A destination made urgent
Port Arthur has fallen. The fleet from the Baltic must now reach Vladivostok. Its mix of speeds and ships complicates a common route, but it includes four new Borodino-class battleships.
Battle
Tsushima
27 — 28 May 1905
Japanese manoeuvres break Russian command before the night pursuit.
Military history
How does a succession of manoeuvres and command losses break up the Russian fleet?
The Russian fleet seeks to reach Vladivostok after a long voyage from the Baltic. Spotted in the strait, it meets a Japanese fleet repaired and trained near its bases. Tōgō turns across its path, then his ships fight on a nearby course. The Russians change course and leading ship several times. Damage to Suvorov deprives the squadron of command as losses mount. After evening sinkings and night attacks, four ships surrender with Nebogatov; others flee, are destroyed or reach neutral ports.
Scouts ahead of the line
Shinano Maru reports the Russian fleet at dawn. Other ships maintain contact; Tōgō leaves Chinhae and heads towards its route with his battleships and Kamimura’s armoured cruisers.
Difficult convergence of columns
As the battle approaches, the four Borodino ships join the head of a single line. Oslyabya slows sharply to let them pass. The transition exposes both leading ships as the firing begins.
Explore
Chronological dossier
Siege of Port ArthurHow did the Japanese army move from costly frontal assaults to seizing the heights that made the harbour untenable?Battle of the Yellow SeaHow did a Russian breakout attempt fail through loss of command and dispersal of the fleet rather than complete destruction?LiaoyangWhy does Russian failure north of the Taizi lead to the abandonment of a city that is still defended?MukdenHow does an incomplete envelopment force such a costly retreat?
Military history
Sources
Contemporary reportTōgō — Detailed report of the battle of the Sea of Japan
Texte détaillé intégral ; reproduction anglaise non critique.
Interception, turns, division separation, attacks and surrenders; provisional tally explicitly attributed.
View ↗Contemporary testimonyVladimir Semenoff — The Battle of Tsu-shima
Passages pp.48–60,63–93,104–165 lus ; ordre de bataille pp.163–165. Diagramme absent de cette édition.
Experience aboard Suvorov, rudder damage, succession among leading ships and the admiral’s transfer; a partial and situated account.
View ↗Contemporary naval analysisR. D. White — The Baltic Fleet at Tsushima, Proceedings, avril1906
Récit et sorts des bâtiments lus jusqu’aux leçons ; informateur transmis anonymement.
Columns reunited, Oslyabya slowed, cruisers interned and Almaz; Russian yellow funnels. Estimates of hits are not reused.
View ↗Contemporary naval analysisRichard Wainwright — The Battle of the Sea of Japan, octobre1905
Introduction, première rencontre et attaques de torpilleurs relues.
Kamimura behind Tōgō at first, later separation and uncertainty about the routes.
View ↗Institutional naval museumMikasa Memorial — Battle of the Sea of Japan
Présentation de la bataille entièrement relue.
Fleet repairs, training and departure from Chinhae after the Shinano Maru’s signal.
View ↗Map reproductionsRusso-Japanese War Research Society — quatre plans de Tsushima
Liens Battle of Tsushima, plans1–4 ; quatre images intégralement examinées, origine éditoriale non précisée.
Initial deployment, afternoon loops and pursuit north; cross-checked against accounts, not certified positions.
View ↗Museum shipMikasa Memorial — Battleship Mikasa
Caractéristiques et description du navire relues dans le dossier Mer Jaune.
Reuse of a depiction of a Mikasa-type battleship: two funnels and main guns in two twin turrets.
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