Fight in the Yellow Sea

After the close blockade of Port Arthur began, the Russian high command came to the conclusion that the fleet should not associate its fate with the fate of the fortress, and the squadron should be ready for a breakthrough to Vladivostok . On August 7 (July 25), 1904, Japanese siege artillery bombarded Port Arthur Harbor; Considering that the release of Port Arthur could not have occurred before September, the further presence of the 1st Pacific squadron in the harbor would inevitably lead to its destruction.

The purpose of the Russian squadron, in accordance with the order of the Commander-in-Chief of Naval Forces in the Far East, Admiral Alekseev , was to break through the besieged Port Arthur in Vladivostok and connect with the Vladivostok detachment of cruisers . The Japanese fleet sought to prevent a breakthrough and thereby maintain dominance at sea.

1st Pacific Fleet Squadron:

• The main forces of the squadron (VRID commander of the squadron, Rear Admiral V.K. Witgeft ) - 6 squadron battleships ( Tsesarevich (flag), Retvizan , Pobeda , Peresvet , Poltava and Sevastopol );
• Cruisers detachment (Rear Admiral N.K. Reitsenstein, head of the detachment) - 4 armored deck cruisers ( Askold (flag), Pallas , Diana and Novik );
• 8 destroyers - 1st department “ Hardy ” (under the brady pennant of the captain of the 2nd rank captain of the 2nd rank E. P. Eliseev), “ Domineering ”, “ Stormy ”, “ Boyky ”; 2nd squad “ Silent ” (squad leader - destroyer commander Lieutenant A. S. Maximov), “ Fearless ”, “ Merciless ” and “ Stormy ”.
• The squadron was accompanied by the hospital ship "Mongolia".

The ships of the Russian squadron were manned and ammunition, but had some lack of medium-caliber artillery (10 - 152 mm and 12 - 75 mm guns). However, medium artillery did not play a significant role in this battle, since the battle was fought mainly at distances of about 40-50 cable , at which medium-caliber guns were ineffective. The battleship "Retvisan" on the eve of the breakthrough was damaged by siege artillery fire; the armored cruiser Bayan , which exploded on a mine on July 27 (14), could not go to sea.

Japanese Combined Fleet :

• 1st combat detachment (Admiral H. Togo ): 4 squadron battleships ( Mikasa , Asahi , Fuji , Sikishima ) and 2 armored cruisers ( Kassuga and Nissin );
• 3rd combat detachment (Rear Admiral S. Virgo ): 1 armored ( Yakumo ) and 3 armored cruisers ( Kassagi , Takasago and Chitose ).
• 5th combat detachment (Rear Admiral H. Yamada): 2 armored cruisers ( Hashidate and Matsushima) and 1 armored carrier of the 2nd class ( Chin-Yen ^[1] ).
• 6th combat detachment (Rear Admiral M. Togo): 1 armored cruiser ( Asama ) and 4 armored cruisers ( Akashi , Suma , Akitsushima , Itsukushima ).
• 18 destroyers and 30 destroyers.

The ships of the 5th combat detachment of the Japanese fleet were outdated and practically did not take part in the battle. The 2nd and 4th combat detachments under the general command of Vice Admiral Kamimura (4 armored and 4 armored cruisers) were in the Strait of Korea , having the task of preventing Vladivostok cruisers from entering the Yellow Sea .

The battle was fought mainly between the detachment of battleships of the Port Arthur squadron and the 1st combat detachment of the United Fleet, which were approximately equal in their combat capabilities. The total displacement of the Russian battleships was 74,700 tons, the Japanese 1st combat unit - 75,100 tons. The airborne volley of Russian battleships consisted of 15-305 mm, 8-254 mm and 33-152 mm guns (the weight of the volley was 8147 kg ); the onboard volley of the 1st combat detachment included 16-305 mm, 1 254 mm, 6 203 mm and 40 152 mm guns (volley weight 7354 kg ). The ships of Admiral Togo had a slight advantage in speed: 16 knots against 13 - 15 knots in the Russian armored squad.

Russian ships began to leave the harbor of Port Arthur on an external raid at 4:30 on August 10, 1904 ; at 8:30 the squadron went into the sea after the minesweepers . At 10.30 the minesweepers were ordered to return to the harbor, and the squadron headed south-east (SO 55 °).

