Battle of Yalu. In the two previous articles, we talked in detail about the number and technical characteristics of the Japanese and Chinese ships that met at the Battle of Yalu. Today the story will go about the battle itself.
Morning September 17, 1894. Light east breeze …
The Japanese ships approached the site of the battle on the morning of September 17, 1894. Their smoke was noticed by the Chinese standing at the mouth of the Yalu River. A combat alert was immediately announced on the Chinese ships. The teams immediately began to prepare them for battle and raise pairs. Smoke poured out of the chimneys of the Chinese ships, it became thicker and higher and higher and in an hour and a half the Japanese saw it in turn. They headed north, while the Chinese, in turn, moved south and thus a clash between the two squadrons became inevitable. Before the battle, the Chinese ships were repainted in "invisible gray". The Japanese remained bright white. In an interview with the Century, American Philon Norton McGiffin, who was sailing on the Chinese flagship as its captain, subsequently reported that the weather was "magnificent, a light east breeze barely ruffled the surface." But there is also such evidence that the east wind was quite fresh, the sky was cloudy, and the excitement was very strong. That is, if opinions about the weather differ so much, then … what can we say about the rest? Even for those who participated in this battle, the expression "lies, like an eyewitness!"
According to McGiffin, the Chinese ships are well armed and protected, and the gunners had time to practice well over the summer. In his opinion, the Japanese were just as valiant, but perhaps they had too much at stake and were different from the Chinese. The annihilation of the Japanese fleet would lead to the annihilation of the small Japanese army in Korea, as it would be cut off from the supply of reinforcements and supplies. That is why the Japanese needed to win at any cost.
Preparations before the fight. Chinese
As already noted, the Chinese ships were "modernized" in some way before the battle. On the battleships, the armor caps of the main caliber towers were removed, but the armor covers of the 6-inch guns, bow and stern, were retained, since they protected people not so much from enemy shells as from the shock wave and gases of their own 12-inch guns. The side wings of the bridge were cut off; all handrails and rope ladders have been removed wherever possible. The crew bunks were used as "armor" for the rapid-fire guns, and sandbags were stacked four feet inside the superstructure. Inside this enclosure, several dozen 100-pound rounds and 6-inch cannon shells were stored right on deck to ensure fast service. Most of the glass from the windows was taken out and sent ashore. The charcoal poured into the sacks was also used for protection wherever possible. And I must say that this protection with the help of coal sacks and sandbags served the Chinese a good service, because after the battle several unexploded shells and fragments were found in them.
Advantages and disadvantages
It should be emphasized also that important circumstance (it was discussed in detail in the two previous materials) that, although the squadrons consisted of approximately equal numbers of ships, they were very different in everything else. The Japanese had in their composition uniform armored cruisers of the so-called "Elzvik type", which had a high speed and numerous medium-caliber artillery. The four fastest cruisers were allocated by the Japanese to a special "Flying Squad", which could operate separately from the slower ships, while the Chinese had to focus on the speed of their slowest ship. At the same time, the main advantage of the Chinese squadron was that it included two large battleships, larger and better protected than any of the Japanese. At the same time, all other Chinese cruisers were smaller in displacement than the Japanese ones. Chinese battleships had four 12-inch guns, and cruisers - from one 10-inch to three 8-inch guns, but with regard to medium-caliber guns, their number was limited to only one or two. A significant difference in the types of shells should also be taken into account: Japanese guns fired high-explosive fragmentation shells, many of which, especially on new ships, had melinite charges, while the Chinese were mainly armor-piercing. True, Admiral Ding demanded that high-explosive shells be delivered to him, and they were partially delivered, but in such a scanty amount that they amounted to no more than a quarter of the total ammunition on both Chinese battleships. As for such an important component as "morale", it was very high among the crews in both squadrons, which is confirmed by evidence from both sides.
