Preparing for war with Russia, Japan had to first of all and at any cost gain supremacy at sea. Without this, its entire further struggle with its powerful northern neighbor became absolutely meaningless. A small island empire, deprived of mineral reserves, would not only not be able to transfer troops and reinforcements to the battlefields in Manchuria, but would also not be able to protect its own naval bases and ports from bombing by Russian ships, would not be able to and ensure normal shipping, but the work of the entire Japanese industry depended on the regular and uninterrupted delivery of goods. The Japanese could only protect themselves from a very real threat from the Russian fleet by delivering a pre-emptive, unexpected strike on the areas where enemy ships were concentrated. With such strikes, even before the official declaration of war, military operations began in the Sea of Japan.
On the night of January 27, 1904, 10 Japanese destroyers suddenly attacked the Russian squadron of Vice Admiral Stark, stationed on the outer roadstead of Port Arthur and torpedoed the battleships Retvizan and Tsesarevich, as well as the cruiser Pallada. The damaged ships were out of action for a long time, providing Japan with a noticeable superiority in forces.
The enemy's second strike was carried out on the armored cruiser "Varyag" (commanded by Captain 1st Rank Vsevolod Fedorovich Rudnev) and the gunboat "Koreets" (commanded by Captain 2nd Rank Grigory Pavlovich Belyaev) located in the Korean port of Chemulpo. Against the two Russian ships, the Japanese sent an entire squadron of Rear Admiral Sotokichi Uriu, which included the heavy armored cruiser Asama, 5 armored cruisers (Tieda, Naniwa, Niitaka, Takachiho and Akashi), advice note "Chihaya" and 7 destroyers.
On the morning of January 27, the Japanese presented the commanders of the Russian ships with an ultimatum demanding that they leave the neutral port before 12 o'clock, threatening to attack the Varyag and Koreets directly in the roadstead if they refused. The commanders of the French cruiser "Pascal", the English "Talbot", the Italian "Elbe" and the American gunboat "Vicksburg" located in Chemulpo received a Japanese notification the day before about the upcoming attack of its squadron on Russian ships. Their protest against the violation of the neutral status of the port of Chemulpo by the commander of the Japanese squadron was not taken into account. The commanders of the ships of the international squadron did not intend to protect the Russians by force of arms, which they reported to V.F. Rudnev, who replied bitterly: “So, my ship is a piece of meat thrown to the dogs? Well, if they force a fight on me, I’ll accept it. I’m not going to give up, no matter how big the Japanese squadron is.” Returning to the Varyag, he announced to the team. “The challenge is more than daring, but I accept it. I do not shy away from battle, although I do not have an official message about the war from my government. I am sure of one thing: the teams of “Varyag” and “Korean” will fight to the last drop of blood, showing everyone an example of fearlessness in battle and contempt for death."
At 11 o'clock 20 minutes. The cruiser "Varyag" and the gunboat "Koreets" raised anchors and headed towards the exit from the roadstead. The Japanese squadron was guarding the Russians at the southern tip of Phillip Island. The “Asama” was closest to the exit from the roadstead, and it was from it that the “Varyag” and “Koreets”, who were coming towards them, were discovered. Admiral Uriu ordered the anchor chains to be riveted, since there was no longer time to raise and remove the anchors. The ships began to hastily pull out onto the reach, forming combat columns as they went, in accordance with the disposition received the day before.
When Russian ships were discovered on the masts of the Naniva, signal flags were raised with an offer to surrender without a fight. But Rudnev decided not to respond to the signal and approached the enemy squadron. The "Korean" was moving slightly to the left of the "Varyag".
At a distance of 10 miles from Chemulpo, near the island of Yodolmi, a battle took place that lasted about 1 hour. The Japanese cruisers moved on a converging course, pressing the Russian ships to the shallows. At 11 o'clock 44 min. The signal to open fire was raised on the masts of the flagship Naniva. A minute later, the armored cruiser Asama began firing its bow turret guns.
The first salvo fell in front of the Varyag with a slight overshoot. To the surprise of the Russians, the Japanese shells exploded even when they hit the water, raising huge columns of water and clouds of black smoke.
"Varyag" and "Koreets" returned fire. True, the very first salvos from the gunboat missed a large target, and subsequently the Russian cruiser fought the artillery duel with the enemy almost alone. Meanwhile, the density of fire from the enemy increased: the ships of the second group entered the battle. The Russian cruiser was completely hidden behind huge columns of water, which with a roar every now and then took off to the level of the combat mars. The superstructures and deck were showered with a hail of shrapnel. Despite the casualties, the Varyag energetically responded to the enemy with frequent fire. The main target of his gunners was Asama, which they soon managed to put him out of action. Then an enemy destroyer launched an attack on the cruiser, but the very first salvo from the Varyag sent it to the bottom.
However, Japanese shells continued to torment the Russian ship. At 12 o'clock 12 min. on the surviving halyards of the cruiser's foremast, the signal "P" ("Rest") was raised, which meant "Turning to the right." Then several events followed that accelerated the tragic outcome of the battle. First, an enemy shell broke the pipe in which all the steering gears were laid. As a result, the uncontrollable ship moved onto the rocks of Yodolmi Island. Almost simultaneously, another shell exploded between Baranovsky's landing gun and the foremast. In this case, the entire crew of gun No. 35 was killed. The fragments flew into the passage of the conning tower, mortally wounding the bugler and drummer; The cruiser commander escaped with a slight wound and concussion. Further control of the ship had to be transferred to the aft steering compartment.
Suddenly a grinding sound was heard, and the ship, shuddering, stopped. In the conning tower, instantly assessing the situation, we gave the car the fullest reverse, but it was too late. Now the Varyag, turning to the enemy on its left side, was a stationary target. The Japanese commander, noticing the plight of the Russians, raised the signal “Everyone turn to approach the enemy.” The ships of all groups set a new course, simultaneously firing from their bow guns.
The Varyag's position seemed hopeless. The enemy was quickly approaching, and the cruiser sitting on the rocks could not do anything. It was at this time that he received the most severe injuries. A large-caliber shell, having pierced the side under water, exploded in coal pit No. 10; at 12.30 an eight-inch shell exploded in coal pit No. 12. Water began to approach the fireboxes, the crew immediately began pumping it out with all available means. Emergency parties, under enemy fire, began to place patches under these holes. And here a miracle happened: the cruiser itself, as if reluctantly, slid off the shoal and moved in reverse away from the dangerous place. Without further tempting fate, Rudnev ordered to set a reverse course.
However, the situation still remained very difficult. Although the water was pumped out by all means, the Varyag continued to list to the left side, and a hail of enemy shells showered it. But, to the surprise of the Japanese, the Varyag, having increased its speed, confidently moved towards the raid. Due to the narrowness of the fairway, only the cruisers Asama and Chiyoda could pursue the Russians. “Soon the Japanese had to cease fire, as their shells began to fall near the ships of the international squadron. Because of this, the Italian cruiser Elba even had to move deeper into the raid. At 12.45 the Russian ships also ceased fire. The fight is over.
In total, during the battle, the Varyag fired 1,105 shells: 425 152 mm, 470 75 mm and 210 47 mm. In the surviving logbook of the Varyag, it is noted that its gunners managed to sink an enemy destroyer and inflict serious damage on 2 Japanese cruisers. According to foreign observers, after the battle the Japanese buried 30 dead in A-san Bay and had more than 200 wounded on their ships. According to the official document (sanitary report for the war), the losses of the Varyag crew amounted to 130 people - 33 killed and 97 wounded. In total, the cruiser was hit by 12-14 large high-explosive shells.
