Editing Battle of Tsushima (section)

==Background==

===Conflict in the Far East===
[[File:View of Port Arthur and Imperial Russian Leaders.png|thumb|right|upright=1.5|View of [[Lüshun Port|Port Arthur]] with Imperial Russian leaders. From left, Ambassador to China, [[:ru:Лессар, Павел Михайлович|Pavel Lessard]]; Ambassador to Japan, [[Roman Rosen]]; Minister of Navy, [[Theodor Avellan]]; Minister of Army, [[Vladimir Viktorovich Sakharov|Vladimir Sakharov]]: Interior Minister, [[Vyacheslav von Plehve]]; Foreign Minister, [[Vladimir Lamsdorf|Vladimir Lambsdorff]]; Prince [[Dmitry Khilkov]]; Finance Minister, [[Sergei Witte]]; Viceroy [[Yevgeni Ivanovich Alekseyev|Yevgeni Alekseyev]].]]
On 8 February 1904, destroyers of the [[Imperial Japanese Navy]] launched a surprise attack on the Russian Far East Fleet anchored in [[Lüshun Port#Lüshun Naval Base|Port Arthur]]; three ships – two battleships and a cruiser – were damaged in the attack. The Russo-Japanese war had thus begun. Japan's first objective was to secure its lines of communication and supply to the Asian mainland, enabling it to conduct a ground war in [[Manchuria]]. To achieve this, it was necessary to neutralize Russian naval power in the Far East. At first, the Russian naval forces remained inactive and did not engage the Japanese, who staged unopposed landings in Korea. The Russians were revitalised by the arrival of Admiral [[Stepan Makarov]] and were able to achieve some degree of success against the Japanese, but on 13 April Makarov's flagship, the battleship {{ship|Russian battleship|Petropavlovsk|1894|2}}, struck a mine and sank; Makarov was among the dead.{{sfn|Sondhaus|2001|p=188}} His successors failed to challenge the Japanese Navy, and the remaining six Russian battleships{{efn|{{ship|Russian battleship|Tsesarevich||2}}, {{ship|Russian battleship|Retvizan||2}}, {{ship|Russian battleship|Pobeda||2}}, {{ship|Russian battleship|Peresvet||2}}, {{ship|Russian battleship|Poltava||2}} and {{ship|Russian battleship|Sevastopol|1895|2}}}} and five armoured cruisers{{Efn|{{ship|Russian cruiser|Askold||2}}, {{ship|Russian cruiser|Pallada||2}}, {{ship|Russian cruiser|Diana||2}}, {{ship|Russian cruiser|Novik||2}} and {{ship|Russian cruiser|Bayan||2}}}} were effectively bottled up in their base at Port Arthur.

By May, the Japanese had landed forces on the [[Liaodong Peninsula]] and in August began the [[siege of Port Arthur|siege of the naval station]]. On 9 August, Admiral [[Wilgelm Vitgeft]], commander of the 1st Pacific Squadron, was ordered to sortie his fleet to [[Vladivostok]],{{sfn|Forczyk|2009|page=48}} link up with the Squadron stationed there, and then engage the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) in a decisive battle.{{sfn|Forczyk|2009|pages=26, 54}} Both squadrons of the [[Russian Pacific Fleet]] would ultimately become dispersed during the [[Battle of the Yellow Sea]], where Admiral Vitgeft was killed by a [[salvo]] strike from the {{ship|Japanese battleship|Asahi|up=yes}} on 10 August, and the [[Battle off Ulsan]] on 14 August 1904. What remained of Russian Pacific naval power would [[Siege of Port Arthur#Destruction of the Russian Pacific fleet|eventually be sunk in Port Arthur]] in December 1904.{{sfn|Sondhaus|2001|p=189}}

