Russia and Japan's interests in Manchuria led to war. Japan had a clear advantage in the military which ultimately lead to Russia's loss. Russia had to cover a lot of land with fewer troops. The only chance of a Russian victory would be a navel battle which end in a Japanese victory.
Japan's strategy was to conquer the main ports in Russia in order to force a mainland war. Therefore, on February ninth, 1904, Japan attacked Port Arthur. Quickly, Russian fleets were summoned to meet in order to prepare for Japan. Japan shot torpedoes and damaged about four Russian Cruisers. Japan easily won the battle because on of the ships that sunk had aboard the Russian leader Makarov.
This time Japan defeated Russia in Manchuria on a ground attack. The Russians formed a long line of soldiers ready for battle. However, the Japanese were clever. They crossed a river and took the Russians by surprise. Russia retreated quickly, and this victory gave Japan confidence in their army. It proved costly for the Russians again, even though they outnumbered Japan by 60,000. they suffered more losses and withdrew.
Russia definitely knew it had to fight the war on the seas. Russia was successful in sinking two Japanese ships with mines. In Vladivostok, Russians sank three ships then prepared for battle. The Japanese attacked from the east and the north and drove back the Russian fleet to the harbor. The final battle was in the Tsushina straits. This time the Russians were attacking. It was a quick battle with Japan clearly winning. Russia was forced to surrender.
In conclusion, it turned out that because Japan won most of the ground battles, it pushed Russia against the wall. There was no way of covering an abundance of land with fewer people than the Japanese. The Russian's chance relied on its navy. It seemed whatever Russia tried to do differently, Japan would counter attack effectively. I think the main difference in this war was strategy and execution of attacks at night time.