The was a maritime incident which occurred during the
Russo-Japanese War
The Russo-Japanese War ( ja, 日露戦争, Nichiro sensō, Japanese-Russian War; russian: Ру́сско-япóнская войнá, Rússko-yapónskaya voyná) was fought between the Empire of Japan and the Russian Empire during 1904 and 1 ...
of 1904–1905, in which three Japanese transports were sunk in a Russian
commerce raiding
Commerce raiding (french: guerre de course, "war of the chase"; german: Handelskrieg, "trade war") is a form of naval warfare used to destroy or disrupt logistics of the enemy on the open sea by attacking its merchant shipping, rather than enga ...
sortie by a
Vladivostok
Vladivostok ( rus, Владивосто́к, a=Владивосток.ogg, p=vɫədʲɪvɐˈstok) is the largest city and the administrative center of Primorsky Krai, Russia. The city is located around the Zolotoy Rog, Golden Horn Bay on the Sea ...
-based
armored cruiser
The armored cruiser was a type of warship of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It was designed like other types of cruisers to operate as a long-range, independent warship, capable of defeating any ship apart from a battleship and fast eno ...
squadron of the
Imperial Russian Navy
The Imperial Russian Navy () operated as the navy of the Russian Tsardom and later the Russian Empire from 1696 to 1917. Formally established in 1696, it lasted until dissolved in the wake of the February Revolution of 1917. It developed from a ...
.
Background
At the start of the Russo-Japanese War, the bulk of the
Russian Pacific Fleet
, image = Great emblem of the Pacific Fleet.svg
, image_size = 150px
, caption = Russian Pacific Fleet Great emblem
, dates = 1731–present
, country ...
was
blockaded
A blockade is the act of actively preventing a country or region from receiving or sending out food, supplies, weapons, or communications, and sometimes people, by military force.
A blockade differs from an embargo or sanction, which are leg ...
within the confines of
Port Arthur by the
Imperial Japanese Navy
The Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN; Kyūjitai: Shinjitai: ' 'Navy of the Greater Japanese Empire', or ''Nippon Kaigun'', 'Japanese Navy') was the navy of the Empire of Japan from 1868 to 1945, when it was dissolved following Japan's surrender ...
. However, the Russian subsidiary naval base at
Vladivostok
Vladivostok ( rus, Владивосто́к, a=Владивосток.ogg, p=vɫədʲɪvɐˈstok) is the largest city and the administrative center of Primorsky Krai, Russia. The city is located around the Zolotoy Rog, Golden Horn Bay on the Sea ...
, although shelled by a Japanese squadron under the command of Vice Admiral
Dewa Shigetō
Baron was a Japanese admiral in the early days of the Imperial Japanese Navy.
Biography
Dewa was born as the son of a ''samurai'' of the Aizu domain (present day Fukushima prefecture). As a youth, he enlisted in the ''Byakkotai,'' a reserve unit ...
in March 1904, remained largely undamaged and unblockaded. Located at Vladivostok was a garrison force consisting of the
protected cruiser
Protected cruisers, a type of naval cruiser of the late-19th century, gained their description because an armoured deck offered protection for vital machine-spaces from fragments caused by shells exploding above them. Protected cruisers re ...
and
auxiliary cruiser
An armed merchantman is a merchant ship equipped with guns, usually for defensive purposes, either by design or after the fact. In the days of sail, piracy and privateers, many merchantmen would be routinely armed, especially those engaging in lo ...
and a stronger Vladivostok Independent Cruiser Squadron consisting of the
armored cruiser
The armored cruiser was a type of warship of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It was designed like other types of cruisers to operate as a long-range, independent warship, capable of defeating any ship apart from a battleship and fast eno ...
s
Russian cruiser Rossia
}
''Rossia'' (russian: Россия) was an armored cruiser of the Imperial Russian Navy built in the 1890s. She was designed as a long-range commerce raider and served as such during the Russo-Japanese War of 1904–05. She was based in Vladivo ...
, , and , under the command of Rear Admiral
Karl Jessen
Vice Admiral Karl Johann Peter Jessen (russian: Карл Петрович Иессен, tr. ; 30 June 1852 – 30 November 1918) was a Baltic German admiral in the Imperial Russian Navy during the Russo-Japanese War.
Biography
Jessen was of Dan ...
