How did Japan win the Russo-Japanese War?

Answer 1

Actually, Japan came fairly close to losing the war against Russia; Japan was running out of money, and was nearly bankrupted by the war. Russia, on the other hand was "just warming up", having just completed the Trans-Siberian Railroad, and was able to transport Russian troops across the continent into the war zone.

The only thing that saved Japan from defeat, was Japan's numerous victories on land; and their destroying of Russia's two out of three battleship fleets; only the Black Sea Fleet survived the war (never being deployed into battle). Those victories, coupled with the start of a Russian Revolution (in 1905), the beginning of the Bolsheviks and Lenin, partly financed by covert Japanese intelligence officers operating in Russia...weakened the Tsar's government to the point where the Russo-Japanese War was no longer supported by the Russian people and combating internal strife became more important than fighting Japan.

Those above reasons convinced the Russians & Japanese to comply with the peace negotiations that were over-seen by US President Teddy Roosevelt; of which President Roosevelt received the Nobel Prize.

Answer 2

After the surprise attack by Japan on Russian installations at Port Arthur, each side sent large armies to Manchuria. There, in the Battle of Mukden, the number of troops amounting to 624,000, was the largest battle in world history at that time. On the naval front, Russia sent its Baltic fleet around three continents only to be defeated by Japan at the Battle of Tsushima Strait. This broke Russian fleet communications and the Tran-Siberian railway was incomplete an thus unavailable to aid Russia. Japan won the Battle of Mukden and once it defeated the Russian fleet, Russia was defeated.