a fresh breeze mournfully droned through the wire rigging and angrily dispersed the ragged, low-lying clouds. the troubled waters of the yellow sea splashed against the side of the battleship, while a thin, cold, blinding rain fell, and the raw air penetrated to one’s very bones. but a group of officers still stood on the after-bridge, watching the silhouettes of the transports2 slowly disappearing in the rain haze.
on their masts and yard-arms signals were being flown, the last messages and final requests of those who had been our fellow-travellers on the long tedious voyage.
why is it that at sea a friendly greeting of this kind, expressed merely by a combination of flags, touches one’s heart so deeply, and speaks to it even more than salutes, cheers, or music? why is it that until the signal has been actually hauled down every one looks at it, silently and intently, as if real words, instead of motley-coloured pieces of cloth, were fluttering in the breeze, and becoming wet with rain? why is it that on the signal being hauled down every one turns away,3 quietly moving off to his duty, as if the last quiet handshake had been given, and “good-bye” had been said for ever?
“well!—how about the weather?” said some one—to break the silence.
“grand,” answered another with a smile. “if we get this all the way to vladivostok, then thank the lord! why, a general battle will be impossible.”
once more a signal was made to the fleet, and, having cast off the majority2 of our transports at shanghai, we take up our fresh and last “order of march.”
ahead, in wedge formation, was the scout division consisting of three ships—the svietlana, almaz, and ural; next came the fleet in two columns. the4 starboard column consisted of the 1st and 2nd armoured squadrons, i.e. eight ships—the suvoroff, alexander, borodino, orel,3 sissoy, navarin, nakhimoff. on the port side were the 3rd armoured and cruiser squadrons, i.e. eight ships—the nicolay, senyavin, apraxin, ushakoff, and the cruisers, oleg, aurora, donskoy, and monomakh. on either beam, and parallel with the leading ships, were the zemtchug and izumrud, each accompanied by two torpedo-boats, acting as scouts for the port and starboard columns. in rear of, and between, the wakes of these columns steamed a line of transports which we were obliged to take to vladivostok4—the anadir,5 irtish, korea, kamchatka—and with them the repair and steam-tugs, svir and russ, ready to render assistance in case of need. with the cruiser squadron were five torpedo-boats, whose duty it was to co-operate with the former in protecting the transports during the battle. astern of all came the hospital ships, orel and kostroma.
this disposition of the fleet would make it possible, if the enemy appeared unexpectedly, for the various squadrons to take order of battle quickly and without any complicated man?uvres (i.e. without attracting attention). the scout division was to turn from whichever6 side the enemy appeared and to join the cruisers, which were to convoy the transports out of action, and protect them from the enemy’s cruisers. the 1st and 2nd armoured squadrons were to increase speed, and, having inclined to port together,5 were to take station in front of the 3rd armoured squadron and proceed on their former course. the result would be that the three squadrons would then be in single column line7 ahead, and the centre of our fleet would consist of twelve armoured ships. the zemtchug and izumrud were to man?uvre according to circumstances and, taking advantage of their speed, together with the torpedo-boats assigned to them, were to take station ahead, astern, or abeam of the armoured ships. they were to be on the further side of the fleet from the enemy, out of the range of his shells; their duty being to prevent the enemy’s torpedo-boats from getting round the fleet.
above was the plan of battle, worked out beforehand and known to every officer in the fleet. the various details as to formations dependent on the direction in which the enemy appeared, the instructions for fire control, the manner in which assistance was to be8 rendered to injured ships, the transfer of the admiral’s flag from one ship to another, the handing over of the command, etc., etc., were laid down in special orders issued by the commander-in-chief, but these details would scarcely be of interest to readers unacquainted with naval matters.
the day (25th may) passed quietly. towards evening it was reported that an accident had happened to the senyavin’s engines, and all that night we steamed slowly. in the ward-room of the suvoroff the officers grumbled and swore at the “old tubs,”6 as they nicknamed nebogatoff’s ships, but, although natural, it was hardly fair, for we ourselves were little better. the prolonged voyage had been a long mournful9 indictment of our boilers and machinery, while our martyrs of engineers had literally had to “get oil out of flints,” and to effect repairs although with no material at hand with which to make them.
