The attack of the Japanese fleet on the Russian squadron. History of the Russo-Japanese War

Morning battle involving heavy ships

After the night attack, Admiral Togo sent his subordinate, Vice Admiral Dewu Shigeto, with 4 cruisers for reconnaissance at 08:00 to assess the results of the night attack and the damage done to the Russian fleet. By 09:00 the Deva squad was close enough to make out the Russian fleet through the morning fog. Deva saw 12 battleships and cruisers, three or four of which appeared to be badly damaged or washed ashore. The smaller ships outside the harbor were in apparent disarray. Deva approached about 7 km to the harbor, but since he went unnoticed, he came to the conclusion that the night attack had paralyzed the Russian squadron, and hurried to report to Togo.

Deva was able to convince Togo that the moment could be extremely favorable for an immediate attack by the main forces of the fleet. Although Togo would have preferred to lure the Russian fleet out of the range of coastal batteries, Deva's overly optimistic report convinced him that the risk was justified.

On approaching Port Arthur, the Japanese fleet was spotted by the Russian cruiser Boyarin, which was on patrol. "Boyarin" fired at "Mikasa" from the utmost distance and hastened to the main forces of the Russian fleet. At 11:00, a firefight between the fleets began from a distance of about 8 km. The Japanese concentrated the fire of their 12 "guns on coastal batteries, and 8" and 6 "guns - against the ships of the Russian squadron. The shooting was not very well-aimed on both sides, but the Japanese managed to damage the Novik, Petropavlovsk, Poltava," Diana "and" Askold. ”Soon, however, it became clear that Deva was overly optimistic in his assessments. In the first five minutes of the firefight, Mikasa received a direct hit, destroying the aft bridge and wounding the chief engineer, flag lieutenant and 5 other officers ...

At 12:20, Togo ordered the return course. This was a risky maneuver, as it exposed Japanese ships to the fire of Russian coastal batteries. The Japanese ships successfully completed the maneuver and quickly went beyond the range of the Russian batteries, but the Shikishima, Iwate, Fuji and Hatsuse received direct hits. Several hits at the time of the turn were also in the cruiser of Admiral Kamimura Hikonojo. At that moment, Novik, which was about 3 km from the Japanese cruisers, fired torpedoes. Everyone passed by, and the Novik got a hole below the waterline.

Outcome

The battle at Port Arthur did not bring a decisive victory to either side. The losses of the Russians amounted to about 150 people, the Japanese - about 90. Although not a single ship was sunk on either side, several ships were damaged. However, the Japanese had repair facilities and dry

The Russo-Japanese War of 1904-1905 was inevitable, because at the end of the 19th century the geopolitical interests of the Russian Empire changed dramatically. At that time, the major world states had not yet learned to solve serious geopolitical issues without the use of force and, accordingly, human casualties.

Causes of the Russo-Japanese War

1. Strengthening friendly relations between Russia and China. As you know, until the 90s of the 19th century, the main focus foreign policy Russia was in the Balkans, but in 1894 the strengthening of friendship with China began. Russia provided this state with diplomatic and military assistance in the war with Japan.
2. Russia and Japan in terms of influence on Far East and in Manchuria.

Strategic mistakes and military victories

Initially, it was clear that he was not ready for a long war. But russian generals believed that the Asians would negotiate with European countries and organize a war on two fronts. This was the strategic mistake of the Russian military and diplomats. Also, the Russians, assuming the general backwardness of Japan's forces (by the way, also a mistake), thought that Western front it will take much more forces than on the East. Russia's plan was to wage a grueling protracted war, in which in the 7-8th month victory at sea would be achieved, and troops would land on the islands. As a result, the plan of the Japanese worked, the main idea of \u200b\u200bwhich was an instant strike on the Pacific squadron and the seizure of supremacy at sea.

The balance of power at sea

Russia and Japan, a few years before the start of the war, had already begun to strengthen their fleets. Russia has already had experience in which has shown the importance of success at sea. Assuming the inevitability of a war in the east with Japan, the military commanders determined the main task - to strengthen the Pacific Flotilla.

So, consider the state of the fleets of countries. The total number of ships of the Russian Empire in the east in 1904 was 64. Of these, there were 35 destroyers; there were also cruisers, battleships, and large boats. The Japanese fleet outnumbered the Russian one. Only destroyers were commissioned 47. The total number was 87 units. As we can see, the Japanese Navy outnumbered the Russian squadron by 23 ships. Perhaps the Russians were confident of their technical superiority, but that didn't work either. Japanese ships were faster, fired better and were more protected from enemy shots.

