Russo-Japanese War: Port Arthur, Mukden and Tsushima

The war opened without ceremony. On the night of 8–9 February 1904 a squadron of Japanese destroyers made a surprise night attack on the Russian fleet anchored at Port Arthur, Manchuria. Of the sixteen torpedoes fired, only three hit their targets. The pin marks today's Lüshun Port.

Location precision: The attack took place on the roadstead outside the port; the pin marks Lüshun Port, not a single spot.

In the last days of April 1904 the Japanese army fought its way towards the Yalu. On 27 April it launched a lightning assault against unprepared Russian troops at Tiger Hill, which overlooked the confluence of the Ai and Yalu rivers. At 17:30 on 1 May the remnants of the Russian Eastern Detachment either surrendered or escaped towards Fenghuangcheng. The Hushan (Tiger Mountain) wall, 15 km northeast of Dandong directly beside the China–North Korea border, is the nearest landmark of that name.

Location precision: The sources do not say that the Hushan wall stands on the battle's Tiger Hill; the pin marks the nearest landmark of the same name.

The highest ground in Port Arthur overlooked the harbor. Despite the name, 203 Meter Hill has two peaks, 203 and 210 meters high and 140 meters apart. An assault in late October 1904 failed, leaving Nogi with the deaths of an additional 124 officers and 3,611 men and no victory.

Location precision: The pin comes from an OpenStreetMap search for the hill and is not confirmed by a second source.

From 19 February to 10 March 1905 the two armies fought near Mukden, now Shenyang, in China. It was the largest battle of the war, as well as the last major engagement on land. General Nogi's 3rd Army, freed up by the capture of Port Arthur, had joined the Japanese line. Shenyang is a modern city, and the pin marks its centre rather than the battlefield.

Location precision: The battle covered a wide front south of the city; the pin marks Shenyang only.

The Battle of Tsushima, fought on 27–28 May 1905 in the Tsushima Strait, was the final naval battle of the war. The Russian fleet had sailed over seven months and 18,000 nautical miles from the Baltic Sea. On the night before the battle thick fog blanketed the strait, giving the Russians an advantage. The pin marks the strait near Tsushima Island.

Location precision: The battle spread over open water; the pin marks the strait, not a single spot.

At the Battle of Tsushima on 27 May 1905, Mikasa led the 1st Fleet into combat. She had served as the flagship of Vice Admiral Tōgō Heihachirō throughout the Russo-Japanese War, from the Battle of Port Arthur to the Battles of the Yellow Sea and Tsushima. She has been partially restored, and is now a museum ship located at Mikasa Park in Yokosuka, so you can see the flagship in person.

Visitor guidance: Museum ship at Mikasa Park, Yokosuka; check opening hours before you go.

The war ended in Maine. The Treaty of Portsmouth was signed on 5 September 1905, after negotiations from 6 to 30 August, at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in Kittery. The Russian delegation was led by former Finance Minister Sergei Witte. President Theodore Roosevelt was instrumental in the negotiations and won the Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts.