Battle of Tsushima order of battle

This is the order of battle of the Japanese and Russian fleets at the Battle of Tsushima on 2728 May 1905. The utter destruction of Russian naval power at Tsushima was the climactic action of the Russo-Japanese War.

The Russian fleet had suffered such attrition from Japanese mines and combat with the Japanese fleet during 1904 that the Russian high command made the fateful decision to dispatch the Baltic Fleet in October of that year to the Pacific coast base at Vladivostok. This involved an exhausting voyage of over seven months; those ships that went down the Atlantic, around Cape of Good Hope, across the Indian Ocean and up the China Sea eventually covered before ending in disaster as the fleet attempted to transit Tsushima Strait.

Vice-Admiral Zinovy Rozhestvensky, in command of the Russian fleet, rejected the idea of circling the Japanese home islands to the east as impractical and instead drove straight through Tsushima Strait as the most direct route to Vladivostok. Admiral Tōgō Heihachirō, in command of the Japanese fleet, was waiting in port at Busan on the Korean coast.

Despite the devastation of its navy, Russia could have continued the war. For their part, the Japanese did not want to reveal how much they had been weakened by wartime expenditures and agreed to a settlement negotiated by U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt at Portsmouth, New Hampshire.

Japanese Combined Fleet

First Squadron

Admiral Tōgō Heihachirō in Mikasa

First Division Vice Admiral Misu Sōtarō in Nisshin

4 pre-Dreadnought battleships (all 4 × 12-inch (305 mm), 18 knots)

: 1 variant

:: (Capt. Ijichi Hikojirō)

: 2

:: (Capt. Teragaki Izō)

:: (variant) (Capt. Nomoto Tsunaaki)

: 1

:: (Capt. Matsumoto Kazu)

2 armored cruisers: both variants

: (Capt. Katō Sadakichi)

:: (forward 1 × 10-inch (254 mm), aft 2 × 8-inch (203 mm), 20 knots)

: (Capt. Takenouchi Heitarō)

:: (4 × 8-inch (203 mm), 20 knots)

1 dispatch vessel (2 × quick-firing 4.7-inch (120 mm), 21 knots)

: (Cmdr. Yamagata Bunzō)

Third Division<br> Vice Admiral Dewa Shigetō in Kasagi

4 protected cruisers

: 2 (2 × 8-inch (203 mm), 22.5 knots)

:: (Capt. Yamaya Tanin)

:: (Capt. Takagi Sukekazu)

: 2 (6 × quick-firing 6-inch (152 mm), 20 knots)

:: (Capt. Shōji Yoshimoto)

:: (Capt. Arima Ryōkitsu)

First Destroyer Division Captain Fujimoto Shūshirō

4 s (1 × quick-firing 12-pounder, 29 knots)

: Harusame (1902) (Capt. Fujimoto)

: Fubuki (1905) (Lt. Tōjima Otsukichirō)

: Ariake (1904) (Lt. Cmdr. Kutsumi Tsuneo)

: Arare (1904) (Lt. Watanabe Shingo)

1 ex- (1 × 3-inch (75 mm), 25.75 knots)

: Akatsuki (1904) (Lt. Harada Shōsaku)

Second Destroyer Division Captain Yajima Junkichi in Oboro

4 s (1 × quick-firing 12-pounder, 30 knots)

: Oboro (1899) (Lt. Fujiwara Eisaburō)

: Inazuma (1899) (Lt. Cmdr. Suga Tetsuichirō)

: Ikazuchi (1898) (Lt. Cmdr. Saitō Hanroku)

: Akebono (1899) (Lt. Yamanouchi Shirō)

Third Destroyer Division Captain Yoshijima Jyūtarō in Shinonome

4 destroyers

: 2 (1 × quick-firing 12-pounder, 30 knots)

:: (Lt. Cmdr. Yoshida Mōshi)

:: (Lt. Cmdr. Masuda Chūkichirō)

