Adventures of the Baltic Fleet (Russo-Japanese War 1904/5)
How a Tsar’s Ships Became a Great Naval Farce* (*not a typo)
Japanese hand-tinted postcard showing a Russian destroyer being attacked by Japanese warships during the Russo-Japanese War in 1905 (Author Unknown) This work is in the public domain in its country of origin and other countries and areas where the copyright term is the author’s life plus 70 years or fewer.
When Ukrainian soldiers told a Russian warship to “Go fuck yourself,” they were not the first. This is about a Russian fleet which the Japanese found it easy to treat with similar contempt.
The Baltic Fleet, Russia and Japan
Tsar Peter the Great established this fleet in May 1703. By 1900, Russia had the fourth largest navy in the world. The Baltic Fleet’s headquarters were then in St Petersburg (now in Kaliningrad), and its main base in Baltiysk.
By 1904, Tsar Nicholas II wanted a more reliable Pacific base. The Russian base at Vladivostok was frozen most of the year. Its other regional base was at Port Arthur, on Liaodong Peninsula, and was leased from China.
Japan dominated the region, and resented Russia’s support for China in its war with Japan in 1895. Both wanted control of Korea. In 1904, Negotiations between them broke down.
The Battle of Port Arthur
The Imperial Japanese Navy, led by Admiral Togo Heihachiro, attacked Port Arthur early on 8 February 1904, destroying three of Russia’s largest ships. On 10 February, Japan entered Seoul, then declared war on Russia. Heavy fighting followed in Manchuria.
Russia’s Pacific Fleet was defeated at the Battle of the Yellow Sea in February, and again at Ulsan in August 1904.
Then Tsar Nicholas II remembered his Baltic Fleet, renamed it the “Second Pacific Fleet” and sent it to avenge Port Arthur.
The Baltic Fleet’s Expedition
Their base was usually frozen. The Fleet had four Borodino-class battleships, but most of their ships were old and ill-equipped. The sailors were country lads, and you don’t get much seafaring or battle experience based in a port you can seldom leave.
The Tsar appointed the authoritarian Admiral Zinovy Rozhestvenskii to lead the expedition. He was experienced in naval combat, but faced many difficulties. The British denied access to the Suez Canal, and there were few opportunities to refuel on the route round the Cape.
The fleet sailed on 16 October 1904, with some German coaling ships.
They started badly. Leaving port, one ship ran aground, another lost its anchor, and two others collided, one of which could not continue. Of 45 ships, 44 departed. Rozhestvenskii, aboard his flagship Kniaz Suvarov, was already worried. He was right.
Rumours…
There were rumours that Japan was sending torpedo boats, and that the sea between Denmark and Sweden was full of mines. The sailors were uneducated and did not know where Japan was, or how torpedo boats looked. Despite reassurances from officers, they were scared.
Moving erratically to avoid imaginary mines, they fired on a Russian fishing boat, then on a Danish supply ship which had to return to port. Both times they also fired many rounds at each other.
The Dogger Bank Incident
On reaching the North Sea, they misidentified some more “Japanese torpedo boats” and fired at four British fishing vessels, sinking one and killing three fishermen. The Tsar apologised to the British, who found it hard to believe this was accidental; they did not know the Baltic Fleet.
Africa
One vessel, Kamchatka, went missing. This ship caught up eventually at Tangier, where the crew explained they had engaged three Japanese torpedo boats. These turned out to be fishing boats from several different countries, but Kamchatka’s crew failed to hit them.
Leaving port, one of the ships broke an underwater telegraph cable, cutting Tangier’s contact with Europe for days. Later, they took on extra coal, and in the tropical heat, the dust and grime caused severe respiratory problems.
Admiral Rozhestvenskii divided his fleet, giving the slower ones more time. Surprisingly they negotiatied the Cape of Good Hope, but morale was low. Some crews decided to get animals, as pets or mascots. Their next stop was Madagascar. They collected crocodiles, snakes and other unsuitable creatures, some of which escaped into the recesses of the old ships.
One of the officers thought cigarettes would help. He bought a consignment, but these contained opium. Heavy smokers became addicted. The ships left Madagascar with addicts, tropical diseases and dangerous animals on board. Then they threw some rotten meat overboard, attracting an escort of sharks.
The Fleet arrived in April/May at Cam Ranh Bay, then French Indochina (now Vietnam).
While the Fleet Travelled…
In January 1905, Major General Anatoly Stessel ended the sige of Port Arthur by surrendering. In Manchuria, both sides sustained heavy casualties, and many villages were destroyed. By 20 February 1905, the Russian army was retreating from advancing Japanese.
Battle of Tsushima 27/28 May 1905
Far too late, Admiral Rozhestvenskii gave the crews target practice. It didn’t go well. No ship hit the target, but many hit the ship pulling it (and each other). The Admiral had enough by then, but the Tsar would not accept his resignation.
The surrender of Port Arthur meant they now needed to reach Vladivostok before winter. After their 18,000 nautical mile (33,000 kilometres) journey, they only reached Tsushima strait, between Korea and Japan.
To avoid detection they travelled without lights in the dark and fog, except the hospital ship Oryol. Her lights attracted a Japanese warship Shinano Mano. Having consistently mistaken other ships for Japanese torpedo boats, the Fleet mistook Shinano Mano for a Russian fishing vessel. Now the Japanese knew where they were. By morning they were surrounded.
Admiral Heihachiro had faster, modern ships with competent crews. Both sides had wireless telegraphy, but Japan’s worked. Russia’s was German; they did not know how to use it. Commanding his fleet from his flagship Mikasa, Heihachiro had an easy job.
It was a short battle with a sad ending. Russia lost 4,380 killed and 5,917 captured, including Admiral Rozhestvenskii, who was wounded but recovered. Eleven of their battleships were sunk or scuttled; total tonnage 126,792. Only three safely reached Vladivostok.
Japan lost 117 killed and 583 injured, some possibly from laughing. They lost three torpedo boats; total tonnage 450.
The war officially ended with the Portsmouth Treaty (5 September 1905), mediated by Theodore Roosevelt, who gained the Nobel Peace Prize for this.
Sources
Japan’s Attack on Port Arthur | History Today
The biggest FAIL in military history | Mr Ballen, Historical Legends Part 4 — YouTube
