>> Battle of the Yalu Estuary 16 to 17 August 1904 <<
In fact, the enemy cruisers attacked, either to rightly assign their annoying guards or to try to break through.
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The previous cautious scanning has now developed into a battle!
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The Japanese squadron commander was shocked to learn that the enemy not only had the better gunners and operating crews, but that his armored cruisers were gradually running out of ammunition due to the continuous shelling.
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The Russian squadron commander skilfully knew how not to offer the Japanese torpedo boats a usable attack surface, and the Japanese commanders were looking for the appropriate tactics to still inflict a few torpedo hits on the Russian ships.
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Then, finally, a few minutes before noon, a violent explosion on land announced that something important had been hit. The entire land position was enveloped in a sea of flames and Kaigun-Shōshō Eijirō Takagi could only speculate that an ammunition depot had already been available and stocked there.
In the end, it didn't matter what had exploded there. The heat and pressure wave of the explosion had still been felt on the three Japanese armoured cruisers. Further shelling was no longer necessary, as large parts of the entire complex had apparently fallen into the Yalu due to a huge embankment break.
Nothing would be built here!
Now it was time to pick up speed as quickly as possible and intervene in the battle. The Russians could not have missed this huge bang with an enormous column of smoke either. Either the Russians would withdraw as quickly as possible or drop all inhibitions and attack at full risk.
>> Battle of the Yalu Estuary 16 to 17 August 1904 <<
The three armored cruisers under the command of Kaigun-Shōshō Eijirō Takagi leisurely picked up speed. With about fifty percent ammunition stock, there was just enough ammunition available to intervene in the fight. So far, there have been no signs that other Russian warships were in the vicinity and thus the balance of power has now shifted very much to the disadvantage of the Russian cruisers.
However, they did not think of fleeing, but handed it out!
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The heading courses brought the opponents to a dangerously short distance for torpedo use. The focus here was less on targeted hits and more on breaking up the formation of the enemy unit. A few torpedoes on their way towards the enemy in a crossfire manner were sufficient for this. Evasion and hard maneuvers on the part of the Russian cruisers were the hoped-for result. After the torpedo operation, the Japanese protected cruiser Naniwa turned around and left the formation. The recent hit in the engine system reduced the speed so significantly that the cruiser became the perfect target. As much distance as possible from the enemy torpedo boats was now the most important thing.
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Kaigun-Shōshō Eijirō Takagi had a more poorly made copy of
because the Japanese Navy did not have enough original editions of this work to equip all commanders with it.
He leafed through the documents, which could be described more as a collection of sheets than as a book, and informed himself about what was known about the enemy:
All in all, only the protected cruisers of the Pallada class were a serious problem, which were extraordinarily heavily armed and quite heavily armored for protected cruisers. At least if you were to believe the information from Jane's!
There was no information in the book about the torpedo boats referred to as the Bravi class, but it could be that the corresponding page had simply been lost. His special edition of Jane's was really in a pitiful state.
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Due to the short distances, the battle increased in intensity and both sides scored hits.
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For the moment, the goal was achieved: to take the enemy out of his line. However, this was not really useful. Shielded by the Third Torpedo Boat Flotilla, the enemy torpedo boats could not prevent the Japanese armored cruisers from facing the Russian cruisers in battle formation.
Kaigun-Shōshō Eijirō Takagi ordered the swing towards the enemy in order to finally intervene in the battle. Although the grenades were covered, no hits were scored alone. Only the protected cruisers succeeded in doing so.
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The enemy cruisers noticed the danger, but also the opportunity, offered by a torpedo attack on the Japanese cruisers and led a frontal attack. This Russian maneuver in turn put the Japanese torpedo boats in a perfect starting position.
It was striking that one of the Russian cruisers lost contact with its formation. Apparently, the few Japanese goals had hit something important here.
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The three Russian protected cruisers were now faced with a clear superiority and were almost desperately looking for a way out of this situation. While the Japanese fleet had to learn that torpedo attacks on moving and firing ships were much less easy than on a fleet lying quietly anchored.
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Now an uncoordinated escape of the Russian fleet towards Port Arthur began and the Japanese torpedo boat Nenohi was incredibly lucky when it was hit by a Russian torpedo that did not explode.
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As successful as the torpedo attacks off Port Arthur had been, today the opposite was the case. The enemy cruiser seemed to swallow the torpedoes without anything happening.
It took an eternity until the first torpedo hit could finally be scored!
>> Battle of the Yalu Estuary 16 to 17 August 1904 <<
Now they could finally finish off the enemy cruiser, but they also had to turn around in order not to run the risk of becoming a victim of an enemy torpedo themselves.
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The beginning had been made, now one had to try to continue to take action against the enemy.
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In the next phase, both sides tried to get to the enemy by course maneuvers, but did not succeed. It remained with mutual shelling with artillery, which, in addition to sporadic hits, primarily amounted to the consumption of ammunition.
At least on the Japanese side it was noted with satisfaction that the enemy cruiser capsized and sank. After the series of torpedo hits, the Russian leak protection had no chance to stop the massive water intrusions.
It was time to do something for humanity, even if the training of the sailors said otherwise.
At sea, there are separate – unwritten – laws - here were people in distress at sea!
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Elsewhere, the battle simply continued and the Japanese Navy had to learn what it did not succeed in as desired.
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Time passed without either side gaining an advantage. After what felt like an eternity, the protected cruisers of the Fourth Japanese Reconnaissance Division were able to sink a Russian torpedo boat by artillery, after numerous torpedoes fired were all failures or had simply missed the target.
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Both sides tried to rally and regroup, but kept a respectful distance from each other. Then a previously unknown ship came into view.
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However, the new enemy immediately turned away and was quickly identified as a merchant ship.
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This enemy was a worthwhile target and the Russian ships were in the wrong position and too timid to prevent sinking.
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The Russian squadron now tried to evade the battle. However, there was the problem that the Japanese fleet was in an excellent position to cut off the way home to Port Arthur. Seemingly gripped by fear, the enemy ships crept directly below the coastline.
Kaigun-Shōshō Eijirō Takagi did not want to use his ships so close to the coast deep in enemy waters. If there were minefields anywhere, it was near the coast and less directly at sea, where the mines had been difficult to anchor.
The enemy cruisers seemed to want to cover the retreat of the torpedo boats and attracted the Japanese attention.
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Kaigun-Shōshō Eijirō Takagi had to make a decision. The ammunition was running low and the combat distance was too great for the poor quality of the Japanese guns to wrestle down the enemy. Either you had to lead a frontal attack now, or you had to break off the battle.
Port Arthur was getting closer, and no one could say whether there were still heavy enemy units on standby.
There was simply not enough ammunition for a battle with Russian armored cruisers or ships of the line!
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Kaigun-Shōshō Eijirō Takagi wanted to give it a try. There had to be at least one attempt to keep these rewarding cruisers from escaping. In the process, another ship came into view south of Shicheng Island. The ship, which was recognized as a merchant cruiser, was also not to be allowed to escape. Even though it had been just another merchant ship in the end, this one was easier to sink. The enemy warships preferred to evade decisive hand-to-hand combat anyway.
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In the meantime it was almost 7 p.m. and the onset of twilight significantly reduced visibility. The enemy was already out of sight and Kaigun-Shōshō Eijirō Takagi decided to break off the battle. The soon to fall darkness was the friend of the torpedo boats and it was far too risky to cross the path of enemy torpedo boats at the shortest distance with the armored cruisers.
>> Memorandum of Kaigun-chūjō Tōgō Heihachirō
on the Battle of the Yalu Estuary on August 16 and 17, 1904<<
Distinguished officers and members of the 大本営 (Daihon'ei),
the battle report of the Kaigun-Shōshō Eijirō Takagi has confirmed the knowledge already gained before Port Arthur!
The heavy artillery of our cruisers and ships of the line is not up to the demands. The successful destruction of the enemy base on the Yalu also showed the poor precision and hit effect. The fact that the armored cruisers did not succeed in sinking or even seriously damaging the protected cruisers during the pursuit of the enemy squadron is downright disgraceful.
Of course, our crews need to be trained more intensively than ever before, but even the best gunner cannot compensate for the shortcomings of our artillery. The skippers and sailors of our cruisers are not to be blamed here. Any demands for personnel consequences, especially against the Kaigun-Shōshō Eijirō Takagi, must be firmly rejected.
This is only slightly different for the crews of the torpedo boats of the Third Torpedo Boat Flotilla. Remember that this was the first battle under war conditions for all our ships and crews. The naval battle, if one can speak of a battle at all, off Port Arthur is not a reference here. Before Port Arthur we met an unprepared opponent who had to make steam before he could even react.
Now the officers and members of the 大本営 (Daihon'ei) know as well as I do that it is comparatively easy to hit an immovable target. In front of the Yalu we found a fully operational enemy, who was only outnumbered.
Here we had to expect torpedo attacks to be much more difficult than off Port Arthur.
Therefore, the 大本営 (Daihon'ei) must also award the crews for their tireless efforts and daring in this case and in no way blame the meager yield.
