Russo-Japanese War

Note The compressed Guncotton contg about 18% moisture proved to be so successful that it was adopted by several countries (especially by Russia) for loading not only of sea mines but also of Whitehead torpedoes and cannon shells. Russian Artillery used it during the Russo-Japanese War (1904—1905), but it proved to be inferior to Japanese shells loaded with Shimose (cast Picric Acid). Senior author of this Encycl, who served in 1917 in the Russian Navy, remembers that torpedoes on his destroyer of 1905 vintage were loaded with compressed, moist Guncotton... 

The British army had ample experience in the Boer War of how accurate rifle Are could inflict heavy casualties and bring a frontal attack to a halt, and the Russo-Japanese War had confirmed that modem artillery could be expected to be very effective against troops in the open. Even before war ceased to be mobile in 1914, troops would dig impromptu Are pits. What was not anticipated was that the unprecedented size of the armies on the Western Front would make it possible to build and defend continuous series of trenches from the Channel to the Swiss border, or that rifles would be supplemented by machine guns in the ratio of 1 to every 20 infantry by 1918 compared with 1 to every 500 in 1914. 

Keith Neilson, That dangerous and difficult enterprise British military thinking and the Russo-Japanese War , War and. Society, 9 (1991), 11-31. 

Trinitrotoluene (TNT) was the most commonly used conventional military explosive during the twentieth century. Although it had been used extensively in the dye industry during late 1800s, it was not adopted for use as a military explosive until 1902, when the German army used it to replace picric acid. TNT was first used in warfare during the Russo-Japanese War (1904-1905). The US Army began its use in 1912. After an economical process was developed for the nitration of toluene, TNT became the chief artillery ammunition in World War I (1914—1918). The most valuable property of TNT is that it can be safely melted and cast alone or with other explosives as a slurry. 

To the above discussion may be added that the Russians used compressed Guncotton, contg ca 17% of moisture since about the 1860 s for loading ammunition but during the Russo-Japanese War (1904-1905), Russian shells loaded with Guncotton proved to be much inferior to Japanese shells loaded with Shimose (cast Picric Acid). Some Whitehead torpedoes of the Russian Navy were loaded with Guncotton as late as WWI. One of the older P.ussian expls, known as Slonit (Elephantit) consisted of Guncotton hydraulically compressed to the hardness of elephant s bone... 

It was supplied in great quanty to Japan during the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-05- The US also used Cordites during WWI, but soon abandoned their use, because of the excessive corrosion of gun barrels, in favor of single-base propellants. Cordite has also been used in exptl mixts developed as highly brisant expls (Ref 15) Refs 1) F. Abel J. Dewar, BritP 5614(1889) JSCI 11, 709 (1892) and BritP 11664 (1889) JSCI9, 765 (1890) 2) Anon, SS 3, 251-52 (1908)... 

Shimose or Shimoza. Japanese term for Picric Acid, named in honor of Captain I. Shimose, who developed a method for casting PA into shells at the beginning of the century. These shells were successfully used during the Russo-Japanese War, at which time the Russian shells contained pressed NC contg about 18% moisture. Also see Picric Acid in Vol 8, P285-R to P295-L... 

Japanese name for Trinitrophenol (Picric Acid), Was used in the Russo-Japanese War,... 

The Russo-Japanese War also saw limited use of toxic chemical weapons. The Japanese used arsenical rag torches against Russian trenches. The torches were pushed toward the enemy by long bamboo poles to create a choking cloud (Chemical Warfare Service, 1939). 

Two wars at the turn of the century also saw limited use of chemical weapons. During the Boer War, British troops fired picric acid-filled shells, although to little effect.8 During the Russo-Japanese War, which was closely observed by those who would plan World War I, Japanese soldiers threw arsenal rag torches into Russian trenches.3... 

In addition, the 1910 plan assumed that a European war would last less than six months. During the first few months, the military would use stockpiles, while domestic production was mobilised and foreign orders were placed. During the Russo-Japanese war, the Russian army used 1,276 artillery pieces and fired 918,000 shells, or just over an average of 700 shells per gun. In planning a future war, the Ministry decided to stockpile a reserve of 1,000 shells per gun. However, this number would give continuous fire at the maximum rate for no more than about 100 minutes. While the Ministry duly met their stockpile targets, their preparations turned out to be ludicrously inadequate. 

---