Nikolai Ivanovich Nebogatov (; occasionally transliterated as Nebogatoff; April 20, 1849 – August 4, 1922) was a
rear admiral
Rear admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, equivalent to a major general and air vice marshal and above that of a commodore and captain, but below that of a vice admiral. It is regarded as a two star " admiral" rank. It is often rega ...
in 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 ...
, noted for his role in the final stages of 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.
Biography
Nebogatov was born into the family of a career naval officer in the vicinity of
St Petersburg
Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...
and graduated from the
Sea Cadets Corps in 1869. He was promoted to lieutenant in 1874. In 1882–86 he was
executive officer
An executive officer is a person who is principally responsible for leading all or part of an organization, although the exact nature of the role varies depending on the organization. In many militaries and police forces, an executive officer, o ...
aboard the
cruiser
A cruiser is a type of warship. Modern cruisers are generally the largest ships in a fleet after aircraft carriers and amphibious assault ships, and can usually perform several roles.
The term "cruiser", which has been in use for several ...
''Razboinik'' and in 1888 was given command of the
gunboat
A gunboat is a naval watercraft designed for the express purpose of carrying one or more guns to bombard coastal targets, as opposed to those military craft designed for naval warfare, or for ferrying troops or supplies.
History Pre-ste ...
''Groza'', followed in 1889, by the gunboat ''Grad''. He was in command of numerous Russian warships during his career, including the cruisers ''Krejs'',
''Admiral Nakhimov'' (1896), and ''Minin''. He was then appointed head of
naval artillery
Naval artillery is artillery mounted on a warship, originally used only for naval warfare and then subsequently used for shore bombardment and anti-aircraft roles. The term generally refers to tube-launched projectile-firing weapons and exclude ...
training for the
Russian Baltic Fleet
, image = Great emblem of the Baltic fleet.svg
, image_size = 150
, caption = Baltic Fleet Great ensign
, dates = 18 May 1703 – present
, country =
, allegiance = (1703–1721) (1721–1917) (1917–1922) (1922–1991)(1991–present)
...
, and was promoted to rear admiral in 1901.
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 ...
, the bulk of the Russian Baltic Fleet was renamed the "Second Pacific Squadron", and set sail under the command of Admiral
Zinovy Rozhestvensky
Zinovy Petrovich Rozhestvensky (russian: Зиновий Петрович Рожественский, tr. ; – January 14, 1909) was an admiral of the Imperial Russian Navy. He was in command of the Second Pacific Squadron in the Battle of Tsu ...
on an epic journey to relieve 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 ...
, trapped at the
Battle of Port Arthur
The of 8–9 February 1904 marked the commencement of the Russo-Japanese War. It began with a surprise night attack by a squadron of Japanese destroyers on the neutral Russian fleet anchored at Port Arthur, Manchuria, and continued with an ...
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 ...
. Largely for political reasons, calls were made for a "Third Pacific Squadron", consisting of mostly obsolete cruisers and
coastal defence battleships to supplement the Second Pacific Squadron. Realizing that the ships were highly unsuited for the task, and faced with untrained crews, a number of Russian admirals refused the command; however, Nebogatov accepted the challenge. Despite several incidents of sabotage by pro-revolutionary or anarchist elements within the crews, Nebogatov sailed in February 1905 with the old battleship (as
flagship
A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of naval ships, characteristically a flag officer entitled by custom to fly a distinguishing flag. Used more loosely, it is the lead ship in a fleet of vessels, typically the ...
), cruiser , and coastal-defense battleships , , and , as well as numerous transport ships. The squadron passed through the
Suez Canal
The Suez Canal ( arz, قَنَاةُ ٱلسُّوَيْسِ, ') is an artificial sea-level waterway in Egypt, connecting the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea through the Isthmus of Suez and dividing Africa and Asia. The long canal is a popula ...
and crossed the
Indian Ocean
The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or ~19.8% of the water on Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia to the east. To the south it is bounded by ...
to rendezvous with the Second Pacific Squadron at
Cam Ranh Bay
Cam Ranh Bay ( vi, Vịnh Cam Ranh) is a deep-water bay in Vietnam in Khánh Hòa Province. It is located at an inlet of the South China Sea situated on the southeastern coast of Vietnam, between Phan Rang and Nha Trang, approximately 290 kil ...
,
French Indochina
French Indochina (previously spelled as French Indo-China),; vi, Đông Dương thuộc Pháp, , lit. 'East Ocean under French Control; km, ឥណ្ឌូចិនបារាំង, ; th, อินโดจีนฝรั่งเศส, ...
. Rozhestvensky, who had opposed the sailing of the Third Pacific Squadron from the beginning, did not share with him his future strategy and routing even at this late date, and also neglected to advise him of the death of Admiral
Dmitry von Fölkersam
Dmitri (russian: Дми́трий); Church Slavic form: Dimitry or Dimitri (); ancient Russian forms: D'mitriy or Dmitr ( or ) is a male given name common in Orthodox Christian culture, the Russian version of Greek Demetrios (Δημήτρι ...
on May 24, an event which effectively made Nebogatov second-in-command of the fleet after Rozhestvensky.
