Literary and historical notes of a young technician. The story of one defeat. Why were the Varyag crew declared heroes?
On May 10, 1899, at the Crump and Sons shipyard in Philadelphia, the official ceremony of laying down an armored cruiser of the 1st rank for the Russian fleet took place. The ship was largely experimental - in addition to the new Nickloss boilers, its design contained large number innovation. Three times a workers' strike at the plant thwarted the plans of the Russian Admiralty; finally, on October 31, 1899, the Varyag was solemnly launched. The orchestra began to play, 570 Russian sailors from the crew of the new cruiser boomed: “Hurray!”, momentarily drowning out even the orchestra pipes. The American engineers, having learned that they would christen the ship according to Russian custom, shrugged their shoulders and opened a bottle of champagne. The same one that, according to American tradition, it should have been smashed against the ship’s hull. The head of the Russian commission, E.N. Shchensnovich, informed his superiors: “The descent was successful. No hull deformations were detected, the displacement coincided with the calculated one.” Did anyone present know that he was not only at the launch of the ship, but also at the birth of the legend of the Russian fleet?
There are shameful defeats, but there are also those that are worth more than any victory. Defeats that strengthen the military spirit, about which songs and legends are composed. The feat of the cruiser "Varyag" was a choice between shame and honor.
On February 8, 1904, at 4 o'clock in the afternoon, the Russian gunboat "Koreets" was fired upon by a Japanese squadron while leaving the port of Chemulpo: the Japanese fired 3 torpedoes, the Russians responded by firing from a 37 mm revolver cannon. Without getting further involved in the battle, the “Korean” hastily retreated back to the Chemulpo roadstead.
The day ended without incident. On the cruiser "Varyag" the military council spent the whole night deciding what to do in this situation. Everyone understood that war with Japan was inevitable. Chemulpo is blocked by a Japanese squadron. Many officers spoke out in favor of leaving the port under cover of darkness and fighting their way to their bases in Manchuria. In the dark, a small Russian squadron would have a significant advantage than in a daylight battle. But Vsevolod Fedorovich Rudnev, the commander of the Varyag, did not accept any of the proposals, expecting a more favorable development of events.
Alas, in the morning at 7 o'clock. 30 minutes, the commanders of foreign ships: English - Talbot, French - Pascal, Italian - Elba and American - Vicksburg received a notice indicating the time of delivery of the notification from the Japanese admiral about the beginning of hostile actions between Russia and Japan, and that the admiral invited the Russian ships to leave the roadstead before 12 o'clock day, otherwise they will be attacked by the squadron in the roadstead after 4 o'clock. the same day, and foreign ships were asked to leave the roadstead for this time, for their safety. This information was delivered to the Varyag by the commander of the cruiser Pascal. At 9:30 a.m. on February 9, on board HMS Talbot, Captain Rudnev received a notice from Japanese Admiral Uriu, announcing that Japan and Russia were at war and demanding that Varyag leave port by noon, otherwise at four o'clock Japanese ships will fight right in the roadstead.
At 11:20 “Varyag” and “Korean” weighed anchor. Five minutes later they sounded a combat alarm. English and French ships greeted the passing Russian squadron with the sounds of an orchestra. Our sailors had to fight through a narrow 20-mile fairway and break out into the open sea. At half past twelve, the Japanese cruisers received an offer to surrender to the mercy of the winner; the Russians ignored the signal. At 11:45 the Japanese opened fire...
In 50 minutes unequal battle The Varyag fired 1,105 shells at the enemy, 425 of which were large-caliber (although, according to Japanese sources, no hits were recorded on Japanese ships). It’s hard to believe this data, because several months before the tragic events of Chemulpo, “Varyag” participated in the exercises of the Port Arthur squadron, where it hit the target three times out of 145 shots. In the end, the shooting accuracy of the Japanese was also simply ridiculous - 6 cruisers scored only 11 hits on the Varyag in an hour!
On the Varyag, broken boats were burning, the water around it was boiling from explosions, the remains of the ship's superstructures fell with a roar onto the deck, burying Russian sailors. The knocked out guns fell silent one after another, with the dead lying around them. Japanese grapeshot rained down, and the deck of the Varyag turned into a terrible sight. But, despite the heavy fire and enormous destruction, the Varyag still fired accurately at the Japanese ships from its remaining guns. “Korean” didn’t lag behind him either. Having received critical damage, the Varyag described a wide circulation in the Chemulpo fairway and was forced to return to the roadstead an hour later.
