Why, even after 100 years, the battle of "Varyag" and "Koreyets" with the Japanese squadron was not declassified

2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55

On February 9, 1904, a battle took place between the ships of the Russian and Japanese fleets. An ordinary, it would seem, military event became exceptional for one reason: the attack of 14 Japanese ships reflected only two Russians - "Varyag" and "Koreets". Despite their clear advantage, the Japanese could neither sink the Russian ships, nor capture at least one crew member. At the same time, they still keep secret the number of injured sailors who took part in this unequal battle.

For what purpose did the cruiser Varyag and the gunboat Koreets arrive at the Korean port of Chemulpo?

The cruiser "Varyag" arrived together with the gunboat "Koreets" in the port of Chemulpo, carrying out a diplomatic mission traditional for all states. In addition to them, cruisers from Italy, France, Great Britain, Japan, the USA and Korea were on the berth at that time; there was also the Russian steamer "Sungari", as well as several cargo ships. Most of the ships were in the port to provide protection for their diplomatic missions in Seoul - if a threat arose, they were supposed to contribute to the landing.

The presence of the cruiser "Chiyoda" was conditioned by the observation of the activity of the Russians. In the event of the arrival of their squadron, the Japanese planned to disembark and, with the help of firepower, hold back the landing of enemy troops until reinforcements arrived. Such plans were the result of tense relations between the countries - on February 6, 1904, after failed negotiations on the delimitation of spheres of influence in Manchuria and Korea, the Japanese authorities broke off diplomatic relations with Russia.

Why did the Japanese squadron attack the Russian ships?

The Varyag command, as well as the Russian representative in Korea, were not aware of the aggravated disagreements between the powers: from February 4, the Japanese, who controlled the Korean telegraphs, kept the Russians in an information blockade. Having received belated information about the break in diplomatic relations, Vsevolod Rudnev, the commander of the Varyag, began to prepare to sail to Port Arthur.

On February 8, at half past eight in the evening, the commander of the Fourth Combat Detachment Sotokichi Uriu received permission from his authorities to conduct hostilities in the waters of the Korean state. Since the Russian ships were clearly not in the mood to attack first, Uriu decided to force them into battle either in the port or beyond. On the morning of February 9, Rudnev received an ultimatum: surrender or leave the port before 12 noon in order to avoid a military clash in neutral waters.

At a hastily created military council, in which the command of foreign ships also took part, Vsevolod Fedorovich Rudnev announced his refusal to surrender. The foreigners, however, signed and conveyed their protest to the Japanese, but real help - the commander of the Varyag asked them to be escorted to the borders of the Korean territorial waters - was refused.

When leaving Chemulpo, the crews of the Varyag and Koreyets saw off the British and French officers with the sailors: to the sound of the anthem, they stood on the decks in full dress and greeted the Russian sailors with shouts of "Hurray!" At 11:45 am, an unequal battle began: two ships of the Russian fleet opposed eight destroyers and six cruisers of the Japanese squadron.

What losses did the Russian and Japanese sides suffer?

Almost from the first minutes "Varyag" managed to send one of the enemy destroyers to the bottom, then, within an hour, inflict damage on three Japanese cruisers. However, the Russian ship also received multiple holes, including underwater ones, which caused a loss of stability due to the roll to the left side. The fire of the outnumbered enemy destroyed most of the deck gun, disabled the steering and caused significant human losses.

At the beginning of the battle, the rangefinder Gorbunov Efim and the rangefinder officer, the midshipman Count Nirod, were killed, then almost all the artillery sailors, who were replaced by sailors from the engine room, perished. In the logbook, hits were recorded that caused fires of powder charges, a whaleboat, parts of the officers' cabins and a provision compartment. The scattered fragments from the shell killed the headquarters bugler and drummer, wounded the commander's helmsman and orderly. Rudnev himself received a head wound and a concussion, but found the strength to get out of the wheelhouse and continue to give orders to the warring sailors.

As a result of the battle, the cruiser's crew lost one officer and 22 sailors. One officer and 26 sailors were seriously injured; five officers (including the ship's commander) and more than 150 lower ranks were less seriously injured. The gunboat managed to avoid major damage - it received only one shrapnel hole in the ramming compartment, while there was not a single casualty among the crew members.

The Japanese, due to the rapid failure of the Varyag rangefinder station and the destruction of the fire control system, did not suffer significant losses, except for one sunken destroyer. There is no exact information about the number of killed and wounded samurai - the Japanese government has not yet declassified the archives of the battle in which they never managed to sink two Russian ships.

How did the surviving Russian sailors manage to get to St. Petersburg and how were they met at the Winter Palace?

Having lost the ability to control the cruiser, Rudnev decided to return to the port to undermine the Varyag, disembarking the crew on neutral ships. He managed to carry out his plans, after which the Japanese stopped shelling, fearing to get into ships that were not involved in the conflict. The sailors from the Varyag and Koreyets were taken on board by Italian, French and British cruisers - the Americans refused to participate, citing the lack of permission from Washington. Seriously wounded in the amount of 24 people were taken to the shore, handing them over to the representatives of the Red Cross.

After blowing up a gunboat and sinking a cruiser, the crew members went home - some via Saigon, some via Hong Kong. The sailors who eventually ended up in St. Petersburg were given a solemn meeting followed by dinner at the Winter Palace. There, according to the recollections of one of the sailors of the "Varyag", they were served by the tsar's daughters themselves, offering the heroes "all kinds of food with their tender hands."

All the surviving participants in the battle received awards: the officers were awarded the Order of the Holy Great Martyr George, the lower ranks - a specially established medal "For the battle of" Varyag "and" Koreyets ", as well as the Badge of Distinction of the Military Order, renamed a little later into St. George's Cross.

Many people argue today whether the battle of Tsushima was a fiasco or an unparalleled feat of the sailors.