Everything about Battle Of The Yellow Sea totally explained
Imperial Japanese Navy
|combatant2=
Imperial Russian Navy
|commander1=Admiral
Heihachiro Togo, Vice Admiral
Shigeto Dewa
|commander2=Admiral
Wilgelm Vitgeft±
|strength1=4 battleships, 2 armored cruisers, 8 cruisers, 18 destroyers, 30 torpedo boats
|strength2=6 battleships, 4 cruisers, 14 destroyers
|casualties1=226 killed and wounded
|casualties2=343 killed and 101 wounded
|}}
The
Battle of the Yellow Sea (
Kōkai kaisen ), a major
naval engagement of the
Russo-Japanese War, was fought on
10 August 1904. In the Russian Navy, it was referred to as the
Battle of 28 July.
Background
The
Imperial Russian Navy's First Pacific Squadron, commanded by Admiral
Wilgelm Vitgeft, had been trapped in
Port Arthur since the
Imperial Japanese Navy's
blockade began on
8 February 1904 with the
Battle of Port Arthur. Throughout late July and early August, as the
Imperial Japanese Army laid siege to Port Arthur, relations between Admiral Vitgeft and Russian
Viceroy Yevgeny Alexeiev increasingly soured. Viceroy Alexeiev, a former Admiral, favored an aggressive
sortie so as to enable the First Pacific Squadron to link up with the Vladivostok Squadron and thereby create a naval force powerful enough to challenge the Japanese fleet. Admiral Vitgeft believed that simply staying at anchor and contributing some of his weaponry to the land battle was the safest course to follow, and he was backed by his flag officers and captains.
Alexeiev appealed to
St. Petersburg, and
Tsar Nicholas II replied that he fully shared the Viceroy's opinion. Faced with an Imperial writ and threat of legal action, Admiral Vitgeft couldn't delay any longer and decided to break out of the harbor and sail to
Vladivostok.
The battle
On the morning of
10 August 1904, the First Pacific Squadron sailed out of Port Arthur to engage the Japanese fleet blockading the port. The Russian squadron consisted of the
battleships
Tsesarevich,
Retvizan,
Pobeda,
Peresvet,
Sevastopol, and
Poltava,
protected cruisers
Askold,
Diana,
Novik and
Pallada, and 14
destroyers.
Admiral Togo had expected this breakout attempt and had positioned his ships accordingly. His fleet consisted of the battleships
Mikasa,
Asahi,
Fuji, and
Shikishima, the
armoured cruisers
Nisshin and
Kasuga, as well as eight protected cruisers, 18 destroyers, and 30
torpedo boats.
Encountering the Russian squadron in the early afternoon, Admiral Togo's first move was to place the Japanese fleet between the Russian ships and Port Arthur, so as to prevent their return. When it became apparent that the Russians were heading for
Vladivostok, Admiral Togo was far behind and he'd to waste hours detouring around his weaker vessels so as to catch up with the slower Russian battleships at the head of the
battle line. At 1743 hours he opened fire on the leading Russian ships, at a range of around 9,000 yards. From then until dusk Togo's First Division and the six Russian battleships fired at each other on almost even terms, with
Mikasa and
Tsesarevich receiving the brunt of the punishment.
What finally decided the issue, just as it was beginning to look as though the Russians would be able to escape into the darkness at 1800 hours, was a double hit by two Japanese shells on
Tsesarevich's bridge. Admiral Vitgeft was killed by a
shell splinter, and a second hit soon thereafter killed or incapacitated most, if not all of the remaining command staff of
Tsesarevich. The explosion had wedged the wheel into a port turn, sharp enough so that
Tsesarevich heeled over 12 degrees.
Retvizan, which was unaware of the situation on the
flagship, followed in her wake. By the time
Pobeda arrived at the turning point,
Tsesarevich had swung around 180 degrees and was heading back into her own line. With no signal to indicate what had happened, the other ships were unaware that
Tsesarevich wasn't only out of control and without its admiral, but was actually without any one at all in command.
By the time an officer had been found to take charge, most of the Russian ships had followed the 180 degree turn of the leading
Tsesarevich and
Retvizan, with the result that the entire squadron was in disarray. There was little choice but to give up the attempt to reach Vladivostok and to return back to Port Arthur. Even this proved impossible to coordinate, and many ships wandered off on their own.
With darkness approaching and low on ammunition, Admiral Togo decided not to risk a night engagement with the main fleet.
Mikasa had already suffered more than twenty hits, and his other three battleships were also damaged. Instead, he ordered a night attack on the Russian fleet by his destroyers and torpedo boats, which was repulsed by the Russians with light
casualties.
Two hours later, the bulk of the Russian fleet returned to the relative safety of Port Arthur. Five battleships, a cruiser and nine destroyers made it back. The damaged
Tsesarevich and three escorting destroyers sailed to
Tsingtao, where they were interned by the
German colonial administration. The cruiser
Askold and another destroyer sailed to
Shanghai and were likewise interned by
Chinese authorities. The cruiser
Diana escaped to
Saigon, where it was interned by the
French. Only the small cruiser
Novik sailed east around the Japanese home islands to try to reach Vladivostok. However, on
20 August 1904 pursuing Japanese cruisers forced the ship aground at
Sakhalin, where it was destroyed by the crew.
Casualties
Total admitted Russian
casualties in the Battle of the Yellow Sea were 343 killed and wounded aboard the ships that made it back to Port Arthur. Japan admitted to 226 killed and wounded. Within a few days, the Japanese were able to repair the damage to their ships, which returned to completely battle-worthy status, whereas the Russian fleet lay in disrepair.
Tactically, the battle had been a draw, since no fleet suffered any capital ship losses. Strategically the battle had been a Japanese victory, since the Russian fleet never again attempted to break out into the open sea. By December 1904, the land battles had converged around Port Arthur itself, and heavy artillery would soon be brought to bear on the Russian warships remaining inside Port Arthur; sinking or damaging all of the survivors of the Yellow Sea Battle.
Further Information
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