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Thus, the officers of the 軍令部 (Gunreibu) of the Imperial Japanese Navy, the 参謀本部 (Sambō hombu) of the Imperial Japanese Army, as well as the 海軍省 (Kaigun-shō) may take good note of the prepared and illustrated course of the battle off the Yalu estuary on August 16 and 17 of that year.
Dear officers and members of the 大本営 (Daihon'ei), in due course, further requirements for the military action of the fleet will arise. The goal must be to finally put the enemy up for decision. A long war must be avoided.
Long live the Rengō Kantai, long live the Imperial Japanese Navy, long live the Emperor!
Extra sheet of the Tōkyō Shinbun from Wednesday, August 17, 1904
>> RUSSIAN CRUISER SUNK! <<
Yesterday the Imperial Japanese Navy sank several Russian cruisers off the Yalu in a battle that lasted into the night. Navy Minister Yamamoto Gonnohyōe did not want to give any further details.
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Editorial Board of the Tōkyō Shinbun – Tuesday, August 23, 1904
Osaki Satoshi sat in the editorial office and pondered the well-known construction project of the Navy in Japanese shipyards. He knew there were losses. Officially, Japan had not yet lost a ship in this war. However, there were rumours that in several naval bases, women had asked for their husbands because they – together with their ships – were nowhere to be found.
The Navy's statements that these ships were in action could be safely dismissed as false. Torpedo boats were not built to be at sea for weeks. The construction projects spoke the same language. Torpedo boats and corvettes were almost entirely under construction, although the minister has always stated that Japan mainly lacks ships of the line and cruisers.
In fact, two large ships were nearing completion, but that was hardly enough to meet the requirements.
So what about the Navy's losses? How did Satoshi find out?
>> Memorandum of Gensui Ōyama Iwao
on the demands of the 大本営 (Daihon'ei) for an invasion of Sakhalin <<
Honored officers and members of the 大本営 (Daihon'ei),
I must reject in the strongest possible terms the call for an immediate invasion of Sakhalin. The usual incompetence of the naval leadership has led to the fact that the enemy can lead a fully operational and superior fleet into battle against Japan.
With this initial situation, an invasion would be suicide. It is completely impossible to bring the required number of soldiers safely to their destination. The Navy itself has admitted that it cannot guarantee a safe passage from Hokkaido to Sakhalin.
The demands of the Navy to start the invasion in spite of everything is an insolence of the first rank and an insult to the honor of our brave army soldiers.
I will not allow any of our soldiers to set foot on a transport ship until the Navy has succeeded in completely driving the enemy out of the waters of Northeast Asia.
Morning edition of the Tōkyō Shinbun of Friday, September 16, 1904
>> Navy takes delivery of new armoured cruiser Myoko <<
Minister of the Navy Yamamoto Gonnohyōe announced yesterday that the Navy can welcome the completion of the shipyard of the armored cruiser Myoko. The Myoko will now be brought to operational readiness by the Navy and will have to set sail with primarily newly recruited sailors. It will take another few months before it is ready for use.
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Navy Minister Yamamoto Gonnohyōe also announced that special ships of the Imperial Japanese Navy had succeeded in capturing and sinking several enemy merchant ships. It was not announced which special ships were involved. Presumably, these are the mysterious Iwate-class armored cruisers. The Navy continues to remain stubbornly silent about the Iwate class. All that is known is that these ships deviate drastically from previous armoured cruiser designs.
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From the War Chronicles of Imperial Japan:
>> Fleet Battle of the Yellow Sea 22 September 1904 <<
The accusations of the army weighed heavily!
To his chagrin, Kaigun-chūjō Tōgō Heihachirō was all too aware that Gensui Ōyama Iwao was in the right. The navy could not ensure a safe invasion by sea.
The enemy was clearly too strong to even consider such an undertaking. Kaigun-chūjō Tōgō Heihachirō had no choice, he had to confront the enemy.
It was easier said than done. At the beginning of the war, the entire Russian fleet was supposed to be in Port Arthur, which turned out to be false. Where the Tsar's fleet had been was unknown.
But now spies in Port Arthur had reported that large quantities of coal and food were ready in Port Arthur, or had already been transferred to small barges.
It was supposed to be "gigantic" quantities. There could only be one reason for this large amount of fuel and supplies: the Russian fleet was expected in Port Arthur.
Kaigun-chūjō Tōgō Heihachirō mobilized everything that could swim to intercept the enemy on his way home to Port Arthur even before he arrived at the harbor.
On the morning of 22 September 1904, six ships of the line, three armoured cruisers, nine protected cruisers and thirty-three torpedo boats of the Imperial Japanese Navy were in action south of Port Arthur, awaiting the long-awaited message of "smoke on the horizon".
It was a much larger force than two months earlier - but the sighting report was a long time coming...
>> Fleet Battle of the Yellow Sea 22 September 1904 <<
Kaigun-chūjō Tōgō Heihachirō was able to dispose of most of the Imperial Japanese fleet to oppose the enemy. He personally carried out the command from the flagship Sagami.
He carried out the further organization of the fleet as follows:
Japanese 5th Battle Division:
Standard Ship of the Line Sagami (Flagship)
Standard Ship of the Line Mikasa
Standard Ship of the Line Yashima
Standard Ship of the Line Fuji
Standard Ship of the Line Iki
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Japanese 10th Battle Division:
Standard Ship of the Line Asahi
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Japanese 13th Cruiser Division:
Armoured cruisers Yakumo, Izumo, Tokiwa
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Japanese 7th Light Cruiser Division:
Protected cruisers Izumi, Unebi
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Japanese 9th Light Cruiser Division:
Protected cruisers Chiyoda, Naniwa, Itsukushima
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Japanese 16th Light Cruiser Division:
Protected cruisers Hashidate, Matsushima, Yaeyama
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Japanese 18th Light Cruiser Division:
Protected Cruiser Chishima
At about eight thirty, on the morning of the twenty-second of September, the main force of the Imperial Japanese Navy had already been cruising south of Port Arthur for nearly two days. The first ships reported a shortage of fuel, and Kaigun-chūjō Tōgō Heihachirō thought he would have to return to Japan without having confronted the enemy.
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Around nine o'clock, a lookout on the lead cruiser Yakumo of the Japanese 13th Cruiser Division speculated that the sky to the northeast would have a distinct dark veil. Assuming that this could be an indication of the steam of a larger gathering of ships, Kaigun-chūjō Tōgō ordered Heihachirō to approach this place. Another loop before Port Arthur was within the realm of possibility without risking a fuel problem.
Only a few minutes later, the first sighting report arrived. This ship was much further north than expected, but finally contact was made with the assumed main force of the Russian Pacific Squadron.
The Rengō Kantai began to take up its battle formation and headed towards the enemy.
>> Battle of the Yellow Sea Fleet 22 September 1904 <<
The phase of approach began and quickly more ships came into view. However, they have completely opposite positions. For Kaigun-chūjō Tōgō Heihachirō, however, it quickly became clear that the enemy had chosen the same battle formation as he himself and that the ships sighted had to be the reconnaissance formations.
Kaigun-chūjō Tōgō Heihachirō pulled his formation closer together and the enemy did the same. Unsurprisingly, these ships were now referred to as protected cruisers. However, there was still no trace of the main force.
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In accordance with the new doctrine for the use of torpedo boats, the admiral now ordered one torpedo boat flotilla after the other to be deployed in a staggered manner at coordinated speeds.
This led to the incident of refusal to obey orders, which has become known as the "Hibiki court-martial". The flotilla leader of the Japanese 17th Torpedo Boat Flotilla - Kaigun-Chūsa Ōsumi Masayuki - refused the order to attack, saying that he would not take part in this "torpedo boat suicide roulette". Without further ado, Kaigun-chūjō Tōgō Heihachirō relieved the flotilla leader of his command and ordered his immediate shooting for refusing to obey orders. The second officer of the lead boat Hibiki of the Seventeenth Flotilla immediately complied with this order of the Kaigun-chūjō and also shot a sailor who wanted to rush to the aid of his captain without hesitation.
After this incident, no other officer or sailor dared to question suicidal attack orders in this and Japan's subsequent wars. Since that day, Japanese warships departing from the ports have been bid farewell by the ordinary crews with the phrase "On to the Hibiki court-martial". The naval leadership strongly denies such dishonorable statements by its soldiers.
A few minutes later, about nine o'clock and five minutes local time on the morning of the twenty-second, the main force of the Russians came within sight of the Japanese fleet in battle formation.
The Z flag appeared on the flagpole of the Sagami and all the men on board the Japanese warships knew the pre-agreed meaning:
"The fate of the Empire rests on the outcome of this battle. Let each man do his utmost."
Picture 44: Z-Flag
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Zulu_flag.svg
Info: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Z_flag Original: "At the Battle of Tsushima on May 27, 1905, Admiral Tōgō raised a Z flag on his flagship Mikasa. [3] By prearrangement, this flag flown alone meant, "The fate of the Empire rests on the outcome of this battle. Let each man do his utmost."
