Battle of Port Arthur
In February of 1904 the Russo-Japanese War began. It started in a dramatic fashion with a surprise attack on the main body of the Russian Pacific Fleet that was anchored at Port Arthur, Manchuria. This first battle ended with the sinking of most of the Russian Pacific Fleet. It was unbelievable for a massive, major European power to lose to the small Asian nation of Japan. This loss acted like a trigger throughout Russia that started to cause the citizens to lose confidence in the military.