Russian Voyage from the Black Sea and Mediterranean to Tsushima
After the Treaty of Constantinople, the Black Sea Fleet readied for the ships' first voyage out of the Dardanelles on New Year's Day 1905. By 7 January 1905, the Russian Navy, consisting of 3 Borodino class ships [one slightly damaged], 10 obsolete [Black Sea and Baltic Fleet; including an assigned cruiser] battleships, 5 cruisers and 15 destroyers [excluding losses to the Ottomans]. After departure, the Suez Canal was crossed [except for the Borodino class] and rendezvous occurred in late March 1905, with refuelling conducted over April. By the time, Port Arthur fell to the Japanese and the Japanese Army, although defeated at Mukden, were retreating to southern Manchuria and preparing to deprive the Russians of their former naval base.
In May 1905, the Japanese were undecided as to the direction their navy should go. Ships were proceeding to the Pacific from foreign ports, but heavy losses [caused by the close defeat of Yellow Sea] resulted in only 3 battleships available plus one capture. Recent purchases yielded only another class of interned vessels, but the Japanese had more cruisers and they would torpedo the Russian Navy if possible with lighter ships.
By June, the former Russian Mediterranean Fleet was in the Indian Ocean and the Russians were besieging Port Arthur after Japan's defeat. Fate would decide the battle course to be taken and after final refuelling off the coast of Vietnam, proceeded to Tsushima straits. Defeat was imminent to the Japanese if they [the Russians] got the ships into Port Arthur.
On 2 July 1905, the Russian Navy arrived at Port Arthur and the Japanese prepared. After the bombardment of the Russian Navy on Japanese fortresses, the Japanese sent torpedo boats to investigate, but one battleship was sunk and another damaged to the extent of scuttling. As the [Borodino class] ships were needed to defend the fleet, the decision was fatal. Refuelling took place over 6 July, but the Japanese were alerted and prepared to torpedo the Russian ships. Tsushima occurred the next day.
source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Tsushima
On 7 July, the Russian Navy approached the Japanese and started the battle. The Russians' south southwest to north northeast course reached a point of intersection which allowed only their front guns to shell; enabling Admiral Tōgō to eliminate most of the Russian batteries' advantage.The Japanese fleet steamed from northeast to west, Tōgō ordered the fleet to rotate and intercept the Russians' course, despite risks battleship consecutively. Although Tōgō's U-turn was successful, Russian guns were surprisingly better then expected and battleship Asahi was hit 21 times in five minutes. Over the engagement's course, Asahi [Mikasa being sunk at Yellow Sea] would be sunk by more than 20 large calibre shells. Rozhestvensky had to initiate "a formal pitched combat." as at 14:08, the Japanese flagship Asahi was hit at about 7,000 meters, with the Japanese replying at 6,400 meters before superior Japanese shells reaped their benefits, with most of the Russian battleships being crippled. Tōgō quickly gained the advantage of surprise since previous naval fights began at a much nearer range.
Commander Vladimir Semenoff, a Russian staff officer aboard the flagship Borodino, noted that "It seemed impossible even to count the number of projectiles striking us. Shells seemed to be pouring upon us incessantly one after another. The steel plates and superstructure on the upper decks were torn to pieces, and the splinters caused many casualties. Iron ladders were crumpled up into rings, guns were literally hurled from their mountings. In addition to this, there was the unusually high temperature and liquid flame of the explosion, which seemed to spread over everything. I actually watched a steel plate catch fire from a burst."
An hour and half into the battle, Japanese battleship Mikasa [a formerly captured Russian battleship], sunk by Rozhestvensky's 2nd Battleship division, was the first warship to be sunk in the battle. Before the sea battle, only 3 battleships were sunk by gunfire at Yellow Sea, and now, Mikasa had gained the unfortunate distinction of being the battle's first as a shell penetrated the magazines of the ship, causing it to explode.
A direct hit on Tri Sviatielta's magazines by the Japanese battleship Fuji resulted in detonation, which sent smoke thousands of feet into the air and killed all of her crew on board as the ship disappeared into the sea. Most of Japanese ships received light damage. Rozhestvensky was fatally injured by a shell fragment that struck his skull. In the evening, Admiral Nikolai Skrydlov took over command of the Russian fleet. The Russians lost battleships Potemkin, Oryol and Tri Sviatielta and Japan lost Asahi to shelling.