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By now it was clear that the enemy was driving directly towards the Japanese fleet in two separate battle lines. The leading Japanese 14th Torpedo Boat Flotilla was to carry out the first attack and the torpedo boats accelerated to full speed.
The Japanese ships of the line could not keep up with the high speeds of the torpedo boats and cruisers and slowly but surely lost contact with the front of the attack. The torpedo boats would thus have to do without fire support from the large calibers of the ships of the line. The enemy ships of the line were therefore able to concentrate completely on the Japanese torpedo boats and opened fire.
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The Russian ships of the line undeterred maintained their southern course, while the protected cruisers retreated. Strangely enough, the torpedo boats also swerved and turned in formation to cross the line of their own ships of the line. Thus, fortunately for the Japanese, the Russian torpedo boats were on the far side of the Japanese attackers.
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The Russian squadron commander only now recognized the imminent danger and turned away in a battle turn. This brought it into conflict with the courses of its own torpedo boats. The Japanese 14th Torpedo Boat Flotilla now stumbled into exactly this looming chaos.
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The other torpedo boat flotillas followed far too closely to make sense for an orderly attack, but this no longer played a major role in the confusion that the Russian ships presented.
The chaos was complete and perfect.
The first torpedoes hissed through the water, but were completely missed. The torpedo boats now led the attack at their own discretion on all targets that somehow sailed at the right angle of attack.
>> Battle of the Yellow Sea Fleet 22 September 1904 <<
Now what Kaigun-chūjō Tōgō Heihachirō had actually wanted to prevent by his memorandum occurred again. The Japanese torpedo boats got in each other's way because they were on the enemy almost simultaneously. Nevertheless, several torpedo boats were able to attack the enemy with torpedoes.
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At about the same time as the last success report, the information about a collision of the Yudachi reached Kaigun-chūjō Tōgō Heihachirō. He considered this annoying, but in this chaos it could hardly be avoided.
It was still an annoying coincidence for him, nothing more. He was to be taught better very soon!
The Yudachi at least could not be saved and the first catch of the day was thus made by the Russians.
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Undeterred by the early loss of one of their torpedo boats, the Japanese continued the attack. The Natsugumo had already delivered all torpedoes to the enemy and was now little more than a defenseless target, because her small guns had little to do against the ships of the line.
Of all things, the Hibiki, under the command of the second officer, steered into the path of the torpedoes that were just being squeezed out of the launcher by the Shimakaze. The torpedo ran only a few meters past the stern of the Hibiki exactly towards two Retvizan-class ships of the line.
Now what was known from Port Arthur was true: The Russians could only use their guns with the great risk of hitting their own ships, especially since they were incomparably larger than the Japanese torpedo boats. The Japanese, for their part, could hope that a torpedo that missed its target would simply hit another ship.
Nevertheless, the enemy made extensive use of his artillery and put the Japanese under considerable pressure.
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Some of the Russian ships of the line turned around again and now headed south again. Whether this was due to the tactical situation, or whether the enemy wanted to get to the Japanese ships of the line by all means, was impossible to judge. The Japanese 19th Torpedo Boat Flotilla was instructed to intercept these ships and at the same time reduce mutual obstruction.
Kaigun-chūjō Tōgō Heihachirō was amazed to find that the courses of the enemy torpedo boats led out of the death zone. Could that be? Did the Russian torpedo boats abandon their ships of the line and flee?
The commander of the sinking Yudachi - Kaigun-daii Nakasone Yashimo - has meanwhile pushed his crew to the extreme. Instead of leaving the torpedo boat, damage was repaired and one to three knots of speed were sufficient to perform minor steering maneuvers. The Yudachi still had two torpedoes in operational launchers. Kaigun-daii Nakasone Yashimo wanted to use these two torpedoes sensibly.
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All the efforts of Kaigun-daii Nakasone Yashimo were in vain. The leaks of the Yudachi were so enormous after the ramming of the Russian ship of the line that the torpedo boat was full of water faster and faster. Several direct hits by artillery from enemy ships of the line sealed the fate of the Yudachi. The torpedo boat capsized and sank.
It also hit several other Japanese torpedo boats. Regardless of their own ships, the Russians shot wildly.
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Kaigun-chūjō Tōgō Heihachirō tried to see what was going on. There were more reports of artillery hits on Japanese ships than of successes against the enemy. What happened to the Japanese torpedo boats was not recognizable. The protected cruisers of the Russian reconnaissance department, at least, seemed to have no interest in an attack and sailed. Pursued by six Japanese protected cruisers and three armored cruisers.
Kaigun-chūjō Tōgō Heihachirō said on his bridge: "This at least explains the behavior of the Russian cruisers."
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The Japanese torpedo boats were in full combat and slowly the statement of the "torpedo boat suicide roulette" seemed to come true.
>> Battle of the Yellow Sea Fleet 22 September 1904 <<
The damage to the torpedo boats increased. The Tachikaze was hit harder and threatened to sink without even having intervened in the battle. Although several torpedo hits had been made with the enemy, they had been hit by comparatively few ships and they made no attempt to sink on their part.
The battle continued with full severity. Kaigun-chūjō Tōgō Heihachirō, however, had completely lost track of which enemy ship was hit by whom and when, and whether they were hits at all? He certainly didn't know how heavy the hits were and which ships the enemy would have to write off.
He could only wait until the rows thinned out and the overview was possible again.
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Again, Kaigun-chūjō Tōgō Heihachirō was told that there had been a collision. This time, however, the commander of the torpedo boat Akatsuki spoke of a deliberate steering maneuver by the Russian ship of the line. Kaigun-chūjō Tōgō Heihachirō had not yet completely processed the news, but it was reported that other torpedo boats were just able to avoid a ram.
Now it became clear: These collisions were not a coincidence but intentional!
Apparently, the Russian commanders tried to solve the problem with the Japanese torpedo boats quickly and efficiently in this way. The Russians had the same quality defects with their artillery as the Japanese. It took far too long for the Russians to defeat a Japanese torpedo boat with their guns. Until then, numerous torpedo hits were to be feared.
But if a thirteen thousand or sixteen thousand ton ship of the line rammed a five hundred ton torpedo boat head-on, the ship of the line had to fear at most a small bump, while the torpedo boat was simply split in two and sank.
This may also explain the behavior of the Russian torpedo boats. These simply made room so as not to be accidentally rammed by their own ships of the line.
Kaigun-chūjō Tōgō Heihachirō immediately had to order that his torpedo boat flotillas had to keep a minimum distance. But whether this order would arrive and be understood at all was completely unclear.
The enemy had a new tactic and it was extremely successful!
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At least there were also positive reports. At least one enemy ship of the line had capsized and sunk. But since the Tachikaze would also be almost impossible to save, it was three to one for the Russian Pacific Squadron. Not to mention the severe damage to the Arare and other torpedo boats.
Kaigun-chūjō Tōgō Heihachirō had to intervene. He had to keep the Russian ships of the line busy with his heavy units, so that these torpedo boats could carry out their attacks "in peace".
His own ships of the line were only just coming into reasonable sight. The armored cruisers, however, were now fully engaged in battle and immediately drew the fire of the Russians. Meanwhile, the protected cruisers tried to keep their Russian counterparts away from the Japanese armored cruisers.
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Next came the news that the Russian torpedo boats were now deliberately running into the course of the Japanese. Although the Russians also had to fear for their torpedo boats, they did so carefully. In addition to the damage to the torpedo boats caused by the running aground, the Japanese torpedo boats remained stationary for several minutes due to this action.
This not only prevented the Japanese torpedo boats from using more torpedoes, but also made them perfect targets. Stationary targets were much easier to hit than wildly zigzagging boats.
The Russians now knew how to fight the Japanese torpedo boats and did not attach any importance to their own torpedo boats!
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Kaigun-chūjō Tōgō Heihachirō wondered if he would regret the ordered execution of Kaigun-Chūsa Ōsumi Masayuki after more and more torpedo boats fell victim to the Russians. However, it gradually became clear that a significant number of Russian ships of the line had been badly hit. Currently it was reported that only two Russian ships of the line seemed to be at full speed and were about to break away - flanked by their torpedo boats.
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The battered Japanese torpedo boats were now ordered out of the battle to clear the way for the hitherto uninvolved flotillas – the sixth and the eleventh. With a bit of luck, it would be possible to hunt down the battered enemy ships of the line.
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Meanwhile, the Russians carried out their new tactic of collisions with full force.
>> Battle of the Yellow Sea Fleet 22 September 1904 <<
The Japanese torpedo boats and protected cruisers had suffered some hits, some of them heavy, not to mention the ramming blows. At that time, however, the battle had not yet flared up. The Japanese ships of the line were still out of gun range.
All in all, Kaigun-chūjō Tōgō Heihachirō was very happy with this. Before he opened fire with his ships of the line and their poor artillery, the torpedo boats had better fight the enemy as far as possible. Sure, it had become a "torpedo boat suicide roulette" now, but what other chance was there? The loss of one of his ships of the line would result in many times more victims.
