Some time ago we began a small series of articles about the breakthrough of the cruisers Askold and Novik during the battle on July 28, 1904, which took place in the Yellow Sea (battle at Shantung). Let us remind ourselves of the main conclusions of the previous article:
1. "Askold" at the beginning of the breakthrough, most likely, kept all the 10 152-mm guns available on it as combat-ready, but its centralized fire control system was out of order. In addition, due to a 305-mm projectile hitting the first tube, the boiler was damaged, which is why the cruiser's speed was apparently limited to 20 knots (before the war in Port Arthur, “Askold” confidently held 22.5 knots);
2. It is very likely that the Pallada and Diana did not follow the Askold not because of their low speed (before the Askold rounded the convoy of Russian squadron battleships, it kept a very moderate 18 knots), but because of confusion in signals arranged by N. K. Reitenstein - on the cruisers they could not understand whether the admiral wanted them to go to his wake, or to the wake of the squadron battleships;
3. By the beginning of the breakthrough, the Russian squadron was actually surrounded. In the northeast (possibly in the north) was the 5th combat unit (Chin Yen, Matsushima, Hasidate) and Asama, in the east were the main forces of Heihachiro Togo, from the southeast they were catching up with the Nissin and "Kassuga", in the south was the third combat detachment ("dogs" led by "Yakumo"), in the southwest - the 6th combat squadron ("Akashi", "Suma", "Akitsushima"). There were many destroyers in the west, and only the road to Port Arthur in the northwest remained relatively free - Russian ships were going there. Of course, for the squadron battleships of the 1st Pacific, only the main forces of H. Togo posed a real danger, but any Japanese combat unit (except for the 6th) that went to break through Akold and Novik was a superior enemy.
In the discussion of the previous article, a very interesting dispute arose regarding the exact location of the Asama relative to the squadron: it was believed that at the time of the breakthrough, this armored cruiser was not in the northeast, but in the west of the Russian ships. To be honest, these questions are as interesting as it is difficult to give an exact answer to them. The fact is that in the descriptions of the maneuvering of ships by eyewitnesses there are always many inconsistencies, from one ship they see one thing, from the other the same moment is seen differently, as a result, historians get a "mess" of mutually contradictory reports and it is extremely difficult to combine them into one. In such cases, the reconstruction of the picture of maneuvering has to be carried out by finding some "reference" points, that is, those whose description is practically beyond doubt. As an example of such a point, one can cite the passage of the Varyag cruiser along the traverses of the Pkhalmido Island (Yodolmi) - this fact was noted both in Russian and Japanese reports and dispatches, reflected in the logbooks, etc.
So, I must say that the descriptions of where the "Asama" was at the moment of the breakthrough of the Russian cruisers are very different among themselves. For example, official Japanese historiography contains this phrase:
“Admiral Deva, seeing that the“Askold”,“Novik”and several destroyers that had broken through to the south were pushing the“Asam”with mined ships and, in addition, shoot at the cruiser of the 6th combat detachment Suma, which had separated on SW and was a lonely cruiser of the 6th combat detachment, having united in a detachment "Yakumo", "Kassagi", "Chitose", "Takasago", he hurried to the rescue to his ships. The 6th Combat Detachment also came to the rescue, and "Suma" joined its detachment; "Asama" and the destroyers got off safely."
It would seem that from the above description it is quite obvious that "Asama" was located in the west or even south-west of the Russian ships, because "Askold" and "Novik", after turning to the south, could in no way push the ship located from them to the northwest, north or northeast. In this case, there would be Russian battleships between them, and how in general can you push enemy ships, moving away from them in the other direction? However, the same source ("Description of military operations at sea in 37-38 years. Meiji) says that shortly before the breakthrough of" Askold "" Asam "was seen in the northwest - given that the Russian squadron in this the moment was in the west (or north-west) of the Japanese forces, and on the Russian battleships they noted the appearance of the Asama right on the course, we are faced with an obvious contradiction, unless the Asama was just moving quickly south.
