Vilas County news. [volume] (Eagle River, Vilas County, Wis.) 1896-1927, 1905-06-19

Vladivostok, June ia series or
interviews which the correspondent or
the Associated Press has had with
naval officers who survived the battle
of the sea of japan has developed a
sensational story, of the causes OF the
Russian disaster firt of all and the
complete decentralization which foR-
lowed the sinking of the flagship Kniaz
Souvaroff and the wounding OF Admiral
Rojestvensky.
1t is explained that not single Off
Ger of the fleet knew the commandev
in chiefs plans The admirals in COM
| mand of the divisions knew no more
, than the sub-lieutenants and had to
rely on the signals of the flagship
Admiral Nebogatoff, upon whom the
command devolved, had seen Admirat
Rojestvensky only once after the june
ture of their squadrons and then only
for Is minutes.
No Target Practice.
All the stories of extensive target
practice in Madagascar, it seems, were
false. During the entire voyage there
practically was no training in gunnery
worthy the name and big gun practice
was confined to three shots per vessel.
Ugly stories are told of the happenings
at Madagascar. Some of the crews GER
tainly were unframed in gunnery and
exhausted by the eight months voyage
tr,xyi nh
ditions, which were no match for the
veteran Japanese whose craftsmanship
was wonderful. The Japanese cor
centrated their fire on one ship untM
she was placed out of action and then
on another, thus successfully sinking
the Oslaba, Alexander III and Knfaz.
Souvaroff.
Defective Vessels.
Some ships developed deplorahRea
structural defects. The Oslaba sank
without having single hole below the
water line. Heavy seas entered tina
vessel above the water line and the
water tight compartments which were.
changed several times during the yoy~
age did not stand the strain they haG5'
been calculated to stand. and burst,
flooding and heeling the vessel oyer
until she turned turtle.
Ammunition Exhausted.
The lack of homogeniety among the
ships made it impossible to maneuveT
in harmony Finally, the ammunition
was exhausted after the first days
fight
Insane Russian Tactics.
Even the very morning OF the battle;
while the buzzing of the wireless In,
struments on the Russian ships,
showed that Japanese scouts were
communicating his dispositions to Ad-
miralmiral Togo, Admiral Rojestven-
sky continued his careless maneuver-
ing and when the Japanese actually ap-
peared the Russians wsre caught in an Z
impossible formation and were at
tackled on three fronts. While the jap
anese were training projectiles even
from machine guns on the Russian
ships, the latter were huddled to-
gether, blanketing each others fire.
Only the leaders of the columns could
bring their guns to bear and even On
these the unframed gunners fred
wildly. To render matters worse mines
and floating torpedos thrown in the
path of the Russian divisions added Ro
the confusion. The Borodino, AdmiraB
Nakhimoff and Narvain fell victims to-
these distractions.
Blame Not on the Sailors.
1t is a heart-rending narrative thar
Russia and the world should know
The sailors and officers were not alto
gether to blame. The main fault hes.
elsewhere. There were many heroes
among the Russians. Captain BerRh
of the Oslaba committed suicide on
her bridge as the ship sank, rather
than save himself. There were thou
sands of other heroes whose names the:
world will never know.