Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-04-25
Russia's Fortunes in War in
Rojestvensky's Hands.
LAST DESPAIRING HOPE
BATTLE FLEET HAS BEEN UNDER
ESTIMATED AS TO MATERIAL.
But the General Morale Of the Japanese
Squadron is Conceded to Be
Much Superior.
From the Scientific American.

|
Never, surely, in the history of naval
warfare did the fortunes of his country
depend so absolutely upon a single man
as 90 those of the Russian empire upon
| RoJestvensky and the fleet which he las
| taken into the China sea. Strategically
| considered, the present stage of the Jap
| anese war Is critical and dramatic to the
highest degree. Both by sea and by land
the Russian forces have been subjected to
| an unbroken series of disastrous defeats
Save for a pitiful remnant of three badly
battered ships at Vladivostok, the once
| powerful Pacific fleet of Russia has ceased
| to exist. Her great armies, gathered from
all corners of her empire. commanded by
her picked generals. lavishly equipped with
the best implements of modern warfare,
have suffered three overwhelming defeats
ana the shattered remnant is being driven
back steadily before the resistless wave Of
| Japanese invasion.
And now, at the eleventh hour. when the
| whole world, friends and foes alike, is tell
| ing Russia that the game is lost she
| launches into the very heart of the conflict
| her last desparing fororn hope, in the
| person of Admiral Rojestvensky with his
travel worn fleet of something less than
| half hundred ships. AT the present writ
| Ing this fleet is steaming directly along the
| frequented trade routes, with effort at
| concealment. and with an evident determi-
| nation to seek out the thrice victorious To-
| so and try conclusions in desperate fight
| to finish
Whatever may have been said about the
| Baltic fieet-the haste with which it WAS
| gathered, it's oft-delayed start its terrible
| biunder among the fishing fleet in the
North seattle whole world must join In
giving the Russian admiral his full need
| OF praise for steaming straight for his
| powerful enemy at the close of his H. 900
| mile voyage which is no small accomplish
| ment in itself. The task before him Is
| truly appalling. With half a hemisphere
between him and home port; with a vet
| eran and tried fleet of the enemy guard
| ing the only avenue of approach to the
| one remaining Russian port far to the
north; with that port blockaded and Its
entrances heavily mined; with no friendly
| harbor nigh at hand to which he re-
| tire to recover from the stress of hard
earned victory shelter after a disastrous
| defeat; it must be admitted, in all fair
ness, that what Rojestvensky has done
and is aiming to do. has been well done
and is being attempted in manner truly
| heroic.
Battle Ships Decide.
1t would be a rash prophecy to declare
| that in the impending battle victory must
| necessarily fall to the japanese fleet. Mat
| tiers are not as they We're when the de-
| termination was first taken to dispatch q
second fleet to the Pacific. Since that time
| at least one, and probably two, of the Jap
| anese battle ships have been lost beyond
| recovery, and it is quite possible that Togo
can oppose but four battle ships to the
seven battle ships under Observation-Disclosures
| 1t is battle ships that decide, and ever will
| decide. the fate of naval campaign
| There can be no question that the Baltic
feet has been greatly underestimate by
| the general public, partly because of the
| North sea incident, and partly because of
the widely-circulated rumor that this was
a scratch fleet" composed of obsolete YES
| sells. AS to this last, nothing could be
| farther from the truth. Four of the battle
| ships are absolutely new They are an i'm
provement upon the Czarevitch, which, 1t
will be remembered, stood for hours the
concentrated attack of Togo's battle ships
| without having any of her big guns silenced
or the structural efficiency of her hull seri-
| ously impaired. These four ships are prob
able able to stand severer hammering. and
are more difficult to sink by gun fire than
any ships af1oat in the world today. The
Borodno Orel, Alexander III and Suvaroff
mount, among them, sixteen tWelVe-inch
.42-caliber guns. which, being absolutely
new are good for a muZzle velocity of 1900
feet per second. The Russians use capped
projectiles. and with these the gun Is
capable of penetrating twelve inches of
Krupp steel at 5000 yards, and fifteen
inches at 1900 yards.
Fight at Close Range.
If Admiral Toga is to sink these ships
or so cripple them as to have them at his
mercy he will have to fight at a range so
near that the Russian ships cannot fail to
place their shells with considerable effect
upon his vessels. In addition to these bat
tie ships there is the Osliabia, built in 1900,
| which carries four ten-inch guns, capable
of penetrating ten and one-half inches of
steel at 5000 yards, and thirteen inches at
3GO0 yards. All of these vessels have a
trial speed of eighteen knots hour, al
though, of course, they are just now much
slower because of foul bottoms. The other
| two battle ships Sissoi Veliky and Navarin,
1 hatx1r him oil q
35-caliber guns, capable of penetrating
eight and one-half inches of Krupp steel at
5000 and eleven inches at 5000 yards
Their speed is two knots slower than that
OF the other battle ships. The four Japa-
nese battle ships (or five, as the case may
be- mount between them either sixteen or
twenty twelve-inch guns of about the same
penetrative power as the Russian pieces
With the exception of the Mikasa, however,
they are protected by Harveyized armor OF
considerably less resistance than the Krupp
steel on the latest Russian ships. In battle
ships the Russians nave undoubtedly pre-
ponderance of power.
1t is to be borne in mind. however, that
japan possesses eight or seven Zone is re-
| ported to have been losD very effective ar
mored cruisers, any one of which is more
| than a match for the two old armored
| cruisers Nakhmoff and Donskoi OF the
| Russian fleet. They mount, between them,
thirty-two guns of S-inch caliber. and they
| are protected by to inches Of krupp
| armor. 1t is scarcely likely, however, that
| these ships will be placed in the nrst line
of battle, within range of the Pinch guns
of the Russian fleet; and with the possible
exception of the Italian-built Kasuga and
Nisshin they will probably be held in re-
serve until 1t is seen how the fight between
the battle ships is going. Should Togo be
able to draw the sting from the Russian
battle ships, and seriously cripple them.
his armored cruisers would close In to as
sist in delivering the coup de grace.
Material and Morale.
The Russian feet includes several fine
protected cruisers of between 1900 and 600
tons displacement, and few torpedo boats.
If Rojestvensky should by any chance elude
Admiral Togo and effect a junction with
the armored cruisers at Vladivostock his
fleet would be greatly strengthened and
his chances of success enhanced; but that
is remote possibility.
So much for the material of the fleet; and
1t must be admitted that, judged on this
basis, the second Pacific squadron is men
ace to Japan's command of the sea, so seri-
Gus as to make it possible that victorious
peace may be snatched from her grasp in
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