: 1 (1 × quick-firing 12-pounder, 30 knots)

:: (Lt. Cmdr. Shiraishi Naosuke)

: 1 (1 × quick-firing 12-pounder, 30 knots)

:: (Lt. Cmdr. Aiba Tsunezō)

14th Torpedo-Boat Division Lieut. Commander Seki Shigetaka

4 s (3 × 18-inch (450 mm) torpedo tubes, 29 knots)

: Chidori (1901) (Lt. Cmdr. Seki)

: Hayabusa (1899) (Lt. Ebihara Keiichi)

: Manazuru (1900) (Lt. Tamaoka Yoshirō)

: Hashitaka (1903) (Lt. Miyamoto Matsutarō)

Second Squadron

Vice Admiral Kamimura Hikonojō in armored cruiser Izumo

Second Division <br> Rear Admiral Shimamura Hayao in armored cruiser Iwate

6 armored cruisers

: 2 (4 × 8-inch (203 mm), 20.75 knots)

:: (Capt. Ijichi Suetaka)

:: (Capt. Kawashima Reijirō)

: 2 (4 × 8-inch (203 mm), 21 knots)

:: (Capt. Yashiro Rokurō)

:: (Capt. Shigetarō Yoshimatsu

: 1 armored cruiser (4 × 8-inch (203 mm), 21 knots)

:: (Capt. Murakami Kakuichi)

: 1 armored cruiser (4 × 8-inch (203 mm), 20 knots)

:: (Capt. Matsumoto Arinobu)

1 dispatch vessel (2 × quick-firing 4.7-inch (120 mm), 21 knots)

: (Cmdr. Eguchi Rinroku)

Fourth Division Vice Admiral Uryū Sotokichi in Naniwa

4 protected cruisers

: 2 (2 × 10.2-inch (260 mm), 18 knots)

:: (Capt. Wada Kensuke)

:: (Capt. Mōri Ichihei)

: 1 (2 × quick-firing 6-inch (152 mm), 20 knots)

:: (Capt. Ushiki Kōshirō)

: 1 (6 × quick-firing 6-inch (152 mm), 20 knots)

:: (Capt. Sentō Takenaka)

Fourth Destroyer Division (Commander Suzuki Kantarō in Asagiri)

2 s (1 × quick-firing 12-pounder, 29 knots)

: Asagiri (1903) (Lt. Iida Nobutarō)

: Murasame (1902) (Lt. Cmdr. Kobayashi Kenzō)

2 s (1 × quick-firing 12-pounder, 31 knots)

: (Lt. Cmdr. Kamata Masamichi)

: (Lt. Cmdr. Nanri Dan'ichi)

Fifth Destroyer Division (Commander Hirose Juntarō in Shiranui)

4 s (1 × quick-firing 12-pounder, 30 knots)

: (Lt. Cmdr. Kuwashima Shōzō)

: (Lt. Cmdr. Shimanouchi Kanta)

: (Lt. Cmdr. Tashiro Miyoharu)

: Kagerō (1899) (Lt. Yoshikawa Yasuhira)

9th Torpedo-Boat Division (Commander Kawase Hayaharu)

4 s (1 × 2.2-inch (57 mm), 29 knots)

: Aotaka (1903) (Cmdr. Kawase)

: Kari (1903) (Lt. Awaya Gazō)

: Tsubame (1903) (Lt. Tajiri Yuiji)

: Hato (1903) (Lt. Iguchi Daijirō)

19th Torpedo-Boat Division (Commander Matsuoka Shūzō)

3 s (1 × 2.2-inch (57 mm), 29 knots)

: Kamome (1904) (Cmdr. Matsuoka)

: Ootori (1904) (Lt. Ōtani Kōshirō)

: Kiji (1903) (Lt. Kanzai Uemon)

Third Squadron

Vice Admiral Kataoka Shichirō in protected cruiser Itsukushima<br> Fifth Division <br> Rear Admiral Taketomi Kunikane in Hashidate