Rudnev, on a French boat, went to the English cruiser Talbot to negotiate the transportation of the Varyag crew to foreign ships and report on the supposed destruction of the cruiser right in the roadstead. The commander of the Talbot, Bailey, objected to the explosion of the Varyag, motivating his opinion by the large crowding of ships in the roadstead. At 1 p.m. 50 min. Rudnev returned to the Varyag. Hastily gathering the officers nearby, he informed them of his intention and received their support. They immediately began transporting the wounded, and then the entire crew to foreign ships. At 15:00 15 minutes. the commander of the Varyag sent midshipman V. Balka to the Koreets. G.P. Belyaev immediately convened a military council, at which the officers decided: “The upcoming battle in half an hour is not equal, will cause unnecessary bloodshed... without harming the enemy, and therefore it is necessary... to blow up the boat...”. The crew of the Korean moved to the French cruiser Pascal. At 15:00 50 min. Rudnev and the senior boatswain, having walked around the ship and made sure that there was no one left on it, got off it along with the owners of the hold compartments, who opened the kingstons and flood valves. At 16 o'clock. 05 min. "Korean" exploded at 6 p.m. 10 min. lay down on the left side and disappeared under the water "Varyag" at 20 o'clock. The Sungari steamer was blown up.
Japan formally declared war on Russia only on January 28 (February 10), 1904. Having blocked the Russian fleet in the Port Arthur roadstead, the Japanese landed their troops in Korea and on the Liaodong Peninsula, which advanced to the border of Manchuria and, at the same time, began the siege of Port -Arthur with sushi. For Russia, the big problem was the remoteness of the theater of operations from its main territory. – The concentration of troops was slow due to the incomplete construction of the Trans-Siberian Railway. Having the numerical superiority of their armed forces, equipped with the most modern types of military equipment, the Japanese inflicted a number of heavy defeats on the Russian troops.
On April 18 (May 1), 1904, the first big battle took place between Russian and Japanese troops on the river. Yalu (Chinese name Yalujiang, Korean - Amnokkan). The eastern detachment of the Russian Manchurian Army under the command of Major General M.I. Zasulich, having lost Gen. T. Kuroki more than 2 thousand people. killed and wounded, 21 guns and all 8 machine guns were forced to retreat to the passes of the Fyn-Shuili ridge.
May 13 (26), 1904 units of the 2nd Japanese Army Gen. Y. Oku captured the city of Jinzhou, cutting off the garrison of Port Arthur from the Russian Manchurian army. To provide assistance to the besieged Port Arthur, the 1st Siberian Corps, General, was advanced to meet the advancing Japanese units. I.I. Stackelberg. On June 1-2 (13-14), 1904, his troops entered into battle with units of the 2nd Japanese Army at Wafangou station. As a result of a two-day stubborn battle, General Oku's troops, who had significant superiority in infantry and artillery, began to bypass the right flank of General Stackelberg's corps and forced him to retreat to join the main forces of the Russian army (in Pashichao). The main formations of the Japanese 2nd Army began an attack on Liaoyang. For the siege of Port Arthur, the 3rd Japanese Army was formed under the command of General M. Nogi.
The Japanese offensive on Liaoyang, launched in July 1904, forced the Russian command to enter into battle with them. On August 11 (24) - August 21 (September 3), 1904, the Battle of Liaoyang took place. Started successfully for the Russian troops, it, due to the erroneous actions of the general. A.N. Kuropatkin, ended in the defeat of his army, forced to retreat to the city of Mukden. Russian troops lost 16 thousand people in this 11-day battle, Japanese troops lost 24 thousand people.
The arrival of new troops replenished the Manchurian army, the number of which by the autumn of 1904 reached 214 thousand people. Having a numerical superiority over the enemy (170 thousand people), part of whose troops were distracted by the ongoing siege of Port Arthur, the Russian command decided to go on the offensive. On September 22 (October 5) - October 4 (17), 1904, a counter battle between the Russian and Japanese armies took place on the Shahe River, which ended in vain for both sides. For the first time in the entire war, opponents who suffered heavy losses (Russians - over 40 thousand people, Japanese - 20 thousand people) were forced to switch to trench warfare. However, the stabilization of the front line on the river. Shahe had catastrophic consequences for the besieged Port Arthur. After the Japanese captured Mount Vysokaya, a key point of Russian defense, and destroyed the batteries of the squadron stationed on the internal roads of the squadron by fire, the commandant of the Kwantung fortified area, General. A.M. On December 20, 1904 (January 2, 1905), Stessel signed an agreement with representatives of the Japanese command on the surrender of the fortress and the surrender of the garrison of Port Arthur.
On the Manchurian front, a new and largest clash of the Russian and Japanese armies in the entire war took place near Mukden on February 6 (19) - February 25 (March 10). The Russian army, having suffered a heavy defeat, retreated to the city of Telin. The losses of Russian troops in this battle reached 89 thousand people. killed, wounded and captured. The Japanese lost 71 thousand people killed and wounded, which turned out to be very large for the army of a small island state, whose government, soon after this victory, was forced to agree to the start of peace negotiations with Russia through the mediation of US President T. Roosevelt. Another consequence of the Mukden defeat was the resignation of General. A.N. Kuropatkin from the post of Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces in the Far East. His successor was Gen. N.P. Linevich. The new commander-in-chief abandoned active actions, focusing only on engineering support for the Sypingai positions 175 km away. north Mukdena. The Russian army remained on them until the end of the war
At sea, the last hopes of the Russian command died after the defeat. in the Tsushima Strait by the Japanese fleet of Admiral H. Togo of the Russian squadron of Vice Admiral Z.P. Rozhdestvensky, sent from the Baltic Sea to the Pacific Ocean (May 14-15 (27-28), 1905).
During the hostilities, Russia lost approx. 270 thousand people, incl. OK. 50 thousand people – killed, Japan – also about 270 thousand people, but killed approx. 86 thousand people
Aviso is a small warship used for messenger service.
Only the commander of the American Vicksburg, Captain 2nd Rank Marshall, did not join the protest of the commanders of foreign ships.
"Varyag" was sunk at a shallow depth - at low tide the ship was exposed almost to the center plane by 4 m. The Japanese decided to take possession of it and began lifting work. In 1905 "Varyag". was raised and sent to Sasebo. There the cruiser was repaired and then commissioned by Vice Admiral Uriu's squadron under the name "Soya", but at the stern, under Japanese hieroglyphs, by the decision of Emperor Mutsuhito, the inscription "Varyag" was left in golden Slavic script. On March 22, 1916, Russia bought back its famous cruiser, which was returned to its previous name. In 1917, the ship was under repair in Great Britain and after the October Revolution was sold for scrap. However, fate and the sea were against such an end for the Varyag - in 1922, during its last voyage, it sank off the coast of Scotland, 60 miles south of Glasgow.
V.A. Volkov
The cruiser "Varyag" needs no introduction. However, the battle of Chemulpo is still a dark page in Russian military history. Its results are disappointing, and there are still a lot of misconceptions about the participation of “Varyag” in this battle.
"Varyag" - a weak cruiser
In popular publications there is an assessment that the combat value of the Varyag was low. Indeed, due to poor quality work performed during construction in Philadelphia, the Varyag could not reach the contract speed of 25 knots, thereby losing the main advantage of a light cruiser.
The second serious drawback was the lack of armor shields for the main caliber guns. On the other hand, during the Russo-Japanese War, Japan, in principle, did not have a single armored cruiser capable of resisting the Varyag and the Askold, Bogatyr or Oleg, which were similarly armed.
Not a single Japanese cruiser of this class had 12,152 mm guns. True, the fighting unfolded in such a way that the crews of Russian cruisers never had to fight an enemy of equal size or class. The Japanese always acted with certainty, compensating for the shortcomings of their cruisers with numerical superiority, and the first, but not the last in this glorious and tragic list for the Russian fleet, was the battle of the cruiser Varyag.
