Battle of Tsushima: When Japan and Russia's Most Fearsome Battleships Squared Off

Tom Cooper

Security,

In late May 2017, it will be 112 years since the Imperial Japanese Navy’s catastrophic defeat of the Imperial Russian Navy during the Battle of Tsushima.

In late May 2017, it will be 112 years since the Imperial Japanese Navy’s catastrophic defeat of the Imperial Russian Navy during the Battle of Tsushima.

The clash in question was a result of the Russo-Japanese War of 1904 and 1905 — a conflict provoked by the Russian search for a warm-water port on the Pacific Ocean. The major Russian port in the Pacific, Vladivostok, was operational only during the summer. Port Arthur — nowadays Dalian, a naval base leased from China — was operational all the year.

Before that war, Russia pursued an expansionist policy in the Far East. As one of the major European powers, Russia was in a position to dictate developments in multiple spots around the world. Japan, on the contrary, was an unknown Asian country at the end of the world — and was seriously concerned about Russian encroachment of its sphere of influence in Korea.

Tokyo made an offer. It would recognize Russian dominance in northern China in exchange for Russian recognition of Japanese dominance over Korea. Moscow flatly refused and demanded Korea north of the 39th parallel to act as a neutral buffer.

The Japanese understood this as a prelude to war, and on the night of Feb. 8, 1904, their fleet under Adm. Togo Heihachiro launched a surprise attack on Port Arthur. Deploying torpedo boats, the Japanese heavily damaged two battleships of the Russian Far East Fleet — Tsesarevich and Retvizan — plus a cruiser.

The Russian fleet remained inside its port, well-protected by shore batteries — and this limited further damage. Left without a choice, the Japanese settled for a lengthy siege.

On the land, their army launched a campaign of assaults over the fortified hilltops overlooking the harbor. At sea, their attempts to block the port proved ineffective, but Japanese mines sank two Russian battleships that attempted to slip out on April 12, 1904. Petropavlovsk went down so quickly that she took with her the commander of the Russian Eastern Fleet, Adm. Stepan Osipovich Makarov.

The Russians avenged this loss in style. They laid their own minefield and lured two Japanese battleships into it. Both of these sank, too. However, a breakout attempt by the Russian naval squadron failed on June 23, 1904. By the end of the month, Japanese artillery was shelling the harbor.