Battle of Tsushima: Difference between revisions

{{Short description|1905 Navalnaval battle of the Russo-Japanese War}}

| commander2 = {{nowrap|{{flagicon|Russian Empire|naval}} [[Zinovy Rozhestvensky]]{{Surrendered}}}}<br />{{flagicon|Russian Empire|naval}} [[Nikolai Nebogatov]]{{Surrendered}}<br />{{flagicon|Russian Empire|naval}} [[Oskar Enqvist]]

The [[Draft (hull)|draught]] of the newer battleships, which had proven to be considerably greater than designed,{{sfn|Imperial Defence|1920|pp=27–31}} preventing their passage through the [[Suez Canal]]{{efn|Two hours after the initial departure still under tow, battleship ''Oryol'', having a designed normal-load draught of 26ft,{{sfn|Grove|1995|p=13}} got stuck aground on the fairway at the mouth of Kronstadt port, which had 27ft depth, requiring dredgers to dig extra one and a half feet.{{sfn|Novikov-Priboy|1937|loc=Book 1, Chapter 1}} Suez Canal had a draught limit of 22 feet until 1956.<ref>{{cite web|title=Canal Characteristics|url=https://www.suezcanal.gov.eg/English/About/SuezCanal/Pages/CanalCharacteristics.aspx|author=Suez Canal Authority}}</ref>}} caused the fleet to separate after leaving Tangier on 3 November 1904. The newer battleships, cruisers, fast auxiliaries and the destroyers for protection, proceeded around the [[Cape of Good Hope]] under the command of Admiral Rozhestvensky while the older battleships and cruisers made their way through the Suez Canal under the command of Admiral von Fölkersahm. They planned to rendezvous in Madagascar, and both sections of the fleet successfully completed this part of the voyage.{{sfn|Imperial Defence|1920|pp=27–31}} The longer journey around Africa took a toll on the Russian crews under Rozhestvensky, "who had never experienced such a different climate or such a long time at sea" as "conditions on the ships deteriorated, and disease and respiratory issues killed a number of sailors".<ref name="businessinsider.com"/> The voyage took half a year in rough seas, with difficulty obtaining coal for refueling – as the warships could not legally enter the ports of neutral nations – and the [[morale]] of the crews plummeted. The Russians needed {{convert|500000|ST}} of coal and 30 to 40 re-coaling sessions to reach French Indochina (now Vietnam), and coal was provided by 60 colliers from the [[Hamburg-Amerika Line]].{{efn|400,000 to 500,000 tons of coal was purchased by Russia at [[Cardiff]] in the UK after the beginning of this war,{{sfn|British Assistance|1980|p=46}} and was described by [[George Clarke, 1st Baron Sydenham of Combe|Sir George Clarke]]{{efn|name=Clarke|One of the premier military planners of the UK at the time, having served on the [[Victor Bruce, 9th Earl of Elgin#Elgin Commission|Elgin Commission]] and being one of the primary members of [[Esher Report|Esher Committee]] together with [[Lord Esher]] and [[John Fisher, 1st Baron Fisher|Admiral Sir John (Jacky) Fisher]].}} as "if the Russian fleet goes to the Far East (with) its motive power will be derived from British coal, mainly bought after the beginning of the war by a belligerent, which has made (the) coal absolute contraband".<ref>Balfour papers (British Library, London, Add. Mss.MS 49700). Sir George Clarke to Arthur Balfour, 30 September 1904.</ref> This explains why the Hamburg Amerika Line refused to provide coaling beyond French Indochina, as the Japanese would be legally entitled to capture the German colliers carrying contraband for the Russians.}}{{Primary source inline|date=October 2024}} By April and May 1905 the reunited fleet had anchored at [[Cam Ranh Bay]] in French Indochina.{{efn|name=refusal}}{{sfn|Willmott|2009|p=112}}<ref>{{cite web|title=Battle of Tsushima {{!}} Russo-Japanese war|url=https://www.britannica.com/event/Battle-of-Tsushima|website=Encyclopedia Britannica|date=20 May 2023|language=en}}</ref>

