The Japanese fleet, as we have seen in the last chapter, had once again done its work thoroughly. The Russian fleet, crippled in the early days of the war and harried incessantly ever since, was now for weeks to come securely shut up in the harbor of Port Arthur, and could do nothing seriously to affect the course of events. Admiral Togo, with his six powerful battleships and his splendid cruisers, had absolute command of the Gulf of Pechili, and the transports from Japan were able to pour troops with perfect safety upon the shores of the Liao-tung Peninsula. It was at this moment of conspicuous success that the first serious calamity of the war overtook the Japanese Navy, and two terrible accidents occurred which filled the Russians with hope, as appearing to betoken a turn at last in the tide of fortune and to threaten the forces of the Mikado with something like the cloud of misfortune that had so far hung over their opponents. There was, however, this notable difference between the two cases. The losses suffered by the Russians at sea were almost all due to their own lack of forethought or of skill; they seemed to court defeat, and defeat came to them in full measure. But the blow which now befell the Japanese fleet was of a kind which the utmost ability and precaution could hardly have prevented, and, moreover, serious as it was, it did not materially affect the main course of the campaign, although undoubtedly it compelled the Commander-in-Chief in some degree to modify his plan of operations.
The disaster was a double one. On one and the same day, the 15th of May, the magnificent battleship, the Hatsuse, was blown up by mines and sunk with fully 500 men; and the protected cruiser, Yoshino, colliding with the Kasuga in a dense fog, was totally lost, only 90 of her crew being saved.
OUTSIDE PORT ARTHUR.
The "Hatsuse" Strikes a Mine
It was at a spot ten miles southeast of Liaotishan promontory that the Hatsuse met her fate. With the Shikishima, the Yashima, and two cruisers, she was engaged in watching Port Arthur and protecting the landing of troops on the peninsula. Heavy fogs come off the land in the Gulf of Pechili at this period of the year, and during the morning navigation had been rendered difficult owing to this reason, but by 11 o'clock the weather had changed and the sky was clear. No enemy was in sight, when suddenly, without any warning, a shock was felt under the stern of the Hatsuse and a heavy explosion took place, damaging her steering gear. She signalled to the other ships at once to stand by and give assistance, but before anything could be done another mine exploded under her and tore a great yawning hole in her plates. The water rushed into her in torrents, and at once the great ship began to settle down. In a few moments, with appalling swiftness, she sank like a stone, with all her freight of humanity. Had the catastrophe occurred during the night hardly a man could have been saved, but fortunately in the broad daylight something could be done to lessen the tale of death. The boats of the other battleships and the cruisers were quickly upon the spot and succeeded in picking up 300 officers and men out of a total complement of about 800. Among these were Rear-Admiral Nashiba and Captain Nakao, the commander of the vessel. The list of the drowned included some of the brightest officers of the Japanese Navy, including Commander Tsukamoto, Commander Count Nire, and Commander Arimori. Besides these, five second lieutenants, five engineers, two surgeons, six midshipmen, four engineer cadets, and ten non-commissioned officers perished.
While the work of rescue was proceeding, sixteen of the Russian torpedo-boat destroyers seized the opportunity to come out of the harbor and effect a diversion, but the Japanese destroyer flotillas engaged them hotly, and other cruisers from Togo's fleet coming up with all speed, drove them back into Port Arthur.
Admiral Togo Undaunted
The Hatsuse, which was built at Elswick in 1899 after the type of the English ship Majestic, was a ship of 15,000 tons displacement, and 15,000 indicated horse-power. She could steam 18 knots, her armor was 14.6 inches, and the weight of her broadside fire was 4,240 lbs. Her destruction of course meant a serious weakening of Togo's first fighting line, for six battleships were by no means too large a force for the work he had to do. Moreover, the Hatsuse, with the Asahi, Shikishima, and Mikasa, were the most modern and up-to-date ships of their class in the fleet; the Yashima and the Fuji, which completed the list, being older and less heavily armed vessels. Nevertheless the grip of the Japanese Admiral upon the beleaguered port never slackened one whit, and in the event his five battleships, with their accompanying cruisers, were destined to prove more than a match for the navy of the Czar in the great battle in blue water which took place three months afterwards.
The sinking of the Yoshino was not so heavy a blow, but it was serious enough in the circumstances, and the loss of life was in itself greatly to be deplored. This second-class protected cruiser was also built at Messrs. Armstrong's famous works on the Tyne. She was of 4,180 tons displacement, and her engines had an indicated horse-power of 15,750, with a speed of 23 knots, and a weight of broadside fire of 780 lbs. She was quite an old ship, as modern men-of-war go, having been launched in 1892, and taking an honorable part in the Chino-Japanese war of 1895.