Alas, the Asams logbook testifies directly to the opposite - according to its record, at about this time (after the Russian battleships turned to Port Arthur, but long before the Askold breakthrough), the Japanese cruiser went to the north to cut the Russian cruisers (!). Nevertheless, it is in the "Asama" logbook that one of those reference points, which we have already mentioned, is present:
"7.30 p. m. The course taken by the Asama brought the ship into close proximity to the 5th combat detachment. As a result, the ships of the formation were forced to put the rudder to the left, making a turn by 16 points."
Why is this entry highly reliable? The fact is that in battle it is easy to make a mistake, observing enemy ships - but it is hardly possible to confuse with something else the rapprochement with one of your units, moreover, at a distance that requires a change of course, so to speak "in order to avoid". There is also no doubt that the ships of the 5th detachment were correctly identified on the Asam: it was not dark yet, and, in fact, there were no other ships nearby.
Taking into account the fact that the Russian time at Port Arthur differed from the Japanese by 45 minutes, the above-mentioned convergence occurred at 18.45, that is, 5 minutes before "Askold" began the breakthrough. Consequently, the task of determining the location of "Asama" is greatly simplified - we need to determine where the 5th Japanese squadron was. But here everything is more or less simple.
The fact is that there is evidence that while the Russian squadron was still trying to break through to Vladivostok (course to the southeast, the main forces of the Japanese were on the starboard side), the 5th detachment approached the Russians at a distance from which "Poltava" fired at him with guns on the left side, that is, the enemy was from her in the north or north-west. In his report N. K. Reitenstein points out that when the Japanese were already rounding the head of the Russian squadron, he saw "on N - three cruisers like" Matsushima "and" Chin-yen "with destroyers", despite the fact that "All this goes from right to left in different ways." Of course, "right-to-left" is not the most accurate naval term, but not long before this, the Russian Rear Admiral also indicated the direction of movement of the 5th Detachment - from east to west. Taking into account the fact that the Japanese skirted the Russian squadron when it mixed, and at this very time the cruiser N. K. Reitenstein turned to the north-north-west, the path from east to west was just "right-to-left" for them.
Since the Asama logbook indicates that after meeting with Asama, the 5th detachment turned 16 points, that is, 180 degrees, and went in the opposite direction (while engaging in battle with Russian ships), by the time the beginning of the breakthrough of "Askold", he went to the east (or to the northeast, or to the southeast, because, in fact, we do not know exactly where the 5th detachment "from right to left" came from).
Let us now turn to the reports of the Russian battleships that were sailing to Port Arthur by that time. The commander of the "Retvizan" E. N. Schensnovich: “… All the battleships followed me into the wake. Our cruising squad … was already on this course, well away from us. Enemy ships appeared on the course: "Chin-Yen", "Matsushima", "Itsukushima" and "Tokiwa" - some of them opened fire on the squadron. " Here we see that E. N. Schensnovich confused "Asama" with the same type "Tokiva", which did not take part in the battle on July 28, 1904. Following the "Retvizan" was "Peresvet", whose senior artillery officer, V. N. Cherkasov reported: "Ahead of our course we saw Yakumo, Chin-Yen, Matsushima and Itsukushima, which were forced to leave from a distance of 25 cables by artillery fire." The "Peresvet" was followed by the squadron battleship "Pobeda". Its commander, Captain 1st Rank V. M. Zatsarenny reported: “At that moment, a Chin-Yen with two cruisers appeared in front of the right side. We opened fire on them, the detachment soon began to move to the right, retreating in front of the squadron."