The Russian squadron was built in one wake column: the head went “Tsesarevich” (flag of Rear Admiral Witgeft), followed by “Retvisan”, “Victory”, “Peresvet” (flag of Rear Admiral Prince Ukhtomsky), “Sevastopol” and “ Poltava ". The battleships were followed by cruisers - Askold (the flag of Rear Admiral Reicenshtein), Pallas and Diana . The cruiser Novik marched ahead with the foresail , and the destroyers with two columns on the flag’s right and left beam. After discovering the main forces of the Japanese fleet (around 11:30), Novik took the place of the trailer in the convoy. "Mongolia" followed behind the squadron. During the battle, the convoy moved mainly in a 13-node move. At about 5 p.m. an attempt was made to increase the speed to 15 knots, but Poltava and Sevastopol began to lag, and the course had to be reduced.

First phase of battle

The fire was opened at 12:20 by the Japanese with a limit distance of 80 cable (14.8 km). At that moment, the position of the Japanese forces was as follows (according to Russian data): the main Japanese forces (1st combat detachment) cut the course of the Russian squadron on the left at a distance of about 75 cable; The 3rd and 5th combat units marched in parallel courses with Russian ships south and north at distances of about 70 and 80 - 85 cable, respectively. The cruisers of the 6th combat detachment were located northeast at a distance of up to 100 cable.

During the first phase of the battle, the opponents actively maneuvered: the Japanese tried to cover the head of the Russian squadron, the Russians avoided the battle and passed the Japanese main forces into the open sea, as well as out of fear of being bombed by mines allegedly put up by the Japanese destroyers at the rate of the squadron.

Shortly after the opening of fire, the Russian squadron turned left, and the Japanese squadron turned right, after which the opponents dispersed in oncoming courses; the average battle distance was 45-50 cable (8.3 - 9.3 km). Around 13:00, the Japanese transferred the fire to the Russian cruisers, who increased their speed and left the line to the left, hiding behind armadillos and forming a parallel wake column of the cruisers. At 13:25 the skirmish of the main forces ceased; The 3rd Japanese fighting detachment fired for some time at the terminal battleship Poltava, which lagged behind the rest due to non-combat damage in the car. At 13:45, the battle resumed briefly on parallel courses, but at about 14:30 the main Japanese forces left the battle and fell behind.

At the beginning of the battle, the 1st division of the destroyers went on the right traverse of the sides of the wake column of the Russian battleships, did not take an active part in the battle and by the end of the first phase of the battle took a place in front of the cruisers. The destroyers of the 2nd division at the beginning of the battle were on the left beam of the sides of the column of battleships. At 13:30 in front of the squadron, 4 Japanese destroyers were spotted. Suspecting them of the intention to put mines at the rate of the squadron, Lieutenant A. S. Maximov led his destroyers in full swing on the attack. After a short skirmish, the Japanese destroyers withdrew, and the 2nd squad took place in front of the left of the column of cruisers. During the interval between the two phases of the battle, the head of the destroyer squad, E.P. Eliseev, was ordered to attack the enemy battleships at nightfall, but did not receive a specific answer to the request to give the coordinates of the rendezvous point with the squadron.

During the first phase of the battle, the Russians most affected by the enemy’s fire were Tsesarevich, Poltava and Askold (the shell hit the chimney, which led to a temporary decrease in traction); in the Japanese fleet, Mikasa and Nissin were damaged.

Second phase of battle

Due to the advantage in speed, the main forces of the Japanese fleet, which were joined by the armored cruiser Yakumo (soon, however, out of combat), gradually again caught up with the Russian battleships. The second battle began at 16:45, while the Japanese squadron was to the right of the Russian; the battle distance was gradually reduced from 40 to 23 cable ones. About half an hour the battle lasted with equal success for both sides, then the Japanese shot at the head of the "Tsesarevich".

The WRID of the squadron commander V.K. Vitgeft was on the lower unarmored armadillo bridge and indifferently watched the progress of the battle. To repeated requests to go into an armored conning tower, he replied: "It doesn't matter where to die." At about 5.30 pm, a 305-mm projectile that hit the Tsesarevich’s focus mast killed Rear Admiral V.K. Vitgeft, the flagship navigator, lieutenant N.N. Azaryev , and junior flag officer O.N. Ellis and 3 sailors, the chief of staff, Rear Admiral N. A. Matusevich, and senior flag officer M. A. Kedrov, the junior flag officer midshipman V. V. Kushinnikov and several sailors were wounded and gassed. In order not to demoralize the Russian squadron, the signal about the death of the commander was not transmitted, and the squadron was actually headed by the commander of the "Tsesarevich" captain 1st rank N. M. Ivanov. At approximately 17:45, from the fragments of a 305-mm shell that fell into the cabin, all who were in the cabin were injured and gas poisoning: ship commander captain 1st rank N.M. Ivanov, lieutenants: senior navigator of the battleship S.V. Dragichevich-Niksic (fatally) , senior artillery officer D.V. Nenyukov, senior mine officer V.K. Pilkin, flagship artilleryman K.F. Ketlinsky, as well as 5 sailors, including a sailor. The shturtros were damaged, as a result of which the battleship, which had lost control, abruptly changed course to the left and began to describe the circulation, cutting through the squadron structure, which was completely disturbed. After a long break, the senior officer, captain of the 2nd rank D.P. Shumov, who stopped the circulation and gave the signal “Admiral passes command to Peresvet” (that is, the younger flagship to Rear Admiral Prince P.P. Ukhtomsky), however, went to “ Peresvet ”the halyards were killed and Rear Admiral could not confirm the signal of joining the command. The Russian armadillos are in a heap.