[Kowner, '' Historical Dictionary of the Russo-Japanese War'', pp. 258–259.]
During the first day of the
Battle of Tsushima
The Battle of Tsushima (Japanese:対馬沖海戦, Tsushimaoki''-Kaisen'', russian: Цусимское сражение, ''Tsusimskoye srazheniye''), also known as the Battle of Tsushima Strait and the Naval Battle of Sea of Japan (Japanese: 日 ...
on May 27, 1905, the Japanese fleet concentrated its efforts against the Second Pacific Squadron, so Nebogatov's ships survived the fate of Rozhestvensky's battleships. With Rozhestvensky seriously wounded, and most of the Second Pacific Squadron's warships sunk or lost, Nebogatov took over command. After facing repeated torpedo attacks during the night, the remaining Russian warships assembled around ''Emperor Nikolai I''. However, on sighting the main Japanese fleet on the morning of May 28, he realized that his ships were no match for the Japanese fleet, and that the Russian cruiser division under Admiral
Oskar Enkvist
Oskar Wilhelm Enqvist (russian: О́скар Адо́льфович Энквист, Oskar Adolfovich Enkvist; 28 October 1849 – 3 March 1912) was a Swedish-speaking population of Finland, Finnish-Swedish admiral in the Imperial Russian Navy, note ...
would not arrive in time to prevent his annihilation. Over the objections of most of his officers, Nebogatov accepted Admiral
Togo Heihachiro
Togo (), officially the Togolese Republic (french: République togolaise), is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Ghana to the west, Benin to the east and Burkina Faso to the north. It extends south to the Gulf of Guinea, where its c ...
's terms, signing an instrument of surrender aboard Togo's flagship, the battleship , and turning over control of the remaining battleships ''Emperor Nikolai I'', , ''General Admiral Graf Apraxin'', and ''Admiral Senyavin'' to the Japanese.
[ However, Captain ]Vasili Fersen
Hans William Freiherr von Fersen, tr. ; (6 May 1937) was an admiral in the navy of the former Russian Empire.
Biography
Fersen was born into a Baltic German family in what is now Estonia. From mother's side, he had partially Scottish ance ...
of the cruiser disobeyed orders and escaped through the Japanese lines. The captain of the battleship ''Admiral Ushakov'', having become lost during the night, was unaware of the orders to surrender, and was sunk the next morning, out-gunned and outnumbered, by the Japanese fleet.
Nebogatov was taken as a prisoner of war
A prisoner of war (POW) is a person who is held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610.
Belligerents hold prisoners of ...
by the Japanese, and while a prisoner was dishonorably discharged by the Russian Admiralty and stripped of his titles of nobility. On his return to Russia, he and 77 of his subordinate officers were arrested and taken before a court martial
A court-martial or court martial (plural ''courts-martial'' or ''courts martial'', as "martial" is a postpositive adjective) is a military court or a trial conducted in such a court. A court-martial is empowered to determine the guilt of memb ...
in December 1906. Nebogatov's defense that his defective ships, guns and ammunition would have resulted in the meaningless slaughter of his men was rejected, and Nebogatov and three of his captains were sentenced to death by firing squad
Execution by firing squad, in the past sometimes called fusillading (from the French ''fusil'', rifle), is a method of capital punishment, particularly common in the military and in times of war. Some reasons for its use are that firearms are us ...
on December 25, 1906. However, the sentences were commuted to 10 years in prison by order of Tsar Nicholas. He was released from the prison fortress of Sts. Peter and Paul in May 1909, when he was pardoned on the occasion of the tsar's birthday.
Nebogatov subsequently moved to Moscow
Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...
, where he died in 1922. He was married to Nadezhda Petrova, with whom he had two daughters and one son.
References
In English
* Connaughton, R. M. (1988). ''The War of the Rising Sun and the Tumbling Bear—A Military History of the Russo-Japanese War 1904–5'', London, .
* Jukes, Geoffry. ''The Russo-Japanese War 1904–1905''. Osprey Essential Histories. (2002). .
*
* Warner, Denis & Peggy. ''The Tide at Sunrise, A History of the Russo-Japanese War 1904–1905''. (1975). .
Bio at Russojapanesewar.com
In Russian language
Russian (russian: русский язык, russkij jazyk, link=no, ) is an East Slavic languages, East Slavic language mainly spoken in Russia. It is the First language, native language of the Russians, and belongs to the Indo-European langua ...
* ''Russian Biographical Dictionary
The ''Russian Biographical Dictionary'' (RBD, russian: Русский биографический словарь) is a Russian-language biographical dictionary published by the Russian Historian Society edited by a collective with Alexander Polov ...
''
* ''Чегодаев-Саконский А. П.'
На «Алмазе». От Либавы через Цусиму – во Владивосток
(Фото)
Notes
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nebogatov, Nikolai
Imperial Russian Navy admirals
1849 births
1922 deaths
Russian military personnel of the Russo-Japanese War
Naval Cadet Corps alumni