That is, the first two Russian battleships saw the Japanese ships of the 5th detachment directly on the course (north-west of themselves), and the third ("Victory") - "front-right", that is, already in the north. In other words, although the exact course of the 5th detachment is unknown, "from the point of view" of the Russian squadron, it shifted from west to east, and, by the time the Askold breakthrough began, apparently was in the north or northeast of the Russian ships. Unfortunately, the course of the Asams is not known for sure, since the logbook does not contain indications of its changes after the meeting with the 5th detachment, but even if the cruiser continued to move north, then, taking into account the movement of the Russian squadron to the north-west, the direction to "Asama" also shifted "north-west-north-north-east). All this allows us to assume that during the breakthrough of "Askold" both the 5th detachment and "Asama" were in the northwest (possibly - north) of the Russian squadron. At the same time, the reduction in distance (and it, as we can see, at some point did not exceed 25 cables) suggests that the Japanese ships went not strictly to the east, but to the southeast, that is, the courses converging with the Russian squadron.
Of course, regardless of where Asama was at the time of the Askold's breakthrough - in the northeast, north, or even northwest of the Russian squadron (in the west, he certainly could not be), that combat episode represented a short skirmish between the main forces of the Russian squadron consisting of Retvizan, Peresvet and Pobeda, as well as Poltava and, most likely, Tsarevich (according to the testimony of the investigating commission of the ship's senior mine officer, but Sevastopol ", Perhaps, did not shoot), supported by the cruisers N. K. Reitenstein on the one hand, and one and only modern armored cruiser, an old battleship and two no less old Japanese armored cruisers on the other. It was at this moment that "Askold" passed between the Russian battleships and the Japanese ships. Obviously, this was a somewhat risky maneuver, but nevertheless, in this case, it is impossible to speak of any breakthrough: the Russians had an overwhelming superiority in forces, which, alas, could not be realized.
Unfortunately for us, the effectiveness of the Russian artillery in this episode was near-zero: of all Japanese ships during this period of time, only the Chin Yen received two hits of an unknown caliber, which, however, did practically no damage to the old battleship. "Asama" and other ships of the 5th detachment, not only in this episode, but in general for the entire battle did not receive any damage. This, in turn, leads to two conclusions:
1. There is no reason to believe that the shells hitting the Chin-Yen were fired from the Askold;
2. Descriptions of fires on the "Asam" caused by the fire of Russian cruisers are nothing more than fiction.
The question arises - who, in fact, came up with these same hits and fires, as a result of which "Asama" "increased the speed and began to move away"? The answer seems to be obvious: well, of course, Rear Admiral N. K. Reitenstein and the commander of "Askold" K. A. Grammarians! Indeed, it is in their reports that "Asama" goes against the "Askold", it is with her that "Askold" is trying to get close to a mine shot, it is she who, blazing, retreats … So, we can only exclaim: "Oh, these fairy tales, oh these storytellers!”?
Well, yes, not quite so, and the point is this. As we said earlier, official Soviet historiography described the breakthrough of Askold and Novik as a sequential battle, first with Asama and then with Yakumo. But here's what's interesting - if we read N. K. Reitenstein and K. A. Grammatchikov, we will see that they describe the battle with only one armored cruiser - "Asama". If we open the "Russian-Japanese War of 1904-1905" (The work of the historical commission for describing the actions of the fleet in the war of 1904-1905 under the Naval General Staff) volume three, then, reading the description of the actions of "Askold", we will see that this cruiser "put to flight" "Asama" even before the start of its breakthrough, but during the breakthrough, he fought with only one armored cruiser, not Asama, but Yakumo!
So who did Askold fight with? Let's figure it out. And let's start with the report of N. K. Reitenstein to the Viceroy, drawn up on September 1, 1904.
“Noticing the weakest point for a breakthrough - in the direction of the three Takasago-class cruisers in the SW (south-west), I increased my speed to pass in front of the noses of our battleships … Passing the battleships I raised a signal 'for the cruisers to follow me and went to the breakthrough … Askold "was running" Novik "…"
And - which is typical - no heroic deeds. That is, during the period when "Askold" bypassed the Russian squadron, when it lay down on the return course to the south, when the "Novik" was in its wake, walking on the left side of the Russian battleships, nothing so heroic N. K. Reitenstein does not attribute to his ships. In fact, the only mention of the fact that "Askold" was in battle at that moment, and not on an entertainment cruise, is to list the Japanese ships that fired at the Russian cruiser:
"During the breakthrough, Chin-Yen and three Matsushima-class cruisers, as well as three Takasago-class cruisers and one cruiser in between, concentrated fire on Askold."