The Retvizan, who was marching into the wake of the “Tsesarevich” with a second boat , first followed the flagship, but after it became clear that the “Tsesarevich” did not obey the helm, he entered the squadron between Peresvet and Sevastopol, and then, when the Japanese began to shoot the head "Relight", changed course towards rapprochement with the Japanese squadron. Subsequently, this act was regarded as an attempt to ram the armored cruiser Nissin, which was marching in the rearguard, but the version most likely seems to be according to which its commander, 1st-rank captain E. N. Schensnovich decided to go under the stern of Nissin and break through the Japanese system alone squadrons, while the head battleships were busy turning and could not fire "Retvisan" through the formation of their ships. For the Japanese rearguard at that moment, the Retvisan posed little danger, since its bow tower could not turn and fired only at the moments when the Japanese ships themselves fell into sight, and part of the 6-inch guns was disabled. The “Retvisan” was prevented by the hit of a random projectile, as a result of which E. N. Shchensnovich was wounded by a fragment in the stomach and lost control of the ship. The Retvisan, which at that moment was 17 cables away from the enemy, lay down on the opposite course and, without having headed the squadron, went at full speed (significantly exceeding the course of the other battleships) to Port Arthur. Nevertheless, the Retvisana maneuver distracted the Japanese and somewhat eased the position of the Russian squadron.

Around 18:00, the Japanese squadron turned north, embracing the Russian battleships and blocking the path to the Korean Strait. The remaining battleships, led by Peresvet, also went on the reverse course. The main forces of the Japanese fleet, not having the strength to start the pursuit, continued to move north and soon ceased fire.

During the second phase of the battle, Russian cruisers covered armadillos to the left of torpedo attacks of destroyers and enemy light cruisers. When the squadron battleships began to retreat in disarray towards Port Arthur, the cruisers were initially turned in the same direction, being to the right of the armadillos and being fired by Japanese armored ships. At 18:50, Rear Admiral N.K. Reytsenstein (who had received the instruction “In the case of combat, act at discretion” from the beginning of the squadron between the two phases of the battle) decided to break through the encirclement, turned south, forced the move to 21 knot and, raising the signal “Follow All Cruisers Follow Me,” and then “Follow All Ships Follow Me,” attacked the Asama armored cruiser. In fact, the signal was dismantled only at the Novik and at the 2nd squadron, and by 19:40 both cruisers broke past the 3rd, 5th and 6th Japanese combat units, receiving moderate damage. The cruisers Diana and Pallas followed the battleships.

By 20:20, the battle stopped due to darkness.

Post-fight action

With the onset of darkness, the battle ceased; Fearing attacks by Russian destroyers, Japanese armadillos and cruisers disappeared from sight. The Japanese destroyers launched several attacks at night, none of which were successful.

In the darkness, the Russian squadron, deprived of control, was divided. Most of the Russian ships are the battleships Peresvet, Retvizan, Pobeda, Sevastopol and Poltava, the cruiser Pallada, destroyers of the 1st division Hardy, Vlastny and Boyky, as well as hospital ship "Mongolia" - safely returned to Port Arthur.

He lagged behind the squadron due to the noticeably increased yawness of the “Cesarevich” at night by decision of and. about. the commander turned south in order to reach Vladivostok. Later, when comparing courses, it turned out that the destroyer “Silent” helped him to go unnoticed, delaying the pursuit of the enemy squadron by more than two hours. At dawn, N.M. Ivanov returned to command of the ship, who, having assessed the damage, took the Cesarevich to Qingdao (German Navy) on July 29. The cruiser "Diana", also behind the squadron due to an underwater hole, approx. 20:00 turned south, repulsed the enemy destroyer attacks and, having calculated that there was not enough coal to Vladivostok, left for Saigon (French colony in Vietnam), where he arrived on August 12 after two refueling with coal in neutral ports. The Askold cruiser, assessing the damage the next day, having two underwater holes and half 6-dm artillery that failed, refused to break through to Vladivostok and went south to Shanghai .