Russian destroyer [[Russian destroyer Buinyi|''Buyniy'']], after rescuing the squadron command including Admiral Rozhestvensky from the burning {{ship|Russian battleship|Knyaz Suvorov||2}} at 17:30 during the day battle on the 27th, found cruiser [[Russian cruiser Dmitrii Donskoi|''Donskoi'']], destroyers [[List of destroyers of the Imperial Russian Navy#Buinyi class (350/450 tons), 10 ships|''Byedoviy'']] and [[List of destroyers of the Imperial Russian Navy#Groznyi class / Project of 1903 (420 tons), 3 ships|''Grozniy'']] in convoy on the morning of 28 May. Rozhestvensky chose ''Byedoviy'' to move the fleet command officers and himself as ''Buyniy'' had serious damages and ''Donskoi'', being an old ship, was very slow. (Later in the afternoon, ''Buyniy'' was sunk by gunfire from ''Donskoi'' after taking the crew aboard.) Leaving the struggling ''Buyniy'' and the slow ''Donskoi''{{efn|''Buiniy'' had boiler and enginescrew propeller troubles, 20-years-old sail-rig-equipped ''Donskoi'' could not exceed 13&nbsp;knots.{{sfn|Novikov-Priboy|1937|loc=Book 2, Chapter 3}}}} behind, ''Byedoviy'' and ''Grozniy'' headed for Vladivostok.{{sfn|Semenoff|1907}}

Destroyer ''Grozniy'' increased speed being chased by ''Kagerō'', but ''Byedoviy'' slowed down and stopped in the face of firing and approaching ''Sazanami'' while raising a white flag.{{sfn|Corbett|2015b}}{{efn|According to Novikov-Priboy,{{sfn|Novikov-Priboy|1937|loc=Book 2, Chapter 3}} ''Byedoviy'' raised a white table cloth on the foremast, Red Cross flag on the rear mast, and had lowered the [[Ensign of the Russian Navy|Saint Andrew's Cross]] from the stern flag pole, by the instruction of the Flag Captain Clapier de Colongue (the most senior officer onboard the destroyer after the injured admiral, outranking the ship commander Captain 2nd rank Nikolai Baranov), who reasoned ''Byedoviy'' had become a hospital ship.}} ''Grozniy'' was able to keep sufficient distance from ''Kagerō'', exchanging just a few long-distance shots at about 18:30, before nightfall.{{sfn|Imperial Defence|1920|p=785}} She became one of the three warships reaching Vladivostok after surviving the battle.

