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Battle of Tsushima

The Battle of Tsushima (Russian: Цусимское сражение, Tsusimskoye srazheniye), also known in Japan as the Battle of the Sea of Japan (Japanese: 日本海海戦, Hepburn: Nihonkai kaisen), was the final naval battle of the Russo-Japanese War, fought on 27–28 May 1905 in the Tsushima Strait. A devastating defeat for the Imperial Russian Navy, the battle was the only decisive engagement ever fought between modern steel battleship fleets[4][5] and the first in which wireless telegraphy (radio) played a critically important role. The battle was described by contemporary Sir George Clarke [f] as "by far the greatest and the most important naval event since Trafalgar".[6]

"Battle of the Japan Sea" redirects here. For the 1969 film based on the naval battle, see Battle of the Japan Sea (film).

The battle involved the Japanese Combined Fleet under Admiral Tōgō Heihachirō and the Russian Second Pacific Squadron under Admiral Zinovy Rozhestvensky, which had sailed over seven months and 18,000 nautical miles (33,000 km) from the Baltic Sea. The Russians hoped to reach Vladivostok and establish naval control of the Far East in order to relieve the Imperial Russian Army in Manchuria. The Russian fleet had a large advantage in the number of battleships, but was overall older and slower than the Japanese fleet. The Russians were sighted in the early morning on 27 May, and the battle began in the afternoon. Rozhestvensky was wounded and knocked unconscious in the initial action, and four of his battleships were sunk by sunset. At night, Japanese destroyers and torpedo boats attacked the remaining ships, and Admiral Nikolai Nebogatov surrendered in the morning of 28 May.


All 11 Russian battleships were lost, out of which seven were sunk and four captured. Only a few warships escaped, with one cruiser and two destroyers reaching Vladivostok, and two auxiliary cruisers as well as one transport escaping back to Madagascar. Three cruisers were interned at Manila by the United States until the war was over. Eight auxiliaries and one destroyer were disarmed and remanded at Shanghai by China. Russian casualties were high, with more than 5,000 dead and 6,000 captured. The Japanese, which had lost no heavy ships, had 117 dead.


The loss of almost every heavy warship of the Baltic Fleet forced Russia to sue for peace, and the Treaty of Portsmouth was signed in September 1905. In Japan, the battle was hailed as one of the greatest naval victories in Japanese history, and Admiral Tōgō was revered as a national hero.[g] His flagship Mikasa has been preserved as a museum ship in Yokosuka Harbour.

Contributing factors[edit]

Commander and crew experience[edit]

Admiral Rozhestvensky faced a more combat-experienced battleship admiral in Tōgō Heihachirō. Admiral Tōgō had already killed two Russian admirals: Stepan Makarov outside of Port Arthur in the battleship Petropavlovsk in April 1904, then Wilgelm Vitgeft in his battleship Tsesarevich in August of the same year. Before those two deaths, Tōgō had chased Admiral Oskar Starck, also flying his flag in the Petropavlovsk, off the battlefield. Admiral Tōgō and his men had two battleship fleet action experiences, which amounted to over four hours of combat experience in battleship-to-battleship combat at Port Arthur and the Yellow Sea.[79] The Japanese fleets had practiced gunnery extensively since the beginning of the war, using sub-calibre practice guns[at] mounted in their larger guns.[au][av][aw]


In contrast, Russian battleship Borodino underwent sea trials from 23 August to 13 September 1904[63] as a brand new ship upon her completion,[82] and the new crew did not have much time for training before she set sail for the Pacific on 15 October 1904. Borodino's sister ship, Knyaz Suvorov started trials on 9 August, Oryol[t] started trials the latest on 10 September 1904, leaving Imperator Aleksandr III (the trials finished in October 1903) as the only Borodino-class ship actually ready for deployment.[63][ax] As the Imperial Russian Navy planned on building 10 Borodino-class battleships (5 were ultimately built) with the requirement for thousands of additional crewmen, the basic training, quality and experience of the crew and cadets were far lower[83] than those onboard the battleships in the seasoned Pacific Fleet.[84]

Aftermath[edit]

Battle damage and casualties[edit]

Source:[124]

04:45 The (Japan) locates the Russian Baltic Fleet and sends a wireless message "Spotted enemy fleet in grid 203." to cruiser Itsukushima, which relays it to the Combined Fleet flagship Mikasa.

Shinano Maru

05:05 Tōgō receives the message, begins preparation to depart.