3 Matsushima-class protected cruisers (1 × 12.6-inch (320 mm) (Canet gun), 16.5 knots)

: (Capt. Tsuchiya Tamotsu)

: (Capt. Fukui Masayoshi)

: (Capt. Okumiya Mamoru)

1 ex-Chinese turret ship (rebuilt) (4 × 12-inch (305 mm), 15.4 knots)

: (Capt. Imai Kanemasa)

1 dispatch vessel (4 × quick-firing 4.7-inch (120 mm), 20.75 knots)

: (Cmdr. Nishiyama Sanechika)

Sixth Division <br> Rear Admiral Tōgō Masamichi in Suma

1 protected cruiser (2 × quick-firing 6-inch (152 mm), 20 knots)

: (Capt. Tochiuchi Sōjirō)

1 protected cruiser (10 × quick-firing 4.7-inch (120 mm), 19 knots)

: (Capt. Higashifushimi Yorihito)

2 2nd class protected cruisers

: (Capt. Hirose Katsuhiko)

: (ex-Chilean cruiser Esmeralda) (Capt. Ishida Ichirō)

Seventh Division <br> Rear Admiral Yamada Hikohachi in Fusō

1 ironclad cruiser

: (Capt. Nagai Gunkichi)

2 unprotected cruisers

: (Capt. Yashiro Yoshinori)

: (Cmdr. Tsuchiyama Tetsuzō)

2 Maya-class gunboats

: (Cmdr. Ushida Jūzaburō)

: (Cmdr. Fujita Sadaichi)

1 gunboat

: (Lt. Cmdr. Kaneko Mitsuyoshi)

15th Torpedo-Boat Division Lieut. Commander Kondō Tsunematsu

4 s (3 × 18-inch (450 mm) torpedo tubes, 29 knots)

: Hibari (1903) (Lt. Cmdr. Kondō)

: Sagi (1903) (Lt. Yokoo Nao)

: Hashitaka (1903) (Lt. Mori Shunzō)

: Uzura (1904) (Lt. Suzuki Ujimasa)

10th Torpedo-Boat Division Lieut. Commander Ōtaki Michisuke

No. 43 (1900) (Lt. Cmdr. Ōtaki)

No. 40 (1901) (Sub-Lt. Nakahara Yahei)

No. 41 (1901) (Lt. Mizuno Hironori)

No. 39 (1900) (Lt. Ōgane Minoru)

11th Torpedo-Boat Division Lieut. Commander Fujimoto Umejirō

No. 73 (1903) (Lt. Cmdr. Fujimoto)

No. 72 (1903) (Lt. Sasao Gennojō)

No. 74 (1903) (Lt. Ōtawara Tōru)

No. 75 (1903) (Lt. Kawai Taizō)

20th Torpedo-Boat Division Lieut. Commander Kubo Kimata

No. 65 (1902) (Lt. Cmdr. Kubo)

No. 62 (1902) (Lt. Tona Genzaburō)

No. 64 (1902) (Lt. Tominaga Torajirō)

No. 63 (1902) (Lt. Eguchi Kinma)

1st Torpedo-Boat Division Lieut. Commander Fukuda Masateru

No. 69 (1903) (Lt. Cmdr. Fukuda) Lost in battle

No. 70 (1903) (Lt. Nangō Jirō)

No. 67 (1903) (Lt. Nakamuta Takemasa)

No. 68 (1903) (Lt. Teraoka Hyōgo)

Special Duty Squadron

Rear Admiral Ogura Byōichirō in transport Taichū Maru<br> Eighth Division (Special Duty Division)

1 transport

: (Capt. Matsumura Naoomi)

17 armed merchantmen

: Amerika Maru (Capt. Ishibashi Hajime)

: Sado Maru (Capt. Kamaya Tadamichi)

: (Capt. )

: Yawata Maru (Capt. Kawai Shōgo)