Legendary cruiser after the battle
“...I will never forget this stunning sight that presented itself to me,” the commander of the French cruiser, who witnessed the unprecedented battle, later recalled, “the deck is covered in blood, corpses and body parts are lying everywhere. Nothing escaped destruction: in places where shells exploded, the paint was charred, all the iron parts were broken, the fans were knocked down, the sides and bunks were burnt. Where so much heroism had been shown, everything was rendered unusable, broken into pieces, riddled with holes; The remains of the bridge hung deplorably. Smoke was coming from all the holes in the stern, and the list to the left side was increasing..."
Despite such an emotional description of the Frenchman, the cruiser’s position was by no means so hopeless. The surviving sailors selflessly extinguished the fires, and emergency crews applied a plaster to a large hole in the underwater part of the port side. Of the 570 crew members, 30 sailors and 1 officer were killed. The gunboat "Koreets" had no casualties among its personnel.
Squadron battleship "Eagle" after Battle of Tsushima
For comparison, in the Tsushima battle, the squadron battleship’s crew of 900 people “ Alexander III“No one was saved, and out of the 850 crew of the squadron battleship Borodino, only 1 sailor was saved. Despite this, in amateur circles military history Respect for these ships remains. "Alexander III" led the entire squadron under fierce fire for several hours, skillfully maneuvering and periodically throwing off the Japanese's sights. Now no one will say who competently controlled the battleship in the last minutes - whether the commander or one of the officers. But the Russian sailors fulfilled their duty to the end - having received critical damage in the underwater part of the hull, the flaming battleship capsized at full speed, without lowering the flag. Not a single person from the crew escaped. A couple of hours later, his feat was repeated by the squadron battleship Borodino. Then the Russian squadron was led by the "Eagle". The same heroic squadron battleship that received 150 hits, but partially retained its combat capability until the very end of the Battle of Tsushima. This is such an unexpected remark. Happy memory to the heroes.
However, the situation of the Varyag, which was hit by 11 Japanese shells, remained serious. The cruiser's controls were damaged. In addition, the artillery was seriously damaged; out of 12 six-inch guns, only seven survived.
V. Rudnev, on a French steam 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 Russian cruiser, 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, ship documents and the ship's cash register to foreign ships. The officers destroyed valuable equipment, smashed surviving instruments and pressure gauges, dismantled gun locks, throwing parts overboard. Finally, the seams were opened, and at six o'clock in the evening the Varyag lay on the bottom on the left side.
Russian heroes were placed on foreign ships. The English Talbot took 242 people on board, the Italian ship took 179 Russian sailors, and the French Pascal placed the rest on board. The commander of the American cruiser Vicksburg behaved absolutely disgustingly in this situation, flatly refusing to accommodate Russian sailors on his ship without official permission from Washington. Without taking a single person on board, the “American” limited himself to only sending a doctor to the cruiser. French newspapers wrote about this: “Obviously, the American fleet is too young to have those high traditions that inspire all the fleets of other nations.”
The crew of the gunboat "Koreets" blew up their ship
Commander of the gunboat "Koreets", captain of the 2nd rank G.P. Belyaev turned out to be a more decisive person: despite all the warnings of the British, he blew up the gunboat, leaving the Japanese with only a pile of scrap metal as a souvenir.
Despite immortal feat crew of the "Varyag", Vsevolod Fedorovich Rudnev still should not have returned to the port, but scuttled the cruiser in the fairway. Such a decision would have made it much more difficult for the Japanese to use the port and made it impossible to raise the cruiser. The most important thing is that no one could say that “Varyag” retreated from the battlefield. After all, now many “democratic” sources are trying to turn the feat of Russian sailors into a farce, because supposedly the cruiser did not die in battle.
In 1905, the Varyag was raised by the Japanese and introduced into the Japanese Imperial Navy under the name Soya, but in 1916 the Russian Empire bought the legendary cruiser.
