The news of this fearful debacle created a paralyzing effect in official circles at St. Petersburg, and spread consternation among Russia's sympathizers throughout Europe. The first brief reports left room for speculation as to the cause of the disaster, and an accident was conjectured such as that which had destroyed the Yenesei; but the later accounts and the dispatches of Admiral Togo to his Government speedily put the real facts beyond doubt. It then became known to the world that Admiral Makaroff had fallen a victim to the deeply-laid plans of his brilliant adversary, and, moreover, that the whole Russian fleet had only narrowly escaped capture or complete destruction. The story of the operations which practically gave the coup de grace to the Czar's maritime power in the Far East is a remarkable one. It shows what a revolutionary effect the discoveries of modern science have had upon naval warfare, and it proves, too, how completely the lessons of that science have been assimilated by the Japanese.
On the 11th of April Admiral Makaroff, still pursuing his policy of activity, took the whole of his effective squadron out to sea, for a distance of six miles to the south of Port Arthur and exercised it in manœuvres. No sign of the enemy was perceived, and the fleet returned to the harbor in safety.
A Double Trap
But Admiral Togo was not far away. Despairing of ordinary means of tempting Admiral Makaroff into the open to meet his more powerful fleet, he was preparing a double trap in which to catch his wary foe. He hoped, by the display of a markedly inferior force, to entice him beyond the range of the forts and then rush in with his battleships and capture or destroy the whole of the Russian fleet. But in the event of failure in this manœuvre, he had ready another scheme. The course taken by the Russian ships on leaving and returning to the harbor on the occasion of the frequent excursions which they had made of late had been carefully noted by the Japanese officers, and Togo had determined to mine the passage extensively, so that even if the enemy eluded a decisive battle at sea, he still hoped to do damage to their ships by driving them in the hurry and confusion of a headlong flight upon the hidden perils of his mine field. As it turned out, this part of his plan succeeded, and the result was probably even more startlingly effective than he expected; but it was only by a mere chance, as already mentioned, that the other and grander portion of his scheme failed of realization. If he had managed to interpose his powerful fleet between the Russian Squadron and Port Arthur, there can be little doubt that, although he himself would probably have sustained some severe losses, the Czar's naval force in the Pacific, already weakened by its former disasters, would have been practically eliminated. As it was, indeed, the success he attained was sufficiently striking. By it he secured the decisive supremacy of the sea in the Gulf of Pechili, and rendered possible at last the important movements on land which the strategists at Tokio were waiting to initiate.
Captain Oda and His Mines
The arrangements of the Japanese were carried out with their usual thoroughness. At midnight on the 12th of April, the fourth and fifth destroyer flotillas and the fourteenth torpedo flotilla reached Port Arthur roadstead, having with them under escort the mining ship, the Koryo Maru. The Koryo Maru was a new vessel of 2,700 tons burden, specially constructed for torpedo and mining work. Captain Oda, the officer in command, was one of the ablest experts in this branch of warfare in the Japanese navy, and he had only recently been decorated for his distinguished services. He had invented a new type of mine of a particularly deadly description, and it was now to be tried for the first time in actual warlike operations. The work of laying the mines was entered upon without delay, and with all the customary daring and resource exhibited by the Mikado's sailors in this dangerous class of service. Notwithstanding the relentless glare of the searchlights, which threw the vessel into strong relief and made her the target for two hundred guns, Captain Oda and his men calmly went about their work unheeding. The torpedo-boats and destroyers in the meantime took up a position on the flanks of the Koryo and endeavored to attract the fire of the fortress to themselves, while their escort was doing her deadly work unsuspected. The enterprise was aided by a renewal of the extraordinary feebleness and lack of skill which had so often been characteristic of the Russian defense in the past. Not only were the garrison gunners unable to hit the mark so plainly presented to them, but the torpedo flotilla, which, despite its recent losses, still constituted a formidable force, did nothing to interfere with operations which threatened so vitally the safety of the fleet. Even Admiral Makaroff seems to have been at fault on this occasion. It is almost inconceivable that the true nature of the Koryo's proceedings was not guessed by him, and that the most active measures were not taken to put a stop to them. Whatever may have been the reason, however, nothing effective was done, and Captain Oda was able to complete his work unharmed in spite of the shells which were churning up the water all round him. It must be remembered, nevertheless, that the immunity which the Koryo actually enjoyed is no measure of the risk that she ran. No more heroic and devoted act illumines the long history of naval warfare than the laying of these mines close to the harbor, and under the full fire of the enemy's guns, any one of whose missiles, by exploding the dangerous cargo, might have sent the ship to destruction in a moment. But, as it turned out, the Koryo was saved by the bad gunnery of the Russians, and having performed his duty well and thoroughly, Captain Oda withdrew to the open sea.
"Bayan" to the Rescue
In the meanwhile, the torpedo-boats and destroyers, besides distracting the attention of the defending force from the work of the mine transport, were engaged in more active operations on their own account. At dawn the second division fell in with one of the enemy's destroyers, the Strashni, which was creeping stealthily towards the harbor mouth from the direction of Dalny. The Japanese were on her track in a moment, and, cutting off her retreat, bombarded her with their 6-pounders, until in a few minutes she became a total wreck and sank. An attempt was made to save her crew, but the work of rescue was interrupted by the appearance on the scene of the Russian cruiser Bayan. Admiral Togo's destroyers sheered off upon the approach of this formidable adversary, and left to her the task of picking up the drowning men, but the Bayan was too late to be of much service, and only five men could be recovered. At about the same time as this incident, a second Russian destroyer was encountered by the Japanese coming from the direction of Liau-tie-shan. A strong effort was made to capture her, but she was more fortunate than the Strashni, and managed to escape to Port Arthur in safety.
Preparing an Ambush
But now began the larger and more important operations which were destined to end so disastrously for Admiral Marakoff and his fleet. Admiral Togo had ordered a weak squadron, consisting of the first-class cruisers Tokiwa and Asama and four second-class cruisers, to act as a support to the destroyers, if attacked, and at the same time to serve as a lure to the Russians, and tempt them away from the protection of Port Arthur. He, himself, with his main fleet, lay in hiding thirty miles away to the southeast, waiting for an opportunity to dash in and cut off Makaroff's retreat. The day was not unsuitable for such an enterprise. Rain was falling, and a mist hung heavy over the sea, disguising the smoke of his great warships.