: Tainan Maru (Capt. Takahashi Sukeichirō)

: Taijin Maru (Capt. Arakawa Noriyuki)

: Heijō Maru (Capt. Chayama Toyoya)

: Keijō Maru (Capt. Hanafusa Yūshirō)

: Ehime Maru (Cmdr. Yonemura Sueki)

: (Cmdr. Karashima Masao)

: Kōsaka Maru (Cmdr. Kawamura Tatsuzō)

: Mukogawa Maru (Cmdr. Tachikawa Tsuneji)

: 5th Uwajima Maru (Cmdr. Yonehara Sueo)

: Kaijō Maru (Cmdr. Ishimaru Tōta)

: Fusō Maru (Cmdr. Nakamura Kumazō)

: Kantō Maru (Cmdr. Sata Naomichi)

: Miike Maru (Cmdr. Kunieda Katsusaburō)

3 torpedo boat depot ships

: Kumano Maru (Capt. Asai Shōjirō)

: Nikkō Maru (Capt. Kimura Kōkichi)

: Kasuga Maru (Capt. Obana Sangō)

1 dispatch boat

: (Cmdr. Nishiyama Yasukichi)

2 hospital ships

: Kōbe Maru (Medical Inspector Ishikawa)

: Seikyō Maru (Medical Inspector Oota)

Divisions outside of the Combined Fleet

Kure Naval District<br> 5th Torpedo-Boat Division (Lieut. Commander Ogawa Mizumichi)

• FukuryÅ« (1885) (Lt. Cmdr. Ogawa)
• No. 25 (1894) (Lt. Moritsugu Kumashirō)
• No. 26 (1894) (Lt. Tanaka Yoshitarō)
• No. 27 (1894) (Lt. Nakayama Tomojirō)

Takeshiki Guard District<br> 16th Torpedo-Boat Division (Lieut. Commander Wakabayashi Kin)

• (1899) (Lt. Cmdr. Wakabayashi)
• No. 66 (1902) (Lt. Kakuta Kanzō)

17th Torpedo-Boat Division (Lieut. Commander Aoyama Yoshie)

• No. 34 (1900) (Lt. Cmdr. Aoyama) Lost in battle
• No. 31 (1899) (Lt. Yamaguchi Sōtarō)
• No. 32 (1900) (Lt. Hitomi Saburō)
• No. 33 (1899) (Lt. Kawakita Kazuo)

18th Torpedo-Boat Division (Lieut. Commander Kawada Katsuji)

• No. 36 (1900) (Lt. Cmdr. Kawada)
• No. 60 (1901) (Lt. Kishina Masao)
• No. 61 (1901) (Lt. Miyamura Rekizō)
• No. 35 (1900) (Lt. Soejima Murahachi) Lost in battle

Russian Fleet (Second and Third Pacific Squadrons)

The Russians suffered attrition among their fleet commanders as well as among their capital ships.

• Vice-Admiral Stepan Makarov was killed when his flagship struck a mine and sank off Port Arthur on the morning of 13 April 1904. This was most unfortunate for the Russians as Makarov was considered their most aggressive admiral by far.
• His replacement, Rear-Admiral Wilgelm Vitgeft, was killed along with his immediate staff by Japanese shellfire at the Battle of the Yellow Sea on 10 August 1904.
• Having completed the arduous voyage from the Baltic Sea, Vice-Admiral Rozhestvensky was severely wounded during the first day's combat at Tsushima and captured. Treated as an honored guest by the Japanese, he recovered from his injuries and was repatriated after the war.
• Rear-Admiral Nebogatov surrendered himself and the remnant of the devastated Russian fleet the day after Rozhestvensky's wounding but found it to be unexpectedly challenging. Having been tricked earlier by a Chinese vessel that hoisted a white flag, Admiral Togo at first refused to believe the Russians were surrendering and continued shelling. Not until Nebogatov literally had Japanese rising sun flags hoisted on his ships' masts did Togo relent.

