Sea battle off Port Arthur
Russian ships of the line in the foreground are hit by Japanese ships
| date | February 8. bis 9. February 1904 |
|---|---|
| place | before Port Arthur, now Lüshunkou |
| output | Tactical Russian Victory; strategic Japanese victory |
| Parties to the conflict | |
|---|---|
| Commander | |
|
|
|
| Troop strength | |
| 7 ships of the line 1 armored cruiser 5 protected cruisers Other smaller ships |
6 ships of the line 5 armored cruisers 4 protected cruisers 15 destroyers 20 torpedo boats |
| losses | |
|
150 dead and wounded |
90 dead and wounded |
Port Arthur (Sea Battle) - Chemulpo - Yalu - Nanshan - Te-li-ssu - Hitachi-Maru Incident - Motien Pass - Tashihchiao - Hsimucheng - Port Arthur (Siege) - Yellow Sea - Ulsan - Korsakov - Liaoyang - Shaho - Sandepu - Mukden - Tsushima - Sakhalin
The sea battle off Port Arthur ( Japanese 旅順 口 海 戦 , Ryojunkō Kaisen ) took place from January 26th jul. / February 8, 1904 greg. until the following day before Port Arthur between the Japanese fleet under Admiral Tōgō Heihachirō and the Russian fleet under the command of Admiral Oskar Viktorovich Stark .
The naval battle marked the beginning of the Russo-Japanese War with the Japanese raid on the night of February 8th to 9th, 1904. The Japanese fleet and destroyers attacked the Russian fleet off Port Arthur that night and during the following day. The raid ended with a partial success for Japan, as it was able to put some ships out of action for some time, but could not sink any ship.
It was not until February 10, 1904 that the Japanese Empire officially declared war on the Russian Empire.
prehistory
The Japanese government had approved Admiral Tōgō to carry out a surprise attack against the Russians. While the Russian government still hoped to find a peaceful solution, the Japanese were already attuned to war. This attitude brought a great advantage to the Japanese Navy. Tōgō's plan was to drive his fleet to Port Arthur and deal a heavy blow to the Russian squadron stationed there. Tōgō had been informed of the position of the Russian fleet by spies, including the British double agent Sidney Reilly and the Chinese Ho-Liang-Shung. He knew that the Russian ships anchored in two rows alongside the entrance to the port, protected by the guns of the surrounding forts of Port Arthur. He wanted to use the element of surprise with a night attack.
The fleets
The Japanese fleet
- Ship of the line Mikasa (flagship)
- Ship of the line Hatsuse
- Shikishima ship of the line
- Ship of the line Asahi
- Ship of the line Fuji
- Ship of the line Yashima
- Armored cruiser Iwate
- Armored cruiser Azuma
- Armored cruiser Izumo
- Armored cruiser Yakumo
- Armored cruiser Tokiwa
- 15 destroyers
- 20 torpedo boats
In reserve:
- Protected cruiser Chitose
- Protected cruiser Takasago
- Protected cruiser Yoshino
- Protected cruiser Kasagi
The Russian fleet
- Ship of the line Petropavlovsk
- Ship of the line Sevastopol
- Ship of the line Peresvet
- Ship of the line Pobeda
- Liner Poltava
- Ship of the line Zessarevich
- Ship of the line Retwisan
- Armored cruiser Bajan
- Protected cruiser Pallada
- Protected cruiser Diana
- Protected cruiser Askold
- Protected cruiser Nowik
- Protected cruiser Boyarin
The night raid on February 8, 1904
Tōgō had a numerical advantage over the Russian fleet, but it was protected by Port Arthur's land batteries. For this reason he did not want to expose his ships of the line and armored cruisers to unnecessary risks and decided to let his destroyers carry out a torpedo attack. Tōgō had the commander of the destroyers of the 1st Flotilla handed over maps showing the probable positions of the Russian ships. He instructed the captains to approach in the dark and to drive at low speed so that no sparks came out of the chimneys. Only during the attack was it allowed to drive at maximum speed.
While the Japanese had prepared perfectly for the attack, the exact opposite was the case on the Russian side. The Russians trusted their good position and followed the instructions of the Tsar to let the Japanese take the first shot .
The destroyers were divided into two flotillas for the attack. The 1st flotilla comprised the 1st, 2nd and 3rd destroyer divisions, while the 2nd flotilla comprised the 4th and 5th destroyer divisions. The latter flotilla was assigned to the Talien Bay northeast of Port Arthur as a target.