It is noteworthy that in the 5th detachment, in fact, there were only two "Matsushima", but not three - but not far from it was "Asama". Did it happen that N. K. Did Reitenstein count him in one of the Matsushims? It turns out very logical - on the one hand, the rear admiral points to the Chin-Yen and three more ships (one of which, most likely, Asama was) to the 3rd combat detachment (three Takasago) and separately sailing cruiser … isn't it Yakumo?
We look at the report further.
“One cruiser, located to the right, to the side, added speed and crossed the path from right to left, blocking the path. Coming closer to the ring, I noticed that it was an armored cruiser of the Asama class. It was already getting dark, "Novik" followed."
I must say that there is a complete confusion here. Obviously, the cruiser on the right crossed the Askold after he turned south with the Novik. Moreover - N. K. Reitenstein mentions that this was done "coming closer to the ring", that is, closer to the 3rd combat unit of the Japanese who formed it. But in this case, this mysterious cruiser could not be "Asama", after turning to the south, it appeared several miles behind the "Askold". The speed of "Asama" was absolutely not enough not to block the path, but at least just to catch up with "Askold", which was going at 20 knots. The only armored cruiser that went across the Askold just at the moment when the latter approached the 3rd detachment was Yakumo, but at that moment it should have been not to the right, but to the left of Askold …
“He ordered to take directly to the Asama, prepared all the mine vehicles and increase the speed as much as the machines can. The quick fire of "Askold" on the enemy cruisers apparently caused damage on three cruisers of the "Takasago" class, and on the "Asam" it started a fire. Then "Asama" hastily left the road to the left, to approach the cruisers of the 2nd class, thus gave way to "Askold", which took "Asama" under the stern. Four enemy destroyers on the right began to approach, attacking Askold and fired 4 mines … ".
So what do we see? According to N. K. Reitenstein, his cruisers fought with the Asama and three "dogs", but we know that the "dogs", that is, the 3rd combat detachment of armored cruisers of the "Takasago" type, was supported not by "Asama", but by "Yakumo" "! Moreover, this episode exactly corresponds to the domestic version of the battle with Yakumo - we read from Krestyaninov and Molodtsov: “Askold's fire inflicted damage on a Takasago-class cruiser, and a fire broke out on Yakumo, and he turned it away. "Askold" and "Novik" swept literally behind its stern. Four Japanese destroyers launched an attack on Russian cruisers … ".
A striking similarity, isn't it? And if we add to this the official Russian historiography ("The Work of the Historical Commission")? In the description of the breakthrough of "Askold" we read:
“It was about 7 o'clock. 30 minutes. (that is, at 19.30, when the "detour" of the Russian battleships had long been completed, and "Askold" and "Novik" went south). The cruiser "Yakumo" went across the board, the 6th Japanese detachment stood across their path, and 3 cruisers of the 3rd detachment chased them … On the enemy cruiser "Yakumo" from the cr. "Askold" was visible fire, and this cruiser moved to the left, to join with his third detachment … ".
In other words, it is very similar to the fact that N. K. Reitenstein did not recognize the Asama, which was near the 5th Japanese Combat Unit (Chin-Yen with his comrades), but he mistook the Yakumo for Asama! In order not to overload the article, we will not cite further the report of N. K. Reitenstein, we only note that after the attack of the destroyers, it does not contain any description of the battle with the Yakumo - the Rear Admiral mentions that they tried to pursue him on the parallel course of the Suma and (this is about the accuracy of the identification of Japanese ships on the Askold), oddly enough, the armored cruiser "Iwate", and "Suma" was the lead. But "Askold" turned to "Suma", she dodged and the Russian cruisers broke through. That there was some kind of shootout with "Iwate", N. K. Reitenstein does not mention a word.
