As the bloody and hellish Great War spread its
vile grip around the globe, it pushed nation after nation into alliances of varying loyalty, and
confrontations of grisly end. Battles and warfare as never seen before brought entirely new levels
of brutal violence, death, and lifelong trauma. Nations who had thus far been indifferent to one
another would now be locked in a deadly dance of gunfire and tanks, such that the future would not
necessarily treat those contemporary estrangements as normalcy. Future friends were for now taking
the lives of one another’s people. The Great War was a wretched nightmare beyond recognition.
We often remember this as being the fault of the belligerent nations of the Triple Alliance and
the Triple Entente. But these mighty six were far from alone. And particularly forgotten is often
the entrance into the war of the Empire of Japan… The explanation of how Japan entered the First
World War – by launching a stunning surprise attack on territories belonging to the Triple
Alliance’s Germany as an ally to the Triple Entente - was a staggering twist of events,
leaving the Germans in a thunderstruck daze… At the turn of the century, Japan
was looking to expand its own territory – particularly towards
China and the neighboring Pacific. While industrialization had come late to the
island nation, Japan had quickly embraced the technological changes and was fast becoming
Asia’s biggest economic power. This period is known as the Meiji Restoration – named after
the Emperor, Meiji, who was keen to embrace Western systems of business and politics and to
push his treasured Japan into the modern world. The Meiji period saw a complete overhaul
of Japanese society and its economy. The new government began pouring money into
infrastructure and then munitions and arms. Roads, railways, and telephone lines were soon
followed by ships and gunpowder factories. A growing sense of nationalism and the
need to fuel its economy meant Japan was looking eagerly to acquire new lands – with
China and Korea being the premier targets. But, in order to expand, Japan had to
consolidate its military - which it managed to do extraordinarily quickly. Then,
in 1902, the first of several pacts between Britain and Japan was signed, which
Japan merrily took full advantage of. The Anglo-Japan Alliance was created so that both
countries could safeguard their interests in Asia from the ogling eyes of Russia. The pact
primarily served to benefit Japan, however, as Britain would soon become occupied
with the violent onset of World War 1…
Japan had already flexed its military muscles in
1895, by comprehensively vanquishing China in the First Sino-Japanese War. The conflict had erupted
over control of Korea, with Japan particularly inclined to gain a foothold in Korea because of
its wealth of iron and coal that the Japanese needed to fuel their ever-growing economy.
When the dispute eventually boiled over into blazing warfare, the rest of the world
watched on and was ultimately astonished to see Japan take down their powerful
Chinese adversaries on nearly every front. Many had assumed the sheer weight of numbers
would see China comfortably roll over Japan, but it wasn’t to be. Japan had modernized its
military, updated its tactics, and viciously exposed China for failing to keep up with
progressions and innovations on the battlefield…
When Japan negotiated the Anglo-Japan Alliance in
1902, Foreign Minister Takaaki Kato was ecstatic. He had pushed hard for the pact, knowing that
if Japan was teamed up with the world’s greatest naval power, it would give the Japanese a huge
boost in acquiring more territories in the Asia Pacific. The alliance was described in Japan
as a “God-given opportunity”, and Japan put its industrial might into full swing
to bulk up its military power…
By the time World War 1 broke out in 1914, the
Japanese navy already had 100 battleships. The Entente forces were wary of Japan, correctly
guessing that Japan had eyes on expansion in the region. However, the main motive was to discourage
a Russian push into Asia, and for the Western nations, there was simply too much going on in
Europe at the time to worry too much about Japan…. While Japan was basking in the glory of its
trouncing of China in the late 19th century, Germany was also taking an
unsavory interest in the region…
Germany was somewhat of a late starter when
it came to colonization. That being said, during the 1890s, German leaders had formed
a policy of expanding and protecting German interests in foreign territories. It was
agreed that to support a growing economy, a country needed colonies. China was
seen as the best non-European option, for its vast pool of natural resources and
its strategic position for trading routes. So, Germany got to work and
started building up its navy… Kiautschou Bay – modern-day Qingdao
– was selected as an ideal place to base a colony and German forces moved in…
Qingdao was situated on China’s east coast, only about 1,600 kilometers from Tokyo. In 1897,
Germany unapologetically seized the bay and then craftily negotiated to lease it from China from
1898. All the while, Japan was watching on with a desirous interest and began making efforts
towards striking up an alliance with Britain. At the time, France had a friendly relationship
with Russia. Like many, Russia also had one eye on moving into China. Japan knew that if Britain
was an ally, France would be unlikely to support Russia if a conflict ever broke out over China.