A hail of shells hit the Varyag and Koreets
Artistic and popular descriptions of the battle at Chemulpo often say that the “Varyag” and “Korean” (which did not receive a single hit) were literally bombarded by Japanese shells. However, official figures indicate otherwise. In just 50 minutes of the battle at Chemulpo, six Japanese cruisers spent 419 shells: “Asama” 27 - 203 mm. , 103 152 mm., 9 76 mm; "Naniva" - 14,152 mm; "Niitaka" - 53 152 mm, 130 76 mm. "Takachiho" - 10,152 mm, "Akashi" - 2,152 mm, "Chiyoda" 71,120 mm.
In response, the Varyag fired, according to Rudnev’s report, 1105 shells: 425 -152 mm, 470 - 75 mm, 210 - 47 mm. It turns out that Russian gunners achieved the highest rate of fire. To this we can add 22,203 mm, 27,152 mm and 3,107 mm of projectiles fired from the Koreyets.
That is, in the battle of Chemulpo, two Russian ships fired almost three times more shells than the entire Japanese squadron. The question remains debatable about how the Russian cruiser kept records of spent shells or whether the figure was indicated approximately based on the results of a survey of the crew. And could such a number of shells be fired on a cruiser that, by the end of the battle, had lost 75% of its artillery?
Rear Admiral at the head of the Varyag
As is known, after returning to Russia and upon his retirement in 1905, the commander of the Varyag, Rudnev, received the rank of rear admiral. Already today, one of the streets in South Butovo in Moscow received the name of Vsevolod Fedorovich. Although, perhaps, it would have been more logical to name Captain Rudnev, if necessary, to distinguish him among his famous namesakes in military affairs.
There is no mistake in the name, but this image requires clarification - in military history this man remained a captain of the 1st rank and commander of the Varyag, but as a rear admiral he could no longer prove himself. But an obvious mistake has crept into a number of modern textbooks for high school students, where the “legend” is already heard that the cruiser “Varyag” was commanded by Rear Admiral Rudnev. The authors did not go into detail and think about the fact that a rear admiral was somehow out of rank to command an armored cruiser of the 1st rank.
Two against fourteen
The literature often states that the cruiser "Varyag" and the gunboat "Koreets" were attacked by the Japanese squadron of Rear Admiral Uriu, consisting of 14 ships - 6 cruisers and 8 destroyers.
Here it is necessary to make several clarifications.
Outwardly, there was a huge numerical and qualitative superiority of the Japanese, which the enemy never took advantage of during the battle. It is necessary to take into account that on the eve of the battle at Chemulpo, the Uriu squadron consisted of not even 14, but 15 pennants - the armored cruiser Asama, armored cruisers Naniwa, Takachiho, Niitaka, Chiyoda, Akashi and eight destroyers and advice note "Chihaya".
True, even on the eve of the battle with the Varyag, the Japanese suffered non-combat losses. When the gunboat "Koreets" attempted to proceed from Chemulpo to Port Arthur, the Japanese squadron began dangerous maneuvering (which ended with the use of a gun) around the Russian gunboat, as a result of which the destroyer "Tsubame" ran aground and did not directly participate in the battle. The messenger ship Chihaya, which, nevertheless, was in close proximity to the battle site, did not participate in the battle. In reality, the battle was waged by a group of four Japanese cruisers, two more cruisers participated only sporadically, and the presence of Japanese destroyers remained a presence factor.
"A cruiser and two enemy destroyers at the bottom"
When it comes to military losses, this issue often becomes the subject of heated debate. The battle at Chemulpo was no exception, in which estimates of Japanese losses were very contradictory.
Russian sources indicate very high enemy losses: a destroyed destroyer, 30 killed and 200 wounded. They are based mainly on the opinions of representatives of foreign powers who observed the battle.
Over time, two destroyers and the cruiser Takachiho were already sunk (by the way, this data ended up in the feature film “Cruiser Varyag”). And if the fate of some Japanese destroyers raises questions, the cruiser Takachiho safely survived the Russo-Japanese War and died 10 years later with its entire crew during the siege of Qingdao.
Reports from all Japanese cruiser commanders indicate that there were no losses or damage to their ships. Another question: where, after the battle in Chemulpo, did the main enemy of the Varyag, the armored cruiser Asama, “disappear” for two months? Neither Port Arthur nor Admiral Kammimura was part of the squadron operating against the Vladivostok cruiser squadron. And this was at the very beginning of the war, when the outcome of the confrontation was far from decided.
It is likely that the ship, which became the main target of the Varyag’s guns, received serious damage, but at the beginning of the war, for propaganda purposes, the Japanese side was undesirable to talk about this. From the experience of the Russo-Japanese War, it is well known how the Japanese tried for a long time to hide their losses, for example, the death of the battleships Hatsuse and Yashima, and a number of destroyers that apparently ended up at the bottom were simply written off after the war as beyond repair.
Legends of Japanese modernization
A number of misconceptions are associated with the service of the Varyag in the Japanese fleet. One of them is related to the fact that after the rise of the Varyag, the Japanese retained the Russian state emblem and the name of the cruiser as a sign of respect. However, this was more likely due not to the desire to pay tribute to the crew of the heroic ship, but to design features - the coat of arms and name were mounted in the aft balcony and the Japanese attached the new name of the cruiser “Soya” on both sides to the balcony grille. The second misconception is the replacement of Nicolossa boilers with Miyabara boilers on the Varyag. Although the vehicles had to be thoroughly repaired, the cruiser showed a speed of 22.7 knots during testing.
The history of the Russian fleet has enough tragic and heroic pages, the brightest of which are associated with the Russo-Japanese War of 1905. The heroic defense of Port Arthur, the death of Admiral Makarov, the Tsushima defeat. Today in Russia, probably, there is not a single person who has not heard about the suicidal feat of the cruiser “Varyag”, which took on an unequal battle, about the death of a proud ship that fought to the last and did not want to surrender to the enemy.
More than a hundred years have passed since that memorable battle, but despite this, the heroism of the sailors and officers of the Varyag still lives in the memory of their descendants. More than one generation of Soviet and Russian sailors was brought up on the example of this glorious ship. Films have been made about “Varyag” and songs have been written.
However, do we know everything today about what happened in Chemulpo Bay on that memorable day of February 9, 1904? But before moving on to the description of that memorable battle, a few words should be said about the armored cruiser “Varyag” itself, the history of its creation and service.
History and design of the cruiser
The beginning of the twentieth century was a time of clash of interests of two empires that were rapidly developing - Russian and Japanese. The arena of their confrontation was the Far East.
The Land of the Rising Sun, having undergone rapid modernization at the end of the 19th century, wanted to gain leadership in the region and was not averse to expanding into the territories of neighboring countries. Meanwhile, Russia continued its expansion; in St. Petersburg they developed the “Zheltorossiya” project - the settlement of part of the territories of China and Korea by Russian peasants and Cossacks and the Russification of the local population.
For the time being, the Russian leadership did not take Japan seriously: the economic potential of the two empires seemed too disparate. However, the rapid growth of the Japanese armed forces and navy forced St. Petersburg to take a different look at its distant Asian neighbor.
In 1895 and 1896, Japan adopted a shipbuilding program that provided for the creation of a fleet that would be superior to the Russian Navy in the Far East. In response to this, Russia made a change to its own plans: it began building warships specifically for the Far Eastern region. These included the 1st rank armored cruiser Varyag.
Construction of the ship began in 1898 at the American Company William Cramp & Sons shipyard in Philadelphia. The progress of construction of the cruiser was monitored by a special commission sent from Russia.
Initially, it was planned to install heavier, but reliable and time-tested Belleville boilers on the ship, but later they were replaced by Nikloss boilers, which, although distinguished by their original design and good performance, were not tested in practice. Later, this choice of power plant for the cruiser caused many problems: it often broke down, and upon arrival from the USA to Vladivostok, the Varyag immediately had to undergo repairs for several months.
