saddletank
Forum Conscript
I'm just constantly amazed how exciting this game is. In my current Japanese campaign I blasted the Russian cruiser and destroyer forces off the oceans by 26th March leaving the 6 Russian BBs, 1CA, 1PC, 9DDs and the minelayer/gunboat units trapped in Port Arthur. I then settled down to a very long siege as Togo based at Elliot Island sat outside the Russian harbour until late January 1905 when the Japanese army on it's third bloody assault overran the Russian trenches and established guns on the heights overlooking the port. I found the news reports of the army's slow but inexorable advance useful and eagerly "read the paper" every day to see what new events had occured.
Admiral Togo now takes up the story...
In October I learned that Tsar Nicholas had renamed his Baltic Fleet the 2nd Pacific Squadron and was sending it 18,000 miles around the world to join in the war. I estimate it will take until May to reach us. A few days later "The Times" reported that a British fishing fleet had been fired upon one night in the North Sea by the Russians who thought they were Japanese torpedo boats!
But finally late January came around, Port Arthur became untenable as a fleet anchorage and in the evening of 25th January the Russians came out.
My fleet of 6 BBs, 8 ACs, 4 PCs and 22 DDs had cruised some way to the east and had swung about on the return leg when we saw smoke issuing out of the port. Full speed was ordered but by a fateful stroke of bad luck in quickly fading light the sun set and we lost contact with the Russians who set a course south east at 10 knots.
That night we had a number of suspected contacts with the enemy but the hazy darkness prevented any coherent squadron management. However at 3:00am the moon rose to reveal that our ships had overtaken the Russian slow squadron of 2 minelayers, 2 torpedo gunboats and a mixed bag of 8 gunboats and clippers. My force was disposed with the fast protected cruiser division leading with the 6 battleships and 8 armoured cruisers astern. 4 destroyers followed the tail of the rear cruiser division. To each flank, disposed 2000 yards out was a column of 9 destroyers. The 2 Russian minelayers appeared out of the gloom some 2500 yards ahead of the fast cruiser division while the gunboat rustbuckets had been overhauled completely and actually were revealed by the moonlight lying between the battleships and the starboard destroyer column.
Complete chaos ensued.
I sent the 4 fast protected cruisers to attack the two minelayers. Within 15 minutes these were overhauled and sunk but not before they had inflicted minor damage on two of the cruisers.
The enemy gunboats never stood a chance. Although they opened fire at once on our starboard destroyer column, disabling Akatsuki leader of 1st Division, which later sank, the other 8 destroyers turned 12 points away together and retired into the darkness. The battleship and armoured cruiser column then opened up with everything they had and the Russian gunboats were shattered and mangled, blazing and sinking, exploding and crippled within 5 minutes. The massacre was over very fast and the action petered out as quickly as it had begun. The last combats being the protected cruisers finishing off the second minelayer.
However we knew the rest of the Russian fleet was close by and not far ahead. However prudence suggested that I should avoid a night engagement with the enemy battleships.
All the next day, the 26th, our squadron pushed on south east. It was a grey hazy day and although twice we saw smudges of smoke ahead of us at over 25,000 yards, visibility was not good and each time we lost contact. We knew they were there though...
We pushed on across the Yellow Sea and entered the Tsushima Strait that night. This time I ordered the destroyer wings to close up to 1000 yards distance for night steaming and I disposed the battleship division in rear, the protected cruisers were displaced 500 yards to starboard, the 21 knot armoured cruiser division in the lead followed by the 20 knot division, then the battleships and the 4 supporting 'centre column' destroyers behind my battleships.
Twice in the night we saw flashes of gunfire in the distance ahead of us. At about 2:00am we made contact with the corvette Hikosan Maru which had suffered slight damage. This ship had been patrolling the strait and found herself passing between a column of unidentified battleships to starboard and a column of torpedo boats to port. The unknown ships had almost passed in the dark when the rear large ship which was a three-funelled cruiser turned a searchlight on the Hikosan and opened fire. The Hikosan crammed on all speed and after 3 hits the enemy turned and continued ESE leaving the corvette to send a W/T report. Unfortunately the other encounter we witnessed in the blackness did not have a happy ending. We again saw the flashes of gunfire briefly for about 5 minutes just before dawn, this time very large calibre guns. At 5:00am we passed a waterlogged ships lifeboat, the name A.Maru painted on it. It was empty and despite detaching a pair of destroyers to search the area we found no survivors.
The third day of the chase, 27th January, dawned freezing and miserable. However the air was sharp and crystal clear with visibility by 8:30 am extending to 30,000 yards. We were passing due east about 10 km south of Masanpo and then came round to a bearing of 45 degrees; north east, when again the foretop lookout whistled down his voicepipe: "smoke on the horizon! Not from a lone Japanese patrol vessel this time but a thick dark bruise as though from a fleet!" came the description.