Kaigun-chūjō Tōgō Heihachirō was in no hurry to bring his ships of the line into range, and the armored cruisers also kept their distance just short of the range of the artillery. Only when the torpedo boats were emptied – or sunk – would he fully attack with his "big ships".
In the midst of these considerations came the confirmation of the second sinking success, even if it was only an enemy torpedo boat that could no longer cause any problems.
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The torpedo boat flotillas were now looking for their chance to use their torpedoes, because the faster that was the case, the faster they would be able to break away. Mindfulness gave way to hectic and so it was only noticed late that the Japanese torpedo boats were becoming dangerous to each other.
Of course, the crew of the sinking Tachikaze could hardly be blamed for having taken the opportunity to use the torpedo, but the flotilla leader of the Japanese 6th Torpedo Boat Flotilla on board the Yamakaze saw it differently. He only noticed that a torpedo from the direction of the Tachikaze was heading for his flotilla and, in case of doubt, would not hit the targeted Russian ship of the line, but one of his torpedo boats.
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In the meantime, the Sagami came within range of an enemy torpedo boat that had lost contact with its formation. Since it was uncertain whether their own torpedo boats were fast enough to shield the Japanese ships of the line, Kaigun-chūjō Tōgō Heihachirō decided to open fire on this boat. With a bit of luck, this commander didn't understand the warning to get any closer. Even if the hit rate was poor, a single hit by the main artillery would certainly not be good for this torpedo boat.
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The Russian formation had now largely disintegrated. While most of the Russian torpedo boats and protected cruisers retreated to the north and two heavy units to the southeast, several damaged ships of the line were exposed to the Japanese attack largely unprotected.
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After the commander of the Russian torpedo boat had understood the warning, it was now possible to take care of the actually important targets on board the Sagami, even if they were already doomed to death without the need for additional shelling.
Kaigun-chūjō Tōgō Heihachirō saw this pragmatically: There could not be a better "training target" for his artillerymen.
+ + +
Meanwhile, the Japanese torpedo boats were in the process of finishing off four Russian ships of the line, even if they knew how to defend themselves.
+ + +
+ + +
Kaigun-chūjō Tōgō Heihachirō tried to get an overview. As of now, two enemy ships of the line had been safely sunk, plus a torpedo boat. Three other ships of the line of the enemy squadron were sinking or at least badly hit and sinking was very likely. Two of their own torpedo boats had sunk, and this fate was to be expected at any moment for two others. At least four torpedo boats were badly hit and most of the others were at least slightly damaged.
At this point, the battle was a great success. At the beginning, the Tsar's fleet was clearly superior in fighting power, while now there was a numerical preponderance in favor of the Japanese. Four other Russian ships of the line seemed to want to break away, and they did so in a clever way, and whites in two opposite directions. Kaigun-chūjō Tōgō Heihachirō could only pursue one group, if he did not want to divide his squadron into two parts as well. But then he had no artillery advantage but by keeping his ships together.
He gave the order to sink first what was already done anyway. He didn't want to risk one of these ships being able to fire some shells after all – an unfortunate hit could hurt – or worse, be able to use his torpedoes. After that, it would be decided which of the two groups would be prosecuted and which would not.
>> Battle of the Yellow Sea Fleet 22 September 1904 <<
The ships of the line, which had already been badly hit, had no chance of escaping. Their escort had fled and hardly any of these ships were still capable of coordinated resistance. Although the Japanese torpedo boats were still hit, the hit rates could have been significantly higher at this short distance.
However, earlier goals also led to serious problems. For example, on the Michishio, which may not have been salvageable.
The Russian ships fleeing north clearly had problems, as their speed was relatively low. Whether this circumstance was due to torpedo hits or actually to the sparse artillery hits could not be determined. Thus, however, the northern ships became the next targets.
The Japanese ships of the line were within range, but still could not score any hits.
+ + +
Then finally some artillerymen had zeroed at a target, but still the hit rate of the Japanese ships of the line was miserable. The main burden continued to be borne by the torpedo boats, which placed one torpedo after the other in the hulls of the doomed Russian warships.
+ + +
Whether it was the little experience, or a rapidly increasing experience, the hits of the heavy guns finally increased and finally finished off the enemy.
+ + +
Kaigun-chūjō Tōgō Heihachirō remembered that his ships of the line were also equipped with torpedoes and ordered the use of them. Torpedoes were simply incomparably more efficient than his 11inch artillery.
+ + +
The protected cruisers took a single enemy torpedo boat in their pincers, knowing full well that a torpedo hit on one of the cruisers would certainly mean sinking. The commanders simply hoped to be able to quickly defeat the enemy before they could use their torpedoes thanks to clearly superior firepower.
A note on the side concerned the Hibiki, which threatened to lie down without propulsion after a hit in the engine room. The crew thus saw the fears of their former commander fulfilled.
+ + +
Kaigun-chūjō Tōgō Heihachirō ordered his ships of the line to turn the tide of battle in order not to stray too far from his torpedo boats and also not to expose themselves to the danger of being attacked by the enemy protected cruisers in an exposed position.
However, the enemy protected cruisers finally tried to come to the aid of a beleaguered ship of the line and also attack the Japanese torpedo boats with superior firepower.
The Natsugumo now had to learn that – as feared by Kaigun-chūjō Tōgō Heihachirō – the Russian ships of the line still posed a danger, which was hit at very close range by a broadside of heavy artillery. Equally successful was the tactic of the protected cruisers, which could blow up the enemy torpedo boat to pieces with their artillery.
The battle was now fought by both sides at the shortest distance with extreme severity. More than one sailor thought that the order to board would come soon.
>> Battle of the Yellow Sea Fleet 22 September 1904 <<
Kaigun-chūjō Tōgō Heihachirō was dissatisfied. For far too long, his torpedo boats stayed with enemy ships that had long been doomed to death but were nevertheless dangerous. The torpedoes would be needed for the enemy ships that were still fully operational. On the other hand, it was dangerous to have enemy ships of the line in your own rear. What if one of them could get its machinery up and running?
No, these ships had to be sunk!
And then shipwrecked people were spotted screaming and waving for help. It was ironic to get those sailors out of the water now, who had been transported there only a short time before. However, this was a useful task for the battered Japanese torpedo boats, which were no longer operational.
In particular, it raised the morale of ordinary sailors. After all, they could hope to be rescued by the enemy as well, should they find themselves in this situation. Kaigun-chūjō Tōgō Heihachirō approved rescue operations on the condition that he did not endanger his own ships.
+ + +
The otherwise so accurate torpedo boats had increasing problems hitting badly battered ships. Just as if there was no hull left to hit, but only a large hole through which you shot.
On the other hand, these target ships dealt out more and more clearly and hardly a Japanese torpedo boat had not yet been hit. Until the end of the battle, the loss of further torpedo boats had to be expected.
A decision had to be made at last, especially since the enemy protected cruisers had discovered their desire to fight and began to hunt down the Japanese. This was not surprising, as the Japanese protected cruisers served as a model for this behavior.
No one there could really know whether the corresponding signals of the flagship had actually been understood, but the number of hits rose again.
+ + +
+ + +
Finally, the Japanese torpedo boat flotillas had the opportunity to rally and regroup. The gaps were obvious! A flotilla of two boats could hardly be called a flotilla anymore, but at least all combat-ready boats steered coordinated courses and the confusing knot began to dissolve.
There were still too many units on the enemy at the same time, but the only thing that mattered was to bring your torpedoes to the target before you sank yourself or at least had to leave the fray.
+ + +
The Russian protected cruisers abandoned the attack on the Japanese torpedo boats when the Japanese ships of the line and armored cruisers came too close to them. They tried to break away with superior speed and once again left the initiative to the Japanese
The Japanese squadron commander now had the choice between:
Saving the lives of sailors of sunken ships
the pursuit of the protected cruisers, for which his ships of the line lacked the necessary speed, and the torpedo boats the torpedoes
the further hunt for scattered Russian torpedo boats
or the attack on the southern group of the enemy naval group, which still included at least two ships of the line that were completely undamaged.
Kaigun-chūjō Tōgō Heihachirō did not want to think about the last option – Abandon the battle
>> Battle of the Yellow Sea Fleet 22 September 1904 <<
Kaigun-chūjō Tōgō Heihachirō was undecided, but the enemy protected cruisers were within combat range – for now – that should be enough for the moment to devote himself to these ships. Of course, the scattered enemy torpedo boats continued to be taken under fire and battered but still floating ships of the line were still considered the main target.
+ + +
Like a pack of wolves, pretty much all Japanese warships attacked a single enemy ship of the line in order to finally wipe it off the surface of the water. The enemy ships standing to the southeast did not seem willing to intervene and kept a respectful distance.
+ + +
Then, however, the Russians seemed to change their approach. In the southeast, the enemy approached the Japanese units engaged in salvage operations in two separate lines. It seemed as if the enemy wanted to pincer the stopped and out of formation Japanese.
Kaigun-chūjō Tōgō Heihachirō didn't notice any of this on his flagship. He was pleased that the artillery of his ships of the line was now able to hit, at least at close ranges. A badly battered target that could no longer defend itself, but still.