Flags, sand and fire hoses
Since 8 a.m., Chinese ships have flown flags of the usual size, but now a huge yellow national flag has been hoisted on the flagship. The admiral's flag on the flagship was also replaced with a larger one. Immediately, a similar replacement was made on every Chinese ship, and the Japanese followed suit. Now twenty-two ships were moving towards each other, sparkling with fresh paint and with merrily waving flags on their masts. But everything was so beautiful outside. Inside, everything was ready for battle. On the Chinese ships, dark-skinned men with headbands and sleeves rolled up to their elbows lay on the decks under cover of sandbags, holding caps of gunpowder in their hands to ensure they were quickly fed to the guns. It was decided that the charges should not be stacked anywhere, so that an accidental projectile would not cause them to ignite. Therefore, they were passed along a chain of their hands. To prevent the feet of these handlers from slipping, the decks were sprinkled with sand. The fire hoses were pre-rolled and filled with water, so that in the event of a fire, not to waste precious time on this.
Wedge against the line
The Beiyang fleet moved south at a speed of about 7 knots. Moreover, his formation had the shape of a crescent or wedge facing the enemy. In the very center were the battleships Dingyuan (flagship of Admiral Ding Zhuchang) and Zhenyuan. On their flanks, covering the battleships, there were armored and armored cruisers, and the weakest and outdated ships closed the formation, both to the left and to the right.
All Japanese ships were in wake formation and had a speed of 10 knots. The first was the Flying Squad under the command of Rear Admiral Kozo Tsuboi, which included the fastest Japanese cruisers Yoshino, Takachiho, Naniwa (commanded by the future renowned Admiral H. Togo), and Akitsushima. They were followed by the main forces commanded by Vice Admiral Sukeyuki Ito: the cruisers Matsushima (his flagship), Chiyoda, Itsukushima and Hasidate. In the rear were such weak and outdated ships as the Fuso (small casemate battleship), the Hiei armored corvette, the Akagi gunboat, and the Saikyo-maru command ship. When at 12 o'clock Admiral Ito finally found the Chinese ships within line of sight, he immediately ordered his squadron to move at 14 knots. On the ships of the Flying Squad, however, a 16-knot course was developed, so he began to gradually move forward from his main forces. And during the battle, Admiral Tsuboi acted completely independently.
The battle begins
Further, McGiffin in his interview reports that his lieutenant on the rangefinder constantly announced the range, after which a small signal flag was raised on the mast each time. Messages followed one after another: "Six thousand meters!", "Five thousand eight hundred", "six hundred", "five hundred!" Finally, a distance followed: "five thousand four hundred!" And then a huge cloud of white smoke separated from the side of the Chinese flagship. The shell threw a white-foam column of water into the air, just short of reaching the cruiser Yoshino, and the battle began. It was exactly 12:20 pm, although there is evidence that the first shot from the Chinese side sounded at 12:50 pm.
Moreover, since the turret guns of the Dingyuan were firing straight ahead of the shock wave, which hit the bridge at the same time, several officers were wounded at once, including Admiral Dean himself. For some time he came to his senses, and the squadron was commanded by Captain Liu Buchang. At one o'clock in the afternoon, the Japanese finally opened fire. At the same time, Admiral Tsuboi's Flying Squad, which had gone ahead, and then the main forces of Admiral Ito, began to bypass the Chinese ships from the west. At the same time, from the fire of Japanese cruisers, firing high-explosive shells, such armless ships as "Chaoyun" and "Yanwei", located on the right flank, suffered the most. Fires broke out on both ships, and they headed towards the coast.
Brave "Hiei"
In turn, the Chinese center also made a turn to the southwest and ended up in the tail of the Japanese squadron, directly opposite the slow-moving ships of its rearguard, which were slightly behind the main forces of Admiral Ito. The Chinese battleships first approached the Hiei corvette and fired several shots at it from their large-caliber guns, and then fired torpedoes at it. True, the Chinese torpedoes did not hit him, but 12-inch shells reached the target, as a result of which the Hiei received several heavy injuries. He was able to escape from inevitable death only by making a bold maneuver. He turned sharply towards the front of the Chinese ships and … passed between them! At the same time, being abeam the battleships, he received two more hits with 12-inch shells almost at point-blank range. The Chinese were sure that the Japanese ship was doomed and would surely sink, but the Hiei crew managed to save their ship and take it out of the battle.