The [[United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland|United Kingdom]] assisted Japan by manufacturing guns{{efn|IJN almost exclusively used [[Elswick Ordnance Company|Armstrong]] guns on its heavier ships of the time. Cruisers {{ship|Japanese cruiser|Chitose||2}} and {{ship|Japanese cruiser|Kasagi||2}} were built in the US, but their main guns were Armstrong. Cruisers {{ship|Japanese cruiser|Kasuga||2}} and {{ship|Japanese cruiser|Nisshin||2}} were built in Italy with Armstrong guns (Sir W.G. Armstrong & Company had a factory, [[:it:Stabilimenti meccanici di Pozzuoli|Stabilimenti meccanici di Pozzuoli]], in Italy). IJN licensed the design of [[EOC 8 inch 45 caliber|Armstrong 8"]] guns and had started producing it in 1902.}} and building battleships for the IJN.{{sfn|Brook|1999}} As the ally in the [[Anglo-Japanese Alliance]], the UK also assisted Japan in intelligence, finance, technology, training and other aspects of the war against Russia. At the time, Britain owned and controlled more harbour facilities around the world – specifically shipyards and [[coaling station]]s – than Russia and its allies (France,{{efn|See [[Franco-Russian Alliance]] for details.}} and to some extent Germany) combined. The UK also obstructed, where possible, Russian attempts to purchase ships and coal.{{sfn|British Assistance|1980}} France openly allowed the Baltic Fleet warships into [[Tangier]] port before and after the [[Dogger Bank Incident]]; and the UK formally protested in the post-Dogger Bank negotiations, pointing out that the 'Neutral' countries cannot accept warships of the fighting countries into their ports without enforcing internment,{{efn|The time was in between [[Hague Conventions of 1899 and 1907]], and international agreements were not formalised on naval warfare yet (except on hospital ships). This argument made by Great Britain, based on Section IV "On the Internment of belligerents and the care of the wounded in neutral countries," (Article 57) of the 1899 agreement (which says "A neutral State which receives in its territory troops belonging to the belligerent armies shall intern them"<ref>{{cite web|title=Laws of War: Laws and Customs of War on Land (Hague II); July 29, 1899|url=https://avalon.law.yale.edu/19th_century/hague02.asp}}</ref>), may have been acceptable to most governments in the world at the time. However, as it was incorporated into the 1907 Convention, it said "Belligerents are forbidden to use neutral ports and waters as a base of naval operations against their adversaries (Article 5)" with further articles permitting up to 24-hour stay (Article 12) for the maximum of three warships of a belligerent at war in any neutral port (Article 15) if the neutral power permitted.<ref>{{cite web|title=Laws of War: Rights and Duties of Neutral Powers in Naval War (Hague XIII); October 18, 1907|url=https://avalon.law.yale.edu/20th_century/hague13.asp}}</ref>}} and if France is no longer neutral in the war, the UK is obligated to commence military action in support of Japan as required in the Anglo-Japanese Alliance.{{efn|The alliance required both countries to join the war if one of them faces "more than one" countries as the adversary. The Franco-Russian Alliance had a similar requirement, but in wars against Germany only. The French government had to accept the logic, as France did not wish to risk going into war against the UK, nor wish to give any excuse for the Royal Navy to attack the Russian warships with or without declaring war.}} As a result, the rendezvous point for Rozestvensky and Fölkersahm squadrons was changed from the port of [[Antsiranana|Diego Suarez]] to the waters around remote islands of [[Nosy Boraha|Île Sainte-Marie]] and [[Nosy Be]] in Madagascar, and free access to the ports including [[Saigon]] and [[Cam Ranh Bay#Ba Ngoi Port|Ba Ngoi port in Cam Ranh Bay]] was denied for the fleet in [[French Indochina]].{{efn|When the Rozestvensky squadron reached [[Dakar]] after leaving Tangier, the ships were allowed into the port and carry out coaling, but upon exchanges of telegram messages with Paris by the local authorities, they were banned from the port.{{sfn|Novikov-Priboy|1937|loc=Book 1, Chapter 2}} The German government, who had interned {{ship|Russian battleship|Tsesarevich}} at [[Kiautschou Bay Leased Territory|Qingdao]] on 11 August 1904, took a lenient stance towards the squadron as a neutral power in the war. After the Dakar stop, the Rozestvensky squadron reached [[Lüderitz Bay|Angra Pequena Bay]] in [[German South West Africa]] on 15 November 1904 (Gregorian), and the local [[Lüderitz]] authorities, busy in the [[Herero and Namaqua genocide]], did not object to the mooring and coaling in the port until their departure on 21 November 1904.{{sfn|Novikov-Priboy|1937|loc=Book 1, Chapter 2}}}}

