Russian invasion of Manchuria

For the Soviet invasion of Manchuria at the end of World War II, see Soviet invasion of Manchuria. For the earlier Russian annexation of parts of Manchuria, see Amur Annexation.

Russian invasion of Manchuria
Part of the Boxer Rebellion

Russian cannons firing at Beijing gates during the Battle of Peking, 14 August 1900
DateJune – November 1900
Location
Manchuria, China
Result Russian victory
Belligerents
Russian Empire Yìhéquán (Boxers)
China
Commanders and leaders
Russian Empire Yevgeni Alekseyev
Russian Empire Dyean Subotich
Russian Empire Konstantin Tserpitsky
Russian Empire Pavel Mishchenko
Russian Empire Nikolay Orlov		 Qing dynasty Shoushan [zh] (a descendant of Yuan Chonghuan)
Strength
58,000[1]-100,000 Imperial Russian Army soldiers and Cossacks[2][3] Manchu Bannermen, Boxers, Honghuzi bandits
Casualties and losses
242 killed, 1,283 wounded (per Russian sources)[2] Unknown, at least in the thousands[2]

The Russian invasion of Manchuria or Chines expedition (Russian: Китайская экспедиция)[4] occurred in the aftermath of the First Sino-Japanese War (1894–1895) when concerns regarding Qing China's defeat by the Empire of Japan, and Japan's brief occupation of Liaodong, caused the Russian Empire to speed up their long held designs for imperial expansion across Eurasia.

In the five years preceding the invasion, the Russian Empire established a network of leased territories in Manchuria. This began with the Triple Intervention in 1895. From 1898, after which Russia received Liaotung from Japan, it built and operated the Chinese Eastern Railway (CER). As with all other major powers in China, Russia demanded concessions along with the railroad, enforced through unequal treaties.

With the building of a southern branch of the CER (later the South Manchuria Railway), Mukden (now known as Shenyang) became a Russian stronghold. During the Boxer Rebellion, the Russian military temporarily evacuated from and immediately reoccupied Mukden.[5][6]

The Russian Empire's full invasion of Manchuria occurred concurrent with its participation against the Boxer Rebellion. The pretext of the invasion was the defense of the railroad against Boxer rebels.

Russia became involved in the Eight Nation Alliance due to its presence in the foreign legations. Russian Cossacks formed part of the relief forces during the Seymour and Gaselee expeditions while Russian forces were also present inside the legations during the sieges in Beijing and Tianjin. These forces operated separately from those involved in the invasion of Manchuria, with the entire Manchuria operation exclusively directed by Russians.

The invasion concluded with the full occupation of Manchuria by Russia, causing tensions that led to the Russo-Japanese War.

  1. ^ Egorshina & Petrova 2023, p. 721.
  2. ^ a b c Pronin, Alexander (7 November 2000). Война с Желтороссией (in Russian). Kommersant. Retrieved 6 July 2018.
  3. ^ Jukes, Geoffrey (June 6, 2014). "Introduction". The Russo-Japanese War 1904–1905. Bloomsbury Publishing. ISBN 978-1-4728-1003-8.
  4. ^ Egorshina & Petrova 2023, p. 719.
  5. ^ The Century illustrated monthly magazine, Volume 68. NEW YORK: The Century Co. 1904. p. 581. Retrieved July 6, 2011.(Original from Harvard University)
  6. ^ Making of America Project (1904). The Century: a popular quarterly, Volume 68. NEW YORK: Scribner & Co. p. 581. Retrieved July 6, 2011.(Original from the University of Michigan)