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Battle of Tsushima
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The Battle of Tsushima|Japanese]]: ????, tsushima-kaisen, , Tsusimskoye srazheniye), commonly known as the “Sea of Japan Naval Battle” (Japanese: ?????, nihonkai-kaisen) in Japan and the “Battle of Tsushima Strait” elsewhere, was the last and most decisive sea battle of the Russo-Japanese War of 1904–1905. It was fought on May 27–28, 1905 (May 14–15 in the Julian calendar then in use in Russia) in the Tsushima Strait. In this battle the Japanese fleet under Admiral Heihachiro Togo destroyed two-thirds of the Russian fleet under Admiral Zinovy Rozhestvensky. Historian Edmund Morris calls it the greatest naval battle since Trafalgar. It was the largest naval engagement of the pre-dreadnought battleship era.
The Battle of Tsushima was the only sea battle in history in which steel battleships fought a decisive fleet action. In addition, much to the Russian Navy's credit, Admiral Rozhestvensky's battleship fleet conducted a voyage of over 18,000 nautical miles (33,000 km) to reach the Far East.
Prior to the Russo-Japanese War, countries constructed their battleships with mixed batteries of mainly 150 mm (6-inch), 203 mm (8-inch), 254 mm (10-inch) and 305 mm (12-inch) guns, with the intent that these battleships fight on the battle line in a close-quarter, decisive fleet action. The battle demonstrated that big guns with longer ranges were more advantageous during naval battles than mixed batteries of different sizes.
Prologue and overviewConflict in the Far EastOn February 8, 1904 destroyers of the Imperial Japanese Navy launched a surprise attack on the Russian Far East Fleet anchored in Port Arthur; 3 ships—2 battleships and a cruiser—were damaged in the attack. The Russo-Japanese war had begun. Japan's first objective was to secure its sea lines of communication and supply to the Asian mainland thereby enabling it to conduct a ground war in Manchuria. To achieve this, it needed to neutralise Russian naval power in the East. At first, the Russian naval forces lay dormant and did not engage the Japanese, resulting in unopposed Japanese troop landings in Korea, but the Russians were revitalised by the arrival of Admiral Stepan Makarov and they were able to achieve some degree of success against the Japanese. However, Admiral Makarov's flagship battleship Petropavlovsk struck a mine, which resulted in the death of the admiral, and Makarov's successors failed to challenge the Japanese Navy; as a consequence, the Russians were effectively bottled up in Port Arthur. By May, the Japanese had landed forces on the Liaodong Peninsula and in August began the siege of the naval station. In August, the Russian leadership finally decided to sortie the First Pacific Squadron and link up with the Vladivostok Squadron and then challenge the Japanese. However, both squadrons of the Russian Pacific Fleet were dispersed at the battles of the Yellow Sea and Ulsan on 10 August and 14 August 1904 respectively. What remained of Russian naval power would eventually be sunk in Port Arthur.
The Second Pacific Squadron With the inactivity of the First Pacific Squadron after the death of Makarov and the Japanese tightening the noose around Port Arthur, the Russians were considering sending part of their Baltic Fleet to the Far East. The Russian plan was to relieve Port Arthur by sea, link up with the First Pacific Squadron, overwhelm the Imperial Japanese Navy and then delay the Japanese advance into Manchuria until Russian reinforcements arrived via the Trans-Siberian railroad, thereby overwhelming Japanese land forces in Manchuria. With the situation in the Far East deteriorating, the Tsar (encouraged by his cousin Kaiser Wilhelm II), finally agreed to the formation of the Second Pacific Squadron which would consist of five divisions of the Baltic Fleet, including 11 of its 13 battleships. The squadron departed on 15 October, 1904 under the command of Zinovy Rozhestvensky.
The Second Pacific Squadron sailed through the North Sea. With rumours of Japanese torpedo boats in the North Sea, several Russian ships fired upon British fishing trawlers off Dogger Bank, this caused a diplomatic incident leading to the Royal Navy shadowing the Russian fleet until an agreement was reached. Barred from using the Suez Canal by the British, the Russians proceeded around Africa and by April/May 1905 had anchored in Indochina. The voyage was long and arduous, and the morale of the crew began to plummet. The Russians had been ordered to break the blockade of Port Arthur, but the town had already fallen on 2 January, 1905 so the Russian port of Vladivostok would have to be the objective.
