The History of the Russo-Japanese War. Sydney Tyler
lies in a northwesterly direction, and on the north side of it are two spacious inlets, Patroclus Bay and Sobol Bay. Beyond these again lies the mouth of the Golden Horn, the Harbor of Vladivostock.
The Japanese squadron steamed right on into the Bosphorus Strait, and when opposite Patroclus Bay it assumed order of battle. Admiral Alexeieff, in his official dispatch to the Czar, declared that it took up a position 5-1/2 miles from the shore and out of range of the batteries; but the truth seems to be that, with the skill which so far has characterized all the Japanese naval operations, Admiral Kamimura manœuvred to secure a station, which, while it was sufficiently within range to enable him to do execution to his foe, was, on the other hand, outside any possible line of fire from the fortress guns, with their necessarily limited arc of training. These dispositions for attack argued not only careful calculation beforehand, but considerable knowledge of the construction of the Russian forts and of the position occupied by their ordnance.
At half-past one the Japanese ships opened fire with their big guns. Forts Suvaroff and Linievitch and the town along the valley of the River Obyasseniye were the main objects of the cannonade, and over these the great shells continued to burst for close upon an hour, while the guns of the defenders were reduced to inactivity and impotence by the baffling tactics of the Japanese Admiral. It is true that the bombardment was rather in the nature of a reconnaissance than a serious engagement, its aim being to induce the mysterious cruisers which were suspected of being within the harbor to issue forth and give battle; but it was an uncomfortable reminder to the Russians of the vulnerability of their powerful fortress from the sea and of the comparative immunity which a resourceful enemy might enjoy while making a dangerous attack. The only account which has been received of the damage done comes from Russian sources. It does not appear to have been serious. A house in the town was knocked to pieces by a 12-inch shell, and an unfortunate woman, who was inside at the time, was killed; another shell burst in the courtyard of the Siberian Fleet Company, slightly wounding five sailors; but this was set down as the limit to the depredation committed by the Japanese gunners. On the other hand, the Russians consoled themselves for the ineffectiveness of their own artillery by calculating that the bombardment, by its expenditure of 200 shells, cost their enemy at least $100,000, a somewhat minute and peddling method of reckoning up the balance of losses and gains in a great war. It should be added that the Czar did not fail to send the garrison a rather magniloquent telegram of congratulation, in which he spoke of their bravery under their baptism of fire.
The demonstration failed to disclose the whereabouts of the missing cruiser squadron, and a similar result attended the scouting operations of the Japanese torpedo destroyers which were engaged during the bombardment in searching Askold Island and the coast along the Ussuri Gulf. It seemed undoubted, however, in the light of subsequent events, that the Czar's ships were within the harbor at Vladivostock all the time, and that they felt unable to cope successfully with the powerful fleet which was so eagerly seeking their destruction. Admiral Kamimura, who retired southwards after the bombardment, returned on the following day to the same position, and attempted once more to lure the hidden cruisers into the open; but his blandishments were without avail. He then conducted a thorough search of Amur Bay, which lies on the west side of the peninsula, and finding no traces of the enemy, departed finally southwards, leaving Vladivostock, for the time, in peace.
RAID BY THE VLADIVOSTOCK FLEET.
The interest now shifted once more to Port Arthur, where exciting events were on the eve of occurring. Admiral Makaroff, the newly-appointed Commander-in-Chief of the Pacific Fleet, arrived at Port Arthur on the 8th of March. This gallant Admiral's reputation stands almost as high with the navy as does General Kuropatkin's with the army. He has gained the confidence of the men who have served under him to an exceptional degree, and the immediate result of his presence at the seat of war was the infusion of a new spirit into the fleet and into the defending force generally. With immense vigor he proceeded to hurry on the repairs of the damaged warships and to prepare for active operations as the best means of restoring the somewhat shaken morale of the force under his command. The effect of this bolder and more enterprising policy soon became evident in the movements of the torpedo flotilla, which, under the feeble régime of Admiral Starck, had proved such a futile branch of the service. An opportunity for the trial of the new tactics came almost immediately, for within twenty-four hours after the hoisting of Admiral Makaroff's flag on the Askold, a renewed challenge came from the unresting enemy. It was destined to lead to one of the fiercest and most sanguinary combats yet experienced in the course of the war, a combat of such a close and hand-to-hand character as to recall the desperate struggles of earlier days, when the rival ships were grappled together and the final arbiters of victory were the cutlass and the boarding-pike.
At midnight on the 9th two divisions of the Japanese destroyer flotilla crept up once more towards the mouth of the entrance channel. The first division, consisting of three vessels, the Asashio, the Kasumi, and the Akatsuki, and under the command of Captain Asai, posted itself outside the entrance to guard against the approach of the Russian flotilla; while the second division occupied itself in laying a number of mines of a new pattern in various spots carefully selected beforehand for the purpose. These operations were carried out with entire coolness and success, in spite of the flashing searchlights and the fire from the forts—fire, however, which, according to Admiral Togo's official report, was desultory and ineffective. The fact was that on this occasion the Russians were determined to rely upon another weapon than garrison ordnance. Admiral Makaroff decided to give his torpedo destroyers the chance for which they must have longed under the nerveless leadership of Starck, and to send them forth to deliver a counter-attack upon the audacious foe.
A flotilla of six of these vessels, under the command of Captain Matoussevitch, accordingly issued from the harbor and went in quest of the Japanese. About 4.30 in the morning they fell in with Captain Asai's Division to the southwest of the Liau-tie-shan Peninsula. Though his foes outnumbered him by two to one, the Japanese commander did not hesitate for an instant, but, confident in the skill and courage of his men, he ordered an immediate attack, and the Asashio, the Kasumi, and the Akatsuki flew upon the enemy. A fierce struggle now ensued. The Japanese were heavily outnumbered, it is true, but their vessels were stronger individually than those of the Russians, and whereas the latter were armed only with 3-pounders, the former carried 6-pounders. Moreover, both officers and men had "found themselves" in previous conflicts, and were flushed with a consciousness of power and the memory of past victories. Their shooting, too was superior to that of their opponents, and speedily made its impression. On the other hand, the Russians, set free at last from the paralyzing influences which had so long cramped their energies, leapt to the contest with a glad eagerness, and fought with desperate gallantry. The combatants drew closer and closer to one another till they were within a few yards' distance, and the execution done by the quick-firing guns was terrible. So near did one of the Russian destroyers approach that some bluejackets standing on its deck were able to throw by hand a charge of explosive onto the bridge of a Japanese boat. Fortunately for the latter, it failed to explode, and the Japanese poured in a withering fire in revenge. Two of the Russian vessels were so severely mauled during the early part of the fight that they were compelled to sheer off and retreat to Port Arthur. The others kept up the conflict much longer, though they were hopelessly outclassed. But a perfect rain of shell and small shot fell upon the devoted Muscovites; their engines were rapidly becoming disabled; some of them were on fire; and at last it became manifest that if they were to be saved at all they must retire. Retreat, therefore, they did, fighting hotly all the way, with the enemy hanging upon their flanks like hounds upon their quarry. At length they came within the protection of the forts, and the heavy fire which was directed upon the Japanese from that quarter compelled them sullenly to give up their hold and in their turn retire.
The losses suffered by the Russian destroyers, in this hand-to-hand conflict, which lasted for about forty minutes, were not made public officially, but they must have been considerable, if we may judge from the damage incurred by their victorious assailants. Seven of the Japanese were killed and eight were wounded, some of them severely. Prominent among these was Engineer Minamisawa, of the Kasumi, who peculiarly distinguished himself, and who received injuries which were reported