Lucky "Akagi" and "Saikyo-maru"
The gunboat Akagi also got hit when it was attacked by the armored cruiser Laiyuan. On the ship, the mast and the pipe were shot down, its commander was killed, and many sailors were also killed and wounded. But her crew also managed to hit the Chinese ship with their return fire. A fire broke out on the Laiyuan, and the cruiser was forced to stop pursuing the damaged gunboat. The command steamer "Saikyo-maru", on which Vice Admiral Sukenori Kabayama was, who arrived here for inspection, on his way to the end, was subjected to alternate shelling from all Chinese ships, only miraculously not sending it to the bottom. Two Chinese cruisers began to pursue him, and then Admiral Ito, in order to save the Saikyo-maru, sent Admiral Tsuboi's Flying Squad to help him, so the Chinese failed to finish off the damaged steamer.
Losers "Yanwei" and Jiyuan"
Meanwhile, the main forces of the Japanese squadron continued to fire at the Chinese ships, taking them in an arc, while they maneuvered in the most disorderly manner and only interfered with each other. Seeing this, the English instructor W. Tyler turned to Captain Liu Buchang with a proposal: to give the order to his team to move back so that they would stop interfering with the battleships to shoot at the enemy. But the recommendation turned out to be impracticable, since the mars on the mainmast of the flagship battleship "Dingyuan" was destroyed by a Japanese shell and it was impossible to transmit the flag signal. In the confusion that arose, the commander of the cruiser "Jiyuan" decided to flee from the battlefield. At the same time, in the smoke, he managed to ram and sink the cruiser Yanwei, which had lost its speed. At the same time, "Jiyuan" did not stop and did not begin to save the drowning, but tried to develop the maximum possible move and began to leave in the direction of Lushun. It was followed by the cruiser "Guangjia". This is how the Chinese squadron, in addition to all its other losses, lost two at once, although not very valuable warships.
There is no forgiveness for the one who fled
"Guangjia", however, this flight did not help at all. At night, the ship flew close to the coast on the rocks, and the team, so that the enemy did not get it, blew up their ship. As for the commander of the Jiyuan, Fang Boqian, he was brought to trial for a cowardly and criminal flight from the battlefield. True, the German instructor Hoffmann, who was aboard his ship, spoke in his defense, who showed at the trial that the withdrawal from the battle was fully justified.
According to him, the following happened: “Captain Fong on the Jiyuan fought bravely and skillfully. We lost seven or eight people killed, but continued to shoot as fast as we could. This went on until 2-3 pm, when our ship was badly damaged, and we had to leave the battle. Our aft 15-centimeter Krupp cannon was knocked out, and the loading mechanisms of the two forward guns were destroyed, so it was impossible to shoot from them, and the ship became useless in all respects. Then Captain Fong decided to leave the battle and try to reach Port Arthur in order to rearm …
On the way to the port, we had a collision with another ship that sank … Water poured into the Jiyuan hull in a whole stream, but we closed the front watertight bulkheads and continued on our way safely.
I do not think that the charge of cowardice leveled against Captain Fong is fair; he fought until the ship became unusable. In addition, the smoke was so thick that it was impossible to know well what was happening on your own ship."
McGiffin testified that the damage sustained by the Jiyuan was limited only to the stern gun, which had already been knocked out during its flight. According to him, he saw the Jiyuan departing from the deck of the battleship Zhenyuan at 2.45 am, while the battle began at 12.20 am. That is, the ship under the command of Captain Von Boqian stayed in battle for no more than two hours.
Inspection of the Jiyuan showed that it received 70 hits from Japanese shells, but despite this, only 5 people were killed and 14 wounded in its crew. That is, he very well resisted the fire of the Japanese artillery, but since his own guns were out of order, Captain Fan, in principle, had the right to withdraw from the battle, and thanks to this he saved both his ship and the people entrusted to him from death. Moreover, two much stronger Chinese cruisers were killed in this battle.
However, the military tribunal did not find extenuating circumstances for Fang Boqian, and after the emperor approved the verdict, he was executed in Lushun on September 24, 1894.
The battle continues …
Meanwhile, the fierce battle continued. While the Chinese cruisers fought the Flying Squadron, the battleships Dingyuan and Zhenyuan followed the main Japanese squadron. Meanwhile, from the north, the armored cruiser Pingyuan, the mine cruiser Guangbin, and the destroyers Fulong and Zoi, who had delayed going to sea, approached the Chinese from the north. A situation arose in which the Japanese squadron could be put in two fires. But Admiral Ito still managed to slip painlessly enough between the Chinese ships. Only its flagship Matsushima, which was too close to the cruiser Pingyuan, was hit by its heavy 10-inch armor-piercing round. But fortunately for the Japanese, it did not explode, although it damaged the torpedo tube, ready to fire, and the oil tank.
