It is necessary now to describe the fleet in which Russia had placed so many of her hopes. The class and character of the principal vessels is best realized from a table:—

Displace-Indic'dNom'lGunW'ght of
ment inhorse-speed inProtec'nb'side fire
BATTLESHIPS.tons.power.knots.in inches.in lbs.
Kniaz Suvaroff
(flagship)13,51616,8001811.64,426
Alexander III13,51616,8001811.64,426
Borodino13,51616,8001811.64,426
Orel13,51616,8001811.64,426
Ossliabia12,67414,5001810.52,672
Sissoi Veliky
(flagship)8,88010,4001612.53,186
Navarin9,47618,2061612.53,404
Displace-Indic'dNom'lGunW'ght of
ment inhorse-speed inProtec'nb'side fire
tons.power.knots.in inches.in lbs.
ARMORED CRUISERS.
Admiral Nakhimoff8,5009,00016.76944
Dmitri Donskoi5,8937,000166.2444
PROTECTED
Oleg6,67519,500234872
Aurora6,63011,600204.5632
Svietlana3,8288,500204476
Almaz3,2857,50019—184
Jemtchug3,2007,00024—184
Izumrud3,2007,00024—184

Strength of Baltic Fleet

In addition to these ships there was a torpedo flotilla of 7 destroyers of 28 knots speed, and 8 torpedo-boats; the following vessels of the Volunteer Fleet: Kiev, Vladimir, Voronej (each of 10,500 tons and with a speed of 12 knots), Tambov, and Yawslar (each of 8,640 tons and with a speed of 12 knots); 13 transports armed with light guns; and a hospital ship, the Orel—not to be confused with the battleship of the same name. On paper, at least, this was a very formidable fleet; but its fighting efficiency appears much reduced on analysis. There were four modern battleships of a powerful type and of homogeneous design; but their value is much discounted by the fact that some of their consorts are distinctly less powerful; and in naval warfare the manœuvring power of a fleet becomes that of its weakest item. This was proved very signally on the occasion of the engagement between Admiral Kamimura and the Vladivostock Squadron, when the Russian cruisers Gromoboi and Rossia suffered most severely from having to stand by the Rurik, the lame duck of the squadron. The Ossliabia, it is true was not much inferior to the battleships of the Kniaz Suvaroff class. She was a sister ship to the Peresviet and Pobieda, sunk in the harbor of Port Arthur, and was launched in 1898. But the Sissoi Veliky and the Navarin both dated from 1891, and were distinctly inferior in the all-important matter of speed, even their nominal speed never having been attained. The only armored cruisers with the Baltic Fleet—the Admiral Nakhimoff and the Dmiti Donskoi—were barely entitled to their description, as they have a low speed, light armor, and comparatively small gun power. Certainly they were not fit, like the best armored cruisers of to-day, to lie in the line of battle. Some of the other cruisers were little more than armed merchantmen, and none of them were formidable warships. Another circumstance that detracted from the fighting value of this fleet was the character of the officers and crews. All Russia's best and most highly-trained sailors and marine engineers were sent out before the war to the Pacific Squadron; and she had no adequate reserve to draw on. The modern man-of-war's-man—whether he is in the engine-room or on the gun-deck—is a highly specialized product, and he cannot be turned out at a moment's notice. Stokers, artificers, engineers, as well as torpedo lieutenants, gunners, and even admirals, have to be carefully trained for years before they become efficient, and the inefficiency and inexperience of the scratch crews and raw officers put on board the Baltic Fleet was the main cause of the long delay in that fleet's departure and of the disaster that occurred immediately after the start had been made, and that nearly brought the voyage to a tragic and ignominious conclusion. When all these circumstances were taken into consideration, it became obvious that the Baltic Fleet was hopelessly inferior to the fleet which, on reaching Far Eastern waters, it would have to encounter in order to wrest from the Japanese their command of the sea. But one question, even more urgent than that of the fate which would befall the fleet on arrival, was how it was to overcome the difficulties of the voyage. Russia had no coaling stations; and coaling at sea from attendant colliers has not yet become a feasible operation for a great fleet. The larger vessels would require from 5,000 to 6,000 tons of coal each, and the smaller cruisers from 2,000 to 3,000 tons in the course of a voyage of nearly 13,000 miles, occupying at least 100 days, and very possibly 30 days more. But the coaling difficulty proved less insuperable than it had appeared, and Russia's energy and ingenuity in overcoming it were the first symptoms that she meant the Baltic Fleet to be taken seriously. Negotiations for the supply of coal were opened with English firms; but our Foreign Office ruled that such contracts would be an infringement of neutrality. The Germans, however, were much more complaisant; and their attitude of "benevolent neutrality," as Count Von Bulow called it, enabled them to meet all demands of Russia. Large orders for English coal to be delivered to German consignees at neutral ports were received at Cardiff; and this coal was then transferred to the ports at which the Baltic Fleet was to call. According to the strict interpretation of international law these facilities for coaling in port ought not to have been extended to the fleet of a belligerent. But Russia was a close neighbor of the Powers concerned, and the ally of one of them, while her enemy was a long way off; and so it happened that Admiral Rozhdestvensky suffered no more inconvenience than if he had been engaged on a yachting cruise. He and his fleet put into any port that they fancied, and stayed, practically, as long as they had a mind to!