===Departure===
With the inactivity of the First Pacific Squadron after the death of Admiral Makarov and the tightening of the Japanese noose around Port Arthur, the Russians considered sending part of their [[Baltic Fleet]] to the Far East. The plan was to relieve Port Arthur by sea, link up with the First Pacific Squadron, overwhelm the Imperial Japanese Navy, and then delay the Japanese advance into Manchuria until Russian reinforcements could arrive via the [[Trans-Siberian railroad]] and overwhelm the Japanese land forces there. As the situation in the Far East deteriorated, the Tsar (encouraged by his cousin [[Kaiser Wilhelm II]]),{{sfn|Busch|1969|page=214}} agreed to the formation of the ''Second Pacific Squadron''.{{sfn|Sondhaus|2001|p=190}} This would consist of five divisions of the Baltic Fleet, including 11 of its 13 battleships. The squadrons, including the later-formed ''Third Pacific Squadron'', departed the Baltic ports of [[Tallinn|Reval (Tallinn)]] and [[Liepāja|Libau (Liepāja)]] on 15–16 October 1904 (Rozhestvensky fleet){{efn|von Fölkersahm, who had previously inherited the gunnery school of the Baltic Fleet from Rozhestvensky as the Commandant, led a group of smaller ships, departed Reval and Libau a few days later and split from Rozhestvensky group at Tangier to head for Suez Canal.}} and 2 February 1905 (Nebogatov fleet),{{sfn|Pleshakov|2002}} and on 3 November 1904 (armoured cruisers {{ship|Russian cruiser|Oleg||2}} and {{ship|Russian cruiser|Izumrud||2}}, auxiliary cruisers {{ship|Russian merchant cruiser|Ural||2}} and [[Spanish cruiser Rapido|''Terek'']], destroyers ''Gromkiy'' and ''Grozniy''{{Efn|According to Pleshakov (2002), ''[[Smolensk (1901 ship)|Rion]]'' and ''[[SS Petersburg (1894)|Dniepr]]'' are included and ''Ural'', ''Terek'', ''Gromkiy'' and ''Grozniy'' are excluded from this unit.{{sfn|Pleshakov|2002|p=159}}}} under the command of Captain 1st rank [[:ru:Добротворский, Леонид Фёдорович|Leonid Dobrotvorsky]].{{sfn|Novikov-Priboy|1937|loc=Book 1, Chapter 3}}), numbering 48 ships and auxiliaries.{{sfn|Willmott|2009|p=112}}{{efn|name=Dobrot}}

===Dogger Bank===
{{main|Dogger Bank incident}}

The Rozhestvensky and von Fölkersahm squadrons sailed through [[Øresund]] strait into the [[North Sea]]. The Russians had received numerous fictitious reports of Japanese [[torpedo boats]] operating in the area and were on high alert. In the [[Dogger Bank incident]], the Rozhestvensky squadron mistook a group of British fishing trawlers operating near the [[Dogger Bank]] at night for hostile Japanese ships. The fleet fired upon the small civilian vessels, killing several British fishermen; one trawler was sunk while another six were damaged.{{sfn|Sondhaus|2001|p=190}} In confusion, the Russians even fired upon two of their own vessels, killing some of their own men. The firing continued for twenty minutes before Rozhestvensky ordered firing to cease; loss of life was limited by the fact that the Russian gunnery was highly inaccurate.{{sfn|Corbett|2015b|pp=32–35}} The British were outraged by the incident and incredulous that the Russians could mistake a group of [[fishing trawler]]s for Japanese warships, thousands of kilometres from the nearest Japanese port. Britain almost entered the war in support of Japan, with whom it had [[Anglo-Japanese alliance|an alliance]] (but was neutral in the war, as their mutual defense clause stipulated "when either nation faced 'more than one' adversaries in a war"). The Royal Navy [[sortie]]d and shadowed the Russian fleet until a diplomatic agreement was reached.{{sfn|Sondhaus|2001|p=190}} France, which had hoped to eventually bring the British and Russians together in an [[Triple Entente|anti-German bloc]], intervened diplomatically to restrain Britain from declaring war.{{sfn|Sondhaus|2001|p=190}} The Russians were forced to disembark officers{{efn|Led by Rozhestvensky's staff officer, Captain 2nd rank [[:de:Nikolai Lawrentjewitsch Klado|Nikolai Klado]], who, after his return to Saint Petersburg, strongly argued for reinforcement that led to the formation of the Third Pacific Squadron.{{sfn|Novikov-Priboy|1937|loc=Book 1, Part 3, Chapter 5}}}} who were suspected of [[misconduct]] to give evidence to the International Court of Inquiry{{efn|Initially proposed by the Russian Foreign Office after the news of [[Home Fleet]], [[Channel Fleet]] and [[Mediterranean Fleet]] of the Royal Navy being mobilised.{{sfn|Corbett|2015b|pp=36-37}}}} at Paris, ending up accepting responsibility for the incident and compensate the fishermen.<ref name="HULL">{{cite web |url=http://www.hullwebs.co.uk/content/l-20c/disaster/dogger-bank/voyage-of-dammed.htm|title=Dogger Bank – Voyage of the Damned|website=Hullwebs – History of Hull|access-date=8 September 2007|archive-date=20 October 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081020120406/http://www.hullwebs.co.uk/content/l-20c/disaster/dogger-bank/voyage-of-dammed.htm|url-status=live}}</ref>{{sfn|Miyanaga|2004}}<ref name="businessinsider.com">{{cite web|url=https://www.businessinsider.com/surprising-russian-navy-losses-against-ukraine-century-after-tsushima-2022-6|title=The Russian navy's surprising losses against Ukraine are reminders of another humiliating defeat 117 years ago|website=[[Business Insider]]}}</ref>