The beginning of the war

Suddenness is one of important elements success in the war. The Japanese army, namely the naval forces, on January 27 in two directions at once. Note that both battles ended successfully for the Japanese, although their fleet also lost some strength. The first Japanese attack was at night. The squadron of Asians consisted of 25 ships of three types: battleships, cruisers, destroyers. The shelling damaged the Russian battleships "Tsesarevich" and "Ratzivan", as well as the cruiser "Pallada". Out of surprise, the Russian troops were not really able to repulse this sortie of the Japanese.

The second attack took place in the morning of the same day, as a result of which another 5 Russian ships went out of action. It cannot be said that the damage to the empire's fleet was fatal, but quite tangible, because the repair of ships was poorly organized.

Where was the second battle of the day? The now famous Korean Incheon at that time was called Chemulpo. At the beginning of 1904, two Russian ships were on the roadstead in this port: "Varyag" and "Koreets". The Japanese attacked the Russians with 14 ships. It is clear that the fate of the Russian ships was determined, but the Japanese could not defeat them quickly in any case. The commander of the "Varyag" Rudnev believed that it was necessary to try to break free from the claws of the Japanese and reach the port of Arthur. A battle began at sea. Damage to the Varyag did not allow the idea of \u200b\u200bleaving Korea to come true, but 3 Japanese ships were also neutralized. Note that the Russian sailors did not die and after a while they were able to get to their homeland.

The death of Makarov

The leadership of the Russian army understood that the Pacific Fleet at the start of the war had not withstood the test of hostilities. To establish military training, the famous Vice Admiral Makarov was appointed to command the fleet. This man had significant combat experience, so he had to effectively cope with the assigned tasks.

During the month of its activity, the Russian fleet was transformed. Makarov significantly raised the level of military training, raised the organization of the fleet. The intensity of the exercises also increased, which made it possible to increase the number and success of ships at sea. Of course, the Japanese did not sit idly by watching the qualitative changes in the Russian fleet. All exits from the port of Arthur were constantly mined. On March 31, 1904, the cruiser "Petropavlovsk", on board which Makarov was sailing, was blown up by a mine. All people on board were killed.

Second stage of the war

The victory of the Japanese Navy made it possible to organize the island state to transfer significant amphibious forces to the Liaodong Peninsula. By the way, this operation was thought out and organized in advance, because the Japanese were secretly gradually penetrating Korea since the fall of 1903. Of course, the Japanese army did not engage in open aggression. We are talking about people from the reserve who were traders, artisans, etc. the main task These forces consisted in preparing the conditions for the success of the landing operation, collecting intelligence.

From January 24 to March 3, more than 35,000 Japanese landed on the Korean coast. It is important for us to understand the balance of power of the Russians. The total number of the army in Asia was 123 thousand people. Of these, about 24 thousand were in the Primorsky Territory. On the Kwantung Peninsula there were about 30 thousand. The Russians were guarding the border with Korea with 19 thousand troops. Northeast China was a strategically important territory for tsarism. There were more than 50 thousand soldiers of the tsarist army here. The Land Army was commanded by General A. N. Kuropatkin.

The grouping of Russians on the border with Korea acted passively. Sluggishness led to the fact that the Japanese were able to attack the 7,000-strong corral of the Russians and defeat it. As a result of the battle, the Russian army lost more than 30 guns, about 3 thousand soldiers were killed, and had to retreat 70 kilometers. The Liaoyang battle began unsuccessfully for the empire.

Jinzhou: another defeat for the tsarist army

Yes, the Russians were confident in their superiority on land, but in this they were mistaken. Another Japanese landing party landed on April 22, 1904. The number of this group was also about 35 thousand. The Japanese maneuver consisted in the fact that they did not engage in battle with the army commanded by A. N. Kuropatkin, but headed deep into the continent. Of course, the command of the Asians understood the full risk of the operation, so on May 4, 15 thousand troops landed in the Dagushan area. Objective: Cover the Jinzhou offensive.