Russian Alarms

The Baltic Fleet was divided into three divisions, and on the 16th-18th October the first division left Libau. The daring surprise attacks of the Japanese torpedo-boats at Port Arthur had filled the minds of the Russian naval authorities with every kind of misgiving; and by some means not yet disclosed, they had become possessed of the idea that the Japanese meditated an attempt on the Baltic Fleet during its passage through the narrow waters of the Danish Straits and the North Sea. Rumors of mysterious Japanese agents, endeavoring to charter vessels in obscure Danish and Norwegian ports filled the Russian newspapers. On the 14th October Admiral Wirenius, the Chief of the Russian Admiralty, solemnly declared to an interviewer that the narrow waters of the Belt and the Sound were particularly favorable for a surprise attack; that officers of the Japanese Navy were known to have left for Europe; and that there was reason to apprehend an attempt to throw mines in the track of the Russian Squadron in the Danish Straits. The state of "nerves" to which the Russian naval officers had been reduced by these apprehensions was shown when, as the Russian fleet passed through the Kattegat, an attempt was made to deliver to the Russian Admiral a cypher dispatch that had arrived from St. Petersburg. Two fishermen were sent out with the dispatch in a motor-launch, but when their vessel approached the flagship the searchlights were turned on, and blank charges fired to forbid a nearer approach. The dispatch was taken in by a boat launched by the battleship for the purpose.

In the North Sea

On the 19th of October the first division of the fleet passed through the Kattegat; and by the 21st of October all the ships had left Danish waters and entered on their course down the North Sea. Immediately followed an occurrence almost without parallel in naval history—an occurrence that was only saved from inextinguishable ridicule and contempt by the tragic consequences which it unhappily involved. On this memorable night of Friday, the 21st of October, some fifty vessels of the Hull fishing fleet were engaged in trawling on the Dogger Bank—one of the places in the North Sea most frequented by the fishermen not only of Great Britain, but of Germany, Denmark, Holland and Norway. It is a prominent figure in all charts of the North Sea, and to every sailor and seafaring man its situation and character are perfectly familiar. The Hull fishermen, of the Gamecock and Great Northern Fleets, had their trawls down and were thus deprived of the possibility of rapid movement, when about midnight they sighted a number of warships steaming from the northeast. At first they did not suspect that it was the Russian Baltic Fleet that had come their way, because in that event the fleet must have been navigating some 40 miles out of the true course; but very soon their ignorance was enlightened. While the men were watching the passing warships, searchlights were suddenly flashed on the trawlers, and then, to the horror and amazement of these innocent fishermen engaged peaceably in their lawful occupations, a sudden storm of shot and shell broke upon them from unknown men-of-war. The steam-trawler Crane was sunk and its skipper and mate were decapitated by a shell, and all but one of the crew were injured; while the trawlers Moulmein and Mino were seriously damaged, the latter vessel having no fewer than sixteen holes in her. From the evidence given at the subsequent inquiries the following facts were elicited: All the trawlers had their own lights up—namely, a lantern showing a white light ahead, a green light on the starboard side, a red light on the port side. Several vessels also had lights in the fishing pound so that the men could work on deck. None of the trawlers were without lights. As the approaching vessels came nearer they were seen to signal to one another in a way that conveyed to the minds of the trawlers that they were warships. Some of the vessels were in advance of the others. The exact number was very difficult to tell, but in the first division there were probably four or five. They passed the trawlers to the westward, where the admiral's trawler, the Ruff, was, and to the eastward of a few of the trawlers. One of them, at any rate, showed a searchlight. They passed on, and nothing happened. It was noticed that they were signalling to the other vessels behind, and that the other vessels were repeating the signals and signalling to each other. These other vessels then came on to the eastward of the admiral's ship, Ruff, but there were trawlers on both sides of them. Then, without any warning to the trawlers, these vessels opened fire. The crews on the trawlers were at first under the impression that it was a sham fight in some manœuvres, but they soon discovered that it was live shot. Some of the warships fired from both port and starboard side. After the firing had begun, this second division of vessels came more to the west, and there were others which came down more to the east. The third division, which came furthest to the eastward, came near some of the outlying trawlers, who were more to the south and east. They turned their searchlights upon them. A great many of the trawlers, in the attempt to get away from the firing when it began, lost their trawls or damaged them.

THIRSTY JAPANESE TROOPS CROSSING THE SHA-HO.