Russo-Japanese War [1904-1905]

The Battle of the Yalu River ran from April 27 to May 1, 1904. It was the first major military engagement in the Russo-Japanese War on the mainland. Already this first battle convinced the Russians that the Japanese were by no means underestimated. It refuted not only the Russians' idea of a short war, but also their tactical and qualitative superiority over Japan.

The squadron in Port Arthur was paralyzed by several attacks at the beginning of the war, which caused significant losses. When she managed to recover with the help of the distinguished Admiral Makarov, another severe blow fell on her.

This year is exactly 101 years since the history of Europe has changed irreversibly. To the amazement of the whole world, on April 8, 1904, Great Britain and France signed a cooperation agreement in which the two powers agreed on spheres of influence. To demonstrate the consensus that was a heavy blow to German foreign policy, the signatories called the Entente cordiale - the Heartfelt Agreement.

The protected cruiser Varjag was built in the USA in 1899, making it one of the most modern ships of the Pacific Squadron. He was not stationed in Port Arthur with other Pacific Squadron ships, but in Chemuplch to run the diplomatic post of the embassy in Seoul, where Ambassador Pavlov served, as there was a reasonable suspicion that Japan was controlling telegraph lines.

From the beginning of the Russo-Japanese War, a division of three armored cruisers, commanded by Rear Admiral K.P. Jessen, was stationed in the port of Vladivostok. These were the cruisers - Gromoboj, Rjurik and Rossija. They were good cruisers with good nautical characteristics and sufficient speed, built especially for cruiser warfare.

Heihachiro (according to other sources Heichahiro) Togó was born in 1848 on the island of Kyushu. At the time, Japan was a feudal state in which it was not allowed to travel abroad, and any foreigner who landed on the Japanese coast risked execution. After the Portuguese landed in Japan in 1542, Shogun Hideyoshi understood the risk of colonization brought by Europeans, expelled the Portuguese Jesuits from the country in 1587, and then in 1616 his successor Hidetada declared war not only on European missionaries but also on baptized Japanese .

The war electrified the whole world, correspondents from both Europe and America came to Manchuria, and Togó, who withdrew his ships, soon developed a serious prestige in his prestige when the Tsar entrusted Admiral Makarov with the command of the Portarthur fleet. But even Admiral Makarov (by the way, the designer of the icebreaker "Jermak") did not manage to break the Japanese blockade during the whole spring, and the Japanese again destroyed the Russian fleet ...