One of the largest land battles to be fought before World War I, the Battle of Mukden (奉天会戦 , Hōten kaisen^?), the last major land battle of the Russo-Japanese War, was fought from 20 February to 10 March 1905 between Japan and Russia near Mukden in Manchuria. The city is now called Shenyang, the capital of Liaoning province in China.

The Russian forces numbering 330,000 were under General Alexei Nikolajevich Kuropatkin. The Imperial Japanese Army forces numbering 270,000 were led by Field-Marshal Prince Oyama Iwao.

Following the Battle of Liaoyang (24 August to 4 September 1904), Russian forces retreated to the river Sha Ho south of Mukden and regrouped. From 5 October 1904 to 17 October 1904, during the Battle of Shaho, the Russians unsuccessfully counter-attacked, but managed to temporarily slow the Japanese advance.

A second Russian counter-offensive, the Battle of Sandepu, fought from (25 – 29 January 1905) was likewise unsuccessful.

The fall of Port Arthur to General Nogi freed up the Japanese 3rd Army, which advanced north to reinforce the Japanese lines near Mukden in preparation for an attack.

The Mukden Palace (simplified Chinese: 盛京宫殿; traditional Chinese: 盛京宮殿; pinyin: Shèngjīng Gōngdiàn) or Shenyang Gugong (simplified Chinese: 沈阳故宫; traditional Chinese: 瀋陽故宮; pinyin: Shěnyáng Gùgōng), also known as the Shenyang Imperial Palace, is the former imperial palace of the early Qing Dynasty of China.

It was built in 1625 and the first three Qing emperors lived there from 1625 to 1644. It is located in the center of the city of Mukden, Manchuria (Shenyang, China).

Early construction began in 1625 by Nurhaci. By 1631, additional structures were added under Emperor Huang Taiji.

The Mukden Palace was built to resemble the Forbidden City in Beijing. However, the palace also exhibits hints of Manchurian and Tibetan styles.

After the Qing Dynasty replaced the Ming Dynasty in 1644 in Beijing, the Mukden palace lost its status as the official residence of the Emperor. Instead, the Mukden Palace became a regional palace.

In 1780, Emperor Qianlong further expanded the palace. Successive Qing dynasty emperors usually stayed at Mukden Palace for some time each year.