At 10:30 p.m. the 1st Flotilla sighted the lights of the patrolling Russian destroyers. You avoided contact with them. However, two Japanese destroyers collided with each other. Shortly afterwards, the Japanese spotted the lights of the Liau-ti-shan lighthouse and had a reference point from which to determine the positions of the Russian ships. At 12:28 a.m., the first torpedoes were fired at the Russian ships, which detonated shortly afterwards. Hectic activity broke out on the Russian ships and on land. Russian searchlights illuminated the apron of the Russian ships and the shore batteries opened fire. The following Japanese destroyers no longer had the element of surprise on their side and could no longer fire their torpedoes in a targeted manner.
Although only three of the 16 torpedoes fired found their target, the damage caused was not insignificant. The ship of the line Zessarewitsch received a hit shortly behind the magazine, in which the steering drive was damaged, and ran aground. The ship of the line Retwisan was hit in front of the front tower, which tore a sizeable hole. As a result, a department under the armored deck ran full of water and the ship sank aground. It could not be made operational again until June 1904. The protected cruiser Pallada was hit amidships, which caused fires in the coal bunkers. Although he ran aground, a few hours later he was able to take part in the defense against the artillery attack by the Japanese fleet. At the end of April 1904 the Pallada was fully operational again.
Day attack on February 9, 1904
Admiral Tōgō allowed Admiral Dewa to advance to Port Arthur with his 4 cruisers at 8:00 a.m. on February 9th. In the event of an attack, he was supposed to lure the Russian fleet out of Port Arthur and retreat to the main force of the Japanese fleet. At 9:00 a.m., Dewa was within 8,000 meters of the Russian ships. From this distance he interpreted that the Russian ships were badly damaged by the night attack and returned at a distance of 7,000 meters from the Russian ships to report to Admiral Tōgō. Had he moved closer, he would have noticed that the Russian fleet was intact and was getting ready to sail.
At the subsequent briefing between Admiral Dewa and Admiral Tōgō, the former urged to attack the Russian fleet again. Although it had not been Tōgō's plan to attack Port Arthur with his entire fleet, Dewa's report changed his mind.
When approaching Port Arthur, the Japanese fleet first sighted the Russian ship Boyarin , which was on patrol. At the maximum range, the boyarin opened fire on the Mikasa and turned to warn the Russian fleet. At 11:00 a.m. both fleets and the Russian coastal batteries opened fire. The Japanese concentrated their 30.5 cm guns on the coastal batteries, while using their 203 mm and 152 mm guns they took the Russian ships under fire. While the accuracy of the hit was low at the beginning of the battle, it grew on both sides with increasing duration. The Mikasa received a hit that wounded seven officers on the bridge. The gunfire increased in intensity and the Japanese ships increased the distance between themselves and the Russians. The protected cruiser Nowik approached the Japanese cruisers up to 3,000 meters and fired a torpedo salvo. All torpedoes missed their targets and in return the Nowik was exposed to heavy fire. After being hit below the waterline, she hastily retreated.
Tōgō ordered the attack to be broken off and to withdraw. The battle had lasted 40 minutes.
losses
The Japanese had 90 dead and wounded and none of their ships had suffered serious damage. The Russians had 150 dead and wounded. The ships Bajan , Askold , Diana and Novik were damaged, with the Novik being the hardest hit. However, it only took 10 days to repair it.
consequences
Although none of the ships involved were lost in the battle, the Japanese had to withdraw from the battlefield and suffered a tactical defeat. In contrast, the dry dock in Sasebo gave the Japanese an opportunity to completely repair their ships. The Russians, on the other hand, had limited options in Port Arthur. Ultimately, the Russian fleet was blocked by the Japanese fleet in Port Arthur, although several small skirmishes ensued.
literature
- Vladimir Ssemenov: Rassplata. Diary of the Port Arthur Blockade and the Departure of the Fleet under Rojestwensky. At the instigation of the editorial staff of the Marine-Rundschau, translated by Lieutenant for the Sea Hermann Gercke. Mittler and Son, Berlin 1908.
- Richard Connaughton: Rising sun and tumbling bear. Russia's war with Japan. Cassell, London 2003, ISBN 0-304-36184-4 .
- First edition: Richard Michael Connaughton: The War of the Rising Sun and the Tumbling Bear. A military history of the Russo-Japanese War 1904 - 5. Routledge, London a. a. 1988, ISBN 0-415-00906-5 .
- Harry Collingwood: Under the Ensign of the Rising Sun - A Story of the Russo-Japanese War , A public Domain Book, 2009, ISBN 978-1-4099-1897-4 .
Movie
- Port Arthur - The Battle of the China Sea (Original title: Nihonkai daikaisen ). Feature film, Japan, 1969, 90 min. Director: Seiji Maruyama.
Web links
- Comprehensive information on the Russo-Japanese War
- The Russo-Japanese War at Sea (Russian) - Including photo galleries of ships, weapons and people