Oil tanks on fire during the bombardment of Port Arthur on the Liaodong Peninsula in the south of ...

Oil tanks on fire during the bombardment of Port Arthur on the Liaodong Peninsula in the south of Manchuria. Port Arthur had been fortified into a major Naval base by the Russians in 1903, and the Japanese wanted to control the sea in order to fight a battle on the Asian mainland, launched a surprise torpedo attack on Port Arthur on the 8 February 1904, badly damaging two Russian battleships. The attacks developed into the Battle of Port Arthur the next morning, and Port Arthur finally fell on 2 January 1905.