Zinovy Rozhestvensky Zinovy Petrovich Rozhestvensky ( ) ( – January 14 , 1909 ) was an admiral of the Imperial Russian Navy . He was in command of the Second Pacific Squadron in the Battle of Tsushima , during the Russo - Japanese War . Under Admiral Rozhestvensky ' s command , the Russian navy holds the record of sailing an all - steel , coal - powered battleship fleet over one way to engage an enemy in decisive battle ( Battle of Tsushima ) , selecting the " Knyaz Suvorov " , one of four brand new battleships of the French - designed " Borodino " class , as his flagship for the voyage to the Pacific . Early Naval Career . Rozhestvensky graduated from the Sea Cadet Corps in 1868 and the Mikhailovsky Artillery Academy in 1873 . he initially served with the Baltic Fleet as a gunnery officer . In 1876 he transferred to the Black Sea Fleet . During the Russo Turkish War he served on board the gunboat " Vesta " . On June 10 , 1877 six torpedo boat s , five of which were armed with spar torpedoes , attempted to attack four ironclads of the Turkish Navy . The then Lieutenant Rozhestvensky volunteered to lead the first attack against the Turkish warships , but his torpedo boat became caught up in the " rope boom " defenses that protected the enemy ships . The attack was beaten back by Turkish gunfire which destroyed one torpedo boat and the remaining boats withdrew , leaving the enemy ironclads intact . In July 1877 while still assigned to the " Vesta " , he engaged and damaged a Turkish warship , the " Fethi - Bulend " , and Rozhestvensky was awarded the Order of Saint Vladimir and Order of St George for this action . In 1883 to 1885 Rozhestensky was seconded to the newly formed Bulgarian Navy . He returned to Russian service and was senior officer on the battery ship " Kreml " and the cruiser " Gerzog Edinburgski " . He then commanded the clipper " Naezdnik " and gunboat " Grozyachiy " . In 1891 - 93 he was naval attache in London . In 1894 he commanded the " Vladimir Monomakh " which was part of the Russian Meditarranean squadron under the command of Admiral Stepan Makarov . In 1896 - 98 he commanded the coast defence ship " Pervenets " . In 1898 he became commander of the gunnery school of the Baltic Fleet . In 1900 he commanded the salvage operation for the " General Admiral Graf Apraksin " . In 1902 he was appointed Chief of the Naval Staff and proposed a plan for strengthening the Russian Navy in the Far East . Russo - Japanese War . Prior to the war against Japan , Rozhestvensky was commander of the Baltic Fleet . Tsar Nicholas II ordered Rozhestvensky to take the Baltic Fleet to East Asia to protect the Russia n naval base of Port Arthur . The Tsar had selected the right man for the job , for it would take an iron - fisted commander to sail an untested fleet of brand new battleships ( for some of the new " Borodino " s , this voyage was their shakedown cruise ) and new untrained sailors on the longest coal - powered battleship fleet voyage in recorded history . Admiral Rozhestvensky , a veteran of the Turkish war , had a fiery temper when dealing with a subordinate , and both officers and men knew to stand clear of " Mad Dog " when a subordinate either disobeyed orders , was incompetent , or both . Rozhestvensky was fully aware that he had a new untrained navy under his command and that re - coaling stations would not be available during the journey , due to Britain ' s alliance with Japan ; and that both the shakedown testing of the new battleships and the gunnery practice / training would have to occur during the voyage . In addition , re - coaling would have to be done at sea , instead of in port as with most other navies . As a consequence of these circumstances , the mission - minded commander would sometimes fire service ammunition ( live gunfire ) across the bows of an errant warship , and in a fiery moment fling his binoculars from the bridge into the sea . When his battleship fleet set sail in 1904 , Rozhestvensky ' s staff ensured that his flagship , " Knyaz Suvorov " , had a good supply of binoculars on board . Nevertheless the inexperience of the Russian Baltic Fleet almost triggered a war between Russia and Great Britain as it sailed through the North Sea . After several Russian ships mistook British fishing trawlers at Dogger Bank for torpedo boat s from the Imperial Japanese Navy , they opened fire on the unarmed civilian vessels . The Dogger Bank incident on the night of the 21 – 22 October 1904 resulted in the deaths of three British fishermen and many wounded . One sailor and a priest aboard a Russian cruiser were also killed in the crossfire . The Russian government agreed to investigate the incident following a great deal of international diplomatic pressure . Admiral Rozhestvenski was ordered to dock in Vigo , Spain while battleships of the Royal Navy from the British Home Fleet were prepared for war . Several British cruiser squadrons shadowed Rozhestvenski ' s fleet as it made its way through the Bay of Biscay . On arrival in Spain , Rozhestvenski left behind those officers he considered responsible for the incident ( as well as at least one officer who had been critical of him ) . On November 25 , 1904 , the British and the Russian governments signed a joint agreement in which they agreed to submit the issue to an International Commission of Inquiry at The Hague . On February 26 , 1905 , the commission published its report . It criticized Rozhestvenski for allowing his ships to fire upon the British ships . But noted that " as each [ British ] vessel swept the horizon in every direction with her own searchlights to avoid being taken by surprise , it was difficult to prevent confusion " . The report also concluded that once the mistake was known " Admiral Rozhestvenski personally did everything he could , from beginning to end of the incident , to prevent [ the trawlers ] from being fired upon by the squadron " . Russia eventually paid £66 , 000 ( £5 . 