that night, the first cold one after six months in the tropics, we slept splendidly, but, of course, by watches, i.e. half the night one half of the officers and crew were at the guns, and the other half the remainder.
on 26th may the clouds began to break and the sun shone fitfully, but although a fairly fresh south-westerly breeze had sprung up, a thick mist still lay upon the water.
being anxious to avail himself of every moment of daylight while passing the japanese coast, where we would most10 probably be attacked by torpedoes, the admiral arranged for the fleet to be in the centre of its passage through the straits of tsu-shima at noon on the 27th may. according to our calculations this would give us about four hours to spare, which we employed in practising man?uvres for the last time.
once again, and for the last time, we were forcibly reminded of the old truism that a “fleet” is created by long years of practice at sea in time of peace (cruising, not remaining in port), and, that a collection of ships of various types hastily collected, which have only learned to sail together on the way to the scene of operations, is no fleet, but a chance concourse of vessels.
taking up order of battle was moderately11 performed, but it was spoilt by the 3rd squadron, and who can blame its admiral or captains? when near madagascar, and during our wanderings off the coast of annam, our ships to a certain extent had been able to learn their work, and to get to know one another. they had, in fact, been able to “rehearse.” but as the 3rd squadron, which joined the fleet barely a fortnight ago,7 had only arrived in time to finish the voyage with us and take part in the battle, there was no time for it to receive instruction.
admiral togo, on the other hand, had commanded his squadron continuously for eight years without hauling down his flag. five of the vice-admirals and12 seven of the rear-admirals taking part in the tsu-shima battle, in command of squadrons, ships, or as junior flag officers, were his old comrades and pupils, having been educated under his command. as for us, we could only regret our unpreparedness, and in the coming fight there was nothing for us to do but to make the most of what we had.
rozhdestvensky thought (and facts later fully justified the opinion) that in the decisive battle togo would be at the head of his twelve best armoured ships. against them our admiral was also to lead twelve similar ships (which he handled magnificently), and in the duel between them it was thought the centre of gravity of the fight would certainly lie. the difference between our main force and that of the13 japanese was very material. the oldest of togo’s twelve ships—the fuji, was two years younger than the sissoy, which, among our twelve best, came sixth in seniority! their speed was one-and-a-half times as great as ours, but their chief superiority lay in their new shells, of which we had no inkling.
what with man?uvres, etc., the 26th may passed almost imperceptibly.
i do not know the feeling on board the other ships, but in the suvoroff we were cheerful and eager for the fray. anxious, of course, we were, but not so over-anxious as to worry. the officers went their rounds, and looked after their men more than usual; explained details, talked, and found fault with those immediately under them14 more than was their wont. some, the thought suddenly occurring to them, put their keepsakes and the letters which they had just written into the treasure chest for safety.
“he evidently means to leave us!” said lieutenant vladimirsky, the senior gunnery officer, pointing to a sailor who was busy rummaging in a bag.
“what! made your preparations for going already?”
“i?” said he in amazement; and with a grin—“yes—i am quite ready!”
“look here!” said lieutenant bogdanoff, the senior torpedo officer, who was a veteran of the former war and had been wounded at the capture of the taku forts—“to-morrow—or rather to-night—you’ll please go to the15 office and get your accounts made up!”
this humour had no effect.
“and haven’t you a presentiment? you’ve been under fire before,” asked a young sub-lieutenant, coming up, with his hand in his pocket, in which was evidently a letter destined for the treasure chest.
bogdanoff got annoyed. “what do you mean by a presentiment? i’m not your fortune-teller! i tell you what! if japanese guns begin talking to us to-morrow you will feel something soon enough,—but you won’t feel anything before then!”8
some more officers approached. times without number we had hotly16 discussed the question,—would we meet the whole of the japanese fleet at tsu-shima, or only part of it?
optimists asserted that togo would be misled, and would patrol to the north to look out for us, as the terek and kuban had on the 22nd gone round the eastern shores of japan endeavouring to attract as much attention there as possible.9
pessimists declared that togo was as well able as we were to understand the conditions, and would know that a single coaling was not sufficient to enable us to steam all round japan; we should have to coal again. and where? we were no longer in the tropics; the weather here was anything17 but reliable, which meant we could not count upon coaling at sea. take shelter in some bay?—but there were telegraph stations, and, of course, intelligence posts, everywhere. togo would learn of it in good time, so what would he gain by hastening northward? even if we succeeded in coaling at sea and slipped unnoticed into one of the straits, we couldn’t conceal our movements there, thanks to their narrowness. and then—submarine and floating mines, sown along our course, and attacks by torpedo-boats, which would be easy even in broad daylight!