Tsushima Strait The Russians could have sailed through one of three possible straits to reach Vladivostok: La Perouse, Tsugaru, and Tsushima. Admiral Rozhestvensky chose Tsushima in an effort to simplify his route. Admiral Togo, based at Pusan, Korea also believed Tsushima would be the preferred Russian course. The Tsushima Strait is the body of water eastwards of the Tsushima Island group located midway between the Japanese island of Kyushu and the Korean Peninsula, the shortest and most direct route from Indochina. The other two routes would have required the fleet to sail to the east of Japan. The Japanese Combined Fleet and the Russian Second and Third Pacific Squadrons, sent over from Europe, fought in the straits between Korea and Japan near the Tsushima Islands.
Opposing fleetsThe Japanese fleets had practised gunnery continually since the beginning of the war, using sub-calibre adapters for their cannon. The Japanese had superior gunners, and hit their targets more often. Furthermore, the Japanese used mostly high explosive shells with shimose, which was designed to explode on contact and wreck the upper works of ships. The Russians used armour-piercing rounds with small guncotton bursting charge and unreliable fuses. Japanese hits caused more damage to Russian ships in proportion to Russian hits on Japanese ships, setting the superstructures, the paintwork and the large quantities of coal stored on the decks on fire. (The Russian fleet had had to obtain coal from merchant vessels on most of their long voyage due to the lack of friendly fuelling ports on the journey). Japanese fire was also more accurate because they had more, and more modern, rangefinders on their ships than those on most of the Russian vessels.
The Russian fleet was in poor shape for a naval battle. Apart from the four newest Borodino class battleships, the ships were older designs and poorly-maintained. The long voyage and the lack of opportunity for maintenance meant their bottoms were heavily fouled, significantly reducing their speed. The Japanese ships could reach 16 knots (30 km/h), but the Russian fleet could reach only 9 knots (17 km/h). Togo was able to use the superior manoeuvrability of his fleet to advantage, "crossing the T" twice. Finally, there were significant deficiencies in the Russian naval fleet's equipment and training. Russian naval tests with their torpedoes exposed major technological failings.
BattleJapanese PlansLord Nelson had used this plan earlier in history and his strategies were re-used. The crossing the T method was use where ships in a single file line would battle ships in at 90 degrees to them.
Naval tacticsBattleships, cruisers, and other vessels were arranged into divisions, each division being commanded by a Flag officer (i.e. Admiral). At the battle of Tsushima, Admiral Togo was the officer commanding in Mikasa (the other divisions being commanded by Vice Admirals, Rear Admirals, Commodores and Captains and Commanders for the destroyer divisions). Next in line after Mikasa came the battleships Shikishima, Fuji and Asahi. Following them were two armoured cruisers.
When Admiral Togo decided to execute a turn to port "in sequence, he did so in order to preserve the sequence of his battleline, i.e. with the flagship Mikasa still in the lead (obviously Togo wanted his more powerful units to enter action first). Turning in sequence meant that each ship would turn one after the other whilst still following the ship in front, effectively each ship would turn over the same piece of sea (this being the danger in the manoeuvre as it gives the enemy fleet the opportunity to target that area). Togo could have ordered his ships to turn "together" i.e. each ship would have made the turn at the same time and reversed course, this manoeuvre, the same which was effected by the French-Spanish fleet in Trafalgar, would be quicker but would have disrupted the sequence of the battleline and caused confusion by altering the battle plans, placing the cruisers in the lead, and this was something Togo wanted to avoid.
First contactBecause the Russians desired to slip undetected into Vladivostok, as they approached Japanese waters they steered outside regular shipping channels to reduce the chance of detection. On the night of 26/27 May, the Russian fleet approached Tsushima Strait.
It was a dark, misty night, a thick fog blanketed the straits, giving the Russians an advantage. At 2:45am, however, the Japanese auxiliary cruiser Shinano Maru observed three lights on what appeared to be a vessel in the distant horizon and closed in to investigate. These were navigation lights onboard the hospital ship Orel. At 4:30am, Shinano Maru approached the vessel, noting that the vessel contained no guns and appeared to be an auxiliary. The Orel mistook the Shinano Maru for another Russian vessel and did not attempt to notify the fleet — instead, she signaled to inform the Japanese ship that there were other Russian vessels nearby. The Shinano Maru then sighted the shapes of ten other vessels in the mist. The Russian fleet had been discovered, and any chance of reaching Vladivostok undetected had disappeared.
At 4:55am, Captain Narukawa of the Shinano Maru radioed to Admiral Togo in Masampo that "Enemy is in square 203". By 5am, intercepted radio signals informed the Russians that they had been discovered and that Japanese scouting cruisers were shadowing them. Admiral Togo received the message at 5:05am, and immediately he began to prepare his battle fleet for a sortie.