Finally, I would like to remind all “democrats” and “truth seekers” that after the armistice, the Japanese government found it possible to reward Captain Rudnev for the Varyag’s feat. The captain himself did not want to accept the award from the opposing side, but the Emperor personally asked him to do so. In 1907, Vsevolod Fedorovich Rudnev was awarded the Order of the Rising Sun.
Bridge of the cruiser "Varyag"
Map of the battle at Chemulpo from the Varyag logbook
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 similarly armed Askold, Bogatyr or Oleg.
Not a single Japanese cruiser of this class had 12,152 mm guns. Is it true, fighting developed 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 crept into the series modern textbooks for high school students, where the “legend” already sounds that the cruiser “Varyag” was commanded by Rear Admiral Rudnev. Go into detail and think about what the rear admiral should command armored cruiser 1st rank somehow not according to rank, the authors did not.
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 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 long time they tried 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 fixed the new name of the cruiser “Soya” on both sides on 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 cruiser "Varyag" became a truly legendary ship in national history. It became famous due to the battle at Chemulpo, at the very beginning of the Russo-Japanese War. And although the cruiser “Varyag” has already become almost a household name, the battle itself is still unknown to the general public. Meanwhile, for the Russian fleet the results are disappointing.
True, then two domestic ships were immediately opposed by an entire Japanese squadron. All that is known about the “Varyag” is that it did not surrender to the enemy and preferred to be flooded rather than captured. However, the history of the ship is much more interesting. It is worth restoring historical justice and debunking some myths about the glorious cruiser “Varyag”.
The Varyag was built in Russia. The ship is considered one of the most famous in the history of the Russian fleet. It is obvious to assume that it was built in Russia. Nevertheless, the Varyag was laid down in 1898 in Philadelphia at the William Cramp and Sons shipyards. Three years later, the ship began serving in the Russian fleet.
Varyag is a slow ship. Poor quality work during the creation of the vessel led to the fact that it could not accelerate to the 25 knots specified in the contract. This negated all the advantages of a light cruiser. A few years later the ship could no longer sail faster than 14 knots. The question of returning the Varyag to the Americans for repairs was even raised. But in the fall of 1903, the cruiser was able to show almost the planned speed during testing. Steam boilers Nikloss served faithfully on other ships without causing any complaints.
Varyag is a weak cruiser. In many sources there is an opinion that “Varyag” was a weak enemy with low military value. The lack of armor shields on the main caliber guns caused skepticism. True, Japan in those years, in principle, did not have armored cruisers capable of fighting on equal terms with the Varyag and its analogues in terms of weapon power: “Oleg”, “Bogatyr” and “Askold”. No Japanese cruiser of this class had twelve 152 mm guns. But the fighting in that conflict was such that the crews of domestic cruisers did not have the opportunity to fight an enemy of equal size or class. The Japanese preferred to engage in battle with an advantage in the number of ships. The first battle, but not the last, was the battle of Chemulpo.
"Varyag" and "Koreets" received a hail of shells. Describing that battle, domestic historians talk about a whole hail of shells that fell on Russian ships. True, nothing hit the “Korean”. But official data from the Japanese side refutes this myth. In 50 minutes of battle, the six cruisers spent only 419 shells. Most of all - "Asama", including 27 caliber 203 mm and 103 caliber 152 mm. According to the report of Captain Rudnev, who commanded the Varyag, the ship fired 1,105 shells. Of these, 425 are 152 mm caliber, 470 are 75 mm caliber, and another 210 are 47 mm. It turns out that as a result of that battle, the Russian artillerymen managed to demonstrate a high rate of fire. The Koreets fired about fifty more shells. So it turns out that during that battle, two Russian ships fired three times more shells than the entire Japanese squadron. It remains not entirely clear how this number was calculated. It may have been based on a survey of the crew. And could a cruiser, which by the end of the battle had lost three quarters of its guns, fire so many shots?
