The Yoneyama-maru reached the harbour entrance, and colliding against the stern of an enemy’s destroyer, managed to reach the middle passage by passing between the Chiyo-maru and Fukui-maru. Just at that moment an enemy’s torpedo struck and sunk her. The momentum brought her forward to the left shore, and with her bows towards the left side sank sideways.
To have accomplished the work so far under such great disadvantages and dangers must be considered a success and command admiration. It is regrettable, however, that, owing to some space being still left between the Yahiko-maru and Yoneyama-maru, a complete blocking has not been effected.
Those who were engaged in this work are those who had been engaged in the same work before. It was by their special request that only the petty officers and crews were supplanted by new men.
The casualties were as follows:—Commander Hirose and three petty officers killed; Lieut. Shimada mortally wounded; Lieut. Masuki, Engineer Kura, and six petty officers and men slightly wounded. All the rest of the crews were safely picked up by our destroyers.
Commander Hirose and Boatswain Sugino, who were killed, displayed admirable courage. Sugino was just going down to light the magazine on the Fukui-maru, when the ship was struck by the enemy’s torpedo, killing him. Commander Hirose, after causing his men to take to the boats, and not finding Sugino, searched through the ship three times. Finding his ship gradually going down, he was compelled to leave her and enter the boat. As the boat was rowing away under the enemy’s fire, a shell struck him on the head, and the greater part of his body was blown away, the only remaining part of this brave officer’s body being a piece of flesh in the boat.
Commander Hirose was always a model officer, and he leaves a meritorious example and memory which will be everlasting.
For the protection of the steamers and the rescue of their crews, all our flotilla of destroyers did their utmost, in the face of the enemy’s severe cannonade. Above all, the destroyers Kotaka and Tsubame penetrated to within a mile of the harbour entrance, where they encountered and engaged an enemy’s destroyer, to which they did considerable damage. The Russian destroyer seemed to have had her boiler hit, and sent up a volume of steam, and retreated.
As the officers and men were leaving the harbour after their work was done, they observed one of the enemy’s ships below Golden Hill. She seemed completely disabled.
In spite of the enemy’s very hot fire, to which our flotilla was exposed until dawn, no damage whatever was sustained.
The crews on board the Chiyo-maru and Yahi-maru were taken on board the destroyer Tsubame. The crew of the Yoneyama-maru escaped in three boats, and were rescued by the destroyers Misasagi and Karigane. The crew of the Fukui-maru was taken on board the Kasumi.