In 1900, the ship was delivered to the customer, but the cruiser had a lot of shortcomings, which were corrected until the ship left for its homeland in 1901.
The cruiser's hull had a forecastle, which significantly improved its seaworthiness. Coal pits were located along the sides at the level of the slopes in the area of the boiler rooms and engine rooms. They not only supplied the power plant with fuel, but also provided additional protection for the most important components and mechanisms of the ship. The ammunition magazines were located in the bow and stern of the ship, which made it easier to protect them from enemy fire.
The cruiser "Varyag" had an armored deck, its thickness reached 38 mm. Also, smokestacks, rudder drives, elevators for lifting ammunition and muzzles of torpedo tubes were provided with armor protection.
The cruiser's power plant consisted of twenty Nikloss system boilers and four-cylinder triple expansion engines. Their total power was 20 thousand liters. s., which allowed the shaft to rotate at a speed of 160 rpm. He, in turn, drove the ship's two propellers. The cruiser's maximum design speed was 26 knots.
The installation of Nikloss boilers on the ship was a clear mistake. Difficult and capricious to maintain, they constantly broke down, so they tried not to overload the boilers and the armored cruiser rarely used high speed - one of its main trump cards. Given the weak repair base of Port Arthur, it was almost impossible to fully repair such equipment, therefore (according to a number of historians) by the beginning of the war, the Varyag could not even produce 20 knots.
The ship was equipped with a powerful ventilation system; the cruiser's life-saving equipment consisted of two longboats, two steam boats and two rowing boats, whaleboats, yawls and trial boats.
The armored cruiser "Varyag" had quite powerful (for its time) electrical equipment, which was powered by three steam dynamos. The steering had three drives: electric, steam and manual.
The cruiser's crew included 550 lower ranks, 21 officers and 9 conductors.
The main caliber of the Varyag was the 152 mm Kane system guns. Their total number was 12 units. The guns were divided into two batteries of six guns: bow and stern. All of them were installed on special protrusions that extended beyond the side line - sponsons. This solution significantly increased the angle of fire of the guns, but the problem was that the gun personnel were not protected not only by turrets, but even by armor shields.
In addition to the main caliber, the cruiser was armed with twelve 75 mm guns, eight 47 mm guns, and two 37 mm and 63 mm guns. Eight torpedo tubes of different designs and calibers were also installed on board the ship.
If we give a general assessment of the project, we must admit: the armored cruiser “Varyag” was a very good ship of its class. It was distinguished by good seaworthiness; the overall layout of the vessel was compact and well thought out. The cruiser's life support systems deserve the highest praise. “Varyag” had outstanding speed characteristics, which, however, were partly offset by the unreliability of the power plant. The armament and security of the cruiser "Varyag" were also not inferior to the best foreign analogues of that time.
On January 25, 1902, the cruiser arrived at its permanent duty station - the Russian naval base in Port Arthur. Until 1904, the ship made several minor voyages, and was also under repair for a long time due to frequent problems with the power plant. The armored cruiser met the beginning of the Russian-Japanese War in the harbor of the Korean city of Chemulpo. The commander of the ship at that moment was captain 1st rank Vsevolod Fedorovich Rudnev.
Battle "Varyag"
On January 26, 1904 (hereinafter all dates will be given according to the “old style”) there were two Russian warships in the port of Chemulpo: the cruiser “Varyag” and the gunboat “Koreets”. Also present in the harbor were warships of other countries: France, USA, Great Britain and Italy. “Varyag” and “Koreets” were at the disposal of the Russian diplomatic mission in Seoul.
A few words should be said about another Russian ship that took part in the battle together with the Varyag - the gunboat Koreets. She was built in 1887 in Sweden and was armed with two 203.2 mm and one 152.4 mm guns. All of them were of an obsolete design, firing black powder at a distance of no more than four miles. The maximum speed of the gunboat during its testing was only 13.5 knots. However, at the time of the battle, the “Korean” could not reach even that speed due to the severe wear and tear of the vehicles and the poor quality of the coal. As it is not difficult to notice, the combat value of the “Korean” was practically zero: the firing range of its guns did not allow it to inflict at least some damage on the enemy.
On January 14, telegraph communication between Chemulpo and Port Arthur was interrupted. On January 26, the gunboat "Korean" with mail tried to leave the harbor, but was intercepted by a Japanese squadron. The gunboat was attacked by Japanese destroyers and returned to port.
The Japanese squadron represented a significant force; it included: a 1st class armored cruiser, a 2nd class armored cruiser and four 2nd class armored cruisers, a notice, eight destroyers and three transports. The Japanese were commanded by Rear Admiral Uriu. To deal with the Varyag, the enemy only needed one ship - the flagship of the Japanese squadron of the armored cruiser Asama. It was armed with eight-inch guns mounted in the turrets, in addition, the armor protected not only the deck, but also the sides of this ship.
On the morning of February 9, the captain of the Varyag, Rudnev, received an official ultimatum from the Japanese: leave Chemulpo before noon, otherwise the Russian ships will be attacked right in the roadstead. At 12 o'clock the cruiser "Varyag" and the gunboat "Koreets" left the harbor. A few minutes later they were discovered by Japanese ships and the battle began.
It lasted for one hour, after which the Russian ships returned to the roadstead. "Varyag" received from seven to eleven hits (according to various sources). The ship had one serious hole below the waterline, fires broke out on it, and enemy shells damaged several guns. The lack of protection for the guns led to significant losses among the gunners and gun personnel.
One of the shells damaged the steering gears and the uncontrollable ship landed on the rocks. The situation became hopeless: the stationary cruiser became an excellent target. It was at this moment that the ship received the most severe damage. By some miracle, the “Varyag” managed to get off the rocks and return to the roadstead.
Later, Captain Rudnev indicated in his report that one Japanese destroyer was sunk by fire from Russian ships and the cruiser Asama was seriously damaged, and another cruiser, Takachiho, completely sank from the damage received after the battle. Rudnev claimed that the Varyag fired 1,105 shells of various calibers at the enemy, and the Koreets fired 52 shells. However, the number of unused shells that the Japanese discovered after the rise of the Varyag suggests a significant overestimation of this figure.
According to Japanese sources, none of Admiral Uriu's ships were hit, and accordingly, there were no casualties in personnel. Whether or not the Russian cruiser hit the enemy at least once remains a subject of debate. However, the information that none of the Japanese ships were damaged was confirmed by officers of foreign ships who were in Chemulpo and observed this battle. Almost all major researchers of the Russo-Japanese War also came to this conclusion.
As a result of the battle on the Varyag, an officer and 30 sailors were killed, and 6 officers and 85 sailors were wounded and shell-shocked, and about a hundred more crew members were slightly injured. The captain of the ship, Rudnev, was also wounded. Almost everyone who was on the upper deck of the cruiser was killed or wounded. The Korean crew had no losses.
Captain Rudnev considered that the Russian ships were no longer able to continue the battle, so they decided to sink the cruiser and blow up the gunboat. They were afraid to blow up the Varyag because of the danger of damaging other ships in the roadstead. The Russian steamship Sungari was also sunk. The sinking of the cruiser was extremely unsuccessful: at low tide, part of the ship was exposed, which allowed the Japanese to almost immediately remove guns and valuable equipment from it.
The crews of the “Varyag” and “Koreyets” switched to foreign ships and left Chemulpo. The Japanese did not interfere with the evacuation.
Already at the beginning of 1905, the cruiser was raised and accepted into the Japanese fleet. She was renamed Soya and became a training ship.
After battle
After the outbreak of the First World War, in which Japan was an ally of Russia, the cruiser Varyag was purchased by the Russian government. Until the autumn of 1916, the ship was being repaired in Vladivostok; on November 17, it arrived in Murmansk. The Russian government then agreed to carry out a major overhaul of the Varyag in Liverpool. While the cruiser was being repaired, a revolution occurred in Petrograd, the British requisitioned the ship and turned it into a floating barracks.
