Battle of the Yellow Sea

Infobox Military Conflict
conflict=Battle of the Yellow Sea
partof=the Russo-Japanese War


caption=Midships of the Russian battleship "Tsesarevich"
date=August 10, 1904
place=Yellow Sea, off Shandong (Shantung) Peninsula, China
(coord|37|57.83|N|122|15.49|E|display=inline,title)
result=Japanese strategic victory/tactically inconclusive
combatant1=flagicon|Japan|naval Imperial Japanese Navy
combatant2=flagicon|Russia|naval 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 ( _ja. 黄海海戦 "Kōkai kaisen" _ru. Бой в Жёлтом море), 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 could not 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 had 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" was not 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.

References

* Kowner, Rotem (2006). "Historical Dictionary of the Russo-Japanese War". Scarecrow. ISBN 0-8108-4927-5
* Nish, Ian (1985). "The Origins of the Russo-Japanese War". Longman. ISBN 0-582-49114-2
* Sedwick, F.R. (1909). "The Russo-Japanese War". The Macmillan Company
* Corbett, Sir Julian. "Maritime Operations In The Russo-Japanese War 1904-1905" (1994) Originally a classifed report, and in two volumes. ISBN 1-5575-0129-7
* Semenov, Vladimir, Capt. "The Battle of Tsushima" (1912). New York, E. P. Dutton & Co. (Note-Captain Semenov had been present at both battles)

External links

* [http://www.russojapanesewar.com/battle-pa.html Russo-Japanese War Research Society]
* Russian Navy history of war: http://www.navy.ru/history/hrn10-e.htm
* article in Russian Language - http://ship.bsu.by/main.asp?id=3905#3905