러일전쟁기 군사전략과 국가의사의 결정과정

The Military Strategy in the Russo-Japanese War Period and the Decision Making Process of State Intention

Japan, which had clashed with Russia over the Korean peninsula since the Sino-Japanese War, became even more suspicious of Russia after it dispatched troops to Manchuria during the Boxers’ Uprising. In line with that, Japanese army began to examine a military strategy against Russia. Such a move became even more concrete as the confrontation between the two nations increased after the Anglo-Japanese Alliance of 1902. Still, the focus of military strategy was on Korea rather than on Russia. The army at this stage maintained a defensive strategy, confining its goal in battles to securing Korea. However, Japan’s military strategy against Russia turned into an aggressive one with June, 1903 as a turning point. In order to explain the backgrounds for this, it is necessary to pay attention to the turnaround in strategic thinking within the General Staff Office, as well as the rise of anti-Russian public opinion, the advance in the construction of the Trans-Siberian Railway, and Russia’s violation of the agreement on her withdrawal from Manchuria. In other words, the General Staff Office formulated the strategy that Japan should remove all military threats from Manchuria in order to consolidate her hold on Korea. This “aggressive” strategy was first submitted by middle level officers, who later succeeded in pursuading the top level generals to embrace their views. In the end, the Chief of the General Staff announced the conditional aggressive strategy against Russia in a conference with Emperor. In sum. the military strategy within the army changed from defensive to aggressive, culminating in the decision for the Russo-Japanese War.