Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1904-08-22
KAMIMURASsa, VICTORY
A coRREsPoNDENT's STORY OF
THE RECENT FIGHT.
Regarded a. the Most Desperate Bat
tlesasof Modern Naval
Warfare.


The following additional details of the
hight on Tsu, Island, between the Russian
Viaolvostok squadron and Vice Admiral
kamimura's evessels, August IA. are sup
Piled by the Russian correspondent Of the
Associated Press. He says:
The cruisers Rossia and Gromoboi, two
Of the survivors of our brave squadron, are
again In this harbor after the mos. desper-
ate battle of modern naval warfare. Half
OF the officers and forty per cent Of the
men were killed or wounded in the unequal
tight The gallant Rurik was lost and the
hossia and Gromoboi became helpless Grip
PIES but there is grim satisfaction in know
Ing that they carried out their orders, fight
Ing so as to weaken Admiral Kamimara's
SQUADRON with the object Of allowing the
Port Arthur squadron to force the passage
OF the Korean straits, which had hitherto
been impossible"
The correspondent mentions many details
Of the battle. which have already been
covered In the Associated Press dispatches.
and says that there are others Into which,
for reasons that are obvious to him, he
cannot enter. but that he Is enabled to give
the following on the authority of Rear Ad
mlral lessen and other surviving of1cers
OF OF the SQUADRON, many Of whom are now IN
nursed partly by the same devoted force
Of surgeons and attendants who worked
over them all day long under the murder
Gus fire of the enemy.
Rear Admiral lessen hoisted his flag on
the Rossia at o'clock on the morning or
August II, and the squadron steamed Cut
In accordance with previous instructions TO
meet Rear Admiral Without Commander
of the Port Arthur squadrOn). The pur-
pose Of the Vladivostok squadron was to
draw off Admiral Kamimurd SO as to clear
the passage of the Korean guilt for Admiral
uyhn
had been damaged and weakened in their
fight with Vice Admiral Toso
1.-The Japanese fleet was first sighted at
4:35 on the morning of August H. In lati-
tude 1881 and longitude lob. 1t was barely
daylight when the Russians observed by
the smoke on the horizon, FOUR japanese
vessels steaming in column to the north
west. These vessels came up rapidly and
proved to be four first-class cruisers, of
which the Russians identified the 1wate and
the Adsuma.
Tried to Avoid Fight.
eff possible we would have gotten them
dead to the north and then run to the
southwark to join forces with the Port
Arthur squadron. avoiding fight at that
particular time. but the superior speed OF
the enemy prevented this. They edged US
toward the Japanese shore, ana, seeing
that a battle was. inevitable and that I'M
der any circumstances this was part OF
our mission, we turned in the hope or com
ing in close quarters and damaging the
enemy as much as possible, but the Japan
csc ships were never Speedier and they
chose to make 1t a. long range fight. They
had superior artillery and were better pro-
tected. especially with regard to their steer
ing gear. -.
''The respective strength of the squad
rons, according to the standard of naval CO.
efficiency, was as 70 Russians to 100 Japan
csc.
1.-The battle commenced at 5 o'clock in
the morning at a range Of six miles. The
Russians were steaming so as to force
the Japanese line when a shell struck the
stern of the Rurik and irreparably dam
aged her rudder. She hosted a signal TO
this effect and Admiral lessen replied by
signaling steer by. propellers, but the
damage included one of the screws. and
the Rurik was forced to lie to while the
Japanese drew in and concentrated their
fire on the crippled cruiser, allowing Adj
miral lessen to proceed
the Rurik In difficulty swung around. fol-
lowed by the Gromoboi, and threw his bet
ter armored vessel between the Japanese
and the Rurik, taking the full force of the
Japanese big gun fire. while the RuriHs
crew worked desperately but hopelessly to
repair the steering gear.
''In the meantime wireless messages were
humming in the air calling up Japanese
reinforcements. Three smoke plumes APP
peared to the westward and they proved
to be from two second-class Japanese
cruisers one of which proved to be the
Tokiwa and the third a vessel of the
Nitaka type. These vessels maneuvered so
as to get the range of the crippled Russian
cruiser, putting her between them and
the first of her heavier escorts.
The battle continued until o'clock in
the morning. The Rossia suffered heavily.
Her guns were largely unprotected and her
crews were killed at their stations, while
the guns themselves We're dismantled The
Gromoboi, which was better protected, had
no heavy guns and was put out of action.
The japanese persistently refused to
close in, but lay off pounding US with their
heavy guns. Terrible havoc was caused
by the terrific bursting of the charges Of
the japanese SHELLS, probably of the new
shimose powder, which wrecked and shat
tered everything wherever they landed. Our
fire was steady and accurate, but only the
larger guns were available.
Russian Admiral Escapes.
THE Rurik signaled that her repairs had
beer completed and Admiral lessen sig
nailed her to proceed to Vladivostok. Ad-
miral lessen then attempted to draw off the
Japanese so as to allow the Rurik a chance
to escape, but he succeeded only artially
Tie four big Japanese cruisers attached
themselves to the Rossia and Gromoboi
steering parallel course but never nearer
than three and three-quarter miles Ad-
miral lessen drew off to the northwest
while the three smaller cruisers hung on the
TANKS of the crippled Rurik, which kept up
the fight until she and her enemies were
lost on the horizon.
THE flagship continued the battle with
the four armor clads until 10 O'Clock when
the Japanese vessels suddenly ceased fight
ing and turned and steamed at a greatly
increased speed in the direction of Japan
1T was impossible for US to follow them.
The Rossia's four tunnels were badly dam
aged, reducing her draught and lowering
her speed, while many of the smaller steam
| connections were cut by the Japanese shells
making it difficult to ascertain the real
extent of the injuries sustained. Both the
Rossia and the Gromoboi were leaking bad
ly The former had been hit in the hull
eleven times. while the latter had six holes
on the water line. Every wave broke
through the shell holes which the crews
covered as best they could with collision
mats, stopping them on the inside