Tsushima, Battle of

During the Russo–Japanese War, Japanese naval victory over the Russians 27–28 May 1905, in the Strait of Tsushima between Japan and Korea. This battle, the only engagement between Dreadnought-type battleships, was arguably one of the greatest naval battles ever fought.

The Russian Far Eastern fleet had been badly damaged by Japanese action and the remainder was bottled up in Port Arthur. The Home Fleet, under Admiral Zinovi Rozhdestvensky, sailed from the Baltic October 1904 but due to difficulties in arranging coal supplies, poorly trained crews, and mechanical problems, took seven months to reach the theatre of war. The Russian fleet, consisting of 46 ships, of which 7 were Dreadnought-type battleships and 6 cruisers, was met by a Japanese fleet under Admiral Count Heihachiro Togo of similar size and composition but capable of greater speed and with better-trained sailors.

The main action was fought in the afternoon of 27 May, and the Japanese rapidly sank 4 Russian battleships without any loss themselves. Other Russian ships were severely damaged by accurate gunfire, and the Russian fleet broke up as individual ships attempted to run for safety in the harbour of Vladivostok. This allowed Japanese destroyers to engage with torpedoes, sinking another 3 Russian ships during the night. The Japanese main fleet took up the battle on the following morning, and the remaining Russian division of battleships was forced to surrender. All but 12 minor ships of the Russian fleet were sunk, captured, or driven aground, while the Japanese lost only 3 torpedo-boats.