The Japanese trek to the city lasted 19 days. The narrowest passage to the Kwantung Peninsula is located near this city. The grouping of Russians on this isthmus was about 4 thousand people. On May 13 there was a long battle. Although the losses of the Japanese were 3 times greater, it was they who won the battle. As a result of this victory, the Japanese army opened its way to the port of Dalny. Northeastern China fell under the general control of Japanese forces, and the Russian troops were effectively cut off from each other.

Liaoyang battle

In August 1904, the third stage of the war began. The Liaoyang battle was already planned, because for three months serious defensive structures were being built near this settlement. In August 1904, the size of the Manchu Russian army was 152 thousand, and the Japanese forces were 22 thousand less in number. The battle of Liaoyang in 1904 went down in history as an event that completely broke the spirit russian army.

Despite their smaller numbers, the Japanese were the first to attack on August 11. They wanted to surround the Russians, or at least completely isolate them from possible way approach of new forces. The initiative always belonged to the Japanese troops, because, unlike the Russians, they were active.

Kuropatkin's army did not have the opportunity to go on the offensive abruptly, because the distance from the center was more than 7000 km. On August 19, Kuropatkin surrendered another point to the Japanese, after which there was a threat of capture of Yantai. Realizing that nothing could be achieved, the command decided to retreat to Mukden. The Liaoyang battle, whose participants lost a total of up to 40,000 people, showed the backwardness and immobility of the Russian troops.

Results of the war

In principle, there is no point in talking about further battles, because these were the successes of the Japanese and the agony of Russia.

The results of the war for Russia were very difficult. So, the 1905 Portsmouth Peace Treaty says that:

1. South Sakhalin goes to Japan.
2. Japan leases the Liaodong Peninsula.
3. Possibility of being held by the Japanese railroad on the Liaodong Peninsula.
4. Withdrawal of the Russian army from Manchuria.

Russia and Japan entered into a conflict, the consequences of which, in fact, are still felt today, because a peace treaty between Russia and Japan following the results of the 1945 war has not yet been concluded.

In early January 1904, Vice Admiral Alekseev, suggesting that the Japanese government was about to unleash a war, turned to the tsar with a request to allow the announcement of the mobilization of troops in the Far East.

A few days later, on January 12, an answer followed, in which it was allowed to declare martial law for the fortresses of Port Arthur and Vladivostok, prepare for mobilization and prepare a detachment of troops to be sent to Yala to cover the concentration of troops in South Manchuria from Korea in the event that, if the Japanese land in Korea.

On January 23, it was ordered to form a detachment of troops in the Liaoliang-Haichen region and move to the Yalu River as part of an infantry brigade, a Cossack brigade, an artillery battalion and a sapper company.

The Japanese, realizing that time was against them, were in a hurry. On January 15, the training began on the island of Tsushima and in the Hakodate fortress.

In the Sasebo area, transports were concentrated for transporting troops. Alekseev again turned to the tsar for permission to announce mobilization and begin transporting troops to the concentration area. In addition, he asked for permission to put the fleet out to sea to counter the landing of Japanese armies in Chemulpo and north of it. Five days later, the tsar replied with a telegram: “It is desirable that the Japanese, not us, open military action. Therefore, if they do not start actions against us, then you should not prevent them from landing in South Korea or on the east coast up to Genzan inclusive. But, if on the western side of Korea their fleet, with or without landing, moves to the north through the thirty-eighth parallel, then you are allowed to attack them without waiting for the first shot from their side. "

But even before this telegram, Alekseev was allowed to start a campaign, go to sea for joint navigation and firing.

• On February 4, in Tokyo, it became known that the Russian squadron had left Port Arthur. The Japanese government immediately took advantage of this pretext to implement their plans. At a meeting with the Mikado, it was decided to start hostilities without officially declaring war; orders were immediately issued to send troops to Korea, in Chemulpo, and to attack the Russian fleet at its base. A general mobilization was announced in the country.
• On February 6, the Japanese fleet consisting of 6 battleships, 14 cruisers and over 36 fighters and destroyers went to sea.

On this day, the chief commander of the Kronstadt port, Stepan Osipovich Makarov, worried about the fate of the Russian fleet, submitted a letter to the head of the naval ministry, Admiral Avelan, in which he wrote that if now we did not put the fleet in the inner basin of Port Arthur, then we would have to do it after the first night attack paying dearly for the mistake.

Makarov's letter with the resolutions “to report to his majesty,” “to the naval department for business,” and “to keep it very secret, not to make copies” was archived. The officials of the Naval Ministry and the Main Naval Staff remained deaf to the voice of the restless admiral.