+ + +
The Japanese 16th Light Cruiser Division had meanwhile recognized the danger and withdrew from fighting an enemy ship. Although there was no exact classification at the time, it was known that there had to be ships of the line and not only cruisers.
They could not compete with ships of the line and therefore also made it clear to the torpedo boats that it was better to try to connect with their own battle line. However, the latter steamed at full speed after the protected cruisers to the north and did not notice the problem in the south.
+ + +
The southern Russian fleet units did indeed seem to show interest in the Japanese torpedo boats, which the commander of the Japanese 16th Light Cruiser Division did not want to stand idly by. He ordered another change of course to get between the torpedo boats, which were overloaded with shipwrecked people, and the enemy.
Finally, Kaigun-chūjō Tōgō Heihachirō learned that the enemy was closing in from the south and ordered a change of course to better assess the situation. Should there really be a way to put the last Russian ships of the line into battle?
Was the enemy really so foolish?
In the middle of it came the message that the Hibiki lay motionless in the sea. Kaigun-chūjō Tōgō Heihachirō was not plagued by a guilty conscience, but rather by the fact that he had to be prepared for considerable reproaches as soon as his association was back in Japan.
+ + +
+ + +
The torpedo boat Shiokaze finally managed to shoot the blade. With a torpedo hit, which possibly hit a magazine, another ship of the line was blown up into a thousand pieces.
The enemy ships of the line had long been within striking distance of the Japanese salvage ships. However, nothing happened. On the contrary – on the Japanese side, one had the impression that the Russians wanted to participate in the rescue of the shipwrecked people.
That could have been the end of the battle!
+ + +
To the north, Kaigun-chūjō Tōgō Heihachirō had brought his ships back into line formation and appreciated the approach of the enemy protected cruisers with apparent disinterest.
When the enemy broke off his approach because he was no longer aware of his own determination, Kaigun-chūjō Tōgō Heihachirō ordered the attack.
In the south, no one really understood the intention of the Russian commander, who seemed to steer his ships back and forth indecisively. Over time, however, a leisurely rapprochement could be discerned without attacking each other.
+ + +
Then the unthinkable happened!
One of the Russian protected cruisers took the Asagumo under fire, on whose deck mainly Russian sailors were crouching. Obviously, the enemy had only wanted to give the impression that he was participating in the salvage in order to be able to catch up in peace.
The Japanese 8th Light Cruiser Division, which was already on its way south to reduce the Russian preponderance here, came within range just in time to be showered with Russian shells.
After all, the enemy was now forced to spread his fire. This was the intention of the Japanese 8th Light Cruiser Division.
The battle took on a new quality – the Russians shelled Japanese ships full of Russian castaways!
It seemed as if the Russian squadron commander wanted to take all his sailors with him to the watery grave!
>> Battle of the Yellow Sea Fleet 22 September 1904 <<
The sea rescue was canceled. The torpedo boats withdrew. The protected cruisers drew fire on them, but the enemy kept a clear distance. For the Russians, with their clearly superior artillery, this was the only right thing to do. Otherwise, there was a risk of a torpedo attack by the protected cruisers.
Meanwhile, the bulk of the Japanese squadron tried to do the same with the Russian protected cruisers. But Kaigun-chūjō Tōgō Heihachirō wanted more, he wanted to destroy these protected cruisers of the enemy. Unlike the Russians, he steered his ships of the line and armoured cruisers directly towards the enemy. Only then was his artillery dangerous – enemy torpedoes or not.
+ + +
Then the remaining Russian ships of the line changed course. Apparently, the Russian commander wanted to ensure the dismissal of his protected cruisers. In doing so, however, he put himself in danger of being encircled. The Japanese now only had to order their ships north to the southeast and let the ships in the south fall back only a little. In addition, this gave the Japanese protected cruisers a good starting position for a torpedo attack.
+ + +
The Russians also understood this very quickly and made another turn to break free. Kaigun-chūjō Tōgō Heihachirō could not pass up this opportunity and ordered all ships within combat range to pursue the enemy.
+ + +
The Russians had miscalculated, as the Russian commander now recognized. He wouldn't be able to escape fast enough with his slow ships of the line. So he ordered the next turn to be able to shoot down the emerging Japanese protected cruisers at short range.
This was the starting signal for Kaigun-chūjō Tōgō Heihachirō to abandon the protected cruisers to the west and rush to the aid of his own protected cruisers. From the current positions and courses, the enemy would run directly into his broadside.
Now it promised to be a total defeat for the Russians. Protected cruisers stormed in from the west to drive the Russians northwards directly into the range of the Japanese battle line. In the south, numerous Japanese ships had been busy with a single Russian torpedo boat for an eternity, but could refrain from it at any time and also attack the Russian ships of the line.
Far to the northwest, numerous badly battered Japanese torpedo boats were about to leave for home, but the Russians had not recognized the desolate condition of these torpedo boats.
Seemingly encircled and with a postponed way home to Port Arthur, the Russians had no choice but to fight.
+ + +
+ + +
Now the Russians fell into their well-known pattern: undisciplined, disorderly, panicked flight.
+ + +
Then finally the Russians came within range of the Japanese ships of the line. Kaigun-chūjō Tōgō Heihachirō ordered the immediate opening of fire, even if there was a risk of hitting his own protected cruisers, which drove the enemy in his direction.
+ + +
The last Russian ships of the line were now finally trapped.
+ + +
+ + +
It was with great regret that Kaigun-chūjō Tōgō Heihachirō had to realize that the effect of his massed number of ships fell far short of expectations. They had passed the enemy without scoring sustained hits. The torpedo boats, most of which had already been shot empty, looked more like decoration and the protected cruisers did not get into firing position.
+ + +
You would now have to turn south to keep all the guns on the target, but then you would steer right in the direction of the enemy protected cruisers and torpedo boats, so that was out of the question. It had to work that way and finally there were isolated hits with the 11inch guns. Kaigun-chūjō Tōgō Heihachirō decided to swing northwest and engage in a parallel battle.
In the meantime, the Russian ships of the line pulverized the Japanese torpedo boat Umikaze!
+ + +
Once again, the torpedo weapon was to bring the decision. With the first hit on one of the two ships of the line, the end of these ships was sealed, even if the final success would still take time.
+ + +
The Izumi was hit hard, but left no stone unturned to score a torpedo hit herself. Hibiki, who was badly battered but actually already believed to be safe, also had to cope with further hits.
+ + +
After the Russian ships of the line had lost considerable speed due to numerous evasive maneuvers, the Japanese ships of the line also had to change course again in order not to run out of the range of their guns.
Once again, the enemy torpedo boats and protected cruisers did nothing to help their ships of the line. The Japanese clearly dismissed this behavior as a weakness of character, which could be useful for later battles.
+ + +
As if on command, the protected cruisers of the Russians seemed to want to become active after all, but on the Japanese side they were sufficiently sure that this behavior would not be sustainable. More attention was demanded by three Russian torpedo boats, which had probably realized that their Japanese counterparts in the north were badly damaged and had nothing to resist an attack. The Japanese 11th Torpedo Boat Flotilla was to take care of these Russian ships.
+ + +
The three Russian torpedo boats quickly realized that they had pursuers and turned away.
+ + +
Now, at last, the artillerymen had zeroed in on the Japanese ships of the line. It was easy again because the enemy hardly made any headway, but that didn't matter. One of the Russian ships of the line was now regularly hit in large numbers and hard.
+ + +
At least this ship of the line would not survive the day. It lay burning in the water and was literally torn open by numerous torpedoes. The second had been hit, but retreated halfway flanked by its protected cruisers.
+ + +
The three Russian torpedo boats were now making a hundred and eighty degree turn and seemed to be seeking battle with the Japanese 11th Torpedo Boat Flotilla.
+ + +
For Kaigun-chūjō Tōgō Heihachirō, the question now arose whether he should run away or go after the last Russian ship of the line. After all, practically all Russian armored cruisers, which were only moderately damaged, were in his vicinity. The Russian ships of the line had just had to learn how dangerous protected cruisers are.
+ + +
In the meantime, the torpedo boats engaged in a skirmish in which the Japanese had the advantage so far. Although two Japanese torpedo boats were partly badly damaged from earlier hits, at least the artillerymen of the torpedo boats hit with nice regularity.
But now the Russians made a serious mistake. They made a U-turn to gain distance, but now they ran directly into the Japanese battle fleet.
Kaigun-chūjō Tōgō Heihachirō ordered his armored cruisers to take care of the three torpedo boats.
+ + +
On the badly hit Sawakaze, the sailors had been trying for hours to get a water intrusion under control. Now they had lost the fight and the Sawakaze had to be abandoned. As it turned out, the commander of the Sawakaze tried to keep up with his flotilla and the high speed caused a heavy flooding. Actually, Kaigun-chūjō Tōgō Heihachirō had ordered all leaking torpedo boats to have a maximum speed of four to six knots. Not every torpedo boatman obeyed this order, because only a few minutes later the Nokaze met the same fate.
+ + +
Now it had to be seen who was faster. Either the Japanese with their guns with sinking the enemy torpedo boats, or the Russian torpedo boats with their torpedoes.