In 1919, the Varyag was sold for scrap, but it never made it to the disposal site: it sat on rocks in the Irish Sea. Later it was partially dismantled right at the scene of death.
After the battle in Chemulpo, the Varyag and Korean teams became national heroes. All lower ranks received St. George's crosses and personalized watches, the officers of the ships were awarded orders. The sailors from the Varyag were personally received by Russian Emperor Nicholas II. Poems were written about the bravery of Russian sailors. And not only in Russia: the German poet Rudolf Greinz wrote the verse Der Warjag, which was later translated into Russian and set to music. This is how the most popular song in Russia, “Our proud Varyag does not surrender to the enemy,” was born.
The courage of the Varyag defenders was also appreciated by the enemy: in 1907, Captain Rudnev was awarded the Japanese Order of the Rising Sun.
The attitude of professional military sailors towards the Varyag and its commander was slightly different. The opinion was often expressed that the captain of the ship did not do anything heroic and was not even able to completely destroy his ship so that it would not fall to the enemy.
The mass awarding of the team with St. George's crosses was not received too well. At that time, this was not accepted in Russia: “George” was given to a specific person for a feat accomplished. Mere presence on a ship that, at the will of the commander, goes on the attack, hardly belongs to this category.
After the revolution, the feat of the “Varyag” and the details of the battle in Chemulpo were forgotten for a long time. However, in 1946, the film “Cruiser “Varyag” was released, which completely changed the situation. In 1954, all surviving members of the cruiser's crew were awarded medals "For Courage".
Since 1962, the USSR Navy (and then the Russian fleet) has always had a ship called “Varyag”. Currently, the Varyag missile cruiser is the flagship of the Russian Pacific Fleet.
Could it have been different?
History does not tolerate the subjunctive mood. This is a well-known truth - but could the armored cruiser "Varyag" have broken through to the main forces of the fleet and avoided destruction?
Given the breakthrough tactics that Rudnev chose, the answer is clearly negative. Going out to the open sea with a slow-moving gunboat that couldn’t make even 13 knots - this task clearly looks unrealistic. However, after the shelling of the “Korean” on January 26, Rudnev could have realized that the war had begun and Chemulpo had turned into a trap. The captain of the Varyag had only one night at his disposal: he could sink or blow up the gunboat, transfer its crew to the cruiser and leave the harbor under cover of darkness. However, he did not take advantage of this opportunity.
However, giving the order to destroy your own ship without a fight is a serious responsibility and it is unclear how the command would react to such a decision.
The Russian military command in the Far East bears no less responsibility for the death of the two ships. When it became clear that war could not be avoided, “Varyag” and “Koreyets” had to be urgently withdrawn from Chemulpo. Separated from the main forces of the fleet, they turned into easy prey for the Japanese.
Cruiser "Varyag" 1901
Today in Russia you can hardly find a person who does not know about the heroic feat of the crews of the cruiser Varyag and the gunboat Koreets. Hundreds of books and articles have been written about this, films have been made... The battle and the fate of the cruiser and its crew are described down to the smallest detail. However, the conclusions and assessments are very biased! Why did the commander of the Varyag, Captain 1st Rank V.F. Rudnev, who received the Order of St. George, 4th degree and the rank of adjutant for the battle, soon find himself retired and live out his life on a family estate in the Tula province? It would seem that the folk hero, especially with an aiguillette and St. George on his chest, should have literally “flyed up” the career ladder, but this did not happen.
In 1911, a historical commission to describe the actions of the fleet in the war of 1904-1905. at the Naval General Staff released another volume of documents, which published materials about the battle at Chemulpo. Until 1922, documents were kept with the stamp “Not subject to disclosure.” One of the volumes contains two reports from V.F. Rudnev - one to the emperor’s viceroy in the Far East, dated February 6, 1904, and the other (more complete) to the manager of the Naval Ministry, dated March 5, 1905. The reports contain a detailed description of the battle at Chemulpo.
The cruiser "Varyag" and the battleship "Poltava" in the western basin of Port Arthur, 1902-1903
Let us quote the first document as more emotional, since it was written immediately after the battle:
“On January 26, 1904, the seaworthy gunboat “Korean” set off with papers from our envoy to Port Arthur, but the Japanese squadron encountered by three mines fired from destroyers forced the boat to return. The boat anchored near the cruiser, and part of the Japanese squadron with transports entered to a raid to bring troops ashore. Not knowing whether hostilities had begun, I went to the English cruiser Talbot to negotiate with the commander regarding further orders.
.....
Continuation of the official document and the official version
And the cruisers. But that’s not what we’re talking about. Let's discuss something that is not customary to talk about...
Gunboat "Korean" in Chemulpo. February 1904
Thus, the battle, which began at 11 hours 45 minutes, ended at 12 hours 45 minutes. The Varyag fired 425 6-inch, 470 75-mm and 210 47-mm shells, for a total of 1,105 shells. At 13:15, the “Varyag” dropped anchor at the place where it had left 2 hours ago. There was no damage on the gunboat "Koreyets", and there were no killed or wounded.
In 1907, in the brochure “The Battle of the Varyag at Chemulpo,” V. F. Rudnev repeated word for word the story of the battle with the Japanese detachment. The retired commander of the Varyag did not say anything new, but he had to say it. Taking into account the current situation, at the council of the officers of the Varyag and the Korean, they decided to destroy the cruiser and the gunboat, and take the crews to foreign ships. The gunboat "Koreets" was blown up, and the cruiser "Varyag" was sunk, opening all the valves and seacocks. At 18:20 he went on board. At low tide, the cruiser was exposed to more than 4 meters. Somewhat later, the Japanese raised a cruiser, which made the transition from Chemulpo to Sasebo, where it was commissioned and sailed in the Japanese fleet under the name Soya for more than 10 years until it was bought by the Russians.
The reaction to the death of the Varyag was not clear. Some naval officers did not approve of the actions of the Varyag commander, considering them illiterate both from a tactical and technical point of view. But officials at higher levels thought differently: why start the war with failures (especially since Port Arthur was a complete failure), isn’t it better to use the battle of Chemulpo to raise the national feelings of Russians and try to turn the war with Japan into a people’s war. We developed a scenario for the meeting of the heroes of Chemulpo. Everyone was silent about the miscalculations.
The cruiser's senior navigator officer E. A. Behrens, who became the first Soviet chief of the Naval General Staff after the October Revolution of 1917, later recalled that he expected arrest and a naval trial on his native shore. On the first day of the war, the Pacific fleet decreased by one combat unit, and the enemy forces increased by the same amount. The news that the Japanese had begun raising the Varyag spread quickly.
By the summer of 1904, sculptor K. Kazbek made a model of a monument dedicated to the battle of Chemulpo, and called it “Rudnev’s Farewell to the Varyag.” On the model, the sculptor depicted V.F. Rudnev standing at the railings, to the right of whom was a sailor with a bandaged hand, and an officer with his head down sat behind him. Then the model was made by the author of the monument to the Guardian, K.V. Izenberg. A song about “Varyag” appeared, which became popular. Soon the painting “The Death of the Varyag” was painted. View from the French cruiser Pascal. Photo cards with portraits of commanders and images of the “Varyag” and “Korean” were issued. But the ceremony of welcoming the heroes of Chemulpo was especially carefully developed. Apparently, it should be said in more detail about it, especially since almost nothing was written about it in Soviet literature.
The first group of Varangians arrived in Odessa on March 19, 1904. The day was sunny, but there was a strong swell in the sea. From the very morning the city was decorated with flags and flowers. The sailors arrived at the Tsar's pier on the ship "Malaya". The steamer "St. Nicholas" came out to meet them, which, when spotted on the horizon, "Malaya" was decorated with colorful flags. This signal was followed by a salvo from the salute cannons of the coastal battery. A whole flotilla of ships and yachts left the harbor for the sea.
