battleship Hizen and the cruiser Asama approached the port and remained there until the Geyer was interned by American authorities on November 7. Then the Hizen and Asama, together with the Izumo, began to comb the shores of South America, trying to find German ships.
Despite the formal alliance, a race developed 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 Truk harbor on the Caroline Islands, and Matsumura's squadron captured the German-owned port of Rabaul on the island of New Britain on October 1. On October 7, she arrived on the island of Yap (Carolina Islands), where she met the German gunboat Planet, which was 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 seizing German possessions in the Pacific Ocean. To avoid further incidents, the British agreed that British Commonwealth troops would not operate north of the equator.
In 1914, Japan returned to Russia two battleships and a cruiser captured during the Russo-Japanese War.
1915 Campaign
Since the war in the European theater became protracted, Japan actually 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 a document that went down in history as the “Twenty-One Demands.” Sino-Japanese negotiations took place from early February to mid-April 1915. China was unable to provide effective resistance to Japan, and the Twenty-One Demands (with the exception of the fifth group, which caused open indignation by the Western powers) were accepted by the Chinese government.
In the beginning. XX century Taisho's brief democratic period gave way to increased 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 stood 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 were victorious and captured Taiwan, but Western powers forced them to return the remaining conquered territories to China. This forced the Japanese army and navy to accelerate rearmament. A new conflict of interests in China and Manchuria, this time with Russia, led to the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-1905. Japan won this war as well, increasing 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. In 1912, Emperor Meiji died. The era of Genro's reign is over. Militarism and the Second World War. During the reign of the weak Emperor Taisho (1912 - 1926), political power gradually shifted from the Genro oligarchs to the parliament and democratic parties. In World War I, Japan joined the Entente, but played a very minor role in the battles with German troops in East Asia.
30.Japan during the First World War.
Japan took part in the First World War 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 naval command. 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 controversy within the Japanese leadership. The average Japanese, however, 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 outback, was amazed that the peasants with whom he talked did not even suspect that their country was at war. Despite the conclusion of the Anglo-Japanese Alliance, Japan's expansion in Asia caused serious concerns in Great Britain. The British Foreign Secretary Sir Edward Gray feared that if Japan took part in the war, Japan would expand its possessions 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 counterpart Kato that Great Britain would only require assistance if the Far Eastern colonies were attacked. Gray feared not only Japanese expansion, but also the reaction of Australia, New Zealand and the United States to such expansion. Results of the war: In general, the world war of 1914-1918 allowed the Japanese Empire to justify its title: from a regional power it turned, if not into a world power, then at least to 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 still 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 United States. Mutual dislike 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 everyone.
31.Features of the structural crisis of the Qing Empire at the beginning of the 19th century. "Discovery" of China. After the defeat of the Peasants' War of 1796-1804, internal peace did not come to the empire. A Miao uprising broke out in the provinces of Hunan and Guizhou in 1801, which was finally suppressed only in 1806. In 1802-1803, the poor people of the Huizhou region of Guangdong province, united by the secret “Society of Heaven and Earth” (“Triad”), took up arms. In 1805, one of the branches of the White Lotus rebelled in Shaanxi province, and in 1807 another sect followed the example of the rebels. The increasing resistance to the Qing power began to be provided by the robber freemen of the South China and East China Seas. The pirate war lasted ten years (1800-1810); the pirate ships were destroyed only by the joint actions of the squadron of the Liang Guang governor and the flotilla of the Nguyens who ruled northern Vietnam. In 1813, the uprising of the “Heavenly Mind” sect began, another of the branches 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 suppressed. Most modern researchers believe that China's position towards the West was expressed in the “policy of self-strengthening” (Ziqiang) or the “movement to absorb overseas affairs” (Yangyuyundong). This position boiled down to “using foreigners against foreigners themselves.” Related to this was the principle proposed by Li Hongzhang and other leading Chinese political figures - “control of officials, entrepreneurship of merchants” (guantushanban), which aims to attract Chinese entrepreneurial capital to organize their own enterprises. 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, more precisely, corresponded to their foreign policy in the Far East. However, it is necessary to 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 Great Britain was to transform Chinese society “through the hands of the Chinese themselves.”
32.The policy of “self-strengthening” of the ruling circles of China (1860-1895): reasons and essence. After the defeat in the second Opium War, the need arose in the ruling circles of China to try to find a way out of the current unfavorable situation, which 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 developed, which in historiography received the name “policy of self-strengthening - “Zi Qiang”. There are three main stages in its implementation. 1) 1861 - 70 The main attention of the ruling circles was focused on suppressing the resistance of Chinese peasants and national minorities. 2) 1870 – 85 characterized by the formation in the ruling camp of two main groups fighting for their influence on internal reforms. 3) 1885 - 1895 the victory of Li Hongzhang's group, and the subsequent removal of its leader from power after China's defeat in the war with Japan. The idea of borrowing from foreigners and introducing the best achievements in the field of science and technology became the main one during the reform period of the 60s and 70s. 19th century In January 1861, the Office for the Public Administration of the Affairs of Various Countries was created 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 come to an agreement with the emperor's half-brothers on a joint regency. Over 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 the actions against internal rebellion. After the suppression of the Taiping uprising, emphasis began to be placed on the construction of modern vehicles and ships, and military enterprises. The leader of the Anhui group, Li Hongzhang, was 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. Li Hongzhang then began to create the northern, Beiyang naval squadron. In 1877, his troops numbered about 40 thousand people. armed with modern weapons. Li Hongzhang did not take into account the interests of the central government and cared only about his own enrichment and strengthening his military power. At the beginning of 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 governance of China. Six main components in pursuing a policy of self-strengthening were officially proclaimed - training soldiers, building ships, producing machines, raising funds for the maintenance of the armed forces, attracting capable people to manage and determination for the long-term implementation of the above measures. This line was carried out virtually unchanged until 1895. In the first half of the 70s. gg. 120 Chinese youths were sent to study in the United States. But nevertheless, already in the early 80s. Because of fears 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, a mine, torpedo and telegraph school, as well as two military schools, were opened in Tianjin. Here, along with traditional Chinese Confucian theory, Western sciences were also taught. It was from their graduates that the scientific and technical intelligentsia was formed in China.