All of Japan's major warships were within range of these three Russian torpedo boats!
Now or never, this day could yet take a fateful turn.
>> Battle of the Yellow Sea Fleet 22 September 1904 <<
It didn't matter which course the three Russian torpedo boats steered, there were Japanese warships everywhere. They did their utmost to sink the three torpedo boats. The use of torpedoes was self-prohibited. The danger of hitting your own ship was far too great. In addition, torpedo boats were very difficult to hit, because hardly any other type of ship was more maneuverable and faster.
Now it was the heavy Japanese units that kept a respectful distance because of the danger of torpedoes, which at the same time significantly reduced the hit rate of the artillery.
So this battle lasted longer than Kaigun-chūjō Tōgō Heihachirō would have liked, but he could not change anything.
Then the Russians seemed to do exactly what was feared – they quickly approached each other like a torpedo attack. Conversely, however, clear artillery hits could also be achieved because of the short distance.
When one of the enemy torpedo boats came so close to the Japanese battle line that Kaigun-chūjō Tōgō Heihachirō could almost touch it, he ordered immediate evasive maneuvers.
His anger at his bad artillery grew immeasurably.
+ + +
Only slowly did the men of the 11inch guns succeed in creating facts and scoring hits. But when an 11-inch shell found its way to the target, the effect was clear.
At the same time, it was recognized that the last Russian ship of the line was not retreating to Port Arthur, but was actually trying to catch up.
+ + +
+ + +
Two out of three Russian torpedo boats were finished. One had already sunk due to the direct hit of the artillery, the other lay in the sea with its hull torn open and would also sink soon. The third was about to pull away.
The other Russian ships had turned north and probably realized that the Japanese were on their way home, but could turn around at any time if necessary to complete their work.
For the Yukaze, however, it was only now that things got exciting. The badly battered torpedo boat dragged itself out of the combat area on its own when the third Russian torpedo boat recognized the opportunity to catch at least this Japanese.
+ + +
Once again, the protected cruisers had to intervene to clarify a problematic situation with enemy torpedo boats. But there was no question of leaving the Yukaze behind so easily.
Around the time when the Russians recognized the danger for themselves and began to turn away, the message came that they had lost contact with the last enemy ship of the line and its companions.
The enemy torpedo boat was too fast for the Japanese protected cruisers to overtake, but the mission to save the Yukaze was accomplished. Further pursuit would also have been dangerous because the Russian ship was obviously trying to connect with the rest of its squadron.
+ + +
It was now nearly half-past three on the afternoon of the twenty-second of September, 1904.
After almost six hours of fighting, Kaigun-chūjō Tōgō Heihachirō gave the order:
All units heading for Japan!
This was no longer necessary, because all the ships ready to sail had long since taken this course. However, not all ships should be able to make their way home.
+ + +
Around eighteen-thirty, darkness settled over the Yellow Sea and Imperial Japan was now the dominant naval power in Northeast Asia. What was left of the Tsar's Pacific Squadron could not deliver another naval battle.
On the way home, however, the sea also took further toll on the Japanese and badly battered torpedo boats had to be abandoned.
When Kaigun-chūjō Tōgō Heihachirō was sure that the remaining Russians were not pursuing him, he declared the battle over about fifteen minutes to ten o'clock on the evening of the twenty-second.
Extra sheet of the Tōkyō Shinbun from Friday, September 23, 1904
>> RUSSIAN FLEET DESTROYED IN A MASSIVE NAVAL BATTLE! <<
The first rumors spread in the late morning of September 23 in the port city of Sasebo, when the undamaged standard ships of the line had moored in the harbor. A visibly moved Kaigun-chūjō Tōgō Heihachirō left the flagship Sagami to the cheers of his sailors and the noise in the harbor attracted onlookers.
The telegraph line from Sasebo to Nagasaki really began to run hot when several badly damaged torpedo boats – including the Hibiki – moored in Sasebo in the late afternoon. Now the navy could no longer deny its own losses. From Nagasaki, the news spread to Tokyo and the other cities of Japan and the world connected to the telegraph network.
In the early evening, Osaki Satoshi left the Navy Ministry in no time at all and stormed into the editorial office. He literally yelled around to stop the printing presses, a completely new front page had to be created and sold tonight.
>> RUSSIAN FLEET DESTROYED IN A MASSIVE NAVAL BATTLE! <<
>> The honorable, even ingenious Kaigun-chūjō Tōgō Heihachirō defeated the fleet of the Russian Tsar yesterday in an hour-long naval battle in the Yellow Sea. No less than seven enemy ships of the line have sunk in the floods.
The 聯合艦隊 (Rengō Kantai), on the other hand, was able to return almost completely to its bases. According to official reports, only less than a handful of the small torpedo boats are said to have sunk due to combat damage.
The people of Japan mourn the loss of their brave sailors who gave their lives for the Emperor to save our nation from Russia's further aggression.
As a result of this victory, the Russian fleet has lost all importance in Northeast Asia
and it is to be expected that he will now be able to dictate peace to the enemy. <<
>> Memorandum of Kaigun-chūjō Tōgō Heihachirō
on the Battle of the Yellow Sea on September 22, 1904<<
Honored officers and members of the 大本営 (Daihon'ei),
as I predicted on the basis of the findings off Port Arthur, the orderly attacks of our torpedo boat flotillas proved decisive for the victory. The artillery of our ships of the line again did not play a significant role and it is not to be expected that this will change in this war. This requires completely new guns. The Daihon'ei may influence the development of new ships and better protected men into their own hands. The 11-inch artillery of our British-built ships is completely inadequate.
It is only thanks to the fact that the Russian artillery is also of inferior quality that our losses have not been significantly higher. But even if losses remain the same, we will lose more torpedo boats than we can currently replicate.
I do not want to conceal the unpatriotic behavior of several officers and non-commissioned officers on board the torpedo boat Hibiki. Without the quick and decisive judgment of the commander concerned, this behavior could have cost us the victory. The training of our officers must be improved. Questioning orders is to be punished severely. The selection and admission of suitable candidates must also include clear examinations of conscience and loyalty to our beloved emperor.
After this victory, our opponent's fighting power is significantly affected for at least 4 months. According to the available information, there are no other powerful Russian squadrons on their way to Asia at the moment. We have to take advantage of this circumstance. Further delays in the invasion of Sakhalin by the commanding officer Gensui Ōyama Iwao are no longer acceptable. The army must strike now as long as the enemy gathers and has to repair the damage to his remaining ships.
+ + +
Thus, the officers of the 軍令部 (Gunreibu) of the Imperial Japanese Navy, the 参謀本部 (Sambō hombu) of the Imperial Japanese Army, and the 海軍省 (Kaigun-shō) may take good note of the prepared and illustrated course of the battle in the Yellow Sea on September 22 of that year.
Dear officers and members of the 大本営 (Daihon'ei), in due course, further requirements for the military action of the fleet will arise. The goal must now be to force the enemy to conclude peace by ceding his territories in Asia.
Long live the Rengō Kantai, long live the Imperial Japanese Navy, long live the Emperor!
Kaigun-chūjō Tōgō Heihachirō, September 24, 1904
+ + +
Editors of the Tōkyō Shinbun – Sunday, September 24, 1904
Osaki Satoshi sat in the editorial office and the wrath of his wife Natsuko was certain. Although Natsuko had not been in good hope when they returned to Japan together, as his parents had wished, it must have happened sometime in January. Now, nine months later, Natsuko was carrying a bullet in front of her as she wanted to give birth to a whole world. It had to happen at any moment, but the events of the war could not be delayed. In the meantime, Satoshi was one of the top newspaper reporters – which was not least due to his good contacts with the Ministry of the Navy – and he was not allowed to jeopardize this position. Not now, not because his wife was in labor. The family should take care of that.
Two days after this massive naval battle, the military situation in Asia was completely changed. What no one had dared to believe had happened. The small Japan, ridiculed by everyone, had chased most of the Russian fleet to the bottom of the sea in just three months.
Although the Tsar's fleet could still keep up on paper and Russia's financial resources were significantly greater than those of Japan, new buildings took time. If the Russians were to fight again, they would also have to order everything they had to Asia. This would expose Russia's European waters. It was no secret that the European noble houses, almost all of whom were related to each other, fought regular family disputes. Who knew if one of the other major European nations would not try to exploit Russia's weakness?
However, the new buildings also applied to the Imperial Japanese Navy. Satoshi had learned that more than a handful of ships had been lost in the Yellow Sea.
On the other hand, the new buildings were able to compensate for these losses, but did not really strengthen the fleet because of further expected losses. But that's exactly what mattered, according to the Navy. Large ships in particular were urgently needed. After the two armoured cruisers that had been handed over by the shipyard in the course of the last few weeks, a single ship of the line was about to be completed by the shipyard, after which nothing major would follow for over a year.
So Japan had to end this war with what it currently had.
Osaki Satoshi sensed that it would take another major battle against Russia before that country was ready to surrender.