.
[Kowner, '' Historical Dictionary of the Russo-Japanese War'', pages 395–397, 412.]
This small squadron put to sea in the early months of the conflict for commerce raiding operations, and it was the concern of the Imperial Japanese Navy that it might be used either to attack targets on the Japanese mainland, or to coordinate an attack to lift the blockade on Port Arthur. The Japanese were forced to assign the
IJN 2nd Fleet
The was a fleet of the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) created as a mobile strike force in response to hostilities with Russia, and saw action in every IJN military operation until the end of World War II.
History
Established on 27 October 1903, ...
under the command of Vice Admiral
Kamimura Hikonojō
Baron was an early Japanese admiral of the Imperial Japanese Navy, commanding the IJN 2nd Fleet during the Russo-Japanese War, most notably at the Battle off Ulsan and Tsushima.
Biography
Born to a ''samurai'' family in the Satsuma Domain (pr ...
with considerable resources in an attempt to locate and destroy it.
Attack on Tsushima Strait
Russian Vice Admiral
Petr Bezobrazov
Pyotr Alekseyevich Bezobrazov (russian: Пётр Алексе́евич Безобра́зов; 29 January 1845 – 17 July 1906) was an admiral in the Imperial Russian Navy.
Early career
Born into an old Bezobrazov noble family, Pyotr began h ...
departed Vladivostok on 12 June 1904 with ''Rossia'', ''Rurik'', and ''Gromoboi'' under orders to proceed through the eastern Tsushima Channel in the
Korean Strait
The Korea Strait is a sea passage in East Asia between Korea and Japan, connecting the East China Sea, the Yellow Sea and the Sea of Japan in the northwest Pacific Ocean. The strait is split by the Tsushima Island into the Western Channel and t ...
, cruise for two days on known transport routes, and to then double back through the western channel, after which he was to attempt to join his forces to the fleet still blockaded at Port Arthur. On 15 June, he sighted two military transports, ''
Hitachi Maru
The was a 6,172 gross ton combined passenger-cargo ship built by Mitsubishi Shipbuilding in Nagasaki, for NYK Lines in 1898. She was requisitioned in 1904 by the Imperial Japanese Army during the Russo-Japanese War.
Background
In 1896, follow ...
'' and ''Sado Maru'' en route to
Dalny
Dalny (russian: Да́льний; masculine), Dalnyaya (; feminine), or Dalneye (; neuter) is the name of several inhabited localities in Russia.
Modern localities
;Urban localities
* Dalny, Chukotka Autonomous Okrug, an urban-type settlement in ...
.
[
''Hitachi Maru'' was transporting 1,238 people, including 727 men of the 1st Reserve Regiment of the ]Imperial Guard of Japan
In Japan, the Imperial Guard is the name for two separate organizations dedicated to the protection of the Emperor of Japan and the Imperial Family, palaces and other imperial properties. The first was the , a quasi-independent elite branch of the ...
and 359 men from the IJA 10th Division
The was an infantry division in the Imperial Japanese Army. Its tsūshōgō code name was the . The ''10th Divisio''n was one of six new infantry divisions raised by the Imperial Japanese Army in the aftermath of the First Sino-Japanese War, 1 ...
. ''Sado Maru'' was transporting 1,258 people, including 867 members of a railway engineering battalion. Both vessels were transporting a large amount of stores, most critically needed were eighteen Armstrong 11-inch (280 mm) siege howitzers, requested by the IJA 3rd Army to attack the Russian fortifications at Port Arthur.
Passing in the opposite direction was the smaller ''Izumi Maru,'' which was being used as an unarmed, but unmarked hospital ship
A hospital ship is a ship designated for primary function as a floating medical treatment facility or hospital. Most are operated by the military forces (mostly navies) of various countries, as they are intended to be used in or near war zones. ...
transporting sick and wounded men from the front back to Japan.
The only provision the Imperial Japanese Navy had made for protection of its transports was the protected cruiser
Protected cruisers, a type of naval cruiser of the late-19th century, gained their description because an armoured deck offered protection for vital machine-spaces from fragments caused by shells exploding above them. Protected cruisers re ...
