The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1904-08-26
NOvik's Commander Gives
Details of Cruisers
Last Fight.

ST. PETERSBURG. Aug. 25.-The
Emperor has received from Viceroy
AleXief the following report of the
commander of the cruiser Novik, which
was sunk at korsakoVsk. island of
Saghalien. after fight with the Jap
anese protected cruisers Chitose and
Tsushima:
AT the end Of the fight of August
10. in which the Novik sustained three
holes below the water line, she passed
through the enemy's ships with the
cruiser Askold. 1 lost sight of the lat
ter owing TO the fog and TO the delay
caused by repairing the engines.
ION August II 1 entered Kiaochou to
coal and left there on August II. round
ing Japan for Nladivostok.
ON August 20 the Novik reached
Korsakovsk. At 4 o'clock on the same
day l sighted an enemys cruiser and
put to sea and engaged ner. After
forty-five minutes fighting the Novik
had three holes below her water line
and two above, and the steering gear
was damaged. The japanese cruiser
ceased fighting and began telegraph
ing.
BY the end Of the engagement only
six Of our boilers were in good order,
and this fact, added to the damage to
our steering gear, compelled me to re-
turn to korsakovsk to examine our
condition.
In doing this intended TO put to sea
again at night, but finding it impossi-
BILE to repair the rudder and in view
OF the approach of several of the
enemy's vessels, decided to sink the
cruiser in shallow water. The crew
and stores were conveyed on shore.
"On August 81 a cruiser of the
Suma type bombarded that part of the
cruiser showing above the water.
My casualties on the 10th were two
sailors killed and a doctor wounded and
on the goth two sailors killed and ff-
teen slightly wounded"
The Emperor has received from Rear
Admiral Prince Outomsky a telegram
bearing a Port Arthur date, in which,
after briefly describing the sortie of
the Port Arthur squadron on August 10
and it's engagement with Vice admiral
Togo's ships. the Admiral says:
AT 1880 o'clock, when the Cesare-
witch left the line with damaged steer
ing gear and signaling Admiral trans
fers command as l had two masts
broken and all means Of signaling by
day or night damaged on the Peres-
Wet, displayed the signal Follow me,
but ! imagine that all the ships were
not able to distinguish it. AS my yes
sci lost manv killed and wounded and
as the armament. hull and electric ap-
paratus were seriously damaged, 1 de-
cided to return to Port Arthur. The
ironclads Retvizan, Pobieda, Poltava.
Sevastopol and Cesarevitch accom-
panied me, the Cesarevitch being the
last in line.
we went at-an average speed. but
owing to the darkness and to repeated
torpedo attacks, which obliged us from
time TO time to change our course, our
vessels dispersed and at dawn the Ret
vizan, Sevastopol, Peresviet, Pobieda,
Poltava and Pallada, with three tor
pedo boats. were at Port Arthur
Our casualties were two officers
and thirty-eight men killed and TWEEN
ty-one officers and 2S6 men wounded,
fifty Of them severely.
Captain Boyeman, despite severe
wounds, remained for twenty hours on
the bridge until the battleship entered
port Our vessels are being repaired
by their own and the dock yard ap-
planes. In the absence of Rear Ad-
miral Withoeft l have assumed COM
mand of the Port Arthur squadron"