As written, the answer you seek is the RUSSO-JAPANESE WAR of 1904-1905. President Teddy Roosevelt brokered the peace between Russia and Japan and EARNED his accolade.

However, the Russo-Japanese War was not the war that made JAPAN a 'World Power'. The one that STUNNED the world was the Sino- Chinese war of 1894-1895 FOUGHT OVER THE EXACT REAL ESTATE of the Russo-Japanese War that occurred 10 years later. It also explains why the Japanese performed as well as they did. General Maresuke Nogi had planned the assault on Port Arthur in 1894 and was tasked to take it again in 1904-5.

You can get a more through retelling of the war via Wiki or off Depuy & Depuy's Encyclopedia of Military Warfare. I will highlight what I considered some PROFOUND RAMIFICATIONS of the conflict (feel free to use these for your class paper...)

1. CHINA HAD BEEN THE ODDS ON FAVOURITE TO WIN THE SINO JAPANESE War of 1894-1895 and Japan absolutely crushed China. However, the win was 'discounted' because CHINA had all kinds of problems (Open rebellion, Court Corruption, Poor Leadership & Infighting, lack of money, modern Arms, etc.).

2. The RUSSO-JAPANESE was different. It was the first instance of an ASIAN PEOPLES THOROUGHLY CRUSHING A MAJOR EUROPEAN Power using 'the White Man's Weapons against him' - and they did it at the HEIGHT of European Imperialism. This victory STAGGERED the WORLD COMMUNITY. You have to remember that prior to the MEIJI Restoration (1870), Japan was a third world country whose soldiers were armed with swords & Matchlock guns. Japan went from pathetic, Asian little backwater to WORLD POWER in a mere 24 years! The Europeans were so stunned by the defeat that they referred to the Japanese as an 'Asiatic WHITE Power'

3. New Military Technologies were introduced during the conflict (motored transports, SearchLights for Fight Fighting, radios, etc.) Some technologies, such as extended Trench Systems and the latent power of the Machine Gun employed against modern forces) were completely overlooked at the time to the detriment of Europe during the first world war (1911-1925).

4. Russia should have won the war. The Tsar sent his best man to command the war effort. Brilliant and energetic Imperial Russian Admiral Stephan Makarov immediately took to the seas after the sneak attack on Port Arthur (Feb 8, 1904) and totally disrupted the war plans of Vice Admirals Togo & Kamimura. Unfortunately for the Russians, he was KIA after 35 days in Theatre. Russia never recovered from the death of Makarov. Another 'boat anchor' around the Russian's neck was the Viceroy of the Far East, the grossly incompetent Admiral Alekesev who insisted on Russia going onto the Offensive when what they needed was to sit tight and build up their forces (The Russians had 4.5 million soldiers in uniform vs 230K of Japan but they only had 83K field troops plus 50K garrison troops in theatre with a resupply of 40K per month from a 5,500 mile rail head. GEN Kuropatkin had the right plan in place and was competent to do the job but Admiral Alekesev consistantly interferred and overruled him.

5. The Battle of Tsushima (May 26, 1905) was the greatest slaughter of war ships since the battle of Trafalger 100 years previously. Yes, Admiral Rozhdestvenski was grossly incompetent but what could the Tsar do? Anyone with an ounce of brains refused the mission which was essentially a pointless suicide mission after the destruction of the Port Arthur Fleet (Jan 02, 1905). The transfer of the Baltic & Black Sea Fleets was a logistics meisterwerke and had never been done, before or after with coal fueled naval craft. The fact that the Russians even got to theatre with 1900 steam technology was an exceptional feat most people overlook (Nelson only had to sail a couple hundred miles off Spain, not go clear around the world.

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