, which at this time (0715) was stationed approximately mid-channel.[ ''Tsushima'' sighted the Russian squadron in the heavy early morning fog, but was unable to raise a warning due to the short range of its wireless, and poor atmospheric conditions, and attempted to close the distance to ]Tsushima Island
is an island of the Japanese archipelago situated in-between the Tsushima Strait and Korea Strait, approximately halfway between Kyushu and the Korean Peninsula. The main island of Tsushima, once a single island, was divided into two in 1671 b ...
where conditions were better. She was sighted by the Russian squadron, but they did not pursue. ''Tsushima'' managed to transmit her warning at 0815 hours, and then headed back towards the Russian squadron. Admiral Kamimura, based at Takeshiki Guard District The was a navy base for the Imperial Japanese Navy located in the former (now part of present-day Tsushima, Nagasaki), on Tsushima Island, during the Russo-Japanese War. The Takeshiki Guard District was responsible for the control of the strateg ...
on Tsushima sent a warning to Shimonoseki to stop all sailing, then ordered his ships to pursue ''Tsushima''.
However, at 0900, the Russian squadron sighted ''Izumi Maru'', and Bezobrazov sent ''Gromoboi'' to chase her. ''Gromoboi'' opened fire, killing or wounding over 30 men, before the Japanese transport stopped and surrendered. About 100 sick and wounded were taken off her, and then she was sunk west of Okinoshima, with those who refused to surrender still aboard. Around 1000, the Russian squadron sighted ''Sado Maru'', and came into sight of the Japanese fleet at about the same time. Despite having just given the Japanese transport 40 minutes to surrender and abandon ship, ''Rurik'' fired two torpedoes into ''Sado Maru'', which exploded, killing 239 passengers and crew, but which did not sink the ship. ''Sado Maru'' eventually drifted for the next 30 hours until she grounded on Okinoshima.[
Next, ''Gromoboi'' approached ''Hitachi Maru'', which exhibited no sign of intending to surrender. ''Gromoboi'' opened fire with all guns, killing many of the men on deck, including her British captain and senior crewmen, and sinking the ship. Due to deteriorating visibility, the Japanese fleet could not close with the Russian squadron, and at 1330 reached the 152 survivors from ''Hitachi Maru''.][
]
Aftermath
''Hitachi Maru'' Memorial stele at Yasukuni Shrine
The Russian squadron continued its operations against shipping on 16 June, when they seized the British steamer ''Allanton'' off Maizuru
is a city in Kyoto Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 78,644 in 34817 households and a population density of 230 persons per km². The total area of the city is .
Geography
Maizuru is located in northern Kyoto Pref ...
. The cruisers also sank two sailing boats the following day.[Matsumura, Masayoshi (2009) ''Baron Kaneko and the Russo-Japanese War (1904–05)''. Lulu.com, p. 144. ]
The attack was a severe blow to Japanese public morale. Memorials were erected in Chidorigafuchi Park in Tokyo, and a mass grave commemorating the Imperial Guards was erected in Aoyama Cemetery
is a cemetery in Aoyama, Minato, Tokyo, Japan, managed by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government. The cemetery is also famous for its cherry blossoms, and at the season of hanami, which many people would visit.
History
The cemetery was origin ...
. A monument to ''Sado Maru'' was built in Shiba Park
is a public park in Minato, Tokyo, Japan built around the temple of Zōjō-ji.
The park is located between the Minato municipal offices and Tokyo Tower. Many of the footpaths in the park offer excellent views of Tokyo Tower, so the park is a popu ...
(and was moved to Yasukuni Shrine
is a Shinto shrine located in Chiyoda, Tokyo. It was founded by Emperor Meiji in June 1869 and commemorates those who died in service of Empire of Japan, Japan, from the Boshin War of 1868–1869, to the two Sino-Japanese Wars, First Sino-Japane ...
in 1964). Kamimura received numerous death threats and came under extreme pressure to track down the Russian squadron, which he did at the Battle off Ulsan
The naval Battle off Ulsan (Japanese: 蔚山沖海戦 ''Urusan'oki kaisen''; Russian: Бой в Корейском проливе, ''Boi v Koreiskom prolive''), also known as the Battle of the Japanese Sea or Battle of the Korean Strait, took pl ...
on 14 August 1904.
Notes
References
*
*
External links
''New York Times'' article
{{coord missing, East China Sea
1904 in Japan
Maritime incidents in 1904
Naval battles of the Russo-Japanese War
June 1904 events