Alekseev, despite clear signs of war, did not take measures to bring the troops and the fleet to combat readiness. Tensions with Japan and the severance of diplomatic relations were hidden from the officers. In early February, naval exercises were carried out on a Russian squadron.

On the night of February 9, a Russian squadron consisting of 16 pennants stood crowded on the outer roadstead according to a peacetime disposition. The approaches to the raid, contrary to common sense, were illuminated by ship searchlights. The duty cruisers "Askold" and "Diana", instead of being at sea, were only on standby in case of an alarm.

At 11 o'clock in the evening on the flagship battleship "Petropavlovsk" the meeting with Vice Admiral Stark ended, at which measures against a possible enemy attack were discussed. Saying goodbye to the officers before leaving the ship, the chief of the naval staff, Rear Admiral Vitgeft, said: "There will be no war."

Meanwhile, the United Fleet was approaching its target. At 6 o'clock in the evening, the signal was raised to start the operation. Togo divided his fighters into two detachments: the first detachment consisted of ten units, he went to Port Arthur, the second of eight to Talienwan. Battleships, cruisers and the remaining destroyers headed for the Elliot Islands. By dividing the fighters into two groups, Togo made a serious mistake, weakening their striking power; there were no Russian warships in Talienvan.

The commanders of the first squadron of fighters noticed Russian patrol ships at a great distance and, putting out their navigation lights, marched towards Port Arthur unnoticed and fired several torpedoes at the squadron. Two ships shining with searchlights and the battleship "Tsarevich" were permanently disabled. Only because the Japanese attack was poorly organized and stretched out in time, the Russian squadron did not suffer large and irrecoverable losses.

On the morning of February 9, the main forces of Togo appeared near Port Arthur. The Russian squadron under the command of Admiral Stark went out to meet the enemy. The battle lasted on countercourses, and when the Japanese approached the coast, the fortress artillery from the Golden Mountain and Electric Cliff entered the battle. Seeing the Port Arthur squadron almost at full strength, which, moreover, showered him with shells, and the tactical disadvantage of the situation, Togo immediately retreated. Stark did not pursue him.

The first day of the war at sea was an ordeal for the Russian fleet. The war turned out to be unexpected for the officers, who were not ready for it, not only militarily, but mainly morally. Because of the carelessness of the tsarist officials, the Japanese managed to inflict serious damage on the Port Arthur squadron. In addition to the ships blown up on the Port Arthur roadstead, the Russian fleet lost the cruiser Varyag and the gunboat Koreets in the Korean port of Chemulpo on February 9.

S.O. was appointed to the post of Stark. Makarov. On February 17, Stepan Osipovich Makarov, together with his headquarters, departed for Port Arthur. On March 8, the commander arrived in Port Arthur, and immediately went to the sailors on whom he depended combat activity fleet. The balance of power in the Yellow Sea at this time was as follows:

Stepan Osipovich Makarov was a very active person and developed a vigorous activity in Port Arthur, striving to improve the combat skills in the fleet, and he, not unsuccessfully, sought to establish communication between the fleet and the coastal department. He made a lot of exits with a squadron at sea and did not stop even before the numerical superiority of the enemy. The sailors loved him. In one of the Japanese counterattacks, not expecting all the battleships, Makarov on "Petropavlovsk", having "Poltava" and 2 cruisers in the wake, hurried to the rescue of "Bayan". But finding himself in a very disadvantageous position, under enemy fire, Makarov turned to the fortress under the cover of its batteries. On the roadstead, other ships joined him, and "Petropavlovsk", going head, began to lean towards the enemy with the intention of attacking him. But the fight was not given. At 9 hours 43 minutes a huge column of smoke rose over the "Petropavlovsk", a thunderous explosion was heard, and two minutes later the battleship, engulfed in flames, disappeared under water, having blown up on a mine bank exposed by Japanese minelayers on the night of April 13. In Japanese military literature it is indicated that the laying of mines was not noticed by the Russians. In reality, unknown ships were found in the roadstead, and this was even reported to Makarov, but the admiral did not allow opening fire, being sure that these were their own destroyers returning from reconnaissance. For some unknown reason, Makarov did not give the order in the morning to wipe out the places where the ships were seen. His headquarters did not take care of this either.

