New-York tribune., 1905-08-07
CRITICISM OF SE4 FIGHT.
japanese Commanders ReUie1o of
the Action off Tsu-Shima.

Correspondence of the Associated Press)
Toxic. July 9,-Commander Akyama who took
part in the battle of the Sea of Japan. has pre-
pared for publication a long statement the
great action. 1t supports gunnery. batteships and
tactics as the main factors in naval warfare in
preference TO the destroyer and the torpedo
He prefaces his statement by saying that good
gunnAry depends chiefly the division officers
and asserts that the Russian officers were la
mentably lacking In training. In the early part
Of the battle the Russians made only one hit TO
three made by the japanese. The latter had three
or four guns in action to one of the former. and
there was. therefore. nothing remarkable in the
disparity of losses.
The commander says that Admiral Rojestvensky
should not be criticised for electing to take
chances at Tsu-Shima. On the contrary it was
the wisest course open to him Tsugaru Strait is
long and narrow. the season was foggy and there
were mechanical obstructions. Distance and coal
were against Soya. and the time consumed In
reaching that entrance would have betrayed MS
plans. His plight on emerging from soya would
have been much worse than he might reason
ably hope for at Tsu-Shima.
The commander insists that the great mistake of
the Russians was in marshailing their vessels IN
double column line ahead From the moment they
went into action in this formation the Japanese
regarded victory as assured. Apart from the i'm
possibility of maintaining an orderly formauon
when pursuing such tactics for defensive purposes
there was the fact that only few of the ships
could bring their guns into eHeCIlNe dCtlolt
the Japanese attacking fleet end The latter
ships were able to concentrate their whole fire
upon the leading Russian ships, and In return re-
ceived only limited fire. Had the Russians adopt
ed the plan of imposing the brunt of the action on
their battleshps, while the rest of the fleet broke
through and steered direct for Nladivostok, the
commander believes they would have achieved a
partial success Instead of doing that they fol-
lowed the plan of aiding one another. and thus.
when the head of the batteship column got into
trouble the others steamed up and thrust them
selves into the same difficulties.
Discussing the question of sinking batteships and
armored cruisers by guntre the commander eX-
presses the opinion that the fact that the Russian
ships exceptionally low in the water con-
tributed materially to the result The Russians
carried large quantities of coal. and ammu-
nition and, thus weighted down and in a rough
sea, suffered badly from hits near the waterline
that ordinarily would not have been serious.
The commander says that the battle did not. as
some say. prove the superiority of arms to armor
He points that the newest armor the Rus
sian ships. notably in the of the Orel. was
not pierced. The distribution of armor is another
question ana he says the Russian builders do not
appear to have adopted the latest knowledge an6
principles on the subject.
The high seas aided the Japanese gunnery an6
made more marked the lack of training in the Rus
SLAMS. The abatement of the wind and sea at night
permitted favorable torpedo attacks. and the lucI
of the pursuit of the Japanese undertaken the sec
ond day of the battle, another notable element
in making the victory complete
Commander Akiyania defends Nebogatoff's sur
render from severe criticism. Nebogatoff was sur
rounded by twenty-SeVe ships. including the mos
powerful of Togo's fleet. Had the Russian refuse
TO surrender, his ships woule have sunk forth
with. Five or ten minutes would have sufhced t,
finish the unpleasant task. Any course except sur
render would have condemned to needless deatl
| two thousand officers and men,
Accurate estimates of the Russian casualties ar
! impossible TO obtain, but they are far under tn
| first estimates. The rescued and surrendered ex
| ceed seven thousand. and. making due allowanC,
| for those who escaped in the Almaz. the Izumrud
| the Ore the Aurora, the Jemchug and the auxiI
iaries, the Russian dead were between 1000 and 500