===Routes===
[[File:Battle of Japan Sea (Route of Baltic Fleet) NT.PNG|thumb|right|Routes taken by the Russian fleets from the Baltic to the Battle of Tsushima. Dobrotvorsky unit{{efn|name=Dobrot|The Baltic Fleet left Russia in four groups, commanded by Admiral Rozhestvensky, Rear Admiral von Fölkersahm, Rear Admiral Nebogatov and Captain Leonid Dobrotvorsky. Later, illness incapacitated Fölkersahm and his eventual death just 3 days before the Battle of Tsushima promoted Rear Admiral Nobogatov to de facto Second in Command of the fleet.}} and Fölkersahm detachment in brown, Rozhestvensky fleet in blue, and Nebogatov's 3rd Pacific Squadron in red.{{sfn|Pleshakov|2008}}]]
The [[Draft (hull)|draught]] of the newer battleships, which had proven to be considerably greater than designed,{{sfn|Imperial Defence|1920|pp=27–31}} preventing their passage through the [[Suez Canal]]{{efn|Two hours after the initial departure still under tow, battleship ''Oryol'', having a designed normal-load draught of 26ft,{{sfn|Grove|1995|p=13}} got stuck aground on the fairway at the mouth of Kronstadt port, which had 27ft depth, requiring dredgers to dig extra one and a half feet.{{sfn|Novikov-Priboy|1937|loc=Book 1, Chapter 1}} Suez Canal had a draught limit of 22 feet until 1956.<ref>{{cite web|title=Canal Characteristics|url=https://www.suezcanal.gov.eg/English/About/SuezCanal/Pages/CanalCharacteristics.aspx|author=Suez Canal Authority}}</ref>}} caused the fleet to separate after leaving Tangier on 3 November 1904. The newer battleships, cruisers, fast auxiliaries and the destroyers for protection, proceeded around the [[Cape of Good Hope]] under the command of Admiral Rozhestvensky while the older battleships and cruisers made their way through the Suez Canal under the command of Admiral von Fölkersahm. They planned to rendezvous in Madagascar, and both sections of the fleet successfully completed this part of the voyage.{{sfn|Imperial Defence|1920|pp=27–31}} The longer journey around Africa took a toll on the Russian crews under Rozhestvensky, "who had never experienced such a different climate or such a long time at sea" as "conditions on the ships deteriorated, and disease and respiratory issues killed a number of sailors".<ref name="businessinsider.com"/> The voyage took half a year in rough seas, with difficulty obtaining coal for refueling – as the warships could not legally enter the ports of neutral nations – and the [[morale]] of the crews plummeted. The Russians needed {{convert|500000|ST}} of coal and 30 to 40 re-coaling sessions to reach French Indochina (now Vietnam), and coal was provided by 60 colliers from the [[Hamburg-Amerika Line]].{{efn|400,000 to 500,000 tons of coal was purchased by Russia at [[Cardiff]] in the UK after the beginning of this war,{{sfn|British Assistance|1980|p=46}} and was described by [[George Clarke, 1st Baron Sydenham of Combe|Sir George Clarke]]{{efn|name=Clarke|One of the premier military planners of the UK at the time, having served on the [[Victor Bruce, 9th Earl of Elgin#Elgin Commission|Elgin Commission]] and being one of the primary members of [[Esher Report|Esher Committee]] together with [[Lord Esher]] and [[John Fisher, 1st Baron Fisher|Admiral Sir John (Jacky) Fisher]].}} as "if the Russian fleet goes to the Far East (with) its motive power will be derived from British coal, mainly bought after the beginning of the war by a belligerent, which has made (the) coal absolute contraband".<ref>Balfour papers (British Library, London, Add MS 49700). Sir George Clarke to Arthur Balfour, 30 September 1904.</ref> This explains why the Hamburg Amerika Line refused to provide coaling beyond French Indochina, as the Japanese would be legally entitled to capture the German colliers carrying contraband for the Russians.}}{{Primary source inline|date=October 2024}} By April and May 1905 the reunited fleet had anchored at [[Cam Ranh Bay]] in French Indochina.{{efn|name=refusal}}{{sfn|Willmott|2009|p=112}}<ref>{{cite web|title=Battle of Tsushima {{!}} Russo-Japanese war|url=https://www.britannica.com/event/Battle-of-Tsushima|website=Encyclopedia Britannica|date=20 May 2023|language=en}}</ref>

The Russians had been ordered to break the [[siege of Port Arthur|blockade of Port Arthur]], but the battleships in the port were sunk by the Japanese land artillery, and the heavily fortified city/port had already fallen on 2 January just after the Second Pacific Squadron arrived at [[Nossi Be]], [[Madagascar]], before the arrival of the Fölkersahm detachment. The objective was therefore shifted to linking up with the remaining Russian ships stationed in the port of [[Vladivostok]], before bringing the Japanese fleet to battle.{{sfn|Corbett|2015b|pp=152, 166–168}}