On one of the ships were the head of the Odessa port and several St. George cavaliers. Having boarded the Malaya, the head of the port presented the Varangians with St. George's awards. The first group included captain 2nd rank V.V. Stepanov, midshipman V.A. Balk, engineers N.V. Zorin and S.S. Spiridonov, doctor M.N. Khrabrostin and 268 lower ranks. At about 2 o'clock in the afternoon the Malaya began to enter the harbor. Several regimental bands played on the shore, and a crowd of thousands greeted the ship with shouts of “hurray.”
Japanese aboard the sunken Varyag, 1904
The first to go ashore was Captain 2nd Rank V.V. Stepanov. He was met by the priest of the seaside church, Father Atamansky, who presented the senior officer of the Varyag with the image of St. Nicholas, the patron saint of sailors. Then the crew went ashore. Along the famous Potemkin Stairs leading to Nikolaevsky Boulevard, the sailors went up and passed through the triumphal arch with the inscription of flowers “To the Heroes of Chemulpo.”
Representatives of the city government met the sailors on the boulevard. The mayor presented Stepanov with bread and salt on a silver platter with the city’s coat of arms and the inscription: “Greetings from Odessa to the heroes of Varyag who surprised the world.” A prayer service was served on the square in front of the Duma building. Then the sailors went to the Saban barracks, where a festive table was laid for them. The officers were invited to the cadet school for a banquet hosted by the military department. In the evening, the Varangians were shown a performance in the city theater. At 15:00 on March 20, the Varangians set off from Odessa for Sevastopol on the steamer "St. Nicholas". A crowd of thousands again came out onto the embankments.
On the approaches to Sevastopol, the steamer was met by a destroyer with a raised signal “Greetings to the brave.” The steamship "Saint Nicholas", decorated with colorful flags, entered the Sevastopol roadstead. On the battleship "Rostislav" his arrival was greeted with a 7-shot salute. The first to board the ship was the chief commander of the Black Sea Fleet, Vice Admiral N.I. Skrydlov.
Having walked around the line, he addressed the Varangians with a speech: “Great, dear ones, congratulations on your brilliant feat, in which you proved that Russians know how to die; you, like truly Russian sailors, surprised the whole world with your selfless courage, defending the honor of Russia and the St. Andrew’s flag, ready to die rather than give up the ship to the enemy. I am happy to greet you from the Black Sea Fleet and especially here in long-suffering Sevastopol, a witness and keeper of the glorious military traditions of our native fleet. Here, every piece of land is stained with Russian blood. Here are monuments to Russian heroes: they have me for you. I bow deeply on behalf of all the Black Sea people. At the same time, I cannot resist saying my heartfelt thanks to you, as your former admiral, for the fact that you so gloriously applied all my instructions during the exercises you conducted. Be our welcome guests. “Varyag” was lost! , but the memory of your exploits is alive and will live for many years!
The sunken Varyag at low tide, 1904
A solemn prayer service was served at the monument to Admiral P. S. Nakhimov. Then the chief commander of the Black Sea Fleet handed over to the officers the highest diplomas for the awarded St. George Crosses. It is noteworthy that for the first time doctors and mechanics were awarded the Cross of St. George along with combat officers. Having taken off the St. George Cross, the admiral pinned it to the uniform of Captain 2nd Rank V.V. Stepanov. The Varangians were placed in the barracks of the 36th naval crew.
The Tauride governor asked the chief commander of the port that the teams of the “Varyag” and “Korean”, when en route to St. Petersburg, would stop for a while in Simferopol to honor the heroes of Chemulpo. The governor also motivated his request by the fact that his nephew Count A.M. Nirod died in the battle.
Japanese cruiser "Soya" (formerly "Varyag") at the parade
At this time, preparations were being made for the meeting in St. Petersburg. The Duma adopted the following order of honoring the Varangians:
1) at the Nikolaevsky station, representatives of the city public administration, led by the city mayor and the chairman of the Duma, met the heroes, presented the commanders of the “Varyag” and “Korean” with bread and salt on artistic dishes, invited commanders, officers and class officials to the Duma meeting to announce greetings from cities;
2) presenting an address, artistically executed during the expedition of procuring state papers, setting out in it the resolution of the City Duma on the honor; presenting gifts to all officers totaling 5 thousand rubles;
3) treating lower ranks to lunch at the People's House of Emperor Nicholas II; issuing to each lower rank a silver watch with the inscription “To the Hero of Chemulpo”, embossed with the date of the battle and the name of the recipient (from 5 to 6 thousand rubles were allocated for the purchase of watches, and 1 thousand rubles for treating lower ranks);
4) arrangement of performances for the lower ranks in the People's House;
5) the establishment of two scholarships in memory of the heroic feat, which will be awarded to students of maritime schools - St. Petersburg and Kronstadt.
On April 6, 1904, the third and last group of Varangians arrived in Odessa on the French steamship Crimea. Among them were captain 1st rank V.F. Rudnev, captain 2nd rank G.P. Belyaev, lieutenants S.V. Zarubaev and P.G. Stepanov, doctor M.L. Banshchikov, paramedic from the battleship "Poltava", 217 sailors from the "Varyag", 157 - from the "Koreyets", 55 sailors from the "Sevastopol" and 30 Cossacks of the Trans-Baikal Cossack Division, guarding the Russian mission in Seoul. The meeting was as solemn as the first time. On the same day, on the steamer "St. Nicholas", the heroes of Chemulpo went to Sevastopol, and from there on April 10, by an emergency train of the Kursk Railway - to St. Petersburg via Moscow.
On April 14, residents of Moscow greeted the sailors on a huge square near the Kursk station. Bands of the Rostov and Astrakhan regiments played on the platform. V.F. Rudnev and G.P. Belyaev were presented with laurel wreaths with inscriptions on white-blue-red ribbons: “Hurray for the brave and glorious hero - the commander of the Varyag” and “Hurray for the brave and glorious hero - the commander of the Koreyets”. All officers were presented with laurel wreaths without inscriptions, and the lower ranks were presented with bouquets of flowers. From the station the sailors headed to the Spassky barracks. The mayor presented the officers with golden badges, and the ship's priest of the Varyag, Father Mikhail Rudnev, with a golden neck icon.
On April 16 at ten o'clock in the morning they arrived in St. Petersburg. The platform was filled with welcoming relatives, military personnel, representatives of the administration, nobility, zemstvo and townspeople. Among those greeting were the head of the Maritime Ministry, Vice Admiral F.K. Avelan, the head of the Main Naval Staff, Rear Admiral Z. P. Rozhestvensky, his assistant A.G. Niedermiller, the chief commander of the Kronstadt port, Vice Admiral A.A. Birilev, the chief medical inspector of the fleet, life surgeon V. S. Kudrin, St. Petersburg governor horseman O. D. Zinoviev, provincial leader of the nobility Count V. B. Gudovich and many others. Grand Duke Admiral General Alexey Alexandrovich arrived to meet the heroes of Chemulpo.
The special train arrived at the platform exactly at 10 o'clock. A triumphal arch was erected on the station platform, decorated with the state coat of arms, flags, anchors, St. George ribbons, etc. After the meeting and tour of the formation by the Admiral General, at 10:30 a.m., to the incessant sounds of orchestras, a procession of sailors began from the Nikolaevsky Station along Nevsky Prospekt to Zimny palace. The ranks of soldiers, a huge number of gendarmes and mounted policemen barely held back the onslaught of the crowd. The officers walked ahead, followed by the lower ranks. Flowers fell from windows, balconies and roofs. Through the arch of the General Staff Building, the heroes of Chemulpo entered the square near the Winter Palace, where they lined up opposite the royal entrance. On the right flank stood the Grand Duke, Admiral General Alexei Alexandrovich, and Adjutant General F.K. Avelan, the head of the Naval Ministry. Emperor Nicholas II came out to the Varangians.
