New-York tribune., 1906-12-22
THE BALTIC FLEET.
An Inside Story of Russia,s Unpre-
paredness.

FROM RON LIBAU TO TsUsHINIA. A Narrative OF
Ine \ oyage OF Admiral Rojestvenshy's Fleet TO
Flfastern Seas Including Detailed Account OF
r Fo4ys3y fN5 engineer in chet 70 the squadron
lZrno, pp. XVI S07. CE. P. Dutton & Coz
How little chance Russia had TO win in the
late war with Japan and how little her more en-
hghtened naval officers expected her to win, are
the impressions most strongly produced by the
diary Of NJ. Politovsky. The feeling of panic that
pervaded the Baltic Squadron is no less appar-
ent than the lack Of effective preparation that
gave rise to it. Fitness to win" was conspicu-
ousy absent from both equipment and morale.
and failure was a foregone conclusion. The
chief engineers account of the voyage is no less
interesting as a human document than
contribution to contemporary history Sent to
his wife in the form Of letters, in which he made
her the confidante OF his daily experiences, his
hopes and fears and his outspoken criticisms.
the last instalment was fortunately mailed TO
her on the eve OF the battle of Tsashima. in
which the author lost his life sinking with the
flagship Suvaroff. to which as a staff officer. he
was attached The record is accordingly COM
plete. save as 10 the actual ngagement-which
exactly fulfilled the prophesies of the author.
Hope with him, existed only in the possibility
of eludinS the Japanese feet and in making the
harboC Of Vladivostok without a battle.
How little the officers and men Of the ships
expected 10 avoid an engagement is shown by
the way in which they in every strange
sail and innocent merchantmen not only pos
sible or a probable, but an actual japanese
cruiser or torpedo boat. Their overcharged
imaginations pictured the oceans Of the globe as
thickly patrolled by the vessels OF the enemy.
and precipitated the astounding attack upon the
harmless fishing boats Of the Dogger Bank. AT
10 o'clock the night Of October s. the KAN
har I'd Sha Lad
all sides by eight torpedo boats. Next day she
asked the position of the feet by wireless tel
egraphy. saying that she had altered her course
and that the torpedo boats had left her On
board the Suvaron this message was believed 10
be an effort OF the japanese TO ascertain the
Whereabouts OF the Russian ships! The author
continues:
The wind has freshea4d- The suvarof is rolling.
II ii continued TO f-eshen, the [Russlanl torpedo
boats will be obliged to give up following and
make for the nearest shore. Ny God! what will
quarters. having seen SHIPS ahead. They let the
was words fail 70 describe Al the ships Of our
division We're ablaze. The noise Of the firing was
blinded and deafened by the firing put my
hands to my ears and bolted below. The rest
watched from the spar deck, out Of the acccmmo-
heIplessIy on the sea one funnel a bridge and
& ne red and black paint on her side were clearly
hidden themselves below in terror. First one and
6 anor P[9IeGe rom [ our snip sIFScs dG 6 6s
sien The order 70 cease hrtng was given, but the
the steamer. second and third steamer. not
same fashion The suvaroff did not fire on them
Imagine the feelings Of the people in these ships;
They were. no doubt, trshermen- Now there VIII
be universal scandal As matter Of fact they
our neet was coming, and they must have known
the japanese wished 10 destroy II. They saw the
they had them out and get out OF the way? The
nets could be paid for afterwards We shall find out
q 2 f07
fred on the Aurora She and the Din1itry Dons1oi
were detached I'VE are in six divisions At the
their heads. Probably some one took her 10 be
japanese and fired on her with the six-inch guns;
she was very far off. A very, very sad occur
renee The only o94sola ton is that our shooting
ing shown herself on the horizon, on the side away
enerny's ships
There is a delightful frankness about this In
side story Of the event The authors attitude is
characteristicaIly Russian, OF course; but he
does not faE 10 see the true cause OF the blunder
Where he errs is in assuming that the English
fishermen were capable of forming any concep- !
ton Of the panicAy feeling OF the Russian per
sonnel
NJ Politovsky was neither a sailor nor war
rior. He belonged 10 the construction corps. |
and most Of his time on the voyage was occu- !
pied in patching up the poorly equipped badly /
manned and badly handled vessels, in order - |
enable them TO keep atOat ana IN mouOn- his /
reward reprimand from the Admiral for |
reporting late board the flagship IN a dirty !
Uniform. after he had been for hours directing re-
pairs 10 coaling torpedo boat from oUtrigger
that alternately submerged him and lifted him
into air 70 receive a shower OF coal dust. Disci
pline was at a low ebb. many Of the crews were !
IN state OF half suppressed mutiny, and insanity
made appalling inroads among officers and men. !
The author is equally candid in expressing his !
hatred OF the English. his admiration for the
French and his contempt for Russians-so far as
the administration OF the navy and the conduct
OF the war are concerned. He even criticises his
fellow officers:
What can be more infamous than the conduct Of
navy? There has been nothing like IL since
the creation Of the world Words fail de-
scribe the shameless dlshonOr. When viii /
there be end this ineflcienCy, Dragging and
concet? They are deni-gods- They only are
entitled TO hOnoTs, riches, glory everything but
naval work they do not understand. They do not /
for and not prepared for L. The navy
IS them the means Of getting all the good things
OF life. Let Russia make acquaintance with |
the archaic systems OF. and what she can EXPECT |
from, glorious Russian Navy!
4 FAMOUS TAR4DIDDLE.
CambrOnne Didn't Sau "The old !