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Russia's 4th Pacific Squadron: A New Hope: This Time It's Personal...

Inspired, somewhat, by the never-say-die spirit invoked by Glenn in the "Midway Surface Battle" thread, if by some miracle the Russian government of Tsar Nicholas II wanted to continue the war with Japan even after Mukden and Tsushima, what could the Russians cobble together for a 4th Pacific Squadron?

Presume the Germans keep the Japanese afloat financially because they'd like to keep the Russians tied down, and the Americans do the same for the Russians because they'd like to see the Japanese tied down. The Germans can provide limited material support (merchant shipping) as can the Americans, but that's as far as it goes. The cash, however, allows sailors' pay to be increased substantially, preventing the Black Sea Fleet mutiny. (Okay, it's a handwave, but what do you want?)

The French, British, Austrians, Italians, etc all fret, but stay out from the point of view they want to avoid any overt involvement.

The Japanese have, essentially, most of the fleet they started the war with (less two of the six front-line battleships they started the war with, but add the various ex-Russian prizes from Port Arthur and Tsushima, if they can repair and refit them in time); the Russians have the following (presume the Turks say "of course, Tsar, you are more than welcome to sail the Black Sea fleet through the Straits and into the Med - more than welcome, in fact! Here's some coal. And some baklava!").

Fleet commander is presumably Nikolai Skrydlov, with Alexander Kriger and Grigory Chuknin as division commanders, perhaps Alexander Mikhailovich joins with the fleet train - give this effort some "royal" gloss.

Slava: 1905 (presume she is rushed to completion; Baltic Sea)
Potemkin: 1903 (Black Sea)
Rotislav: 1898 (Black Sea; low-freeboard)
Tri Svititelia: 1898 (Black Sea; low-freeboard)
Dvienadsat Apostolov: 1892 (Black Sea; low-freeboard)
Imperator Aleksandr II: 1891 (Baltic Sea training ship)
Sinope, Ekaterina II, Tchesma, Georgi Pobiedonosets: 1889-93 (Black Sea training ships; low-freeboard)
+ various cruisers, torpedo boats, etc scraped together from the Black Sea Fleet and various odds and ends...

Basically, the only even marginally effective ships are Slava and the four "newer" Black Sea ships, which were generally designed for coastal service, for obvious reasons...

But hey, it's all about upholding the honor of the Imperial Navy, so off they go, sometime late in 1905... figure they get to Chinese waters in early 1906.

What then?

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