THE NAVAL BATTLE.

Otago Witness, Issue 2677, 5 July 1905, Page 13

THE NAVAL BATTLE.

THE BALTIC FLEET ANNIHILATED.

A VIVID DESCRIPTION.

TOGO'S EFFECTIVE TRAP.

SYDNEY, June 20. The. D.aily. Telegraphs correspondent jyv-es the following description of the battle ofc Tsjitshima.: — T-he day- was> foggy, with heavy miste banging, low: over the water. The Russian fleet, was diyided'ajto five>diyisions, making 10j knots. Aft, it neared Ts.u-shima the sea grew- rough), and. by, the .time „ AdmjraiTogo's, command- was in- position, to engage, the Russians the sea- was running, high, makings shooting; difficult. When the;, signal; from.' the- Mikasa, "Be i ready- to. leave" reached- the- fleet at s*j3o \ in.t tfte mornings the- Japs- became^ jubilant. ! The? ships, left- tie, rendezvous immediately a wireless message announced' the ap,preach? oii Admiral Bozhdestvensky... Owing; to. the. rjough-weathes the torpedo flotilla' w^as'Tinabl^ to : proceed with. the. flee>,,andittpflk:shelterj at?. TjSU/sbiniKt port. Tie? various-divisions-- took, up the-jr posir tirinfi,. tbe--R-u.ssian- squadion^steaming in- a dfinblg, Unej.-off trjimgndgjig -length, A> 2 q'icldpki."iiii,tjj'e? afterjßQQn,- thfe fightings flags, oJE* Jag^n "Msere- ho.is^fidf amid cfeer*; Adr miral?,'^ffa>^sigßalled; "-Titse. fate qf; the Emj^r4* hftngs solely^' on." this, -battle. All niusti, vmi their., b^st endeavour-." The message* wass ans,weredt variously, from- all the. ships, anji^'tne fi"e,efr. steamed^ to battle. - Txipb misjb: .now liftgd^, a , »nd; diselps^dj to. the- Rug*siaji& the-: terrible, trap into; w,hich "they-,- had 1 ruiji On^ theii: por> they. s.aw icdistinctly in the ha^a. the, firs.ti and second: detiichmentft of>the- Japanese fleet> w-hilst; swingings round to statboard; were the tliird, and. fourth* fle.ets 4 They, steamed alongside one.' anotlteri for- some time, and^ w^€n. o&? Okinarshjjna. the. Russians., opened . fire s The rirsj> r shpi from, the, Japanese fleet' was^&je4- v a-t^2H;£p.mj, an d; s.Goa, an- inpesssaiife thjindfer.o(U|gi cannonade^. was ■proceedi- - irigf/ "Ilia-, markjmansjtipl of; the- Russians wag; i«acci^xate,, bnt£inos;t~-o& th*' O,tipajjes.e; gunpewy fctund- thsiiv markjg. and*, wrought havoc- on, the o^posiflgr shins^ spiashingj the.iron andi woodjwnrk, and; converting- th.€. decfesi into;: v.erita^te I ."sbam)Jles. Tlie. Jfifgb, straight-: sho>'"fi''oid- theifr guns, struck, the conning, townee Qfj'.the,., baj^kship Oslajbyaj and, killed:- Admiral 1 Foelkershaju- and seveisiL o£ his. staffs ©then shots, set- the Bhip.-on-ijEe. j " In, thfe meantime the Japanese o^s-fittoyei-.flotilla.- ligdf takea, up. a- position - on- the.. sfcaEbpard* of J , the niain fow)e. T.he batttleship§/ and' cruisers w ( ere standing. about fly©, miles oft, using, their big guns, and-,- slowly; but- sorely,' pressed- the, enemy tojcardsf the- coasfa of Kyu-shu, Finding they w-«r.ev being, thus driven, the Russians qtlickly.- alter.cd'{ their- course to the e«stward,, N^"c siooner- had this move taken place 'than;- the.- Japanese changed- their course- to/thjß-np^tli, t&e- battleship. Mikasa, whicHi uTp' to. tha> time>- haji. been leading, taking, t^e rear,, whilst the cruiser Kasuga noynHi^dl thc^ sq^adjon. Bothf sides? were cai'r.yjn" on a heavy djiel, butr, it.* was- apparent that the Japaijesi)> had^ the/ ad^ntage-. Th,& sight oft the Oa&bya* on ; fire no doubt discoacertedi'th©- Russians.- as much^ as it cheered th_e- Japafles§,, fpr- shortly after the former changed? their^ course, again-, this, time to the west-. . 'JJhe- Japanese, followed the second^' division, concentrating, their fire UDon/the- vessel: which was in flames, and. j on the various, flagships. T?h.e- Kniaz Suvaroff was,, particularly selected and j heavily bombarded- " First- a, Japanese division, steamed; wdth all speed abreast of the enemy, pouring- in a severe fire, while a. second division steered round to the- flank-, thus almost completely surrounding the armada;. There wag; little- hope- of escape on the part of the Russians, who, compelled to fight, were attacked from all directions, the torpedo boats, dodging about on all j quarters. It -was- in the middle of, the i afternoon, that 1 this clever tactical move J was performed, and the position of the ! fleet remained? about the same throughout the night. The Japanese continued concentrating their fire on various ships. There appeared to be a preconceived arrangement, and a terribly destructive one. A' battleship sank in the first five minutes, and the cruiser Oleg, the flagship of Admiral Enqvist, was badly damaged. This rendered it necessary for the admiral to transfer his flag to the cruiser Aurora. ■which in turn became the centre of a terrible cannonade. _ The Russian marksmanship did not improve. About 90 per cent, of the shots missed, and what did find marks were practically harmless, owing to the inferior - make- of the shells. The Japanese on the other hand were placing a majority of the shots with deadly precision, wrecking the guns, tearing gaping holes in the hulls, and killing and wounding wholesale, until consternation began to appear ABionget the Russians. Several ships could be seen desperately looking for loopholes to escape, and though the Japanese confined them within the fighting lines during the daylight it Was obvious several would escape as soon - darkness descended. < • >.on followed tits capture of Admiral