8m today ) in compensation . Almost as soon as the Baltic Fleet arrived in the Far East in May 1905 , it was engaged by the Japanese Navy at the decisive Battle of Tsushima ( 27 – 28 May 1905 ) . Battle of Tsushima . Japanese Admiral Tōgō Heihachirō drew upon his experiences from the battles of Port Arthur and the Yellow Sea , and this time would not split his fires nor engage Rozhestvensky at excessive ranges , as he had done with Admiral Vitgeft at the " Yellow Sea " the year previously . He would instead , with the proper use of reconnaissance vessels and wireless communications position his battle fleet in such a way as to " preserve his interior lines of movement " , which would allow him to have shorter distances to cover while causing Rozhestvensky to have longer distances to travel , regardless of battleship speeds . Naval intelligence had already informed Togo of Rozhestvensky ' s mission , that of reaching Vladivostok , and avoiding contact with the Japanese navy if at all possible , and fighting as little as possible , if forced into it . Rozhestvensky ' s objective was to reinforce the " Vladivostok Squadron " , and then , when the Russian navy felt sufficiently prepared , they would engage the Japanese navy in a decisive action . With this knowledge in possession , Togo planned on preempting the Russian plan , by positioning his battle fleet to " bring the Russian fleet to battle , regardless of the speed of either battlefleet . " Admiral " Togo was able to appear directly across Rozhestvensky ' s line of advance ; he was headed " ( Rozhestvensky ' s " T " had been crossed ) . With only most of his bow guns to use , Rozhestvensky ' s main batteries were " thrown successively out of bearing " as he continued to advance . Other than surrender or retreat , Rozhestvensky had but two choices ; fight a pitched battle or charge Togo ' s battleline . He chose the former , and by the evening of 27 May 1905 , Rozhestvensky ' s flagship and the majority of his fleet were on the bottom of the Tsushima Straits . The Russian had lost 5 , 000 . During the battle , Admiral Rozhestvensky was wounded in the head by a shell fragment . The unconscious admiral was transferred to a destroyer . He was taken prisoner when the ship was later captured by the Imperial Japanese Navy . Aftermath . In 1906 , Rozhestvensky faced court martial for the disaster , along with each of his surviving battleship commanders . Some faced prison and some the firing squad for either losing the battle or surrendering on the high seas . The Tsar ' s court was fully aware that Admiral Nikolai Nebogatov had surrendered the Russian fleet , as Rozhestvensky had been wounded and unconscious for most of the battle , and was very reluctant to accept his statements of responsibility . Nonetheless , Admiral Rozhestvensky was adamant in his defense of his subordinate commanders and maintained total responsibility , pleading guilty to losing the battle . As was expected ( and hoped ) by the courts , the Tsar commuted the death - sentenced captains to short prison terms and pardons for the remaining officers . Later life . Rozhestvensky lived out the last years of his life in St Petersburg as a recluse . He died of lung disease and was buried in the Alexander Nevsky monastery . Historical Viewpoint - Opposing Commanders . The Russian navy had accrued several combat experienced admirals during the war ; admirals Oskar Victorovich Stark , Stepan Makarov , and Wilgelm Vitgeft being amongst them . Makarov had been the most promising with his " energy , tactics " , and his " ability to inspire confidence in his subordinates . " But by a series of set - backs all of them had been lost to Russia , from one cause or another . Although Makarov may have been Russia ' s greatest asset in the war , had he survived , he may not have been the right choice to lead the " Baltic Squadron " ( later redesignated the 2nd Pacific Squadron ) to the Far East . Even without fighting experience in the Orient , Admiral Rozhestvensky was the one man with the personality , skill , and determination to sail an untested battleship fleet on an unprecedented voyage to the other side of the world . This was obviously recognized by Tsar Nicholas when selecting the admiral . Rozhestvensky ' s opponent , Admiral Togo , had been the adversary of Russia ' s combat - experienced admirals during the current war , but he , unlike his Russian naval counterparts , would be " present " on the battlefield , to exploit those lessons learned from previous engagements against Rozhestvensky ; in the end , leaving him no choice but to fight or retreat .