Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1904-04-14
DISASTER TO THE PETR02AV-
I,OVSK.

tleship Petropavlovsk, the flagship OF
the Russian feet at Port Arthur was
blown up yesterday, capsized and
sank. Vice Admiral Makaroff, the
commander of the fleet, was lost, with
large number of his officers and men.
The official reports state that the Petro-
paylovsk struck mine while she was
returning from an encounter with the
japanese, but there are stories that a
battle was in progress at the time, and
intimations that the disaster might have
been due to japanese shot and shell.
The japanese fleet, including torpedo
boats and torpedo-boa destroyers, totals
40. Vice Admiral Makarof ordered his
whole squadron out Of the harbor to
meet the attack. What occurred prior
to the blowing up of the flagship was
only vaguely known, except that Vice
Admiral Makarof, with his flag flying
on the doomed vessel, sailed out to en-
gage the enemy until his reinforcement5
appeared.
1t is thought possible that Vice Ad-
miraI Togo planned an ambuscade by
sending in a small squadron in the hope
of drawing out the Russian commander
to the open and then cutting off his es-
cape.
1t is said that the location of six Of
the mines planted by the Yenesei were
unknown, the charts having been lost
when that vessel went down. Probably
it was one OF these mines that the Petro-
pavlovsk struck.
Makarofr is believed to have been in
the coming tower when the Petropav-
lovsk was blown up. Grand Duke
Cyril, who was saved, probably owes his
life to the fact that he is fine athlete
and a splendid swimmer. Hewas, how.
ever, more seriously injured than at first
believed. He has been removed to a
hospital at Port Arthur for treatment.
While preparing to draw up his line
of battle in the outer roadstead the
Petropavlovsk struck mine on her star
board side amidships, and Immediately
began to heel. Before the crew could
food the port compartments of the yes
sci in order to keep her on an even keel
she turned turtle and sank in a few
minutes, earring down almost the entire
crew. The frightful loss of life among
the officers and men was due to the fact
that they were all at their stations ready
for action. The Petropavlovsk turned
turtle in a manner similar to the British
battleship Victoria, which was rammed
by the Camperdown in 1898, and to the
incident in the Chino-Japanese wal
when Chinese warship capsized
many of the crew remaining alive for
several days hammering desperately on
the upturned hull.
The London Times in an editorial on
the sinking of the the Russian warship
Petropavlovsk, expresses doubt of the
correctness of the Russian account Of
the affair. 1t considers it more probable
the vessel was sunk by japanese tor
pedoes than by submarine mine. 1t
says the account of the operations be-
fore Port Arthur contained in a wireless
message from the Times correspondent
at sea is wholly irreconcilable with any
other theory. There was no sally by
the Russian ships from Port Arthur ac-
cording to the correspondent, who says
be saw no sign of Russian shipping at
appears" says the Times, "the war
ship must have been sunk before 4;3O a.
M, and it is at least possible the mine
was japanese torpedo. 1t looks rather
as if the Petropavlovsk had been caught
in the roadstead by the japanese torpe-
de-boats and as if the other Russian
ships, deprived of their admiral, had
retired to the inner harbor before the
Japanese feet reached Port Arthur.
This view seems confirmed by the dis
patch from the commandant at Port Ar
thur to the Gar. He relates the sinking
of the Petropavlovsk, and adds: The
japanese squadron is approaching Our
correspondent saw the squadron APP
preaching, but the torpedo attack had
taken place some hours earlier. 1t seems,
besides, hardly conceivablea single mine
could send battleship to the bottom
with such fearful rapidity, though the
simultaneous explosion of several torpe-
does would be far more destructive"
The London Times correspondent, at
sea in the vicinity of the japanese feet
off Port Arthur, cables, under yesterday s
dateby wireless telegraph to Weihaiwei,
that the japanese torpedo craft attacked
Port Arthur early in the morning, the
feet later shelling the forts. The bonn
bardment began at 9;45 o'clock.
An official telegram received in Toxic
from VIII says that company of Rus
sian troops attempted to cross the FIRST
stream of the Yalu river west OF W1u
Yesterday morning, and that company
OF japanese attacked and drove the Rus,
ians back. The bodies of twenty dead