He accepted the report, walked around the formation and greeted the sailors of the Varyag and Koreyets. After this, they marched solemnly and proceeded to St. George's Hall, where the service took place. Tables were set for the lower ranks in the Nicholas Hall. All the dishes were with the image of St. George's crosses. In the concert hall, a table with gold service was set for the highest persons.
Nicholas II addressed the heroes of Chemulpo with a speech: “I am happy, brothers, to see you all healthy and safely returned. Many of you, with your blood, have entered into the chronicle of our fleet a deed worthy of the exploits of your ancestors, grandfathers and fathers, who performed them on the Azov " and "Mercury"; now with your feat you have added a new page to the history of our fleet, adding to them the names "Varyag" and "Korean". They will also become immortal. I am sure that each of you will remain worthy of that award until the end of your service , which I gave to you. All of Russia and I read with love and trembling excitement about the exploits that you showed at Chemulpo. From the bottom of my heart, thank you for supporting the honor of St. Andrew’s flag and the dignity of the Great Holy Rus'. I drink to the further victories of our glorious fleet. . To your health, brothers!"
At the officers' table, the emperor announced the establishment of a medal in memory of the battle at Chemulpo for wearing by officers and lower ranks. Then a reception took place in the Alexander Hall of the City Duma. In the evening, everyone gathered at the People's House of Emperor Nicholas II, where a festive concert was given. The lower ranks were given gold and silver watches, and spoons with silver handles were distributed. The sailors received a brochure "Peter the Great" and a copy of the address from the St. Petersburg nobility. The next day the teams went to their respective crews. The whole country learned about such a magnificent celebration of the heroes of Chemulpo, and therefore about the battle of “Varyag” and “Korean”. The people could not have even a shadow of doubt about the plausibility of the accomplished feat. True, some naval officers doubted the authenticity of the description of the battle.
Fulfilling the last will of the heroes of Chemulpo, the Russian government in 1911 turned to the Korean authorities with a request to allow the ashes of the dead Russian sailors to be transferred to Russia. On December 9, 1911, the funeral cortege headed from Chemulpo to Seoul, and then by rail to the Russian border. Throughout the entire route, the Koreans showered the platform with the remains of the sailors with fresh flowers. On December 17, the funeral cortege arrived in Vladivostok. The burial of the remains took place at the city's Marine Cemetery. In the summer of 1912, an obelisk made of gray granite with the St. George Cross appeared over the mass grave. The names of the victims were engraved on its four sides. As expected, the monument was built with public money.
Then the “Varyag” and the Varangians were forgotten for a long time. They remembered only 50 years later. On February 8, 1954, a decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR “On awarding the medal “For Courage” to the sailors of the cruiser “Varyag”” was issued. At first, only 15 people were found. Here are their names: V. F. Bakalov, A. D. Voitsekhovsky, D. S. Zalideev, S. D. Krylov, P. M. Kuznetsov, V. I. Krutyakov, I. E. Kaplenkov, M. E. Ka-linkin, A. I. Kuznetsov, L. G. Mazurets, P. E. Polikov, F. F. Semenov, T. P. Chibisov, A. I. Shketnek and I. F. Yaroslavtsev. The oldest of the Varangians, Fedor Fedorovich Semenov, turned 80 years old. Then they found the others. In total in 1954-1955. 50 sailors from the "Varyag" and "Koreyets" received medals. In September 1956, a monument to V.F. Rudnev was unveiled in Tula. In the Pravda newspaper, Fleet Admiral N.G. Kuznetsov wrote these days: “The feat of the Varyag and the Korean entered the heroic history of our people, into the golden fund of the military traditions of the Soviet fleet.”
Now I will try to answer a number of questions. The first question: for what merit were they so generously awarded to everyone without exception? Moreover, the officers of the gunboat "Koreets" first received regular orders with swords, and then, simultaneously with the Varangians (at the request of the public), they also received the Order of St. George, 4th degree, that is, they were awarded twice for one feat! The lower ranks received the insignia of the Military Order - St. George's Crosses. The answer is simple: Emperor Nicholas II really did not want to start the war with Japan with defeats.
Even before the war, the admirals of the Naval Ministry reported that they could destroy the Japanese fleet without much difficulty, and if necessary, they could “arrange” a second Sinop. The emperor believed them, and then suddenly such bad luck! At Chemulpo, the newest cruiser was lost, and at Port Arthur, 3 ships were damaged - the squadron battleships "Tsesarevich", "Retvizan" and the cruiser "Pallada". Both the emperor and the Naval Ministry “covered up” their mistakes and failures with this heroic hype. It turned out believable and, most importantly, pompous and effective.
The second question: who “organized” the feat of “Varyag” and “Korean”? The first to call the battle heroic were two people - the Emperor's viceroy in the Far East, Adjutant General Admiral E. A. Alekseev and the senior flagship of the Pacific squadron, Vice Admiral O. A. Stark. The whole situation indicated that war with Japan was about to begin. But instead of preparing to repel a sudden enemy attack, they showed complete carelessness, or, more precisely, criminal negligence.
The fleet's readiness was low. They themselves drove the cruiser "Varyag" into a trap. To carry out the tasks that they assigned to the stationary ships in Chemulpo, it was enough to send the old gunboat "Korean", which was not of particular combat value, and not use a cruiser. When the Japanese occupation of Korea began, they did not draw any conclusions for themselves. V.F. Rudnev also did not have the courage to decide to leave Chemulpo. As you know, initiative in the navy has always been punishable.
Through the fault of Alekseev and Stark, the Varyag and the Korean were abandoned in Chemulpo. An interesting detail. When conducting a strategic game in the 1902/03 academic year at the Nikolaev Naval Academy, exactly this situation was played out: in the event of a sudden Japanese attack on Russia in Chemulpo, a cruiser and a gunboat remain unrecalled. In the game, destroyers sent to Chemulpo will report the beginning of the war. The cruiser and gunboat manage to connect with the Port Arthur squadron. However, in reality this did not happen.
Question three: why did the Varyag commander refuse to break out from Chemulpo and did he have such an opportunity? A false sense of camaraderie was triggered - “perish yourself, but help your comrade.” Rudnev, in the full sense of the word, began to depend on the slow-moving "Korean", which could reach a speed of no more than 13 knots. "Varyag" had a speed of more than 23 knots, which is 3-5 knots more than the Japanese ships, and 10 knots more than the "Korean". So Rudnev had opportunities for an independent breakthrough, and good ones at that. Back on January 24, Rudnev learned of the severance of diplomatic relations between Russia and Japan. But on January 26, on the morning train, Rudnev went to Seoul to see the envoy for advice.
Having returned, he only sent the gunboat “Koreets” with a report to Port Arthur on January 26 at 15:40. Again the question: why was the boat sent to Port Arthur so late? This remains unclear. The Japanese did not release the gunboat from Chemulpo. This war has already begun! Rudnev had one more night in reserve, but did not use it either. Subsequently, Rudnev explained the refusal to make an independent breakthrough from Chemulpo due to navigational difficulties: the fairway in the port of Chemulpo was very narrow, winding, and the outer roadstead was replete with dangers. Everyone knows this. Indeed, entering Chemulpo in low water, that is, at low tide, is very difficult.
Rudnev seemed not to know that the height of the tides in Chemulpo reaches 8-9 meters (the maximum tide height is up to 10 meters). With the cruiser's draft of 6.5 meters in full evening water, there was still an opportunity to break through the Japanese blockade, but Rudnev did not take advantage of it. He settled on the worst option - to break through during the day at low tide and together with the "Korean". Everyone knows what this decision led to.