The commander of the Pacific Fleet died along with the headquarters, not realizing their operational and tactical plans and intentions. With the death of the commander, active operations of the Port Arthur squadron ceased.

Admiral Togo reported on the events in Tokyo, and a few days later the headquarters decided to begin the crossing of the 1st Kuroki Army across the Yalu River. If the crossing was successful, the Japanese intended to begin the landing of the 2nd Army on the Liaodong Peninsula.

After Makarov's death, Alekseev, who had arrived from Mukden, took command of the fleet. His appearance in Port Arthur coincided with the third bombing of the fortress and the fleet by Japanese ships. Return fire was also fired. The shooting was carried out from the maximum distance (up to 110 cables) and ended in vain for both sides. Alekseev ignored all Makarov's innovations. True to his views to protect the fleet and in no way risk it, he immediately switched all his forces to the defense, harshly suppressing the attempts of individual commanders to act in an offensive spirit.

port arthur defense fall

The beginning of hostilities on land

On May 5, the first echelon of the Japanese army began to land in the Biziwo area. The team of Russian infantrymen who were here under the fire of Japanese ships withdrew. Major General Fock, having four regiments of the 4th East Siberian Division with artillery near the landing, did not show any initiative, remaining in the role of an observer. Within a few days, the Japanese landed and unloaded all their weapons.

And at this time, regular meetings were held in Port Arthur, during which it was decided to disarm most of the ships and write off weapons along with the sailors to the shore. The fleet was "commanded" by General Stoessel, who did not understand anything about its combat use. Until mid-June, 166 guns were removed from the ships and installed in positions.

11 miles from Port Arthur, two of the best Japanese battleships, covering the landing, were killed on mines set by the sailors of the Amur mine layer. In addition, the Japanese had 2 ship collisions, as a result of which 1 cruiser and 1 gunboat.

The reasons for what was happening were not only in the art of Russian miners, but also in the poor organization of the enemy fleet during the siege service, in unsatisfactory reconnaissance, insufficient tactical literacy of officers and their helplessness in the face of mine danger.

After the death of Admiral Makarov, a new stage of the war began. The Russian squadron was unable to conduct active operations at sea. Instead of using the remaining ships of the fleet in full force at sea, admirals Vitgeft and Alekseev disarmed them. The Japanese high command used favorable conditions and made the landing without opposition. airborne army in the rear of Port Arthur, which interrupted the communications of the fortress with the army in Manchuria. The "United Fleet", having suffered heavy losses, nevertheless continued to carry out blockade service and dominated the Yellow Sea. Japanese troops, not waiting for Kuropatkin to concentrate his forces, advanced. Port Arthur was under the threat of a siege.

Units of the 2nd Japanese Army, advancing in the direction of Port Arthur, on May 17 occupied the heights in front of the Kinchzhou (Jinzhou) Valley and began to strengthen in anticipation of the approach of the main forces. General Oku decided to attack the fortified Russian position with the forces of three divisions and a separate artillery brigade (more than 35 thousand soldiers with 198 guns). One division, which landed in the second echelon of the army, remained for cover from the north. The fortified position on the isthmus of the Kwantung Peninsula between Kinchzhou Bay and Hunueza Bay was a group of hills along the front up to 4 km with slopes descending to the bays; it had two lines of trenches with communication trenches, dugouts and redoubts, fenced with artificial obstacles made of wire fences in four to five rows of stakes with a total length of up to 6 km. In a wheel-to-wheel position, there were 13 artillery batteries - 65 guns and 10 machine guns. Although in the Kinzhou area under the general command of the commander of the 4th East Siberian rifle division Major General Fock had about 18 thousand soldiers, only 14 companies and 5 hunting teams (3800 people) were allocated directly for the defense of the position; they were commanded by Colonel Tretyakov, the commander of the 5th East Siberian Regiment. Consequently, the Japanese outnumbered the Russians in artillery by three times, and in the infantry by almost ten times.

