I've just had a close call fighting as the Japanese against the Second Pacific Squadron.
Round 1
Five Japanese cruisers find the Russian fleet in the middle of the night, about 175km west of Tsushima. I didn't get any images, so I'll describe:
The Russians are in three columns - battlefleet in the centre lead by the Suvorov battleships, cruisers to the left and destroyers to the right.
Rather than withdraw, I decide to let my cruisers lose on the enemy destroyers. All five Japanese cruisers make an immeadiate turn, cross the front of the Russian fleet, then turn outside the Russian destroyers. Bad weather and distance makes the Russian battleships inaccurate, but my cruisers struggle to score repeated hits against the enemy destroyers.
I then made a definite mistake - since both sides were inaccurate, I turn my cruisers in towards the destroyers. Some damage was done, but the Russian battleships were now that much closer. Three Japanese cruisers were hit by battleships, whilst a fourth was chased down by cruisers. The last crippled Japanese cruiser slipped away in the night. Only two Russian destroyers were sunk.
If I had another chance to fight this battle, I would have put just a couple of cruisers on patrol, and used the remaining three cruisers to reinforce the 1st Squadron.
Round 2
Sai Yen leads 38 torpedo boats on a nighttime attack on the Russian fleet. The Russians are still deployed in three columns. Despite cruisers, destroyers and initial collisions, the torpedo boats get organised and swamp the Russia fleet:
View attachment 17317
View attachment 17318
Sai Yen tries to draw the attention of the Russian cruisers away from the torpedo boats, but succeeds rather more than is desired:
View attachment 17319
Sai Yen's main gun mount is disabled after a single salvo, and she lasts little longer than the torpedo boats.
To end the battle, the leading Russian battleships are damaged, but all are afloat, which given the number of torpedo hits (especially on Knyaz Suvorov) is a big disapointment:
View attachment 17320
The Japanese fleet losses make sad reading:
View attachment 17321
More to follow on the meeting of the Japanese First Squadron and Russian Second Pacific Squadron
Round 1
Five Japanese cruisers find the Russian fleet in the middle of the night, about 175km west of Tsushima. I didn't get any images, so I'll describe:
The Russians are in three columns - battlefleet in the centre lead by the Suvorov battleships, cruisers to the left and destroyers to the right.
Rather than withdraw, I decide to let my cruisers lose on the enemy destroyers. All five Japanese cruisers make an immeadiate turn, cross the front of the Russian fleet, then turn outside the Russian destroyers. Bad weather and distance makes the Russian battleships inaccurate, but my cruisers struggle to score repeated hits against the enemy destroyers.
I then made a definite mistake - since both sides were inaccurate, I turn my cruisers in towards the destroyers. Some damage was done, but the Russian battleships were now that much closer. Three Japanese cruisers were hit by battleships, whilst a fourth was chased down by cruisers. The last crippled Japanese cruiser slipped away in the night. Only two Russian destroyers were sunk.
If I had another chance to fight this battle, I would have put just a couple of cruisers on patrol, and used the remaining three cruisers to reinforce the 1st Squadron.
Round 2
Sai Yen leads 38 torpedo boats on a nighttime attack on the Russian fleet. The Russians are still deployed in three columns. Despite cruisers, destroyers and initial collisions, the torpedo boats get organised and swamp the Russia fleet:
View attachment 17317
View attachment 17318
Sai Yen tries to draw the attention of the Russian cruisers away from the torpedo boats, but succeeds rather more than is desired:
View attachment 17319
Sai Yen's main gun mount is disabled after a single salvo, and she lasts little longer than the torpedo boats.
To end the battle, the leading Russian battleships are damaged, but all are afloat, which given the number of torpedo hits (especially on Knyaz Suvorov) is a big disapointment:
View attachment 17320
The Japanese fleet losses make sad reading:
View attachment 17321
More to follow on the meeting of the Japanese First Squadron and Russian Second Pacific Squadron
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