And what does the "Russo-Japanese War of 1904-1905" ("The Work of the Historical Commission") say about the battle with "Asama"? It turns out, even before the breakout begins:
“Our squadron after br. "Tsarevich" turned out of order to the NW-th quarter, forming, as it were, a formation of a double front. "Retvizan" and "Pobeda", which followed was on rapprochement with the enemy battleships, soon approached the squadron. The cruising detachment also turned towards the enemy, from the cruiser "Askold" fire was opened on the armored cruiser "Asama", which was kept separately. Soon a fire was noticed on it and it moved away."
We look at the logbook "Asams" (translation into Russian is contained in the article by the respected V. Maltsev "Armored cruiser" Asama "in the battle at Cape Shantung, part II. Chronology of participation." The log does not contain any epic battle with "Askold" after the latter went into a breakthrough, but it contains a mention of a skirmish with Russian cruisers even before the breakthrough began.
"7.08 r. M. (18:23 - hereinafter in brackets Russian time)." Asama "changed course by turning to the left, heading towards N., in the direction of Russian cruisers., the fired projectile lay undershot at a distance of 9,000 yards (8229.6 meters).
7.20 p. m. (18:35). The Russian cruisers, noticing that "Asama" is moving in their direction, begin to describe the circulation (in the opposite direction). The lagging Russian battleship ("Poltava") opened fire on the "Asam". Several large shells fall close to the cruiser, one of them no more than fifty yards (45, 72 meters) from the side of the ship. At the same time, it was especially clearly noticeable that Russian shells did not explode (when dropped into the water) and did not ricochet."
Here we will stop quoting for a while. The fact is that in no case should the above "circulation in the opposite direction" be confused with the movement of "Askold" around the battleships during a breakthrough. The fact is that when the "Tsesarevich" just left the battle, turning 180 gaduses, "Askold", thinking that this was some kind of maneuver, moved after him, and, of course, the rest of the cruisers followed him. However, later it became clear that the "Tsesarevich" no longer leads the squadron, and N. K. Reitenstein turned back, thus describing full circulation. And a little later, when the Russian battleships turned to Port Arthur, "Askold" again turned to one hundred and eighty. These circles are described in the Asama logbook. But back to studying it:
"At 7.25 r. M. (18:40)." Asama ", which approached the Russian cruisers at 7,500 yards (6858 meters), came under concentrated fire from all four cruisers and the battleship (" Poltava "). Fortunately, not a single one shells missed the target, but a significant number of them fell nearby, and the commander of the ship, who was on the battle marsh, was slightly shell-shocked (by a nearby projectile). The distance to the enemy was reduced to 6,800 yards (6,217, 92 meters)."
And then, at 18.45 "Asama" "meets" the 5th combat detachment, which we have already quoted above. In other words, it turns out like this - "Asama", being in the north-west or west of the Russian ships and seeing that the cruiser N. K. Reitenstein turned to the north-west, turned to the north and walked across them, getting involved with them in a firefight, which was also entered by the Russian battleship Poltava, closest to the Asam. Thanks to the circles that N. K. Reitenstein "Asama", next to the north, managed to break away from the Russian squadron, that is, she really left it until she met the "Chin-Yen" and "Matsushimami" in the north-west of the Russian ships. The beginning of the "Askold" breakthrough on the "Asam" was recorded in the continuation of the recording from 19.30 (18.45 Russian time):
“As the ships of the 5th detachment parted from the Asam, they consistently opened fire on the Russian cruisers and the battleship (Poltava). This forced the cruiser to abandon the circular motion, and they, huddled in a heap, headed south. Twilight deepened very quickly, which made it difficult to accurately determine what was happening (with the Russian cruisers)."