We had been running at 15 knots through the night. I ordered 17 knots for the battleships and 20 for the three cruiser divisions and the two flanking destroyer columns which began to draw ahead. Breakfast of piping hot spring rolls and tea was served on the bridge. I ordered the normal watch to be kept but every officer down to the most junior midshipman was so excited at the prospect of battle after months and months of excruciatingly dull patrolling that everyone stayed on the bridge. I ordered relays of hot cocoa to be supplied and we turned up the collars of our overcoats against the bitter chill and settled down to a long morning's pursuit...
(to be continued)...
Admiral Togo now takes up the story...
In October I learned that Tsar Nicholas had renamed his Baltic Fleet the 2nd Pacific Squadron and was sending it 18,000 miles around the world to join in the war. I estimate it will take until May to reach us. A few days later "The Times" reported that a British fishing fleet had been fired upon one night in the North Sea by the Russians who thought they were Japanese torpedo boats!
But finally late January came around, Port Arthur became untenable as a fleet anchorage and in the evening of 25th January the Russians came out.
My fleet of 6 BBs, 8 ACs, 4 PCs and 22 DDs had cruised some way to the east and had swung about on the return leg when we saw smoke issuing out of the port. Full speed was ordered but by a fateful stroke of bad luck in quickly fading light the sun set and we lost contact with the Russians who set a course south east at 10 knots.
That night we had a number of suspected contacts with the enemy but the hazy darkness prevented any coherent squadron management. However at 3:00am the moon rose to reveal that our ships had overtaken the Russian slow squadron of 2 minelayers, 2 torpedo gunboats and a mixed bag of 8 gunboats and clippers. My force was disposed with the fast protected cruiser division leading with the 6 battleships and 8 armoured cruisers astern. 4 destroyers followed the tail of the rear cruiser division. To each flank, disposed 2000 yards out was a column of 9 destroyers. The 2 Russian minelayers appeared out of the gloom some 2500 yards ahead of the fast cruiser division while the gunboat rustbuckets had been overhauled completely and actually were revealed by the moonlight lying between the battleships and the starboard destroyer column.
Complete chaos ensued.
I sent the 4 fast protected cruisers to attack the two minelayers. Within 15 minutes these were overhauled and sunk but not before they had inflicted minor damage on two of the cruisers.
The enemy gunboats never stood a chance. Although they opened fire at once on our starboard destroyer column, disabling Akatsuki leader of 1st Division, which later sank, the other 8 destroyers turned 12 points away together and retired into the darkness. The battleship and armoured cruiser column then opened up with everything they had and the Russian gunboats were shattered and mangled, blazing and sinking, exploding and crippled within 5 minutes. The massacre was over very fast and the action petered out as quickly as it had begun. The last combats being the protected cruisers finishing off the second minelayer.
However we knew the rest of the Russian fleet was close by and not far ahead. However prudence suggested that I should avoid a night engagement with the enemy battleships.
All the next day, the 26th, our squadron pushed on south east. It was a grey hazy day and although twice we saw smudges of smoke ahead of us at over 25,000 yards, visibility was not good and each time we lost contact. We knew they were there though...
We pushed on across the Yellow Sea and entered the Tsushima Strait that night. This time I ordered the destroyer wings to close up to 1000 yards distance for night steaming and I disposed the battleship division in rear, the protected cruisers were displaced 500 yards to starboard, the 21 knot armoured cruiser division in the lead followed by the 20 knot division, then the battleships and the 4 supporting 'centre column' destroyers behind my battleships.
Twice in the night we saw flashes of gunfire in the distance ahead of us. At about 2:00am we made contact with the corvette Hikosan Maru which had suffered slight damage. This ship had been patrolling the strait and found herself passing between a column of unidentified battleships to starboard and a column of torpedo boats to port. The unknown ships had almost passed in the dark when the rear large ship which was a three-funelled cruiser turned a searchlight on the Hikosan and opened fire. The Hikosan crammed on all speed and after 3 hits the enemy turned and continued ESE leaving the corvette to send a W/T report. Unfortunately the other encounter we witnessed in the blackness did not have a happy ending. We again saw the flashes of gunfire briefly for about 5 minutes just before dawn, this time very large calibre guns. At 5:00am we passed a waterlogged ships lifeboat, the name A.Maru painted on it. It was empty and despite detaching a pair of destroyers to search the area we found no survivors.
The third day of the chase, 27th January, dawned freezing and miserable. However the air was sharp and crystal clear with visibility by 8:30 am extending to 30,000 yards. We were passing due east about 10 km south of Masanpo and then came round to a bearing of 45 degrees; north east, when again the foretop lookout whistled down his voicepipe: "smoke on the horizon! Not from a lone Japanese patrol vessel this time but a thick dark bruise as though from a fleet!" came the description.
We had been running at 15 knots through the night. I ordered 17 knots for the battleships and 20 for the three cruiser divisions and the two flanking destroyer columns which began to draw ahead. Breakfast of piping hot spring rolls and tea was served on the bridge. I ordered the normal watch to be kept but every officer down to the most junior midshipman was so excited at the prospect of battle after months and months of excruciatingly dull patrolling that everyone stayed on the bridge. I ordered relays of hot cocoa to be supplied and we turned up the collars of our overcoats against the bitter chill and settled down to a long morning's pursuit...
(to be continued)...
Last edited: