As we near the grim anniversary of World War I,  let us  remember the first great war of the blood-soaked 20th Century. Shortly before midnight on 8 February, 1904,  Japanese destroyers and torpedo boats launched a surprise attack on the great Russian Pacific naval base at Port Arthur. Located at the tip of Manchuria’s strategic Liaodung Peninsula, the port provided Russia with its only ice-free deep water harbor on the Pacific Ocean. Three hours later, Japan formally declared war on Russia. A similar surprise attack, followed by declaration of war, occurred on 7 December, 1941 when Japan attacked the US … Continue reading The 1st ‘Great War’ of the Blood-Soaked 20th Century