The ship was commanded by Rear Admiral Rudnev. Returning to Russia after retirement in 1905, Vsevolod Fedorovich Rudnev received the rank of rear admiral. And in 2001, a street in South Butovo in Moscow was named after the brave sailor. But it is still logical to talk about the captain, and not about the admiral in the historical aspect. In the chronicles of the Russian-Japanese War, Rudnev remained a captain of the first rank, commander of the Varyag. He did not show himself anywhere or in any way as a rear admiral. And this obvious mistake even crept into school textbooks, where the rank of the Varyag commander is incorrectly indicated. For some reason, no one thinks that a rear admiral is not qualified to command an armored cruiser. Fourteen Japanese ships opposed two Russian ships. Describing that battle, it is often said that the cruiser “Varyag” and the gunboat “Koreets” were opposed by the entire Japanese squadron of Rear Admiral Uriu of 14 ships. It included 6 cruisers and 8 destroyers. But it’s still worth clarifying something. The Japanese never took advantage of their huge quantitative and qualitative advantage. Moreover, initially there were 15 ships in the squadron. But the destroyer Tsubame ran aground during maneuvers that prevented the Korean from leaving for Port Arthur. The messenger ship Chihaya was not a participant in the battle, although it was located close to the battle site. Only four Japanese cruisers actually fought, with two more sporadically engaging in combat. The destroyers only indicated their presence.
Varyag sank a cruiser and two enemy destroyers. The issue of military losses on both sides always causes heated discussions. Likewise, the battle at Chemulpo is assessed differently by Russian and Japanese historians. Domestic literature mentions heavy enemy losses. The Japanese lost a scuttled destroyer, killing 30 people and wounding about 200. But these data are based on reports from foreigners who observed the battle. Gradually, another destroyer began to be included in the number of those sunk, as well as the cruiser Takachiho. This version was included in the film “Cruiser “Varyag”. And while the fate of the destroyers can be debated, the cruiser Takachiho went through the Russo-Japanese War quite safely. The ship with its entire crew sank only 10 years later during the siege of Qingdao. The Japanese report says nothing at all about the losses and damage to their ships. True, it is not entirely clear where, after that battle, the armored cruiser Asama, the main enemy of the Varyag, disappeared for two whole months? He was not present at Port Arthur, as well as in the squadron of Admiral Kammimura, which acted against the Vladivostok detachment of cruisers. But the fighting had just begun, the outcome of the war was unclear. One can only assume that the ship, which the Varyag mainly fired at, was still seriously damaged. But the Japanese decided to hide this fact in order to promote the effectiveness of their weapons. Similar experiences were observed in the future during the Russo-Japanese War. The losses of the battleships Yashima and Hatsuse were also not immediately recognized. The Japanese quietly wrote off several sunken destroyers as being beyond repair.
The story of the Varyag ended with its sinking. After the ship's crew switched to neutral ships, the Varyag's seams were opened. It sank. But in 1905, the Japanese raised the cruiser, repaired it and put it into service under the name Soya. In 1916, the ship was bought by the Russians. Walked First world war, and Japan was already an ally. The ship was returned to its former name “Varyag”, it began to serve as part of the flotilla of the Northern Arctic Ocean. At the beginning of 1917, the Varyag went to England for repairs, but was confiscated for debts. Soviet government was not going to pay the royal bills. Further fate The ship was an unenviable one - in 1920 it was sold to the Germans for scrapping. And in 1925, while being towed, it sank in the Irish Sea. So the ship is not resting off the coast of Korea.
The Japanese modernized the ship. There is information that the Nicoloss boilers were replaced by the Japanese with Miyabara boilers. So the Japanese decided to modernize the former Varyag. This is a fallacy. True, the car could not be repaired without repairs. This allowed the cruiser to achieve a speed of 22.7 knots during testing, which was less than the original.
As a sign of respect, the Japanese left the cruiser a sign with his name and the Russian coat of arms. This step was not associated with a tribute to the heroic history of the ship. The design of the Varyag played a role. The coat of arms and name were mounted in the aft balcony; it was impossible to remove them. The Japanese simply fixed the new name, "Soya", on both sides of the balcony grille. No sentimentality - complete rationality.