On the morning of May 26, after artillery barrage, thick lines of enemy soldiers rushed into the attack, but, met with hurricane fire, they lay down. Then the fire of all Japanese artillery, including the gunboats that appeared in Kinchzhous Bay, fell on the artillery that had discovered. By eleven o'clock, some of the guns were knocked out, and those who remained in the ranks ceased firing due to the lack of shells. By noon, the first phase of the battle was over, the enemy's artillery fell silent, and his infantry, in no direction, could approach the Russian trenches at a distance that allowed them to rush into a bayonet attack. The position of the Japanese army, which had only one Russian regiment against itself, was far from brilliant. General Fock withdrew from the leadership of the hostilities, entrusting this to the brigade commander, General Nadein; but the latter did nothing except to try to send reinforcements to the position, which Fock had returned from the way. Stoessel sat out in Port Arthur. His leadership was expressed in a single telegram, proposing to Fock to introduce the 6-inch Kane cannon, which had not yet been installed in position.

In the afternoon, Fock sent a note to Tretyakov, recommending that the left flank be strengthened, and, having received the answer that there was not a single free company in the regiment and that all the hope was only in the prowess of the soldiers and the courage of the officers, nevertheless, he did not single out 14 thousand of the 14 thousand at his disposal. not a single soldier. On the night of May 27, the 5th regiment withdrew to the Nangalin station. Dalny was left on the same night. Its well-equipped port was not destroyed; the enemy got many trophies. The Japanese advanced very cautiously and occupied the city only on June 1.

At Kinzhou, the Russians lost 20 officers and 770 soldiers killed and missing, 8 officers and 626 wounded. The losses of the 5th Regiment, from which 37% of the soldiers and 51% of the officers dropped out, testified to perseverance and heroism. The Japanese lost, according to their data, 33 officers and 716 soldiers killed and 100 officers and 3355 soldiers wounded.

With the abandonment of Kinzhou - the forward position of Port Arthur - the road to the fortress was opened to the enemy, there was not a single fortification on the way to it. The enemy got the Dalny port, through which throughout the entire Japanese armies operating in Manchuria and against Port Arthur, they received new contingents of troops, ammunition, and food. In particular, 11-inch howitzers for the siege of the fortress arrived at the theater through Dalny, where there were devices for unloading them from transports.

In early June, there was a conflict between the naval, in the person of Vitgeft and Alekseev, and the land authorities, in the person of Stoessel, who demanded that the fleet go to sea without battleships being repaired at the docks. The superior Alekseev condemned Stoessel and listed him his immediate responsibilities. Stoessel did not calm down and began to bombard Kuropatkin with telegrams, asking for immediate help. In the end, both Alekseev and Kuropatkin realized that Stoessel was a coward and alarmist, with his behavior weakened the moral strength of the defenders of the fortress, and decided to withdraw him from Port Arthur. However, the matter was not brought to execution, and Stoessel, by forgery and deception, managed to stay in the fortress.

On July 28, the Japanese occupied Hill 93, which dominates the “passes”. Capturing it did not make any difference, but General Stoessel seized on it and ordered the troops to immediately withdraw to the fortress. The maneuvering period of the Kwantung war is over. A close siege and defense of the fortress began.

Tactical Draw
Strategic victory for the Japanese fleet

Morning battle involving heavy ships

After the night attack, Admiral Togo sent his subordinate, Vice Admiral Dewu Shigeto, with 4 cruisers for reconnaissance at 08:00 to assess the results of the night attack and the damage done to the Russian fleet. By 09:00 the Deva squad was close enough to make out the Russian fleet through the morning fog. Deva saw 12 battleships and cruisers, three or four of which appeared to be badly damaged or washed ashore. The smaller ships outside the harbor were in apparent disarray. Deva approached about 7 km to the harbor, but since he went unnoticed, he came to the conclusion that the night attack paralyzed the Russian squadron, and hastened to report to Togo.

Deva was able to convince Togo that the moment could be extremely favorable for an immediate attack by the main forces of the fleet. Although Togo would have preferred to lure the Russian fleet out of the range of coastal batteries, Deva's overly optimistic report convinced him that the risk was justified.

On approaching Port Arthur, the Japanese fleet was spotted by the Russian cruiser Boyarin, which was on patrol. "Boyarin" fired at "Mikasa" from the utmost distance and hastened to the main forces of the Russian fleet. At 11:00, a firefight between the fleets began from a distance of about 8 km. The Japanese concentrated the fire of their 12 "guns on coastal batteries, and 8" and 6 "guns - against the ships of the Russian squadron. The shooting was not very well-aimed on both sides, but the Japanese managed to damage the Novik, Petropavlovsk, Poltava," Diana "and" Askold. ”Soon, however, it became clear that Deva was overly optimistic in his assessments. In the first five minutes of the firefight, Mikasa received a direct hit, destroying the aft bridge and wounding the chief engineer, flag lieutenant and 5 other officers ...