The Novik cruiser shortly after the battle fell behind Askold due to the need to inspect the refrigerators, then refueled with coal in Qingdao and went to Vladivostok, skirting the Japanese islands from the east. On August 7 (20), 1904, he went to the post of Korsakov ( Sakhalin ) for refueling with coal, where on the evening of the same day he was flooded by the crew after the battle with the Japanese cruiser Tsushima .

Of the destroyers of the 1st division, the Storm was in the evening near the Diana and, on the orders of the cruiser commander, accompanied him. In the morning, due to leaking refrigerators, he was ordered to follow in Qingdao, was attacked by a Japanese cruiser along the way, left him in shallow water all day on July 29, and with great difficulty, feeding boilers with seawater, arrived in Shanghai (China). Of the destroyers of the 2nd division, the head Silent at night lost its destroyers, followed on its own, and in the morning slipped into cab 50. ahead of the Japanese squadron and under one machine came to Qingdao . The Fearless and Merciless couple who followed in the morning broke away from the pursuit of several Japanese cruisers and, due to a lack of coal, also left for Qingdao . Концевой в своем отделении миноносец «Бурный» ночью отстал, рано утром налетел в тумане на камни у мыса Шаньдун и был взорван экипажем, который пешим порядком прибыл в Вэйхайвэй (английская колония в Китае).

Все корабли, прибывшие в иностранные порты, были интернированы до конца войны: в китайских и французских — по распоряжению русского командования, в германских и британских — по распоряжению властей.

В этом бою и русские, и японские корабли в ходе боя получили серьёзные повреждения, но ни один корабль не был потоплен. С материальной точки зрения поражение понесли японцы: так, флагман русских, «Цесаревич» имел исправными все орудия, и смог к концу дня восстановить управляемость, в то время как «Микаса» имела неисправными 100 % орудий главного калибра и 50 % среднекалиберных. Всего в «Цесаревич» попало по разным данным от 6 до 12 крупнокалиберных снарядов, в то время как в «Микасу» — 22 ^[2] . В случае, если бы бой продолжился, положение японцев стало бы ещё критичнее — ведь у них заканчивались снаряды, в отличие от русских, стрелявших реже, но, как видно из цифр попаданий, лучше целившихся. Из двадцати трех 305- и 254-мм орудий русских вышло из строя к концу боя от японского огня всего четыре, то есть 17 %, а из 66 6-дюймовых вышло из строя 11, или тоже 17 %. На японском флагмане было убито 32 человека (4 офицера), 82 ранено (10 офицеров), в то время как на «Цесаревиче» было убито лишь 12 человек и 42 — ранено ^[3] . В конце сражения «Микасой», в связи с гибелью или ранением командиров, командовал уже третий по счету капитан. Крупнокалиберный снаряд, попавший в броненосец «Асахи», пробил его борт под ватерлинией около кормы и произвел сильные повреждения внутри корабля; осколками были убиты старший артиллерийский офицер и несколько матросов. В броненосный крейсер «Кассуга» попало три крупных снаряда, причинивших большие разрушения. Сильно пострадали надстройки броненосного крейсера «Ниссин», на корабле было 16 убитых (шесть офицеров) и 31 раненый. Броненосец «Чин-иен» получил попадание двумя снарядами. В тяжелый крейсер «Якумо» попал один снаряд большого калибра (с дистанции 80 кабельтовых, на японском корабле даже ещё не успели объявить боевую тревогу) было убито 9 и ранено 13 человек. Японские миноносцы тоже значительно пострадали: в эсминец «Асагири» попало два крупнокалиберных снаряда, был подбит эсминец «Мурасамэ»; миноносцы «№ 46» и «№ 40» были повреждены: первый в результате столкновения, второй — от попадания снаряда. Миноносец «№ 38» потерял управление и ход от попадания в него торпеды ^[3] . Японский офицер лейтенант Сакура, участник сражения, впоследствии писал в журнале «Кайгун-Дзасси» ^{[4] [5]} : «В этом генеральном бою, если можно так назвать его, наши суда пострадали весьма серьезно; не было ни одного, которое не имело бы пробоины, а следствием их — и крена» . Тем не менее, морское сражение 10 августа 1904 г. стало одним из переломных моментов всей Русско-японской войны , поскольку после него японский флот приобрёл полное господство на море.