Damage and loss of the Japanese side
By 2 o'clock in the afternoon, the superiority of the Japanese in speed was finally evident. They managed to cut off the battleships of the Beiyang squadron from the cruisers and shell them, making a circle around them. At the same time, much during the battle did not go at all as planned by the Japanese admirals. For example, the Japanese flagship cruiser Matsushima received very heavy damage. From the beginning of the battle with the Chinese battleships, two 305-mm shells from the battleship Zhenyuan hit him, which damaged its 320-mm gun. At the end of the battle, two more 305-mm shells from the same ship hit him, hitting the port side at the level of his living deck. Fortunately, one of them, without exploding, pierced both sides and then fell into the sea. But the second one hit the armor shield of the 120-mm gun located on the battery deck, and led to the detonation of the ammunition stacked near the guns. The explosion of a terrible force damaged two decks at once and caused a massive fire. The battery deck bent down from the explosion, and the top two bent up. 28 people were killed and 68 were injured, and of the ten 120-mm guns on this deck, four were completely out of order. A fire started directly above the cruise chamber. Moreover, the armor above it cracked from the explosion, so much so that the non-commissioned officer and the sailor, who were there, could see through the cracks. There was a real threat of fire and explosion of the ship. However, the Japanese sailors were not taken aback. They filled these cracks with their clothes and thus prevented the spread of fire, fire and explosion of ammunition. As for the damage from small-caliber shells, they inflicted damage on the deck, mast, boats, and in many places the chimney was broken. But the most offensive for the Japanese was that they managed to fire only four times from their 320-mm cannon, and all four were unsuccessful, and then the Chinese knocked it out.
During the entire battle, the cruiser Itsukushima fired only five shots from its 320-mm gun (four at the flagship battleship Dingyuan and one at the Zhenyuan) and missed the target, and the gun itself was out of action. And although only one large-caliber shell hit this cruiser, and the remaining seven belonged to medium-caliber artillery, the human losses on it amounted to 14 people killed and 17 wounded. The third ship of this type, the Hasidate, onto which the flag of Vice Admiral Ito Sukeyuki was transferred after the damage to the Matsushima, also fired only four shots with its main caliber and also never hit.
This ship received eleven hits from enemy shells. Three 152-mm shells and eight small-caliber shells. The casualties on it were three killed and nine wounded.
That is, the 320-mm guns of the Japanese cruisers did not justify themselves at all, and the armor protection showed itself not from the best side. But, on the other hand, medium-caliber artillery fired intense, well-aimed and frequent fire. However, his accuracy was also affected by the fact that the place of the battle was clouded with thick smoke, both from the chimneys of ships trying to maintain a high speed of movement, and from fires that engulfed both Chinese and Japanese ships. As a result, being in the smoke, the ships could navigate only by the masts and very often fired blindly.
Damage and loss of the Chinese side
It is interesting that, although the Japanese gunners rained down on the Chinese ships a real hail of shells, both the battleships and the cruisers of the Chinese squadron generally withstood it well, so the Japanese did not inflict fatal damage on them. For example, the battleship "Dingyuan" was hit by 159 shells, and the "Zhenyuan" - 220. A fire broke out on the Chinese flagship in the bow, which turned out to be so strong that the servants of the main caliber guns had to abandon them and the "Dingyuan" ended up shooting only from 6-inch aft. A fire broke out on "Zhenyuan" too, due to the breakage of the bolt, he lost a 6-inch bow gun. One of his 12-inch guns was also damaged.
It was much harder for the small Chinese cruisers, which had to wage an unequal battle with the ships of the Japanese Flying Squad, which far outnumbered them in the number of guns. Nevertheless, the Chinese fought with determination and courage. When the armored cruiser Zhiyuan ran out of shells, its commander Deng Shichang attempted to ram Admiral Tsuboi's flagship Yoshino. However, he immediately came under concentrated fire from all Japanese ships and, without reaching the enemy, sank after hitting the bow, where a powerful explosion occurred, possibly from a detonating torpedo.