05:55 relays Izumi's report "Enemy appears to be headed for the Eastern channel of Tsushima."[202]

Akitsushima

06:05 The 1st (, Shikishima, Fuji, Asahi, Kasuga, Nisshin), 2nd (Izumo, Azuma, Tokiwa, Yakumo, Asama, Iwate) and 4th (Naniwa, Takachiho, Akashi, Tsushima) battle divisions[d] of the Japanese Combined Fleet leave Jinhae (Chinhae, or Chinkai) Bay[dd] head South East at 12 knots. "Weather is half-cloudy, wind from the South West, wave is still high from the stormy weather in the last two days."

Japanese battleship Mikasa

06:20 "Prepare for battle" ordered on Mikasa.

07:00 Cruiser relieves Shinano Maru of reporting task, closes in to 10,000 metre of Russian battleship Knyaz Suvorov on the starboard, then increases the distance and shadows the Baltic Fleet alone;[203] reports "Enemy fleet is in grid 224 (20 nm NW of Ukushima Island, Nagasaki) heading North North East".

Izumi

08:30 reports "3rd battle div. is at grid 251(33°40′N 129°00′E / 33.67°N 129.0°E / 33.67; 129.0), heading NNE at 10 Knots."[202]

Kasagi

09:39 1st battle division reaches 10nm NNE of Mitsushima Lighthouse, turns ESE at 15 knots.

[de]

10:00 Mikasa sends a wireless message to the : "Upon receiving its spotting report, Combined Fleet is going into battle with enemy fleet today near Okinoshima Island. Today's weather is fine but waves are high. (Japanese: 本日天気晴朗なれども波高し)".

Imperial General Headquarters

10:30 The 5th battle division (, Matsushima, Hashidate, Chin'en) makes contact with the Baltic Fleet. Stays with the fleet on its left flank (West side).

Itsukushima

11:00 Details of Russian fleet formation is assembled: "Head of the fleet, . Right (East) flank, 1st column Destroyers, 2nd column Knyaz Suvorov, Borodino-class, Borodino-class, Borodino-class, Oslyabya, Sissoi Veliky, Navarin, Nakhimov; 3rd and 4th columns (slightly behind) Transports and Auxiliaries guarded by destroyers; 5th column (Left flank -West) Nikolai I, Admiral-class Coastal Battleship, Admiral-class, Admiral-class, Oleg, Aurora, Donskoi, Monomakh"

Izumrud

11:30 The 3rd battle division (, Chitose, Otowa, Niitaka) makes contact with the Baltic Fleet. Stays with the fleet on its left flank.

Kasagi

11:55 Tōgō gathers all hands on Mikasa rear deck, tells the known situation, and says "Accurate aim on all the shots is the foremost and the only wish I have at this moment.": p.1 

[200]

12:00 Mikasa's chief navigation officer records the current coordinates, 34°27′N 130°1′E / 34.450°N 130.017°E / 34.450; 130.017.[200]: p.1 

[df]

12:00 Russian fleet starts shifting formations. Kasagi and Itsukushima report all the details in radio telegrams: "Right flank Suvorov and 3 Borodino-class; Left flank , Veliky, Navarin, Nakhimov, Nikolai I and Admiral-class ships."

Oslyabya

12:30 The 6th battle division (, Izumi, Chiyoda, Akitsushima) tails the Baltic Fleet after Suma, Chiyoda and Akitsushima catching up with the shadowing and reporting Izumi.

Suma

12:38 "Battle stations" ordered on Mikasa.: p.2 

[200]

13:30 The Japanese main group (Mikasa, Shikishima, Fuji, Asahi, Kasuga, Nisshin and the 2nd battle division in this order) gains visual contact.

13:35 The Russian main group (, Aleksandr III, Borodino and Oryol in this order) shifts heading Left (to North[dg]) to cover the Left column led by Oslyabya.

Suvorov

13:39 Mikasa hoists the battle flag, heading SSW approaching the West side of the Russian Left flank.

13:54 Mikasa to the closest Russian ship, Oslyabya: 12,000m. Mikasa sends up the 'Z' flag, meaning "The Empire's fate depends on the result of this battle, let every man do his utmost duty."

14:00 Mikasa to Oslyabya: 10,000m. Mikasa turns her helm aport and starts a U-turn with the 5 ships following in sequence to head NNE.

14:03 Shikishima to Oslyabya: 9,000m. As Shikishima starts to turn, Oslyabya opens fire.

14:07 Fuji to Oslyabya: 8,200m. Fuji completes her turn. Knyaz Suvorov and the Russian Baltic Fleet open fire with their main batteries.

14:10 Asahi to Oslyabya: 7,300m. Asahi completes her turn. Mikasa opens fire on Oslyabya with a salvo 6" test shot to establish distance baseline.: p.2 [dh]

[200]

14:12 Kasuga to Oslyabya: 6,500m. Mikasa receives her first hit from the Russian guns. Shikishima, Fuji, Asahi, Kasuga and Nisshin open fire on Oslyabya.