''Rozhdestvensky, fhe details of which lv-u- ? already- been cabled. His flagship head ■ sunk. The fight- was. continued without the Cominander-in-Chief. The ships were bursting into flames. The running fight proceeded, and the- Russians were slowly but surely annihilated. Towards sunset the auxiliary cruiser Ural was seen running away. A chase ensueel, in which she was sunk, shells exploding her boilers. Tke crew escapedin the boats, and landed in Japan. ' As the evening drew on the area of the ! battle extended considerably, and that, ! combined with the heavy pall of smoke ' caused by the guns and the burning, ships., , led to Admiral Togo losing sight of tho ! various units. I. The. Ostijibya- was- with the approach of evening still burning vigorously, and the order- was- given to the fifth destroyer I flotilla to sink her. She shelled the boat 6 as, they; approached and damaged the ! Shiranuhi, one -shell striking the foTe-dis- | a charge fube> whilst another damaged the for.c part, of the vessel. None of the other destroyers w-ere hurt, and they succeeded in. sinking the burning vessel. " The Russians., were evidently- at a loss , what their next, manoeuvre should, be, and, ' darkness- bringing with it increased- determination, on the part of the Japar.€.'*e to destroy the enemy,' made confusaon, worse y, confounded. Ifr. was,;for a time impossible ; tot'tell fit tire din a.sd- smoke* what dam\i age. hadi. b&en.. done to the Japanese de> I'stjlo-yep .'flotillas, which had- sent several l Kligsian; vessels to the- bottom. Whilst ■ the. JajjajaesG'- ships. w,«re- in good fighting trim, many' Russian- shipsi w.6re^ hors- de , combat.. The sea was. covered- with debris and 1 flpatjing. men for, miles- around* and i but little assistance, could be rendered them. When the fighting was at its highest a signal was receiyed-Dy. one of the- torpedo flotillas.that a, blacky object like a. submarine wasj aniengst tJi© T Russian- vessels; and the flp,tilja-, w,as-. ordered to atta,ck it. The ittQiJUa. set out on its- mission, and; was ' -surprised, torfind it wasu a. huge- vessel, floati ing ; unsidfr down, with a. number of> men clinging^ to the keel. L IJiwTjg^ from the big Japanese- ships was suspended afc sunset, but' torpedo attacks wer,e niade- during' the niglit 1 , the flotillas foumiftg- two sections. The- enemy's searc.hlig.hts prevented' the success of two initial; attacks, but in a third' expedition the, batfcle,shiu. Orel was. put out of- the fighting line, the battleship.. Navarin was sunk, and^ others- badly, damaged. The Russians, never attempted to send out their torpedoers under cover of the darkness. ' The. Orel, having two big< holes in the starbqar.d quarter- and the engine-room wrecked, ran into Maizuru naval port. There she was seized by tibe authorities andl the crew made prisoners. I In. the darkness Admiral Enqvist man- ' aged to flee from the fighting line with the cruisers Oleg, Aurora, and Jemtchug. Pulling up, the torpedo nets and stacking, the coal, aft, he escaped- immediately the opportunity presented; itself > and ran down to Manila. When. a_t daybreak, the remaining ruins attempted, to steer a course northwards j the Japanese- pressed hard ahead, being ''determined that not a single ship should escapa. Fighting was resumed at 9 o'clock, and the firing - continued- on and off' throughout the day, the battle now being, continued, to the north of Okino- | shima in a mist, which prevented any sighting further than five miks,. Near the j Liau cossi a group of ships, consisting of I the> battleship (Admiral Dubogatoff's flagship)- Imperator Nicplai, the coast defence I ship Admiral Seniavin, the coast defence j diip General Admiral Aprxine, and the cruiser destroyer Izumrud, were encountered by the Japanese squadron. During the initial fighting the Izumrud fled, and the remainder hauled down their- flags, Admiral Dubogatoff surrendering them to the Japanese main fleet. Whilst the surrender was being accepted by the Japanese the pursuit of the remainder of the Russians was temporarily suspended. The coast defence ship Admiral Ushakoff was espied in a south-western direction, and the Japanese cruisers Ivat and Yakumo immediately set out and sank her, as she refused to surrender. The fourth division of the Japanese and the second torpedo flotilla also espied the Dmitii Donbkoi endeavouring to escape towards the northwest. They pursued her until after nightfall, being unable to sink her though they ,used torpedoers and guns. June 21. The correspondent of the Daily Telegraph, in concluding his description of the battle of Tsu-shima, says : — The fighting gradually dwindled until it resolved itself into the killing of lame ducks and detachments. The Japanese were cruising about looking for any Russians that they might devour. The cruiser Ghitose sank a torpedo destroyer, and a second one was forced aground by ihe jsruiser Nitaaka. The destroyer Murakamo, the converted cruiser Yawatu Maru, and the old Austi-alian liners the Shinano Maru, Taman Maru, and Sadu Maru, when cruising in company, discovered the battle- • ship Sissoi Veliky and the cruisers Admiral Nahimoff and Vladimir Monomach near Tsu-shima. All were crippled and in a sinking condition, having been badly damaged in the torpedo engagement the previous night. Before the Japanese could get them to effect their capture the whole