Battle commencesAt 6.34am, before departing with the Combined Fleet, Admiral Togo wired a confident message to the navy minister in Tokyo:
At the same time the entire Japanese fleet was put to sea, with Admiral Togo from his flagship Mikasa leading over forty vessels to meet the Russians. Meanwhile, the shadowing Japanese scouting vessels sent in reports every few minutes as to the formation and course of the Russian fleet. There was still mist which reduced visibility and the weather was poor. At around 1:40pm, both fleets sighted each other and prepared to engage each other. Also at 1:55pm, Admiral Togo ordered the hoisting of the Z flag:
At 2:45 p.m., Togo crossed the Russian 'T' enabling him to fire broadsides, while the Russians could only reply with their forward turrets."
Daylight battleThe Russians sailed from south-southwest to north-northeast; the Japanese fleet from west to northeast. Admiral Togo ordered the fleet to turn in sequence, which enabled his ships to take the same course as the Russians, though risking each battleship in turn. This U-turn was successful. At 14:08, the Japanese flagship Mikasa was hit at about 7,000 metres, with the Japanese replying at 6,400 metres. Superior Japanese gunnery then took its toll with most of the Russian battleships being crippled. As naval engagements traditionally began at a considerably closer range, Togo immediately gained the advantage of surprise.
A Russian officer, Commander Vladimir Semenoff, aboard Rozhestvensky 's flagship the Suvorov describes what it was like to be under Japanese fire:
A direct hit on the Borodinos magazines by the Japanese battleship Fuji caused her to explode which sent smoke thousands of feet into the air and trapped all of her crew onboard as the Borodino slid into the sea. The Japanese ships suffered only light damage. Admiral Rozhestvensky was knocked out of action by a shell fragment in his skull. In the evening, Rear Admiral Nebogatov took over command of the Russian fleet. The Russians lost the battleships Knyaz Suvorov, Oslyabya, Imperator Aleksander III and Borodino on May 27.
Night attacks
At night, around 8pm, 37 Japanese torpedo boats and 21 destroyers were thrown against the Russians. The destroyers attacked from the vanguard while the torpedo boats from the east and south of the Russian fleet. The Japanese were aggressive, continuing their attacks for three hours without intermission, and as a result during the night there were a number of collisions between the small craft and Russian warships. The Russians were now dispersed in small groups trying to break northwards. By 11pm, it appeared that the Russians had vanished, but they revealed their positions to their pursuers by turning on their searchlights — ironically, the searchlights had been turned on to spot the attackers. The old battleship Navarin struck a mine and was compelled to stop, and consequently it was torpedoed four times and sunk. Of a crew of 622, only three survived to be rescued by the Japanese.
The battleship Sisoy Veliki was heavily damaged by a torpedo in the stern, and it was scuttled the next day. Two old armoured cruisers — Admiral Nakhimov and Vladimir Monomakh — were heavily damaged: the former by a torpedo hit to the bow, and the latter by colliding with a Japanese destroyer. They were both scuttled by their crews the next morning, the Admiral Nakhimoff off Tsushima Island where she headed while taking on water. The night attacks had put great strain on the Russians, as they had lost two battleships and two armoured cruisers, while the Japanese only lost three torpedo boats.
XGE signal and Russian surrenderDuring the night action, Admiral Togo was able to rest his main fleet of armoured ships. At 9:30am, what remained of the Russian fleet was sighted heading northwards. Admiral Togo's battleships proceeded to surround Nebogatov's remaining squadron south of the island of Takeshima. At 10:34 am, realising that his situation was hopeless, Admiral Nebogatov ordered the six ships remaining under his command to surrender. XGE, an international signal of surrender, was hoisted up; it was only at 10:53 that the Japanese agreed to the surrender. Realizing that the battle had become futile, Nebogatov was unwilling to sacrifice the young lives of his sailors to save his own honour. The old Russian admiral decided instead to accept the shame of surrender even in the knowledge that he might be shot when he returned to Russia. He said to his men
As for Rozhestvensky, he was imprisoned in a Japanese hospital. The victorious Admiral Togo would later visit him here where Togo comforted the wounded Rozhestvensky with these sage words.
In the event, neither Nebogatov nor Rozhestvensky were shot when they returned to Russia. However, both men were placed on trial and imprisoned for a few short years before they were eventually pardoned by the Tsar. Their reputations, however, lay in tatters.