14:14 Nisshin to Oslyabya: 6,000m. Oslyabya loses her front mast and the center stack.

14:15 Oslyabya catches major fire and slows down.

14:19 Mikasa to Suvorov: 5,800m. Japanese main group concentrates fire on the Russian flagship, , which is now leading the Left column heading NNE.

Knyaz Suvorov

14:25 Mikasa loses top part of rear mast. Mikasa and her line turns NE and then to East to "cross the T". Russian Left column turns NE and to ESE in response.

[di]

14:43 Knyaz Suvorov is set on fire and fall away from the battle line.

14:50 With the Japanese 1st Battle Div. completely overtaking the Russian battleships heading ESE, Aleksandr turns to the North with Borodino and Oryol following.

14:55 Mikasa and the 5 ships make immediate U-turn Left on the spot and heads WNW in reverse order (Nisshin first, Mikasa last). Japanese 2nd Battle Div. continues on heading SE and then SW attacking the secondary Russian warships.

15:10 Nisshin to Aleksandr: 4,000m. Oslyabya sinks. Knyaz Suvorov attempts to withdraw.

15:14 Asahi to Aleksandr: 3,000m. Aleksandr, apparently giving up fleeing North, turns SE with Borodino and Oryol following.

15:18 Asahi to Borodino: 2,500m.

15:50 Nisshin and the 5 ships make another immediate U-turn Left, heads NE in normal order (Mikasa first, Nisshin last). Japanese 1st battle div. loses sight of the Russian main group in the battle smoke and mist.

16:45 One torpedo from the Japanese 4th Destroyer Div. hits Knyaz Suvorov in the port side stern, causing her to list about 10 degrees to port.

[42]

17:00 Japanese 2nd battle div. finds the Russian main group close to where the Japanese 3rd Squadron (5th and 6th battle divs.) was attacking the Russian auxiliaries protected by cruisers.

[205]

17:30 Russian destroyer Buyniy rescues Admiral Rozhestvensky and his staff from Knyaz Suvorov.

[206]

17:51 Russian auxiliary cruiser sunk by the 1st battle division bombardment and a torpedo by battleship Shikishima.[207]

Ural

18:03 Mikasa and the 1st Battle Div. catches up to the remainder of the Russian main group (heading N) in NW, and concentrate fire on the leading Aleksandr III.

18:16 Aleksandr III (heading NW) catches major fire. Japanese main group concentrates fire on Borodino (heading NW).

19:03 Imperator Aleksandr III sinks.

19:04 Huge explosion occurs in Borodino's stern.

19:05 Japanese main group concentrates fire on Oryol (heading NW).

19:20 Knyaz Suvorov sinks.

19:28 The Sun sets.

19:30 Borodino sinks. Russian repair ship sinks.

Kamchatka

19:30 Leaving the destroyer divisions and torpedo boat flotillas in position to commence attack in the dark, Japanese 1st Battle Division leaves the battleground after ordering 2nd and 4th battle divisions to gather in area in the North.[42][y]

Matsushima Island

Note[dc]


27 May 1905 (JST)


28 May 1905 (JST)[208][209][168]

On film[edit]

The battle has been the main focus for two historical films in Japan. The first, 1969's Battle of the Japan Sea (日本海大海戦, Nihonkai Daikaisen), directed by Seiji Maruyama, starring Toshiro Mifune as Admiral Tōgō, with music by Masaru Sato and special effects by Eiji Tsuburaya. It was dramatized again in 1983's Battle Anthem (日本海大海戦・海ゆかば, Nihonkai Daikaisen – Umi Yukaba) with Mifune reprising his role.


Another, more recent, depiction is episode 4, season 3 of the 2009–2011 NHK taiga drama series Saka no Ue no Kumo (坂の上の雲) (lit. "Clouds Above the Slope").

Order of battle at the Battle of Tsushima

Imperial Japanese Navy#Naval Buildup and tensions with Russia

Baltic Fleet#Russo-Japanese War

Military attachés and observers in the Russo-Japanese War

Naval history of Japan

Nicholas II of Russia

Bykov, P.D., Captain 1st.rank. (in Russian).

"Russo Japanese War 1904–1905"

 – This Day In History: The Battle of Tsushima Strait

History.com

 – Free naval wargame rules covering pre-dreadnought era, including Russo-Japanese War

Battlefleet 1900

 – complete order of battle of both fleets, Admiral Tōgō's post-battle report and the account of Russian ensign Sememov

Russojapanesewar.com