Following repatriation, Rozhestvensky was court-martialed, pled guilty and pardoned. Nebogatov and other officers involved in the surrender of the fleet were assigned the death penalty but had their sentences commuted to prison.

Battle Fleet

First Division

Vice-Admiral Zinovy Rozhestvensky in Knyaz Suvorov

: 4 s (4 × 12-inch (305 mm), 18 knots)

:: (Capt. 1st rank Vasily Ignatius)

:: (Capt. 1st rank Nikolai Bukhvostov)

:: (Capt. 1st rank Pyotr Serebrennikov)

:: (Capt. 1st rank Nikolay Yung)

: 1 Izumrud-class protected cruiser (6 × 4.7-inch (120 mm) guns, 24 knots)

:: (Capt. 2nd rank Pavel Levitsky)

Second Division

Captain 1st rank Vladimir Baer in Oslyabya

: 3 pre-Dreadnought battleships

:: () (Capt. 1st rank Vladimir Baer)

:: (battleship) (Capt. 1st rank Manuil Ozerov)

:: (variant of ) (Capt. 1st rank Baron Bruno von Vietinghoff)

: 1 armored cruiser (variant)

:: (Capt. 1st rank Aleksandr Rodionov)

: 1 Izumrud-class protected cruiser

:: (Capt. 2nd rank Hans William von Fersen)

Third Division

Rear-Admiral Nikolai Nebogatov in Imperator Nikolai I

: 1

:: (Capt. 1st rank Vladimir Smirnov)

: 3 s

:: (Capt. 1st rank Nikolai Lishin)

:: (Capt. 1st rank )

:: (Capt. 1st rank Vladimir Miklukha)

First Cruiser Division

Rear-Admiral Oskar Enkvist) in Oleg

: 2 protected cruisers

:: () (Capt. 1st rank Leonid Dobrotvorsky)

:: () (Capt. 1st rank Evgeny Egoriev, Capt. 2nd rank Arkady Nebolsin)

: 2 armored cruisers

:: (Capt. 1st rank Ivan Lebedev)

:: (Capt. 1st rank Vladimir Popov)

Second Scouting Division

: 1 protected cruiser

:: (Capt. 1st rank Sergei Shein)

: 1 armed merchant cruiser

:: (Capt. 2nd rank Mikhail Istomin)

Destroyer Flotilla

• First Destroyer Division
• Byedovy (Capt. 2nd rank Nikolai Baranov)
• Bystryy (1902) (Lt. Otto Theodor von Richter)
• Buiny (Capt. 2nd rank Nikolai Kolomeytsev)
• Bravyy (Lt. Pavel Durnovo)
• Second Destroyer Division
• Blestyashchiy (Capt. 2nd Rank Aleksandr Shamov)
• Gromky (Capt. 2nd rank Georgy Kern)
• Grozny (Capt. 2nd rank Konstantin Andrzhievsky)
• Bezuprechny (Capt. 2nd rank Iosif Matusevich II)
• Bodryy (Capt. 2nd rank Pyotr Ivanov)

Transport Squadron

Auxiliaries

• 1 armed yacht classified as 2nd class cruiser
• (Capt. 2nd rank Ivan Chagin)
• 2 transport/merchant ships
• Anadyr (Capt. 2nd rank Vladimir Ponomarev)
• Irtuish (Capt. 2nd rank Konstantin Egormyshev)
• 1 repair ship
• (Capt. 2nd rank Andrey Stephanov)
• 1 ammunition ship
• Koreya (Capt. 1st rank Bakanov)
• 2 fleet tugs
• Rus (Capt. 1st rank V. V. Pernits)
• Svir (Enisgn Gustav Rosenfeld)
• 2 hospital ships
• Oryol (Capt. 2nd rank Yakov Lakhmatov)
• Kostroma (Colonel Nikolai Smelsky)

Notes

References

Bibliography