At night, around 20:00, 47 Japanese destroyers, cruisers and torpedo boats [excluding the detachment sent to Port Arthur] were thrown against the Russians. The destroyers attacked the rear while the torpedo boats attacked the east and south of the Russian fleet. Continuing their aggressive attacks non-stop for four hours without a break, during the night, there were collisions between Japanese torpedo craft and Russian warships as a consequence. The Russians were now scattered piecemeal to escape northwards. By 23:00, it seemed the Russian ships had disappeared, but they exposed their locations to their chasers by turning on their searchlights — ironically, the searchlights had been lighted to detect the attackers. The elderly battleships Navarin and Rostislav struck mines and were compelled to stop, they were torpedoed four times and sunk consequently with very few survivors.
Sissoi Velliky was crippled by a torpedo in the stern and abandoned. Two armoured cruisers were badly damaged by torpedoes and collision with a Japanese cruiser. They were abandoned by their crews the next morning off Tsushima Island, where they proceeded while flooding, and were scuttled. The night attacks increased pressure on the Russians, as they had lost three battleships and two armoured cruisers, while the Japanese had only lost twelve torpedo boats, destroyers and cruisers.
During night combat, Tōgō's successor had readied his destroyers to destroy any remaining enemy vessels, chase down any escaping warships, and arrange his heavy units. At 09:30 on 8 July, Russian navy remnants were sighted retreating northwards. Tōgō's battleships proceeded to envelope Skrydlov's remaining squadron south of Takeshima island and started main battery fire at 12,000 meters. Realising that his guns were out ranged by at least one thousand yards and that he might be annihilated by Togo, Skrydlov ordered the battleships remaining under his command to fight before surrendering after losing Borodino and Dvenadsat Apostolov to an explosion and shelling respectively. XGE, an international surrender signal, was raised after another three hours of fighting; however the Japanese navy continued to fire as the battleship Fuji flooded since did not find "surrender" in their code books and had to desperately find one that did, although the end was to come for the Japanese battleship left if the Russians continued. Still under heavy fire, Skrydlov then ordered white table cloths raised by the mastheads, but dying Admiral Togo remembered a Chinese warship escape him while flying that flag during the 1894 war and continued to fire his main batteries without trust. Togo's experience was reinforced when Russian cruisers quickly yanked down XGE surrender flags and fled. Running out of options, Skrydlov finally asked the Imperial Japanese Navy flag flown up ship mastheads and all engines halted. The end of the Russian Navy was coming.
After the Treaty of Constantinople, the Black Sea Fleet readied for the ships' first voyage out of the Dardanelles on New Year's Day 1905. By 7 January 1905, the Russian Navy, consisting of 3 Borodino class ships [one slightly damaged], 10 obsolete [Black Sea and Baltic Fleet; including an assigned cruiser] battleships, 5 cruisers and 15 destroyers [excluding losses to the Ottomans]. After departure, the Suez Canal was crossed [except for the Borodino class] and rendezvous occurred in late March 1905, with refuelling conducted over April. By the time, Port Arthur fell to the Japanese and the Japanese Army, although defeated at Mukden, were retreating to southern Manchuria and preparing to deprive the Russians of their former naval base.
In May 1905, the Japanese were undecided as to the direction their navy should go. Ships were proceeding to the Pacific from foreign ports, but heavy losses [caused by the close defeat of Yellow Sea] resulted in only 3 battleships available plus one capture. Recent purchases yielded only another class of interned vessels, but the Japanese had more cruisers and they would torpedo the Russian Navy if possible with lighter ships.
By June, the former Russian Mediterranean Fleet was in the Indian Ocean and the Russians were besieging Port Arthur after Japan's defeat. Fate would decide the battle course to be taken and after final refuelling off the coast of Vietnam, proceeded to Tsushima straits. Defeat was imminent to the Japanese if they [the Russians] got the ships into Port Arthur.
On 2 July 1905, the Russian Navy arrived at Port Arthur and the Japanese prepared. After the bombardment of the Russian Navy on Japanese fortresses, the Japanese sent torpedo boats to investigate, but one battleship was sunk and another damaged to the extent of scuttling. As the [Borodino class] ships were needed to defend the fleet, the decision was fatal. Refuelling took place over 6 July, but the Japanese were alerted and prepared to torpedo the Russian ships. Tsushima occurred the next day.
source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Tsushima
On 7 July, the Russian Navy approached the Japanese and started the battle. The Russians' south southwest to north northeast course reached a point of intersection which allowed only their front guns to shell; enabling Admiral Tōgō to eliminate most of the Russian batteries' advantage.The Japanese fleet steamed from northeast to west, Tōgō ordered the fleet to rotate and intercept the Russians' course, despite risks battleship consecutively. Although Tōgō's U-turn was successful, Russian guns were surprisingly better then expected and battleship Asahi was hit 21 times in five minutes. Over the engagement's course, Asahi [Mikasa being sunk at Yellow Sea] would be sunk by more than 20 large calibre shells. Rozhestvensky had to initiate "a formal pitched combat." as at 14:08, the Japanese flagship Asahi was hit at about 7,000 meters, with the Japanese replying at 6,400 meters before superior Japanese shells reaped their benefits, with most of the Russian battleships being crippled. Tōgō quickly gained the advantage of surprise since previous naval fights began at a much nearer range.