Now about the fight itself. There is reason to believe that the artillery used on the cruiser Varyag was not entirely competent. The Japanese had a huge superiority in forces, which they successfully implemented. This can be seen from the damage that the Varyag received.
According to the Japanese themselves, their ships remained unharmed in the battle of Chemulpo. In the official publication of the Japanese Naval General Staff “Description of military operations at sea in 37-38 Meiji (in 1904-1905)” (vol. I, 1909) we read: “In this battle, enemy shells never hit into our ships and we did not suffer the slightest loss."
Finally, the last question: why didn’t Rudnev disable the ship, but sank it by simply opening the kingstons? The cruiser was essentially "donated" to the Japanese fleet. Rudnev's argument that the explosion could have damaged foreign ships is untenable. Now it becomes clear why Rudnev resigned. In Soviet publications, the resignation is explained by Rudnev’s involvement in revolutionary affairs, but this is fiction. In such cases, in the Russian Navy, people were not fired with promotion to rear admiral and the right to wear a uniform. Everything can be explained much more simply: for mistakes made in the battle of Chemulpo, naval officers did not accept Rudnev into their corps. Rudnev himself was aware of this. At first, he was temporarily in the position of commander of the battleship "Andrei Pervozvanny" under construction, then he submitted his resignation. Now, it seems, everything has fallen into place.
The cruiser "Varyag" needs no introduction. However, the battle of Chemulpo is still a dark page in Russian military history. Its results are disappointing, and there are still a lot of misconceptions about the participation of “Varyag” in this battle.
"Varyag" - a weak cruiser
In popular publications there is an assessment that the combat value of the Varyag was low. Indeed, due to poor quality work performed during construction in Philadelphia, the Varyag could not reach the contract speed of 25 knots, thereby losing the main advantage of a light cruiser.
The second serious drawback was the lack of armor shields for the main caliber guns. On the other hand, during the Russo-Japanese War, Japan, in principle, did not have a single armored cruiser capable of resisting the Varyag and the Askold, Bogatyr or Oleg, which were similarly armed.
Not a single Japanese cruiser of this class had 12,152 mm guns. True, the fighting unfolded in such a way that the crews of Russian cruisers never had to fight an enemy of equal size or class. The Japanese always acted with certainty, compensating for the shortcomings of their cruisers with numerical superiority, and the first, but not the last in this glorious and tragic list for the Russian fleet, was the battle of the cruiser Varyag.
A hail of shells hit the Varyag and Koreets
Artistic and popular descriptions of the battle at Chemulpo often say that the “Varyag” and “Korean” (which did not receive a single hit) were literally bombarded by Japanese shells. However, official figures indicate otherwise. In just 50 minutes of the battle at Chemulpo, six Japanese cruisers spent 419 shells: “Asama” 27 - 203 mm. , 103 152 mm., 9 76 mm; "Naniva" - 14,152 mm; "Niitaka" - 53 152 mm, 130 76 mm. "Takachiho" - 10,152 mm, "Akashi" - 2,152 mm, "Chiyoda" 71,120 mm.
In response, the Varyag fired, according to Rudnev’s report, 1105 shells: 425 -152 mm, 470 - 75 mm, 210 - 47 mm. It turns out that Russian gunners achieved the highest rate of fire. To this we can add 22,203 mm, 27,152 mm and 3,107 mm of projectiles fired from the Koreyets.
That is, in the battle of Chemulpo, two Russian ships fired almost three times more shells than the entire Japanese squadron. The question remains debatable about how the Russian cruiser kept records of spent shells or whether the figure was indicated approximately based on the results of a survey of the crew. And could such a number of shells be fired on a cruiser that, by the end of the battle, had lost 75% of its artillery?
Rear Admiral at the head of the Varyag
As is known, after returning to Russia and upon his retirement in 1905, the commander of the Varyag, Rudnev, received the rank of rear admiral. Already today, one of the streets in South Butovo in Moscow received the name of Vsevolod Fedorovich. Although, perhaps, it would have been more logical to name Captain Rudnev, if necessary, to distinguish him among his famous namesakes in military affairs.
There is no mistake in the name, but this image requires clarification - in military history this man remained a captain of the 1st rank and commander of the Varyag, but as a rear admiral he could no longer prove himself. But an obvious mistake has crept into a number of modern textbooks for high school students, where the “legend” is already heard that the cruiser “Varyag” was commanded by Rear Admiral Rudnev. The authors did not go into detail and think about the fact that a rear admiral was somehow out of rank to command an armored cruiser of the 1st rank.
Two against fourteen
The literature often states that the cruiser "Varyag" and the gunboat "Koreets" were attacked by the Japanese squadron of Rear Admiral Uriu, consisting of 14 ships - 6 cruisers and 8 destroyers.
Here it is necessary to make several clarifications.
Outwardly, there was a huge numerical and qualitative superiority of the Japanese, which the enemy never took advantage of during the battle. It is necessary to take into account that on the eve of the battle at Chemulpo, the Uriu squadron consisted of not even 14, but 15 pennants - the armored cruiser Asama, armored cruisers Naniwa, Takachiho, Niitaka, Chiyoda, Akashi and eight destroyers and advice note "Chihaya".
True, even on the eve of the battle with the Varyag, the Japanese suffered non-combat losses. When the gunboat "Koreets" attempted to proceed from Chemulpo to Port Arthur, the Japanese squadron began dangerous maneuvering (which ended with the use of a gun) around the Russian gunboat, as a result of which the destroyer "Tsubame" ran aground and did not directly participate in the battle. The messenger ship Chihaya, which, nevertheless, was in close proximity to the battle site, did not participate in the battle. In reality, the battle was waged by a group of four Japanese cruisers, two more cruisers participated only sporadically, and the presence of Japanese destroyers remained a presence factor.
"A cruiser and two enemy destroyers at the bottom"
When it comes to military losses, this issue often becomes the subject of heated debate. The battle at Chemulpo was no exception, in which estimates of Japanese losses were very contradictory.
Russian sources indicate very high enemy losses: a destroyed destroyer, 30 killed and 200 wounded. They are based mainly on the opinions of representatives of foreign powers who observed the battle.
Over time, two destroyers and the cruiser Takachiho were already sunk (by the way, this data ended up in the feature film “Cruiser Varyag”). And if the fate of some Japanese destroyers raises questions, the cruiser Takachiho safely survived the Russo-Japanese War and died 10 years later with its entire crew during the siege of Qingdao.
Reports from all Japanese cruiser commanders indicate that there were no losses or damage to their ships. Another question: where, after the battle in Chemulpo, did the main enemy of the Varyag, the armored cruiser Asama, “disappear” for two months? Neither Port Arthur nor Admiral Kammimura was part of the squadron operating against the Vladivostok cruiser squadron. And this was at the very beginning of the war, when the outcome of the confrontation was far from decided.
It is likely that the ship, which became the main target of the Varyag’s guns, received serious damage, but at the beginning of the war, for propaganda purposes, the Japanese side was undesirable to talk about this. From the experience of the Russo-Japanese War, it is well known how the Japanese tried for a long time to hide their losses, for example, the death of the battleships Hatsuse and Yashima, and a number of destroyers that apparently ended up at the bottom were simply written off after the war as beyond repair.
Legends of Japanese modernization
A number of misconceptions are associated with the service of the Varyag in the Japanese fleet. One of them is related to the fact that after the rise of the Varyag, the Japanese retained the Russian state emblem and the name of the cruiser as a sign of respect. However, this was more likely due not to the desire to pay tribute to the crew of the heroic ship, but to design features - the coat of arms and name were mounted in the aft balcony and the Japanese attached the new name of the cruiser “Soya” on both sides to the balcony grille. The second misconception is the replacement of Nicolossa boilers with Miyabara boilers on the Varyag. Although the vehicles had to be thoroughly repaired, the cruiser showed a speed of 22.7 knots during testing.