“The Death of the Varyag” is a folk song. The Varyag's feat became one of the bright spots of that war. It is not surprising that poems were written about the ship, songs were written, pictures were written, and a film was made. At least fifty songs were composed immediately after that war. But over the years, only three have reached us. “Varyag” and “Death of Varyag” are best known. These songs, with slight modifications, are played throughout the entire feature film about the ship. For a long time it was believed that “The Death of the Varyag” was a folk creation, but this is not entirely true. Less than a month after the battle, Y. Repninsky’s poem “Varyag” was published in the newspaper “Rus”. It began with the words “Cold waves are splashing.” Composer Benevsky set these words to music. It must be said that this melody was in tune with many war songs that appeared during that period. And who the mysterious Ya. Repninsky was was never established. By the way, the text of “Varyag” (“Up, oh comrades, everything in its place”) was written by the Austrian poet Rudolf Greinz. The version known to everyone appeared thanks to the translator Studenskaya.
Feat of the cruiser Varyag
Historians are still arguing about the events of February 9, 1904, (January 27, old style), when two Russian ships, blocked in the Korean port of Chemulpo by a Japanese cruiser squadron, fought an unequal battle.
Why did “Varyag” and “Koreyets” find themselves far from the main forces at the most tense moment? Why didn't they prevent the Japanese landing?
Why didn’t the high-speed Varyag make the breakthrough alone?
Feat of the cruiser Varyag
, how did they get there?
In December 1904, an uprising against foreigners began in Korea. The governments of a number of countries demanded the sending of warships with military contingents to protect diplomatic missions. In this regard, the command sent to Chemulpo, who arrived there on December 29 (old style) and began performing the duties of a senior stationary. At this time, the cruiser Boyarin, which brought troops there, and the gunboat Gilyak were also in the port.
Finishing of the wheelhouse of the cruiser Varyag
The next day, "Boyarin" left for Port Arthur, and a day later it was followed by "Gilyak". And on January 5, 1904 (18.01 new style), the “Korean” arrived in Chemulpo, sent to establish contact with the Russian envoy: the telegraph message was interrupted.
This is how the now famous couple was formed: “Varyag” and.
Gunboat Korean in Chemulpo, February 1904
Why did you have to fight the Japanese squadron?
On January 25-26, government messages about the war with Japan began to arrive in the Far East.
The commander of the Varyag, Rudnev, suggested that the envoy in Seoul, Pavlov, evacuate the mission on his ship, “so as not to leave the cruiser in a foreign port in the event of a declaration of war.” The envoy refused: he did not have appropriate instructions from the ministry.
On the morning of January 26, the 4th combat detachment of Rear Admiral Uriu Sotokichi, accompanying transports with troops, approached the Korean shores. The admiral ordered a landing in Chemulpo.
At 15.40 on January 26, the “Korean” with dispatches and foreign mail on board raised anchor, heading for Port Arthur.
At 15.55, from its side, directly ahead, we saw Japanese ships approaching the fairway leading from Chemulpo to the open sea.
The Japanese force consisted of six cruisers, eight destroyers, one advice note, two armed ships and three transports. Having formed into three columns, the Japanese occupied the entire width of the fairway. Not daring to escalate the situation, the commander of the “Korean”, Captain II Rank Belyaev, turned his ship back.
The Japanese entered the Chemulpo roadstead and began landing troops at about 6 p.m. The port was neutral, there was no declaration of war. In addition, it is worth remembering that quite recently our “Boyarin”, as well as ships of other powers, landed troops to protect their missions from the rebels.
“Varyag” and “Koreyets” could not fire.
At about 7 a.m. on January 27 (February 9), the Japanese ships, having completed the landing, left the Chemulpo roadstead.
At about 9.30 the commander of the Varyag was found by a messenger with a translation of Uriu’s letter. The Japanese admiral suggested leaving the raid; otherwise he will attack the Russians right in the port.
At 11.20 "Varyag" weighed anchor and set sail.
“Korean” followed him in his wake.
The fight is short and hopeless.
Uriu did not expect the Russian ships to come out. There was no time to raise the anchors - the admiral ordered the chains to be riveted. The first shot was fired by "Asama"; it was at 11.45.
Our two ships were opposed by six Japanese cruisers - the rest did not take part in the battle.
"Asama" was the most powerful - an English-built armored cruiser with excellent speed, weapons and armor. The second armored cruiser, Chiyoda, was old, small and poorly armed. The rest of the cruisers were armored, of which Niitaka was completely new, Akashi was relatively new, and Takachiho and Naniwa had already served for 18 years by the time of the battle.