Commander Vladimir Semenoff, a Russian staff officer aboard the flagship Borodino, noted that "It seemed impossible even to count the number of projectiles striking us. Shells seemed to be pouring upon us incessantly one after another. The steel plates and superstructure on the upper decks were torn to pieces, and the splinters caused many casualties. Iron ladders were crumpled up into rings, guns were literally hurled from their mountings. In addition to this, there was the unusually high temperature and liquid flame of the explosion, which seemed to spread over everything. I actually watched a steel plate catch fire from a burst."
An hour and half into the battle, Japanese battleship Mikasa [a formerly captured Russian battleship], sunk by Rozhestvensky's 2nd Battleship division, was the first warship to be sunk in the battle. Before the sea battle, only 3 battleships were sunk by gunfire at Yellow Sea, and now, Mikasa had gained the unfortunate distinction of being the battle's first as a shell penetrated the magazines of the ship, causing it to explode.
A direct hit on Tri Sviatielta's magazines by the Japanese battleship Fuji resulted in detonation, which sent smoke thousands of feet into the air and killed all of her crew on board as the ship disappeared into the sea. Most of Japanese ships received light damage. Rozhestvensky was fatally injured by a shell fragment that struck his skull. In the evening, Admiral Nikolai Skrydlov took over command of the Russian fleet. The Russians lost battleships Potemkin, Oryol and Tri Sviatielta and Japan lost Asahi to shelling.
At night, around 20:00, 47 Japanese destroyers, cruisers and torpedo boats [excluding the detachment sent to Port Arthur] were thrown against the Russians. The destroyers attacked the rear while the torpedo boats attacked the east and south of the Russian fleet. Continuing their aggressive attacks non-stop for four hours without a break, during the night, there were collisions between Japanese torpedo craft and Russian warships as a consequence. The Russians were now scattered piecemeal to escape northwards. By 23:00, it seemed the Russian ships had disappeared, but they exposed their locations to their chasers by turning on their searchlights — ironically, the searchlights had been lighted to detect the attackers. The elderly battleships Navarin and Rostislav struck mines and were compelled to stop, they were torpedoed four times and sunk consequently with very few survivors.
Sissoi Velliky was crippled by a torpedo in the stern and abandoned. Two armoured cruisers were badly damaged by torpedoes and collision with a Japanese cruiser. They were abandoned by their crews the next morning off Tsushima Island, where they proceeded while flooding, and were scuttled. The night attacks increased pressure on the Russians, as they had lost three battleships and two armoured cruisers, while the Japanese had only lost twelve torpedo boats, destroyers and cruisers.
During night combat, Tōgō's successor had readied his destroyers to destroy any remaining enemy vessels, chase down any escaping warships, and arrange his heavy units. At 09:30 on 8 July, Russian navy remnants were sighted retreating northwards. Tōgō's battleships proceeded to envelope Skrydlov's remaining squadron south of Takeshima island and started main battery fire at 12,000 meters. Realising that his guns were out ranged by at least one thousand yards and that he might be annihilated by Togo, Skrydlov ordered the battleships remaining under his command to fight before surrendering after losing Borodino and Dvenadsat Apostolov to an explosion and shelling respectively. XGE, an international surrender signal, was raised after another three hours of fighting; however the Japanese navy continued to fire as the battleship Fuji flooded since did not find "surrender" in their code books and had to desperately find one that did, although the end was to come for the Japanese battleship left if the Russians continued. Still under heavy fire, Skrydlov then ordered white table cloths raised by the mastheads, but dying Admiral Togo remembered a Chinese warship escape him while flying that flag during the 1894 war and continued to fire his main batteries without trust. Togo's experience was reinforced when Russian cruisers quickly yanked down XGE surrender flags and fled. Running out of options, Skrydlov finally asked the Imperial Japanese Navy flag flown up ship mastheads and all engines halted. The end of the Russian Navy was coming.
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