Until the evening of May 28, single Russian ships were pursued by the Japanese until they were destroyed or captured. Three Russian ships reached Vladivostok; the cruiser Izumrud, which escaped from the Japanese despite Nebogatov's surrender, was scuttled by the Russians themselves after running aground near the Siberian coast. Some ships returned to Russia or were interned.
Aftermath
Russian lossesThe Russians suffered 4,380 killed and 5,917 captured, including 2 admirals and 1,862 interned.
Battleships
The Knyaz Suvorov, Imperator Aleksander III, Borodino and the Oslyabya were lost during the daylight battle on 27 May. The Navarin was lost during the night action, on 27-28 May, while the Sissoi Veliky, Admiral Nakhimov and Admiral Ushakov were either scuttled or sunk the next day. Four other battleships under Rear Admiral Nebogatov were forced to surrender and would end up as prizes of war. This group consisted of only one modern battleship, Orel, along with the old battleship Imperator Nikolai I and the two small coastal battleships General-Admiral Graf Apraxin and Admiral Senyavin. The small coastal battleship Admiral Ushakov refused to surrender and was sunk by Japanese armoured cruisers.
Cruisers
The Vladimir Monomakh and Svyetlana were sunk the next day, after the daylight battle. The cruiser Dmitri Donskoy fought against six Japanese cruisers and survived; however due to heavy damage she was scuttled. The Izumrud ran aground near the Siberian coast. Three Russian protected cruisers, Aurora, Zhemchug, and Oleg escaped to the US naval base at Manila and were interned. The armed yacht classified as a cruiser, Almaz was able to reach Vladivostok.
Destroyers and Auxiliaries
Five destroyers the Buiny, Buistry, Bezupreshchny, Gromky and Bleshyashchy were sunk on 28 May, the Byedovy also surrendered that day. Bodry was interned in Shanghai. Two destroyers the Grosny and Bravy reached Vladivostok.
Of the auxiliaries, the Kamchatka, Ural and Rus were sunk on 27 May, Irtuish ran aground on 28 May, Koreya and Svir were interned in Shanghai and the Anadyr escaped to Madagascar. The hospital ships Orel and Kostromo were captured with the Kostromo released afterwards.
Japanese lossesThe Japanese lost only three torpedo boats (Nos. 34, 35 and 69), 117 killed and 500 wounded.
Time lineMay 27, 1905 (JST)
- 04:45 Shinanomaru (Japan) finds The Russian Baltic Fleet, and sends a telegram.
- 05:05 The Japanese Combined Fleet leaves port, and sends a telegram to Imperial Headquarters: "Today's weather is fine but waves are high. (Japanese: ?????????????)".
- 13:39 The Japanese Combined Fleet finds The Russian Baltic Fleet by the eye, and puts up the battle flag.
- 13:55 Distance: 12,000 meters. The Mikasa puts up Z flag.
- 14:05 Distance: 8,000 meters. The Japanese Combined Fleet starts to helm aport (i.e. start U-turn).
- 14:07 Distance: 7,000 meters. The Mikasa completes its turn. The Russian Baltic Fleet begins firing their guns.
- 14:10 Distance: 6,400 meters. All Japanese ships finish their turns.
- 14:12 Distance: 5,500 meters. The Mikasa is hit first.
- 14:16 Distance: 4,600 meters. The Japanese Combined Fleet begins focus firing their guns at the Knyaz Suvorov
- 14:43 The Oslyabya and Knyaz Suvorov are set ablaze and break off the battle line.
- 14:50 The Emperor Alexander III starts turning to the north and attempts to leave the battle line.
- 15:10 The Oslyabya is sunk, and the Knyaz Suvorov attempts to flee.
- 18:00 The two fleets re-approach (distance: 6,300 m), and begin exchanging fire again.
- 19:03 The Emperor Alexander III is sunk.
- 19:20 The Knyaz Suvorov, Borodino, and Sisoy Veliki are sunk.
May 28, 1905 (JST)
- 09:30 The Japanese Combined Fleet locates the Russian Baltic Fleet again.
- 10:34 The Russian commander signals "XGE", which is "I surrender" in the International Code of Signals used at the time.
- 10:53 The Japanese side agrees to a surrender.
See also
External links- —Contains a complete order of battle of both fleets. It also contains Admiral Togo's post-battle report and the account of Russian ensign Sememov.
- —Free naval wargame rules covering the pre-dreadnought era, including the Russo-Japanese War.
- —directed by Seiji Maruyama
- —Film Battle of the Japan Sea
- —Film Battle of the Japan Sea
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