The Japanese had an overwhelming advantage in artillery; the weight of the side salvo of large and medium caliber guns for the Varyag and Koreyets was 492 kg, and for the Japanese squadron it was 1671 kg. All the Japanese artillery was modern, and the most powerful guns of our ships, the eight-inch "Korean" guns, were old - short-range and slow-firing.
...Russian ships responded at 11.47.
According to Japanese observations, the Varyag initially showed a very high rate of fire, but was unable to maintain it for more than a few minutes.
And at 12.03 the cruiser received the first hit. A 203-mm shell hit the navigation bridge. He killed the rangefinders, midshipman Nirod, and damaged the wheelhouse.
Due to the narrowness of the fairway, the Japanese operated in three battle groups of two ships (see diagram); it turned out that some of their ships at times blocked the target from others.
“Asama”, “Chiyoda” and “Niitake” managed to shoot the most, in total they fired 393 large and medium caliber shells; the rest managed to fire only 26 shots. In the final phase of the battle, four destroyers took part in it.
Japanese at low tide on board the sunken Varyag, photo 1904
At 12.15 "Varyag" began to turn on the opposite course. The Russian ships returned to the port and anchored at 13.00.
As a result of the battle, the Varyag lost 30 people killed, 85 people wounded and shell-shocked, and 100 people lightly wounded - only about a third of the crew. The cruiser was on fire, and part of its artillery was disabled. His situation was worse than before the battle; The “Korean,” even if undamaged, had no chance alone.
The commander decided to blow up the "Korean" and sink the "Varyag" so as not to damage the foreign ships in the port.
Feat of the cruiser Varyag
, the last battle is over...
Why didn’t Varyag make a breakthrough? Why was it impossible, by sacrificing a small thing - an old gunboat - to save a big one - one of the newest cruisers of the Russian fleet?
After all, the Varyag, which developed more than 23 knots during testing, was faster than any of the Uriu ships. Full speed ahead, maximum rate of fire, optimal, relative to the position of the Japanese, course and - a dash into the open sea...
This kind of mistake is often made by people who base their conclusions on two or three numbers from quick reference guide according to technical specifications of ships.
First of all - about speed.
The speed shown by the ship immediately after construction is almost never achieved in everyday service.
Firstly, the hull becomes overgrown with marine organisms, causing the speed to inevitably drop. Secondly, during operation, the machines wear out, and the boiler tubes become covered with scale. The last circumstance was especially relevant for “Varyag”.
The requirements for the ship were very high. The Crump company, which built the cruiser, insisted on installing Nikloss system boilers. They were distinguished by high performance and low weight; but on April 14, 1898, the Marine Technical Committee adopted a special resolution in which it categorically refused to supply steam boilers to the Nikloss company Russian fleet, recognizing them as unreliable and even dangerous.
Nevertheless, just such boilers were installed on both ships built by Crump for Russia, the cruiser Varyag and the battleship Retvizan. As a result, the Varyag, during tests carried out in 1904, was only able to reach a speed of 14 knots.
And the Japanese directly during the battle at Chemulpo developed up to 18 knots.
Secondly, there could be no talk of any freedom to choose a course. Our ships left Chemulpo along a narrow fairway, limited by islands and underwater rocks, and the length of this fairway is 30 miles. The fairway was blocked by a Japanese squadron...
In such conditions, it becomes clear why Rudnev did not leave the “Korean” in the port. If there was going to be a long artillery battle with limited maneuverability for both sides, then two eight-inch gunboats could be very useful.
After all, the war was just beginning. Uriu could have been instructed to take care of the ships and, if there was a danger of losing valuable combat units in battle, he could choose to retreat...
Autumn 1904, ship-building work on the Chemulpo roadstead
The only thing that can be called a complaint against the Varyag commander. This is not a complete disabling of the ship; it is known that after lifting, it reached the repair dock under its own power.
There is probably not a single person in Russia who has not heard about the suicidal feat of the cruiser Varyag. Despite the fact that more than a hundred years have passed since the events described below, the memory of unheard-of heroism still lives in the hearts and memories of people. But at the same time, knowing general outline history of this legendary ship, we lose sight of many amazing details with which its fate is rich. The beginning of the 20th century was marked by a clash of interests of two rapidly developing empires - Russian and Japanese. The stumbling block was the territories belonging to Russia in Far East, which the Japanese Emperor slept and saw as belonging to his country. On February 6, 1904, Japan tore everything apart diplomatic relations with Russia, and already on February 9 blocked the port of Chemulpo, where the then unknown “Varyag” was located.