The armored cruiser Jingyuan, engulfed in flames, in the best traditions of Lissa also tried to ram the flagship Tsuboi, but came under concentrated fire from the cruisers Yoshino and Takachiho. Soon the burning "Jingyuan" began to randomly circle in place, apparently losing control, and then rolled over and immediately sank. On the cruiser "Laiyuan" the fire that broke out lasted for several hours, so that it even had to flood the ammunition cellar. The fire began on the Chingyuan cruiser, but on it the team was able to quickly extinguish it.
Meanwhile, two Chinese destroyers launched an attack on the command ship "Saikyo-maru", the crew of which was engaged in repairs at a distance from the battlefield. It was necessary to stop the repairs and fight them off with the fire of the Hotchkiss rapid-fire cannons. The Chinese fired three torpedoes at the ship, but … they all passed by! So they did not play a special role in the battle and were mainly engaged in rescuing their sailors from sinking ships. But their very presence was a kind of signal for the Japanese not to delay the fight, since as night approached, the threat of a torpedo attack became more and more urgent for them.
The general data is as follows:
- Chinese ships that remained afloat received 754 hits;
- Japanese ships received only 134 hits.
On the Chinese ships that remained afloat, the losses were minimal - 58 people killed and 108 wounded. It is significant that the main losses fell on the crews of the sunken ships!
As for the Japanese ships, here the data is as follows: "Matsushima" - 13 hits, 35 killed, 78 wounded, 113 people in total; Itsukushima - 8 hits, 13 killed, 18 wounded, 31 people in total; Hasidate - 11 hits, 3 killed, 10 wounded, 13 people; "Fuso" - 8 hits, 2 killed, 12 wounded, 14 people in total; Chiyoda: 3 hits; "Hiei" - 23 hits, 19 killed, 37 wounded, 56 people in total; Yoshino - 8 hits, 1 killed, 11 wounded, 12 people in total; Naniwa - 9 hits, 2 wounded; Akitsushima - 4 hits, 5 killed, 10 wounded, 15 people in total; "Takachiho" - 5 hits, 1 killed, 2 wounded, 3 people in total; Akagi - 30 hits, 11 killed, 17 wounded, 28 people in total; Saikyo-maru - 12 hits.
Who has won?
The battle had been going on for four hours, so it was not surprising that the ships of both the Chinese and the Japanese began to run out of shells. The shots became more and more rare. And the ships diverged further and further from each other. Finally, at 5.30 in the afternoon, the Japanese admiral gave the order to end the battle, withdrew his Flying Squad and began to withdraw from the scene of the battle. Well, the Beiyang fleet lined up in one wake column and stayed near the mouth of the Yalu until dusk, after which it left for its repair base in Lushun.
The fact that the Japanese fleet retreated formally made it possible to consider that the Chinese won this battle. Their squadron did not allow the destruction of transport ships, which it was entrusted to guard. But if we consider this battle from the point of view of consequences, the Japanese won it. They lost less than 300 people killed and wounded, while the Chinese alone had more than 650 dead. In addition, the Beiyang squadron lost five cruisers at once, and all the other ships needed repairs. The Japanese did not lose a single ship, except for the "Matsushima", which required major repairs, and a week later they were again ready to engage in battle. In principle, all this was not so scary, since soon the Chinese ships could also enter the battle, but then the Chinese government intervened, forbidding Admiral Ding Zhuchan to go to sea for a new battle. And now nothing could prevent the Japanese from transferring their troops to Korea, where they won a victory in the land campaign.
Outcome
The Battle of Yalu was the first major naval battle since Lissa, and it forced all admirals to dramatically change their views on war at sea. If earlier the attack by the front formation was considered the best, now it was concluded in favor of the previous linear tactics. Lissa's experience spoke in favor of "dumping ships." Yalu's experience unambiguously testified that during a battle the fleet must be managed as a whole and that victory can only be achieved by joint efforts.
The concept of a fast ship armed with a variety of medium-caliber rapid-fire guns was confirmed. But the resilience of the Chinese battleships, shown by them under enemy fire, was also impressive. That is, all the talk that "the armor has outlived itself" turned out to be groundless. It was concluded that four 12-inch guns were sufficient for the battleship. But the number of 6-inch guns will need to be significantly increased. That is why the number of such guns on the new Japanese battleships Mikasa was increased to 14, and 14 127-mm guns were also installed on the American battleship Kirsarge, which was laid down in 1895.