The Japanese used mostly [[high-explosive]] shells filled with [[Shimose powder]], which was a pure [[picric acid]] (as opposed to the French [[Picric acid|Melinite]] or the British [[Lyddite]], which were picric acid mixed with [[collodion]] (French) or with [[dinitrobenzene]] and [[vaseline]] (British) for stability).<ref name=koike /> Engineer Shimose Masachika (1860–1911) solved the instability problem of picric acid on contact with iron and other heavy metals by coating the inside of a shell with unpigmented [[Toxicodendron vernicifluum#Lacquer|Japanese lacquer]] and further sealing with wax.<ref name=shimose>[[:ja:下瀬火薬|Shimose Powder (in Japanese)]]</ref> Because it was undiluted, Shimose powder had a stronger power in terms of detonation velocity and temperature than other high explosives at the time.<ref name=koike>{{cite journal|last=Koike|first=Shigeki|title=The Russo-Japanese War and the system of SHIMOSE gunpowder |publisher=Takasaki City University of Economics|journal=Bulletin of Papers|issue=49|volume=1|date=2006|language=ja|url=http://www1.tcue.ac.jp/home1/k-gakkai/ronsyuu/ronsyuukeisai/49_1/koike.pdf |access-date=18 September 2020|archive-date=5 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305093421/http://www1.tcue.ac.jp/home1/k-gakkai/ronsyuu/ronsyuukeisai/49_1/koike.pdf |url-status=live}}</ref> These shells had a sensitive Ijuin fuse<ref name=Ijuin>[[:ja:伊集院信管|Ijuin Fuse (in Japanese)]]</ref> (named after Vice Admiral [[Ijuin Gorō]]{{efn|He was credited with this invention as he spearheaded its development program as one of the leaders of IJN (as thea senior member of [[Imperial Japanese Navy General Staff|Navy General Staff]]), together with support and approval from Navy Minister (Admiral) [[Yamamoto Gonnohyōe]] who appointed [[Tōgō Heihachirō]] to the Commander in Chief of the [[Combined Fleet]] disregarding seniority ranking within IJN. HeIjuin was a major proponent of [[Anglo-Japanese Alliance]] after having attended the [[Royal Naval College, Greenwich|Greenwich Naval Academy]] for a period, and was the key figure in IJN's tight relationship with [[Armstrong Whitworth|Armstrong Mitchell & Company]].}}) at the base as opposed to the tip of a shell that armed itself when the shell was spun by the rifling. These fuses were designed to explode on contact and wreck the upper structure of ships.{{efn|After hitting {{ship|Russian battleship|Peresvet|up=yes}} 13 times with 12" and 15 more times with 6" or 8" shells;<ref>[[:ru:Пересвет (броненосец)#Бой в Жёлтом море]]</ref> hitting {{ship|Russian battleship|Retvizan||2}} 18 times, {{ship|Russian battleship|Tsesarevich||2}} 15 times,<ref>[[:ru:Цесаревич (броненосец)#Сражение в Жёлтом море]],</ref> {{ship|Russian battleship|Poltava||2}} 12–14 times, and {{ship|Russian battleship|Pobeda||2}} 11 times with 8" and larger armour-piercing shells with delayed detonation fuze without being able to sink any of them (likewise none of the Japanese battleships was sunk despite receiving many hits) in the [[Battle of the Yellow Sea]], the Japanese tactical priority shifted from sinking to the destruction of [[superstructure]]. This concept of high explosive incendiary shells (the first example of what is called the HEI-BF "High Explosive Incendiary – Base Fuze" shells today) was not used by any navy in the world at the time. The Russian Navy used what is known as [[Armour-piercing ammunition#History|Makarov tip]] on its shells to improve penetrating performance upon hitting the target at an angle, without the experience of [[Armour-piercing ammunition#Projectile composition and construction|high explosive armour-piercing shells]] not being effective enough against the Harvey / Krupp armour and [[Compartment (ship)|compartmented hull]] used on the battleships.}}{{sfn|Semenoff|1907|page=63}} The Japanese Navy imported [[cordite]] from Great Britain as the smokeless propellant for these Shimose shells,<ref name=koike /> so that the smoke off the muzzle would not impede the visibility for the spotters.

|Hit by 6 twelve-inch, 1 nine-inch, 2 six-inch and 4 unidentified shells.{{sfn|Campbell|1978|pages=260, 262–263}}{{efn|These were the most hits received after ''Mikasa''. {{ship|Russian battleship|Imperator Nikolai I||2}} is the only Russian ship with nine-inch guns in this battle.}} Two 8-inch gun barrels shot off, another 8-inch gun lost to a "burst". The 1st Div. command, Vice Admiral [[Misu Sōtarō]], seriously injured, his Chief of Staff, Commander [[Matsui Kenkichi]] killed. Complement 609 officers/men; 50 casualties.<ref name="corb283"/>

* 13:37 ''Kiji'' returns to ''Mikasa'' with Admiral NevogatovNebogatov and his staff. ''Asama'' commander, Captain [[Yashiro Rokurō]], acts as the interpreter in the Tōgō-Nebogatov meeting.