As far as Japan was concerned, the Anglo-Japan Alliance was a green light to
make its move into Asia – as long as it did so at the expense of Germany…
Just one week after the start of World War 1, Japan approached Britain with a proposition – “why
don’t we do our part in the alliance and begin attacking German forces based in Asia?” In early
August 1914, Britain asked Japan to do just that…
Japan was only too happy to oblige - this was
the moment they had so eagerly waited for… On August 23, Japan, declared war on
Germany…and then Austria-Hungary…
Japan knew that Qingdao was protected by
around 5,000 German soldiers and decided to pounce on the Chinese port city that the
Germans themselves had so ruthlessly taken. The Germans in China weren’t completely
without naval support though. They had a torpedo boat, four
cruisers, and four small gunboats. On September 2, 1914, 25,000 Japanese
soldiers stormed into Qingdao, easily overpowering the initial fronts of German
troops in charge of protecting the city as the latter toppled like dominos in their wake.
The Germans hit back, however, with one of its gunboats sinking a Japanese destroyer…but that
was more or less the extent of their victories... The Japanese were bringing some original
strategies into the battle that had never been seen in the world of warfare. Furthermore,
they had the firepower that Germany was lacking…
The Siege of Qingdao made world headlines because
of these innovations employed by Japan. It was the first time an air and sea battle had taken
place at the same time. Japanese fighter planes took off from the plane carrier the Wakamiya and
relentlessly bombed German boats and land targets. It was also a world first for night bombing. Japanese fighters eagerly waited
until dark fell before conducting several bombing raids on the
dumbfounded German defenses. Britain – still very wary over Japan’s
ultimate motives – sent a battalion of 1,500 soldiers to both assist with the siege
and to keep an eye on Japanese movements. The Japanese air attacks were merciless. The Austria-Hungary cruiser the Kaiserin
Elisabeth’s guns were quickly dismantled and brought to shore, where they were set up as
land cannons in hopes of being put to better use. However, the ferocious Japanese air raids instead
put them out of action, and the Japanese cavalry marched into the city with nothing but
pride staining their pristine uniforms.
The Kaiserin Elisabeth was scuttled and sank
with any survivors being taken prisoner. Germany, now in a mad scramble, realized that
Qingdao was in very real danger of falling into Japanese hands and thus thrust
all of its East Asian forces into the region. The German commander Kaiser Wilhelm the
Second famously claimed that it would be “more shameful for Germany to lose Qingdao to
the Japanese, then Berlin to the Russians”...
The Kaiser was soon to be shamed…
The surrender of Qingdao was an inevitability and Japan now turned its ambitious attention to
additional German territories in the Pacific... In October 1914, the Japanese navy launched new,
violent attacks on German forces protecting the Mariana, Caroline, and Marshall Islands. They
were met with a sad excuse for resistance, as only a handful of German officers
were deployed in the Pacific colonies, with local police officers acting as
some semblance of supposed backup. In November, Germany officially surrendered at Qingdao, and Japan had its very
first victory in a world war… Back home, people burst with pride and
exuberant celebration, as Japanese newspapers lauded the might of its armed forces.
It was reported that over 200 German and Austria-Hungary soldiers died in the siege, with
almost 5,000 captured and hauled back to Japan. One newspaper spoke of the victory as
“sowing the seeds” for a rosy future of expansion into Asia. Allied leaders, while
still guarded about Japan’s future intentions, were delighted at the speed with which
Germany was so utterly defeated in Qingdao. Japan was then asked to provide
further support in the Pacific, in driving out German submarines and cruisers.
Japanese naval forces were soon attacking and seeing off German boats stationed in
the western Pacific and Indian Oceans, where they were eventually overpowered by
the British navy. Japan was also called on to defend merchant ships and troop transports.
The Japanese navy protected Entente shipping in the Pacific and Indian Oceans and successfully
escorted Australian and New Zealand troops from Asia to combat zones in the Middle East.
These deployments were a massive help to Britain and the US, as they allowed them to
concentrate their navies in the Atlantic, where the German presence was most prevalent.
Japan further used World War 1 to build up its coffers with overseas revenue. The Japanese built
warships and merchant ships for other countries, and produced and sold arms to Britain,
Russia, and France. By the time the war ended, Japan had contracts to build ships for the United
States, all of which further boosted the economy. At the end of World War 1, Japan and Germany
were in very different places. Germany – and most of Europe – was left reeling after the most
destructive conflict the world had ever seen. The German economy was in tatters and was about to
get a lot worse with war reparations. The Treaty of Versailles decreed that Germany had caused
the war and was therefore responsible to cough up for damages incurred. How much? A staggering $500
billion dollars by today’s standard. As for Japan, the East Asian powerhouse was flying. They’d been
permitted to keep the territories gained in China and the Pacific, the economy was roaring and
nationalism was at an all-time high. America and Britain were initially reluctant to allow
Japan to keep the Asian territories gained from World War 1, but Japan zealously threatened
to withdraw from the League of Nations. The Allies relented and Japan was given de-facto
ownership of Qingdao and the Pacific colonies. Japan had entered the 20th century as
an agricultural nation becoming rapidly industrialized. By the end of the war,
Japan had gone from a regional power to a robust global force to be reckoned with.
It’s unlikely anyone in Japan or the world could have predicted what was about to
take place over the next 30 years. But, none of it may have happened quite as it did, if
Japan had never attacked Germany in World War One…