Editors of the Tōkyō Shinbun – Monday, October 24, 1904
After the last big battle, there was now an eerie silence and Osaki Satoshi had time to take care of details intensively. He was present in the port the week before when the newest armored cruiser – the Furutaka – was handed over to the first commander Sakamoto Hiroshiwith a moderate celebration as seaworthy. For the usual patriotic pomp, the commissioning had been carried out almost secretly.
Did the navy want to keep its latest ship secret? That was hardly possible. One might be able to hide much from the eyes of enemy spies, but hardly a twelve thousand ton armored cruiser.
Satoshi had found out that much. The Furutaka and her sister ship, the Myoko, were based on the design of the Iwate class. And the naval leadership still kept the Iwate-class a secret. Off Port Arthur, the Iwate and the second ship of the class, the Nisshin, were present. Which made sense from Satoshi's point of view, as these two ships had the largest caliber of all Japanese ships at 12 inches, so they were nominally the most combat-powerful. In the battle, these two ships had basically failed just as much as the ships of the line.
After that, however, both ships had disappeared. As if swallowed by the sea. If you wanted to have combat power, it would have been imperative to have these two ships in the Yellow Sea. That was not the case. When asked about the purpose and whereabouts of both ships, the Minister of the Navy answered evasively with: "Are both at sea".
So now two more armored cruisers for the presumably same purpose. The Furutaka class was a good thousand five hundred tons lighter than the Iwate, had only 11-inch guns, but four of them instead of only three 12-inch guns as in the Iwate. According to rumors, the increased number of guns was achieved at the expense of armor and "... the Furutaka class has significantly more ammunition for the main artillery...", said an informant at the shipyard. "The most important thing, however, is that these ships should be as fast as possible."
Satoshi estimated the construction costs on the basis of the information available to him and came to the conclusion that the Furutaka was considerably cheaper than the Iwate. Certainly, however, the fact that the Furutaka was built at a local shipyard also had a significant share in the lower construction costs. The Iwate and the Nisshin had been built in England.
"Faster than ships of the line and at least as heavily armed as ships of the line, but much less armored..." Satoshi noted on a sketch he had made in the harbor.
In general, it fell like scales from his eyes – the navy had not announced the keel laying of both units of this class. That must have been a good two years ago when he had first heard about new cruisers under construction. In January 1903, the construction progress had been obvious, but Navy Minister Yamamoto Gonnohyōe remained stubbornly silent about his questions.
"What do you do with ships that can never withstand a firefight with ships of the line, but are far too heavily armed for cruisers?"
The fact that the Navy also had supposedly common armored cruisers under construction with the Aso class did not make the situation any easier.
Osaki Satoshi realized that he knew too little about naval combat tactics. For him, the types of ships and their tasks were clearly outlined. For what purpose a "hermaphrodite" was needed, he simply did not want to understand. He hadn't understood that with the Iwate and it wasn't any better with the Furutaka and Myoko.
Kaigun-daisa Sakamoto Hiroshi hadn't been particularly talkative when he took command either. He left Satoshi with a downright introverted impression, which was a rather rare trait for a military leader – at least in the Japanese officer corps.
He did not get any further on the armoured cruiser question. The navy itself did not talk, and the obvious thing – to seek reconnaissance from a neutral expert – was impossible. Although he had in the meantime made the acquaintance of Sir William Christopher Pakenham – one of the two British military attachés in the navy – this could be interpreted as espionage.
As a new father of twins, this was out of the question!
No, he needed information from more inconspicuous experts and had to be extremely careful not to reveal too much information himself. He still enjoyed the agreement with the Navy, which gave him preferential treatment when it came to communications to the press.
That was exactly his approach. He had spoken several times at the Navy Department with Melton Prior of The Illustrated London News and William Dinwiddie of the New York Herald. All in all, about 60 or more international correspondents had appeared in Tokyo after the outbreak of the war. Most of them were interested in the army, but since the war was mainly fought at sea at the moment, they met for a rendezvous in the Ministry of the Navy. At least the correspondents who had stayed in Tōkyō.
Many were on the road directly with the emperor's soldiers or even tolerated on board warships. The main topic of foreign correspondents, however, was always the imprisonment of correspondents. A certain John Griffith London had probably already been arrested several times, which the other Americans condemned as sacrilege. "Of all things, 'London' - one of the best..." was the comment. Osaki Satoshi didn't know the name and he hadn't heard of this gentleman's stories and short stories. An honest and orderly newspaper journalist would not waste his time on invented stories, as a journalist you had far too much to do for that.
As far as he knows, all the foreigners – mainly British and Americans – met every evening at the bar of the Imperial Hotel, one of the few hotels in Tokyo that lived up to international standards. There he would mingle with the international press and try to carefully bring the topic to ship constructions. Maybe he was lucky and some other correspondent blurted out the right idea...
He would certainly be able to bring the topic himself to shipbuilding in a very patriotic and elegant way, since the Navy's information about the new ship of the line Suwo was already more open-hearted. The Suwo was also handed over to the Navy by the shipyard the previous week. He only had to start talking about the merits of the strongest and best ship of the line in the world, and surely all foreigners would explain to him how wrong he was and that the Suwo would not be able to compete with the best ships of the Royal Navy. The Japanese armored cruisers were of course also the best in the world and then only an American or Briton had to explain why this was not true.
>> Memorandum of Gensui Ōyama Iwao
on the demands of the 大本営 (Daihon'ei) for an invasion of Sakhalin <<
Honored officers and members of the 大本営 (Daihon'ei),
the army leadership takes note of the sinking of some Russian ships of the line. Nevertheless, the naval leadership's claim that the Russian fleet has been destroyed is exaggerated beyond measure. As can be seen from the report of the Kaigun-chūjō Tōgō Heihachirō dated September 24, 1904, the Kaigun-chūjō personally confesses his inability to destroy the enemy's protected cruisers. On the other hand, the Kaigun-chūjō always praises how valuable his own protected cruisers were in sinking the enemy's ships of the line.
Accordingly, the army leadership must assume that these enemy cruisers, which were not sunk, would make small wood out of the transport ships. An invasion under these conditions must therefore continue to be rejected.
Only when the army receives sufficient funds to equip the transporters with defensive guns that can keep the protected cruisers at a distance will the army leadership consider an invasion.
Gensui Ōyama Iwao, October 25, 1904
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Extra sheet of the Tōkyō Shinbun from Tuesday, October 25, 1904
>> AGAIN RUSSIAN SCAREDY-CATS REFUSE SEVERAL NAVAL BATTLES <<
According to the Minister of the Navy, Yamamoto Gonnohyōe, the Russian Navy, after its heavy losses from September twenty-second to mid-October, refused no less than three battles with our honorable fleet. In all the ports of the world, Russian sailors reap ridicule and scorn to which they are subjected by their cowardly officers.
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Editorship of the Tōkyō Shinbun – Wednesday, October 26, 1904
Once again, Osaki Satoshi sat in the editorial office and mused about the Imperial Navy:
The fourth month of the war was over and rumor had it that the enemy had asked for peace. What happened during the alleged secret negotiations was persistently kept secret by the government under Prime Minister Katsura Tarō.
Although the navy had shown itself open to a peace agreement, it became known behind closed doors that naval armament had been intensified.
+ + +
After several incidents with sea mines, the naval command announced the construction of new torpedo boats with minesweeping equipment. Although trawlers undergoing conversion for this purpose alone would arrive in the fleet as corvettes in the next few months, the naval leadership itself had little confidence in these small boats.
"The new torpedo boats of the Nowaki class are incomparably more powerful."
This was the comment of a torpedo boat flotilla leader, who did not want to be associated with this evaluation of the corvettes. But perhaps this was just the arrogance of the torpedo boat weapon towards the "good-for-nothing" corvettes.
+ + +
The Oshio-class torpedo boats had already been under construction at the beginning of the war and were nearing completion. The Oshio class was the much-needed replacement to make up for its own losses. At the same time, these torpedo boats with seven torpedo launchers were considerably heavier armed than the previous Akikaze class. However, the design of the Oshio class was based on the somewhat newer Umikaze class, but clearly shifted the armament in favor of the torpedoes.
Osaki Satoshi had long since noticed that the Navy had always planned two types of new torpedo boats. One type served the fleet as escort and currently as the main weapon, the second type was derived from the first type and equipped with mine clearance equipment.
The importance of the torpedo weapon could be seen from the fleet escort boats:
The Akikaze class had 1 2inch gun and 4 torpedo launchers
The Umikaze class had 1 4-inch gun, 2 2-inch guns and 5 torpedo launchers
The Oshio class had 1 4-inch gun, 2 2-inch guns and now 7 torpedo launchers
Osaki Satoshi was not aware of any torpedo boat design abroad that had so many torpedo launchers. But that didn't have to mean anything. Other countries also kept their most modern ships secret and the large number of military attachés had certainly not escaped how bad the Japanese artillery was. So it wouldn't be surprising if others borrowed from the Oshio class.
+ + +
Precisely because of the poor Japanese guns, Osaki Satoshi found the armored cruisers of the Aso class almost daring. These armored cruisers were more than twice as heavy as their Asama-class predecessors and significantly more heavily armed.
