Mukden 1905: Russia and Japan's Battle for Manchuria

Osprey Campaign #413

by John Valitutto, Johnny Shumate (illustrator)

Mukden stands out as the most significant battle of the Russo-Japanese War. By February 1905, the conflict had reached its culmination, as Port Arthur had fallen to the Japanese after an epic six-month siege. Now free to mass all his field armies, Japanese commander Marshal Oyama shifted his focus to the Russian forces assembled around the city of Mukden. The Russians, led by General Kuropatkin and numbering over 300,000 men, had finally achieved sufficient strength to conduct their own offensive. A Russian victory would be vital to save both deteriorating morale in the army, as well as to reassure the home front.

This fascinating work documents the decisive set-piece battle between the opposing sides on the plains of Manchuria. Maps, diagrams, battlescene artwork and period photos bring to life the brutal clash, the largest battle in history up to that point. Exploring the unabated fighting across a 40-mile-long front in the depths of winter, John Valitutto considers how effective the manoeuvring of each side was, the trench warfare that prefigured World War I, and the influence of machine guns and massed heavy artillery on the battle's outcome. Mukden made it clear to all that the conduct of war was changing, with new technologies and tactics demonstrating their terrible potential to the world.

197 pages, Kindle Edition

First published February 27, 2025

Reviews

[Hunter Ross · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic review of this battle and the myriad mistakes the Russians made. Both sides fought bravely but the Japanese had better and more aggressive leadership.

[Federico Lucifredi · Rating 5 out of 5]

I know the history of the confrontation at sea between Russia and Japan quite well, and this complements nicely. It is remarkable the amount of confusion and fog-of-war (nevermind incompetence) on display, but one must also account for the changes in warfare occurring at the time, the massive use of siege weapons being a notable example.

One thing seems apparent: Stalin's massive over-reaction at Nomohan in 1939 (where he tasked a young Georgi Zhukov with crushing the Japanese Sixth Army, and armed him with what today appears like an excess of resources for the task) must have been informed by the Tsar's inability to bring to bear the superior resources available to Russia in this earlier Manchurian confrontation — something Stalin would have witnessed in his youth.

[Oraklet · Rating 5 out of 5]

it's a short read but it gives a good overview and detail of the lead up, the battle and a short aftermath.