Made in USA
The 1st rank armored cruiser was laid down in 1898. Construction was carried out at the William Cramp and Sons shipyards in Philadelphia. In 1900, the cruiser was transferred To the Navy Russian Empire. According to the commander of the cruiser Rudnev, the ship was delivered with many construction defects, due to which it was expected that it would not be able to reach speeds above 14 knots. “Varyag” was even going to be returned back for repairs. However, during tests in the fall of 1903, the cruiser developed a speed almost equal to that shown in the initial tests.
Diplomatic mission "Varyag"
Since January 1904, the famous cruiser was at the disposal of the Russian embassy in Seoul, stood in the neutral Korean port of Chemulpo and did not take any military action. By an evil irony of fate, the Varyag and the gunboat Koreets had to engage in an obviously losing battle, the first in an ingloriously lost war.
Before the fight
On the night of February 8, the Japanese cruiser Chiyoda secretly sailed from the port of Chemulpo. His departure did not go unnoticed by Russian sailors. On the same day, the “Korean” set off for Port Arthur, but at the exit from Chemulpo it was subject to a torpedo attack and was forced to return back to the roadstead. On the morning of February 9, Captain First Rank Rudnev received an official ultimatum from Japanese Admiral Uriu: surrender and leave Chemulpo before noon. The exit from the port was blocked by a Japanese squadron, so the Russian ships were trapped, from which there was no chance of getting out.
"No talk about giving up"
At about 11 o'clock in the morning, its commander addressed the cruiser's crew with a speech. From his words it followed that he did not intend to surrender to the enemy so easily. The sailors fully supported their captain. Soon after, the Varyag and Koreets pulled out of the raid to set off for their final battle, while the crews of the foreign warships saluted the Russian sailors and sang the national anthems. As a sign of respect, brass bands on Allied ships played the national anthem of the Russian Empire.
Battle of Chemulpo
"Varyag" almost alone (a short-range gunboat does not count) went against the Japanese squadron, numbering 6 cruisers and 8 destroyers, equipped with more powerful and modern weapons. The very first hits showed all the vulnerabilities of the Varyag: due to the lack of armored turrets, the gun crews suffered heavy losses, and explosions caused the guns to malfunction. During the hour of battle, the Varyag received 5 underwater holes, countless surface holes and lost almost all its guns. In the conditions of a narrow fairway, the cruiser ran aground, presenting itself as a tempting motionless target, but then, by some miracle, to the surprise of the Japanese, it managed to get off it. During this hour, the Varyag fired 1,105 shells at the enemy, sank one destroyer and damaged 4 Japanese cruisers. However, as the Japanese authorities subsequently claimed, not a single shell from the Russian cruiser reached its target, and there was no damage or loss at all. On the Varyag, losses among the crew were heavy: one officer and 30 sailors were killed, about two hundred people were wounded or shell-shocked. According to Rudnev, there was not a single opportunity left to continue the battle in such conditions, so it was decided to return to the port and scuttle the ships so that they would not go to the enemy as trophies. The teams of Russian ships were sent to neutral ships, after which the Varyag was sunk by opening the kingstons, and the Koreets was blown up. This did not stop the Japanese from getting the cruiser from the bottom of the sea, repairing it and including it in the squadron called “Soya”.
Medal for defeat
In the homeland of the heroes of Chemulpo, great honors awaited them, despite the fact that the battle was actually lost. The crew of the "Varyag" was given a ceremonial reception by Emperor Nicholas II and received many awards. The crews of the French, German and English ships stationed in the roadstead during the battle in Chemulpo also responded enthusiastically to the brave Russians. Another thing is surprising: the act of the Russian sailors was also considered heroic by their opponents, the Japanese. In 1907, Vsevolod Rudnev (who had by then fallen out of favor with Nicholas II) was awarded the Order of the Rising Sun by the Japanese Emperor as a tribute to the courage and fortitude of Russian sailors.
