#Russo japanese war japanese uniforms series#

Soldiers wore distinctive sheepskin hats such as the shaggy вЂњManchzurka,вЂќ though some versions had the disadvantage that when they were pulled low enough to keep the ears warm, they practically covered the eyes. A sheepskin undercoat could be layered beneath the greatcoat in the bitterly cold Manchurian winter. For cold weather a heavy greatcoat was worn, with hems that dragged in the mud, so that soldiers invented ways of hitching it up. In the winter the blouses were replaced by a long tunic fastened to the side. These were dyed khaki in varying hues, ranging from dark green to a bilious shade of yellow. Uniforms had been designed in 1881 under Alexander IIIвЂ™s program of Russification: soldiers wore billowing blouses modeled on traditional peasant smocks. вЂњPrayers before battle.вЂќ Magazine illustration by unknown artist. The peasants understandably felt no loyalty to their aristocratic officers, which made it difficult to achieve вЂњesprit de corps.вЂќ This seems incredible in view of the indifference of the ruling class to the miserable lives they led, even after Alexander IIвЂ™s emancipation of the serfs, but perhaps this simple faith was what made life tolerable.

They lived on the strength of their religion, and many felt blind loyalty to the Tsar. The better-trained, better-educated troops of the European Military District were held in reserve in western Russia because the Tsar worried about political unrest around Moscow and Petersburg.ДЇor the very reason of their harsh way of life, the peasants had great powers of endurance. The rank-and-file were mainly illiterate peasants-especially in the Eastern Military District, which provided most of the troops used in the conflict with Japan. Procurement of necessities such as uniforms was affected by corruption, so the foot soldier was issued boots that fell apart after a 20-mile march. The lethargy of the command structure became painfully evident when it came to provisioning the troops. On the other hand, the Russian army had a bureaucracy that might have outdone that of the Pentagon. The army tolerated misbehavior by officers, such as accumulating gambling debts and drinking vodka at all-nighters that ended in a ritual smashing of crockery. One advanced through the ranks by cynically playing the game. Under the Romanovs, appointments and promotions had much more to do with social connections than competence. The Russian armed forces suffered from the defects one might expect in a nation governed by a paranoid and backward-looking regime. In this gathering of Russian soldiers, the commanding officer wears the pale greatcoat. This amnesia is especially incomprehensible considering that military observers from many nations were present in the Russo-Japanese War. The Japanese learned hard lessons that were forgotten by the world ten years later, when the Great War began. Military technology had advanced nearly to the stage achieved in WWI, significantly in respect to machine guns, no longer hand-cranked but firing automatically. However, Japan expended far more lives than necessary, particularly when it came to frontal assaults against an entrenched position. For the most part Japan stood in a better position-a circumstance the Russians never would have dreamed of.

The two armies-and navies-about to face off against each other came from very different worlds. For the information in this post, I owe much to the excellent book, The Russo-Japanese War: 1904-05, by A.

#Russo japanese war japanese uniforms series#

This continues a series about the Russo-Japanese War.