At 12:20, Togo ordered the return course. This was a risky maneuver, as it exposed Japanese ships to the fire of Russian coastal batteries. The Japanese ships successfully completed the maneuver and quickly went beyond the range of the Russian batteries, but the Shikishima, Iwate, Fuji and Hatsuse received direct hits. Several hits at the time of the turn were also in the cruiser of Admiral Kamimura Hikonojo. At that moment, Novik, which was about 3 km from the Japanese cruisers, fired torpedoes. Everyone passed by, and the Novik got a hole below the waterline.

Outcome

The battle at Port Arthur did not bring a decisive victory to either side. The losses of the Russians amounted to about 150 people, the Japanese - about 90. Although not a single ship was sunk on either side, several ships were damaged. However, the Japanese had repair facilities and a dry dock at Sasebo, while the Russians had to rely on the very limited repair facilities of Port Arthur.

A formal declaration of war on Russia was made by Japan on February 10, the day after the battle.

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Literature

• "Top secret story" about the battle at Port Arthur // Sea War: magazine. - Grand Fleet, 2010. - Issue. 1 . - S. 15-32.

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Excerpt from the Attack on Port Arthur

In fact, the Russo-Japanese War began before its official announcement.
On the morning of January 24 (February 6), 1904, the United Japanese fleet left Sasebo and began to move northward, capturing commercial Russian ships along the way. In just 4 days of sailing, 10 of them were captured, and the most valuable is the Manchuria paraboat going to Port Arthur with 27 thousand charges on board.
On January 26, the fleet was 300 miles from Quantun, and then Admiral Togo sent the cruiser Vice-Admiral Deva ahead. Rear Admiral Uriu with his detachment and the additionally attached armored cruiser Asama went to Chemulpo. On the evening of the same day, the main force approached the island of Round, located 45 miles from Port Arthur. Wasting no time, Togo sent all 18 fighters to attack at once (19 in fact, but one of them collided with a transport and was immediately withdrawn from combat). Togo did not know about the deployment of the Russian squadron, so ten ships sailed to Port Arthur, eight to Talienvan, to the Dalny port, where there was no one and the ships returned with nothing.
The Russian squadron knew nothing of the kind, moreover, it could have encountered the Japanese, but did not notice them. The destroyers on duty were "Fearless" and "Quick", their navigation lights were on, so it was easy to avoid meeting them.
The first Japanese detachment of the 1st rank captain M. Asaya, focusing on the searchlights "Pallada", "Retvizan" and loading coal "Pobeda" and "Diana", simply fired torpedoes almost point-blank (from a distance of 4 cables - further KB). 16 torpedoes (457 mm) were fired, three were hit (well, that was the accuracy in those years).
To tell the truth, those torpedoes that missed turned out to be defective - 10 pieces did not sink, and one generally floated with a check.
In the roadstead there were 16 Russian ships in the "peacetime" disposition: the battleships "Petropavlovsk" (flagship), "Poltava", "Sevastopol", "Retvizan", "Pobeda", "Peresvet" and "Tsesarevich", cruisers 1- 1st rank "Bayan", "Pallada", "Diana" and "Askold", 2nd rank cruisers "Novik", "Boyarin" and "Dzhigit", gunboat "Bully" and military transport "Angara". The ships stood in four lines at a distance of 2 cables from each other. In general, we were lucky that the Japanese did not know this, otherwise the fleet would have gone to the bottom on the very first night.

Of course, the attack was noticed, but it was too late - "Retvizan" got a hole in 14 square meters. meters, and the return fire only forced the Japanese to upset the order of battle. The "Tsarevich" and "Pallada" were also blown up. "Tsarevich" was sinking and already had 16 degrees of heel aboard, and only by counter-flooding of the compartments it was possible to keep it .. All three ships were stranded near the entrance to the inner roadstead for fear of sinking. The passage was so narrow that the Retvizan blocked part of it with its hull.
This was a tangible loss, since both the Retvizan and the Tsarevich were the strongest armored ships of the fleet, and their repair was simply impossible (well, more precisely, it lasted several months). The Russians responded with indiscriminate but strong fire, which drove away the Japanese squadron and prevented the final sinking of the Retvizan and Tsarevich.
The battleship "Retvizan" on the roadstead of Port Arthur.

