Battle off Ulsan
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| Russo-Japanese War |
|---|
| Port Arthur (naval) Chemulpo Bay (naval) –Yalu River – Nanshan –Telissu – Yellow Sea – Ulsan (naval) – Port Arthur (siege) – Liaoyang – Shaho – Sandepu – Mukden – Tsushima |
The naval Battle off Ulsan, also known as the Battle of the Japanese Sea, took place on 14 August 1904 during the Russo-Japanese War, 4 days after the naval Battle of the Yellow Sea.
Background
The Vladivostok Cruiser Unit of the Russian fleet made up of the armoured cruisers Rossia, Gromoboiand Rurik raided against Japanese sea commerce in the first stage of the war.
News that the First Pacific Squadron from Port Arthur had sailed reached Vladivostok in the afternoon of 11 August 1904. But the Vladivostok cruisers were not ready for action, since as late as 5 August 1904, a telegram had been received from Admiral Wilgelm Vitgeft stating that he had decided to perish with Port Arthur. Owing to the delay in sailing, there was little hope of being able to assist the First Pacific Squadron at the critical passage of the Tsushima Straits. However, the Russian command assumed that Admiral Vitgeft would be successful in breaking through the Japanese blockade, and therefore ordered Rear Admiral Yessen to sortie the Vladivostok Cruiser Unit to rendezvous with the fleet in the Sea of Japan. The Russian fleet formed in a line abreast at intervals of four nautical miles and headed southward at 14 knots, in hourly expectation of sighting the Port Arthur Squadron.
However, the fleet had not been sighted by the following morning. As the Russian squadron approached Pusan, Admiral Yessen advised his captains that he had no intention of attempting to pass Tsushima Straits, and ordered the squadron back to Vladivostok. It was a fateful decision.
The Japanese fleet made up of more modern armored cruisers Izumo, Azuma, Tokiwa, Iwate, and two protected cruisers Naniwa and Takachiho under the command of Vice Admiral Hikonojo Kamimura, had passed very close to the Russian squadron in the dark on opposite courses but neither was aware of the other.
Ever since 0130 on 14 August 1904, Vice Admiral Kamimura had been heading back from his night patrol area on a course that took him directly to the Russian squadron. No sooner had Admiral Yessen started to turn back to Vladivostock, than he sighted the four Japanese armored cruisers.
The situation was ideal for the Japanese. It was dawn on a fine summer day, and the enemy was as far from Vladivostok as it was possible to be in the Sea of Japan, with the Japanese between themselves and their distant base.
The Battle
At 0520 on 14 August 1904 the fleets had closed to 8500 yards, and the Japanese ships fired first. For some reason, Kamimura, in assigning targets, concentrated fire on the Rurik, the last and weakest in the Russian column. Subjected to twice the bombardment administered to her stronger comrades. Rurik lost most of her officers in a short time, and although extremely damaged, remained afloat, the diminishing number of survivors continuing to fire the few remaining guns until the very last, in a gallant display of classic heroism that won the admiration of the Japanese.
On the easterly run the Japanese ships took some hits, but nothing comparable to what they inflicted. It would be assumed that when the Russians sheered away, Admiral Kamimura would have pressed his advantage closer. Inexplicably, this did not happen. Kamimura oddly held his course during the Russian turn, and when the Japanese turned a few minutes later, it was to a new tack that actually lengthened rather than narrowed the range.
The remaining Russian cruisers tried to cover the Rurik, but with increasing damage, Admiral Yessen decided at 0830 to scuttle the Rurik, and save his other ships by heading back towards Vladivostok. Japanese cruisers chased them for some time, and firing continued, with more damage to the Russian cruisers and slight damage to the Iwate and the Azuma. The Russians were in far worse condition than the Japanese, but Admiral Kamimura then made another inexplicable decision: after pursuit of only three hours, while still on the high seas, and with long daylight steaming hours between the Russian cruisers and Vladivostok, at 1115 hours the Japanese ceased the chase, and turned back towards Pusan.
Despite Kamimura’s failure to destroy the two remaining Russian cruisers, he was hailed as a hero in Japan, and the Vladivostok Cruiser Squadron never threatened Japanese shipping again.
References
- Repington, Charles A., The War in the Far East, 1904-1905. London, 1905.
- Warner, Denis and Peggy, The Tide at Sunrise: A History of the Russo-Japanese War', 1904-1905. New York, 1974.
The Battle of Ulsan
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