<^f t.ie Russians sank about 9.15, the :^jv,rity of the men aboard being rescued.

In another quaiter the Russian cruiser Svietlana was sunk, one or two torpedoerr> having d-estroyed her, whilst the fighting ship Kamschatka was driven ashore and badly damaged by shot. The special service ship Irtish put into Todoinura severely crippled, sinking on the 29th at her moorings. Through the night of ths 28th tha search continued. On the morning of the 29th the Dmitri Donekoi was found r.ear Erhlung Island by a flotilla of torpedo boats. She would not allow herself to be taken, however, and on the approach of the enemy opened her Kingston valve and sank, the crew being rescued by t-he natives on shore or by the torpedo boats. Some survivors of- this vessel declared that they saw two or three torpedo destroyers sink on tho 27th, one of w-hich broke in halves during the fightingv

• The theory put forward that submarines 1 were engaged is in no way borne out by _the various accounts or by the reports of (Admiral Togo.

There, is no doubt the victory must be attributed to the rdmirab'le seamanship and tactics of Admiral Togo, the excellence of the Japanese "gunnery, and tSje, skill, and daring of the torpedo craft, w,hiph seem. ,even to have exceeded. th&ir> exploited at , Port Arthur. Bossifoly, also. the. results ; achieved are explicable to some extent by the low morale of the Russian crews, the ; heavy seas, their bad ammunition, andthe fault-mess of, the two-line formation in which Admiral Rozhdestvensky advanced : to- the attack.

A lieutenant on board the Aurora declares, that- the success of the Japanesewas due in no small way to the practical invisibility of their ships, whilst, with their drab black-topped funnels, the Russians were plainly visible. He declares that the Japanese torpedo boats were darting hither and thither-, rendering it necessary for the Russians ships to steam in circles, in order* to ayoid. them. It was in this way that the Oleg, the Aurora, and the Jemtchug. worked their, way out ofthe fighting line. After dark they found; themselves in the southern entrance of the* Tsu-shima" Strait, and fled" southwards;

With the knowledge that a great naval battle was imminent, the Japanese nation waited calmly, but with suppressed excitement, the coming of the conflict. Thpy received the news of the victory with that remarkable control' which has characterised them throughout. Visitors from abroad who were in Yokohama when the victory was announced' were, surprised at the quietness with which the people heard, the news. They had gone through a great national crisis quietly, and then set about- preiwatious for celebrating their success, but anything approaching the enthusiasm shpwn by the British over the Maf eking relief was absent.

The files show that prior to the battle remarkable ignorance existed as to the whereabouts of both, fleets.