February 8, 1904 - Japanese Forces Launch a Surprise Attack on Port Arthur, Starting the Russo - Jap

After centuries of isolation, Japan was ready to begin its Empire by conquering Korea. However, the peninsula was in the Russian sphere of influence, meaning that Japan would either have to negotiate or force Russia out of the region. After failed negotiations, the war began, shocking the Tsar (Nicholas II), who had expected the Japanese to be too weak to fight his Empire. After just one year of fighting, the Russian forces had suffered major losses, including the destruction of both the Pacific and the re-deployed Baltic fleets. These defeats were enough to force a peace negotiation in 1905, mediated in Portsmouth, New Hampshire by President Roosevelt. The end terms were that Russia would have to recognize Korea as being in the Japanese sphere of influence, the evacuation of Russian troops from Manchuria, and the ceding of the Southern half of Sakhalin Island, located North of Japan. The war also had further-reaching effects; for the first time in modern history, an Asian power had defeated a European one, showing the dominance of Japan and the weaknesses of Russia. This fueled the idea in Russia that the tsarist government was incompetent, leading (in part) to the Revolution of 1917.

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