Tsushima: The fiasco of the Russian fleet or the unparalleled feat of ordinary sailors

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

During the Battle of Tsushima in May 1905, the Russian fleet suffered a catastrophe. The Japanese sank 19 Russian ships, units managed to break through to neutral ports, where they were interned. 5 warships surrendered, and only 2 cruisers with two destroyers reached the shores of Vladivostok. During the naval collision, at least 5 thousand people from the personnel of several squadrons were killed. Experts still argue about the main reasons for this defeat. But "Tsushima" has remained a household name for the fiasco.

Course to defeat

The very first months of the Russian-Japanese confrontation clearly showed that the government of the Russian Empire was not ready for war. An illiterate assessment of the enemy's potential and excessive self-confidence of the "top" in the invulnerability of the Russian positions in the Far East led to a deplorable situation on the battlefield.

At the very beginning of the war, the Russian squadron near Port Arthur suffered losses, which allowed the Japanese to gain dominance by sea. This prompted the rulers to take measures to strengthen the sea power in the Far East. In the fall of 1904, ships of the Baltic Fleet, united in the newly formed 2nd Pacific Squadron, came out to help the blocked squadron. Admiral Rozhdestvensky was appointed commander. The squadron headed for a difficult round-the-world passage, which culminated in a devastating battle with the Japanese.

Despite the fact that by the winter Port Arthur had hopelessly fallen and the further advance of reinforcements, in fact, lost their meaning, in February an additional Pacific squadron, led by Rear Admiral Nebogatov, left the western Baltic. By May 1905, both squadrons merged into one naval army off the coast of Vietnam, approached the Tsushima Strait, heading for Vladivostok. The Russian ships were instantly discovered by the reconnaissance of the Japanese fleet.

The tactical and technical advantage of the Japanese

According to some historians, Rozhestvensky literally ignored the entire experience of defeats during the Russian-Turkish war, underestimated the enemy and did not prepare his ships for a difficult battle, realizing its inevitability. According to naval historians, both a battle plan and intelligence were missing. The Russian squadron was taken by surprise by the main forces of the Japanese fleet before the completion of the combat formation. For this reason, the Russian fleet entered the battle already in a losing position for itself, and not all ships were able to fire.

In addition to the miscalculations of the command, the Russians were inferior to the Japanese in technical terms. The Japanese ships turned out to be faster and better armored. In terms of the rate of fire of artillery, they twice surpassed the Russians. And the shells fired by the enemy had the strongest high-explosive effect. The power of shimosa (explosive) was many times higher than the pyroxylin used in Russian shells. The excessive overloading of Russian ships with tons of coal, water and provisions also played on the Japanese, causing the armor belts of the main Russian battleships to sink below the waterline. And Japanese shells inflicted massive damage to the skin of ships over the armored area.

Organization crisis

On the eve of the battle, the squadron could not boast of not only sufficient combat training, but also competent organization. Most of the squadron's personnel arrived on the new ships shortly before dispatch, in the summer of 1904. Before that, only commanders and units of narrowly focused specialists were at their construction. So both officers and rank-and-file crew members were deprived of the opportunity to get acquainted with their ships. In addition, the squadron included many young officers released early from the naval cadet corps due to the war, as well as displaced from the merchant fleet. The former did not have the knowledge and combat experience, while the latter, although they possessed the skills of naval affairs, did not have military training.

During the long months of the transition, the composition of some detachments changed, which was partly due to the difficult situation of the campaign. The headquarters of the first squadron commander dealt with all sorts of minor issues that, according to the charter, should be resolved by younger leaders. The headquarters of the squadron commander itself was not properly organized. The chief of staff was absent, and the flag-captain was only the executor of the commander's orders. The actions of the flagship specialists lacked consistency, they worked on their own, receiving instructions from the commander personally.

Before leaving the Baltic waters, the squadron did not swim in full combined composition even once. Only separate detachments of ships managed to make a couple of joint campaigns. In a tight timeframe for preparation, the ships managed to fire too few fires. Torpedo firing from the main destroyers was also not enough, many of which sank at the very first shots.

Price for mistakes and miscalculations

During the daytime battle on May 14, the Russian squadron was subjected to multiple attacks by Japanese destroyers, suffering serious losses. The battleship "Navarin" was destroyed with the entire crew, and the "Wounded" Sisoy the Great, "Vladimir Monomakh" and "Admiral Nakhimov" sank by morning. At the end of the battle, the flagship "Prince Suvorov" was knocked out of action, and Rozhestvensky, who was on board, was wounded. The Japanese sunk the main battleships, and the ships that had lost their ranks were scattered across the Korean Strait. On the evening of the second day, Nebogatov capitulated.

In addition to 5 surrendered prisoners, three who broke through to Vladivostok and several who went into neutral waters, the ships participating in the battle were either destroyed by the Japanese or by their own teams. The Russian fleet lost more than 5 thousand people. With the recorded complete defeat of Russia, the Battle of Tsushima remains a symbol of the dignity of the Russian sailor. Despite unprecedented difficulties and lack of proper preparation, the first long passage in the history of the fleet across the seas and oceans (220 days) was carried out. In total, about 20 thousand miles were covered. And although the overwhelming number of ships of the squadron were outdated, and the imperial admirals failed to control the battle, the Russian sailors showed excellent fighting qualities and dedication.

When the command is seriously preparing for battles, impossible victories arise, such as at Osovets, when the chlorine-poisoned Russian soldiers were able to repel the German attacks.