Casualties were exceptionally heavy (the Russians lost 89,000 out of 330,000, and the Japanese, 71,000 out of 270,000 men).
The Battle of Mukden (Manchuria) was the final land battle and took place in February-early March, 1905. The major theatres of operations were Southern Manchuria, specifically the area around the Liaodong Peninsula and Mukden and the seas around Korea, Japan, and the Yellow Sea. The Russo-Japanese War (8 February 1904 – 5 September 1905) was 'the first great war of the 20th century.' It grew out of rival imperial ambitions of the Russian Empire and the Empire of Japan over Manchuria and Korea. It was composed by Ilya Shatrov, a veteran of the Russo-Japanese war of 1904/05, who was the bandmaster of the Mokshan 214th Infantry Regiment. In fact, this waltz is neither folk nor (even nowadays) very ancient. A few decades past its actual creation it was already very often (if not always) labeled as “old-time waltz” on Soviet records, which suggested a kind of ancient folk tune. On the Hills of Manchuria is among the most popular Russian historic melodies, and is widely known abroad as well, having gained the reputation of a “Russian national waltz”. On the Hills of Manchuria (Na Sopkah Manchzhurii)