Командующий 1-й эскадрой Витгефт по неясным причинам не верил в успех похода, именно в этом духе он настроил и своих офицеров, включая командиров кораблей. Эскадра рассыпалась при первых же сложностях флагмана, хотя все корабли в случае выхода из строя флагмана должны следовать за мателотом, и курс должен был определять, в случае невозможности передачи командования следующему флагману, именно командир следующего в строю за флагманом корабля. Во всяком случае, морской устав не предусматривал разбредания кораблей в произвольном порядке. Сыграли свою роль и цепь случайностей, к коим стоит отнести: два (всего за весь бой было от 6-12) с коротким интервалом времени попадания в район боевой рубки «Цесаревича», выведших из строя почти весь командный состав 1-й тихоокеанской эскадры и броненосца непосредственно ^[6] (первое случилось, по свидетельствам очевидцев, после приказа Того о выходе из боя, но своим фактом заставило его отменить приказ), причём второе пришлось на момент маневра (случись это попадание во время прямолинейного движения, возможно, последствия были бы куда слабее), а также сбитые на «Пересвете» стеньги обеих мачт ^[7] , что не позволило Ухтомскому вовремя взять командование на себя. В то же время на «Микасе» погибло два командира, управление кораблем принял третий, однако командующий адмирал Того остался невредим. Также следует отметить, что Витгефт отверг предложение штаба о прорыве эскадры без тихоходных броненосцев «Полтава» и «Севастополь» ^[8] . В этом случае эскадра имела бы как минимум равенство хода с японской. Однако Витгефт не пожелал снижения огневой мощи броненосного отряда, не располагая данными о местонахождении японских броненосных крейсеров. Владивостокский отряд вышел в море по просьбе Витгефта тоже на отвлекающий манёвр. Потеря «Рюрика» в бою 14 (1) августа оказалась бесполезной для эскадры Витгефта. Также в ходе боя командующий отверг предложение флагманского артиллериста К. Ф. Кетлинского развернуть корабли в строй фронта, позволявший, ведя бой на отступление, иметь превосходство по численности орудий ГК над японским броненосным отрядом ^[9] . Этот манёвр также лишал японцев преимущества в скорости (в противном случае они вынуждены были бы сблизиться на опасное для русских бронебойных снарядов расстояние).

1-я Тихоокеанская эскадра после боя в Жёлтом море практически перестала существовать как организованная боевая сила в первую очередь в моральном смысле; было решено, что прорыв во Владивосток невозможен, после чего началась передача артиллерии, боекомплекта и личного состава эскадры на сухопутный фронт. Надежда на объединение 1ТОЭ и собиравшейся в поход из Балтийского моря 2ТОЭ окончательно растаяла. В материальном смысле повреждения японской эскадры были весьма значительны: «Микаса» нуждалась в ремонте всех башен главного калибра, а также замене треснувших бронеплит, «Асахи» был вынужден доковаться после боя. Однако к подходу эскадры Рожественского все основные корабли японцев были отремонтированы и готовы к бою.

Кроме того, адмирал Х. Того получил возможность отработать основные тактические маневры, исходя из выявленных в ходе этого сражения сильных и слабых сторон русской тактики. Русские корабли шли кильватерным строем на небольшой скорости, маневрируя лишь при крайней необходимости и вели себя пассивно, предпочитая оборонительный ответный огонь на малых дистанциях.

• Русско-японская война 1904—1905 гг. (Работа исторической комиссии по описанию действий флота в войну 1904—1905 гг. при Морском Главном Штабе), т. 3, «Морское сражение в Жёлтом море», Петроград, 1915.
• Разбор боя 28 июля 1904 г. и исследование причин неудачи действий 1-й Тихоокеанской эскадры. // Морской сборник , 1917, № 3. [1]
• Титушкин С. И. Корабельная артиллерия в русско-японской войне. // Сборник статей «Гангут», Вып. 7. 1994. [2]
• Сорокин А. И. Оборона Порт-Артура. 3 изд., М.: Воениздат, 1954.
• Балакин С. А. Морские сражения Русско-японской войны 1904—1905 .

• Энциклопедия кораблей/Бой в Жёлтом море
• Семенов В. И. Морской бой 28 июля
• Разбор боя Исторической комиссией по описанию действий флота в войну 1904—1905 гг.
• Сотворивший Цусиму // Военные катастрофы на море. Comp. Н. Н. Непомнящий. М.: Вече, 2001. ISBN 5-7838-0832-6 . Page 30-36