An hour and a half after the attack, the cruiser "Novik", as well as "Askold" and "Boyarin" with destroyers left for pursuit, but did not find the enemy. It was already almost one in the morning.
The next day, January 27 (February 9), at 8 am, reconnaissance cruisers of the Japanese fleet appeared on the horizon, and after another three hours Admiral Togo approached Port Arthur. At 11.07 he opened fire. The battle was rather sluggish. Firstly, the Japanese counted on a greater effect of the night attack, which meant that the Russian fleet was ready for battle, and secondly, Togo did not understand the situation very well with the deployment of the fleet. After an almost chaotic firefight with a rather long distance (46-26 kb), the Japanese stepped back. Heihachiro Togo correctly assessed the situation and decided that his position was unfavorable for a successful attack. 5 ships of the fleet were damaged, but how serious it is is difficult to judge due to the conflicting reports of the parties. It must be assumed that at least one of the Japanese battleships was lurching aboard, which meant serious damage.
The commander of the Russian squadron, Vice Admiral O.V. Stark, arrived on it already under enemy fire, but decided to conduct a counterattack. Bad consistency russian fleet led to sad consequences. First, the counterattack, which should have worked out perfectly, did not work. "Petropavlovsk", "Askold" and "Diana" went on a countercourse, but did not dare to pursue the enemy outside the cover of the fortress batteries, although the Japanese left with a wake course and could not respond with the whole squadron. Secondly, the cruisers "Bayan" (captain 1st rank R.N. Viren) and "Novik" (cap. 2nd rank N.O. Essen) twice attacked the Japanese themselves at the beginning of the battle and quite successfully. "Novik" approached at a melee range of 15-17 kb, but it was not supported by other ships, as a result, both cruisers were seriously damaged and retreated.
Third, the artillery fire was rather unsuccessful. Only 1% of the shells hit the target (in fact, the Japanese did not do much better, the numbers vary from 1.1 to 1.9%). We can say that everyone fired into the white light, like a pretty penny, but at the same time the Japanese managed to hook the "Angara" and "Cupid", and we practically nothing.
That is why these battles ended, although the losses should be attributed to the "Varyag" and "Koreets".

The extent to which the Russian squadron was ready for this battle can be understood by a simple fact. On the flagship battleship "Petropavlovsk" at 23:00 on January 26 (February 8), the meeting of the commanders of the squadron ships at Vice Admiral O.V. Stark. It discussed measures against a possible enemy attack. Saying goodbye to the officers, the chief of the naval staff, Rear Admiral VK Vitgeft, said partingly: "There will be no war." This meeting on the flagship ended half an hour before the start of the attack by the Japanese destroyers on the outer roadstead of Port Arthur.

By the way, it was the moral aspect of the issue that turned out to be, perhaps, the most difficult for the Russian army. Everyone was convinced that there would be no war, and the surprise attack by the Japanese fleet led to despondency. The Tsar's governor in the Far East, Admiral Alekseev, who was struck by the night attack of the Japanese fleet no less than the Port Arthurians themselves, simultaneously issued several orders at once on the army and navy forces under his direct control. The governor, one of the orders, declared martial law in Port Arthur. Another, No. 44, said:
“The valiant troops and navy are HIGHEST trusted to me!
At the present moment, when the eyes of our adored TsAR, all of Russia and even the whole world are turned to us, we must remember that we have a sacred duty to stand up for the Tsar and the homeland. Russia is great and powerful, and if our enemy is strong, then this should only give us new strength and power to fight him.
The spirit of the Russian soldier and sailor is great. Our army and navy know many glorious names, names that should serve as an example for us in this great moment.
The Lord God of the Russian land has always stood for a just cause. He will stand up for him now. Let's unite together for the further struggle. May each of you maintain peace of mind in order to fulfill his duty in the best possible way, and, hoping for the help of the Almighty, each do his own thing, remembering that prayer is for God, the service for the king will not be lost.
Long live the STATE EMPEROR, long live Russia!
God is with us. Hooray!
Viceroy, Adjutant General Ev. Alekseev ".

I will make a small digression and a warning at the same time. Due to some leapfrog with dates in the sense that they must be given in the old and new style, I will go to new style, according to which everything began on February 6, and the first battles took place on 8-9.

In addition to the old ones, one more