THE Tsushima Battle, which took place on May 27 and 28, 1905, was a naval battle within the Russian-Japanese War of 1904 and 1905. Japan's stunning victory in the conflict was crucial to ending the war and was a humiliation for the navy of the Tsar's Empire because of the speed with which the Japanese managed to neutralize the Russian fleet.
The Russians had suffered several defeats by the Japanese, whose loss of Port Arthur Bay was an example. To try to overcome the Japanese force, the Russians decided to move their fleet anchored in the Baltic Sea to face the Japanese in the Sea of Japan. The path chosen by the Russians went through all of northern Europe, skirting the African continent and crossing the Indian Ocean towards the Sea of Japan. Lighter part of the fleet crossed the Suez Canal, finding the rest of the ships in East Africa.
The Russian fleet at the Battle of Tsushima consisted of eight battleships, eight cruisers, nine destroyers and nine auxiliary ships, whose command fell to the
Admiral Rojestvensky. On the Japanese side, there were four battleships, eight cruisers, 16 light cruisers and 21 destroyers, which were commanded by the Admiral Heihachiro Togo.The Russians' objective was to face the Japanese in the Tsushima Strait, located between the island of the same name and the Korean Peninsula. Despite the Russian attempt to arrive by surprise, the Japanese managed to sense the enemy's approach.
The Battle of Tsushima was quick. Admiral Togo decided on a risky maneuver, but he was betting on the greater speed of his fleet against the slow and heavy Russian ships. The Japanese ships passed in front of the Russian fleet and positioned themselves so that all their firing guns were aimed at the enemy. On the other hand, Russian ships were limited in their attack power, as part of their cannons was prevented from hitting the Japanese due to the maneuver adopted.
The Japanese victory was overwhelming. About twenty-seven Russian ships were sunk or captured by the Japanese. About 4,300 Russians were killed, more than 1,800 wounded, and more than 5,900 were taken prisoner. On the Japanese side, only a few small ships were shot down or damaged, with some 117 dead and more than 500 injured.
The defeat at the Battle of Tsushima was not just a defeat for the external enemy for Russia. Successive defeats in the Russo-Japanese War led the population to express their dissatisfaction with the living conditions within the Russian Empire. The bloody repression of protesters resulted in the call 1905 revolution, considered the prelude to the Russian Revolution of 1917, which would put an end to the autocratic power of the Russian tsars.
*Image Credit: Attila JANDI and Shutterstock.com.
By Me. Tales Pinto
Source: Brazil School - https://brasilescola.uol.com.br/guerras/batalha-tsushima-derrota-naval-russa.htm