The number of 8inch guns has been doubled. There were 12 5inch guns instead of 8 on the Asama class and 3inch gunners did not have the Asama class units at all. The Aso class also had 12 of them.
According to the naval command, the large number of 3inch guns was necessary to be able to defend effectively against attacking torpedo boats. It would take well over a year before the ships would be ready for sea and no one in the navy expected the war to last that long.
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- - - Author's note: Did we mention any bugs in this game? No – But – oh! So the next battle has the date 04.12.1904 according to the display – it's just a shame that November is only coming now. After that, first the December events and then another December battle at the end of December. So: We reinterpret the date as 04.11.1904 or 05.11.1904.
- - -
From the War Chronicles of Imperial Japan:
>> Attack on Sasebo November 05, 1904 <<
"The Russian fleet seems to be avoiding the fight." This was the unanimous opinion of the High Command of the Imperial Japanese Navy in November 1904. None of the senior officers even dreamed that the Russian fleet would carry out an active advance, or could carry it out at all.
When the practically brand-new armoured cruiser Furutaka arrived in Sasebo on the morning of 6 November with significant combat damage, no one at the naval base wanted to believe his eyes. The Furutaka was formally only a cruiser, but in terms of artillery it was more of a well-armed ship of the line and at that time probably the best ship in the Japanese Navy. Less than two weeks earlier, the Furutaka had been handed over to the active fleet and the ship had only set off on its first voyage ever three days ago, not counting the shipyard's test runs.
The Furutaka had left Yokosuka on November 3 with orders to conduct a short patrol around Japan to familiarize herself with the ship. Furutaka was accompanied by the armoured cruiser Yakumo and the Japanese 2nd Torpedo Boat Flotilla.
At dawn on 5 November, the squadron around the Furutaka was now south of Sasebo in Sasebo Bay, heading for the Goto Islands. Soon the squadron would turn to the north to enter the Korea Strait. Kaigun-daisa Sakamoto Hiroshi had disagreed with his order and had formally protested against it. He knew that Japan had problems with its artillery, and instead of conducting a "race" around Japan, he demanded to be allowed to hold extensive gun exercises. His application was rejected because the Furutaka had been built for a single purpose and "proof of full seaworthiness was a mandatory prerequisite for this".
Kaigun-daisa Sakamoto Hiroshi was to receive his "gun exercises". Without knowing it, he ran directly into a battle with Russian warships, for which the Furutaka was not prepared.
On the morning of 5 November, the Japanese 29th Cruiser Division left Ōmura Bay, where the ships had spent the night. Ōmura Bay was the ideal retreat because practically no one could enter unseen through the narrow entrance to the Hario Strait. Now the daily patrol routine off Japan's coasts began.
However, the Japanese 29th Cruiser Division was supposed to receive the new armored cruiser Furutaka today for a change and accompany it a bit into the Korea Strait. Before Tsushima, the paths would separate again. The Furutaka swung to the northeast and the 29th Cruiser Division ran west into the Yellow Sea.
The Japanese 30th Torpedo Boat Flotilla patrolled there, which had to be relieved, and numerous corvettes were already engaged in the search for sea mines throughout the sea area.
Also at sea were the Japanese 18th Torpedo Boat Flotilla and the Japanese 31st Light Cruiser Division. Both, however, with only one ship each, the torpedo boat Akikaze and the protected cruiser Hashidate. Both ships would accompany arriving or departing merchant ships as long as they were near the coast.
If there was a convenient place for the enemy to capture Japanese merchant ships, it was near Japanese ports. After all, this is where the merchant ships had to come at some point.
+ + +
Dusk was almost over, and the Imperial Japanese Navy dominated the seas around Japan and Korea. No one dared to question this finding.
+ + +
At about thirty-seven local time, the corvette Harada Maru came within sight of the Furutaka squadron and everyone wondered about the truly whirling reception of the flag mate until the sailors noticed that it was an order.
Kaigun-daisa Sakamoto Hiroshi first believed it was a mistake, then it became clear that it wasn't a mistake.
The message said that a spy in Port Arthur had risked his life to send a message over the telegraph line. According to the report, a Russian squadron had left the port of Port Arthur the afternoon before with orders concerning Sasebo.
Kaigun-daisa Sakamoto Hiroshi needed only a little time to imagine what these orders might be: shelling the port or the city on the one hand and disrupting merchant shipping on the other. The spy had given no indication of the type of ships involved, nor of their number. However, they could only be cruisers – mainly protected cruisers – or torpedo boats. According to the available secret reports, nothing larger was present in the region in an operational condition.
The Furutaka and her companions were ordered to go to the Korea Strait or the Yellow Sea and take part in the search and sinking of the enemy ships. The armored cruisers Tokiwa and Izumo are already on their way there and would not join the Furutaka off Sasebo as planned.
+ + +
About an hour later, a coastal station on Nakadōri-jima signaled to Furutaka that there had been a sighting of unknown ships west-northwest of Fukue-jima. Who had this sighting and how long ago this sighting had already taken place was unknown. It might have been a merchant ship or a corvette that had passed this message on to a coastal station on Fukue-jima.
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Another hour later, the lookout of the Suzukaze sighted the cruisers Hashidate, Tokiwa and Izumo due north, which in turn were heading west at high speed.
Apparently, the two armoured cruisers had been waiting to join the protected cruiser, otherwise the two armoured cruisers would have had to be much further west long ago.
So the three ships had a head start over the Furutaka, but with a little luck it could be made up.
+ + +
To the goodwill of Kaigun-daisa Sakamoto Hiroshi, they got close to the three cruisers faster than expected. The reason quickly came into view when the torpedo boats of the Japanese 30th Torpedo Boat Flotilla came into view from the north. These ships also joined the convoy around the Tokiwa.
So now four armored cruisers, a protected cruiser and two torpdo boat flotillas were ready to intercept the enemy. This firepower should probably be enough to impress the enemy.
+ + +
+ + +
By ten thirty, all the ships were on their way west in four separate lines, leaving Nakadōri-jima behind.
+ + +
At eleven o'clock, first the Tokiwa and its companions swung north, a short time later the Furutaka and finally the Japanese 2nd Torpedo Boat Flotilla. In this fan formation, it should be possible to spot the enemy, who is supposedly on a north-easterly course.
- - - Author's note: Let's be honest – how do the Japanese AI-controlled ships do it? Well, the enemy drives northeast from his sighting point and the sighting point is almost certainly wrong as well. But the AI-controlled ships could also have swung to the northwest on an interception course immediately after passing the northern tip of Nakadōri-jima. Because nothing has been sighted at this time. Just as if the AI-controlled ships know exactly what course is necessary to find the enemy. This behavior will also be observed in the future. Let's just call the behavior of the AI
- - -
+ + +
At eleven thirty, the Tokiwa's signal guest reported that a Japanese corvette east of the current position had come under fire and that the Tokiwa would investigate the matter.
+ + +
About ten minutes past twelve, the expected message finally came: Enemy in sight!
A single protected cruiser, which was addressed as a Pallada class, could be identified. That would hardly be all, but more was not in sight.
+ + +
Only gradually did other cruisers come into view, but they immediately made a U-turn when they attacked the Japanese armored cruisers of the
Japanese 29th Cruiser Division.
+ + +
All Japanese ships took up the pursuit, but it would take some time to catch up with the enemy, if they succeeded at all. Protected cruisers were usually faster than armored cruisers and the torpedo boats could not get into position for a torpedo attack quickly enough in a long pursuit battle – inferior to artillery.
But then the enemy turned around, which offered the chance to catch up.
+ + +
The corvette Gassan Maru, which had been badly hit, came into view, which had held out admirably long against the three Russian cruisers and even now made no attempt to sink.
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After the Russian cruiser group had also recognized the Furutaka and its companions, it turned away again, but had clearly lost distance.
+ + +
The Tokiwa first opened fire on the enemy, but it was too inaccurate to be dangerous to the enemy.
+ + +
At about thirteen o'clock, Kaigun-daisa Sakamoto Hiroshi was finally able to open fire when the Furutaka had caught up with the enemy within gun range.
+ + +
+ + +
Kaigun-daisa Sakamoto Hiroshi hoped to keep the enemy busy with his guns so that his torpedo boats could attack unmolested, but the Russians had long known about the danger posed by the Japanese torpedo boats and took it as their target.
+ + +
Twenty minutes after the Furutaka opened fire, more ships came into view to the northwest, but they immediately turned away. Kaigun-daisa Sakamoto Hiroshi suspected that these were torpedo boats, but they could also be other cruisers.
+ + +
Half an hour had passed, and the Russian cruisers had not been hit once.
+ + +
At least the Japanese torpedo boats were now within range of their torpedoes, but far from being in a position from which a torpedo hit was possible.
+ + +
A few minutes later, the Russians scored a heavy hit on the Suzukaze. The lead ship of the Japanese 2nd Torpedo Boat Flotilla swerved out of formation and handed over command to Hatsushimo.
The Suzukaze had to turn and withdraw from the battle.
