Japan's night attack opens the war

1904 · Event

Two days after breaking off negotiations — and three hours before delivering its declaration of war — Japan's destroyers torpedo the Russian Pacific squadron at anchor off Port Arthur. The tactic scandalises Europe and cripples Russia's fleet at a stroke; thirty-seven years later Japan will open another war the same way, at Pearl Harbor.

On these timelines: The Russo-Japanese War, Japan, Russia & the USSR, Master

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