it was impossible to pass unnoticed through these straits even in a fog or in bad weather; how then could a fleet accompanied by transports hope18 to escape observation? even if the almighty did bring us through all this, what was beyond?—the meeting with the japanese fleet which from tsu-shima could always come out across our course while our fleet would have already been harassed in the straits by torpedo-boats as well as every conceivable type of mine.
“gentlemen—gentlemen! let me speak!” exclaimed the first lieutenant and senior navigating officer, zotoff, who was always fond of discussions and liked making his voice heard. “it is quite clear that the best course for us is up the eastern side of the gulf of korea. my chief reason for saying so is because here it is wide and deep, while there is room for us to man?uvre, and it can be navigated without danger in any weather.19 in fact, the worse the weather the better for us. all this has been talked over till nothing more remains to be said, and considered till nothing is left to consider; even disciples of voltaire themselves would admit this. presumably togo is no greater fool than we, and knows this. i assume that he also knows how to use a pair of compasses and is acquainted with the four rules of arithmetic! this being so he can easily calculate that, if we steam round japan, deciding in the face of our knowledge to brave the mines before meeting him, it would still be possible for him to intercept us on the road to vladivostok, if, at the same time as we come out of the ocean into the straits, he starts from ... attention, gentlemen! ... from the northernmost point of tsu-shima. there is no doubt20 that arrangements have been made to organise a defence of the straits by mines. the naval ports of aomori and mororan are on either side. if any one doesn’t know it he ought to be ashamed of himself. togo may tell off some of his smaller mining vessels to go there, but he, with his main force (i would even go so far as to say with the whole of his fleet)—where will he be? no, i will put another question: where ought he to be? why! nowhere else but off the northern point of tsu-shima. he can gain nothing by loitering about at sea, so he will be lying in some bay.”
“in mazampo, for instance?” asked sub-lieutenant ball, the junior navigating officer.
“mazampo—if you like—but let me finish. it is childish to hope that the21 japanese main fleet will be out of the way. i think we have reached the culminating point of our adventures. to-morrow the decision must be made: either vertically”—and, putting his hand above his head, he energetically waved it downwards in front of him—“or”—quietly moving his arm out to the right, and dropping it slowly downwards in a circular direction—“a longer route, but to the west all the same.”
“how? why? why to the west?” broke in the bystanders.
“because though the end may not come at once,” shouted zotoff, “the result will be the same! it’s absurd to think of steaming victoriously into vladivostok, or of getting command of the sea! the only possible chance is a dash through! and having dashed22 through, after two, three, or at the most four sallies, we shall have burnt all our supplies of coal, and have shed our blossoms before we have bloomed! we shall have to prepare for a siege, take our guns on shore, teach the crew to use bayonets——”
“a bas! a bas! conspuez le prophête!” interrupted some. “hear! hear! strongly10 said!” shouted others. “what about austria’s parliament!”
“let him finish,” growled bogdanoff in his bass voice.
“having postponed a discussion of questions of the distant future—a discussion which makes those who take part in it so excited,” continued zotoff, availing himself of a quiet moment, “i will venture to say a few words concerning23 what is immediately at hand. i foresee three possibilities. firstly:—if we have already been discovered, or are discovered in the course of the day, we shall certainly be subjected at night to a series of torpedo attacks, and in the morning shall have to fight the japanese fleet, which will be unpleasant. secondly:—if we are not discovered till to-morrow we shall be able to commence the fight at full strength, without casualties, which will be better. lastly, and thirdly:—if the mist thickens and dirty weather comes on, thanks to the width of the straits, we may either slip through, or be discovered too late, when there will be only the open sea between us and vladivostok.—this would be excellent. on these three chances those who wish may start the totalisator!24 for myself, preparing for the worst, and foreseeing a broken night, i suggest that we all take advantage of every spare hour to sleep.”
his words had the desired effect.