Note that the movements of "Pallada" and "Diana", which, following the contradictory instructions of NK Reitenstein, tried to take their place in the wake of the battleships, then follow the "Askold", then cut through the line of battleships in order to follow the "Askold", from the outside could easily pass for a "heap". But the logbook of "Asam" irrefutably testifies that after "Askold" went for a breakthrough, after its turn to the south, the "Asam" lost contact with them and did not restore it in the future. Everything! There is no mention of the battle with the Russian cruisers after they went to the breakthrough on the Asam.
At the same time, as we have already seen, the battle with the armored cruiser, which N. K. Reitenstein considered "Asama", took place much later than the turn of "Askold" and "Novik" to the south, that is, the Russian cruisers could not fight the "Asama", but they actually fought with the "Yakumo". But perhaps, in the report of the commander of "Askold", K. A. Grammatchikova, will we find something that contradicts our hypothesis?
Yes, it never happened. The commander of the cruiser "Askold" describes the events as follows:
“The chief of the cruiser detachment, seeing that the enemy intends to surround the squadron from all sides… raised the signal“follow me”and… passed with the cruisers past the front line of our squadron and at 17 knots rushed between the cruisers of the 2nd class, and Askold was under heavy fire from "Matsushima", "Itsukusma", "Hasidate" and the cruiser "Iwate", which wanted to enter the wake of the battleships, but did not manage to do this, and when our squadron turned, left back to join the squadron of the " Matsushima ".
That is, K. A. Grammatchikov very accurately describes the actions of "Asama" - he really tried to follow his battleships, really did not have time, really went back (remember the turn to the north recorded in the logbook!) And really got close to the 5th detachment. But at the same time, alas, K. A. Grammatchikov managed to see "Itsukushima", which was not even close there (apparently, confusing it with "Chin-Yen") and defined "Asama" as "Iwate", who did not participate at all in the battle on July 28, 1904!
"Asama" in the report of K. A. Grammatchikova appears much later, after the Askold turned south: “Having passed the front of the battleships, a detachment of cruisers lay down to the south, with the cruiser Asama going to the intersection…”. Further, the description almost completely repeats the report of N. K. Reitenstein: battle with "Asama", fire on an enemy cruiser, "Asama" dodges to the left, where "Askold" went, hoping to drown him with a mine, destroyer attack and … that's all, "Askold" goes into a breakthrough.
Thus, having analyzed the documents at our disposal, we come to the conclusion:
1. Nobody on the Askold perceived the circular movement around their battleships as a breakthrough and did not claim that during it the Russian cruiser caused significant harm to the enemy. It was only noted that the Japanese ships of the 5th Detachment and "Asama" (which N. K. Reitsenstein, obviously, managed to confuse with "Itsukushima", and K. A. …
2. The "real" breakthrough, in the opinion of the Chief of the cruiser squadron and the commander of "Askold", began only when "Askold" entered the battle with ships located to the south and south-west of the Russian squadron, that is, three cruisers of the "Takasago" class "And" Yakumo ", which on the Russian cruiser was mistaken for" Asama ".
3. The historical commission that compiled the official work "The Russo-Japanese War of 1904-1905", unfortunately, did not fully understand the mistake of N. K. Reitenstein and K. A. Grammatchikova. That is, she quite rightly replaced “Asama” with “Yakumo” in the description of the battle, but at the same time, alas, she considered that “Asama” got from “Askold”, and even before the breakthrough. The error is quite difficult to explain: yes, the Asama really had fire contact with the Russian cruisers before the breakthrough began, and yes, it really did leave the Russian squadron to the north, but the only mention that it burned at the same time is in the reports of the officers who were on "Askold". And what was the point of relying on them, if the commission itself considered that in fact "Askold" fought with "Yakumo"? The historical commission found that N. K. Reitsenstein and K. A. Grammatchikov did not understand the situation so much that they described a battle with one armored cruiser, although in fact "Askold" fought with two? Or did someone else on the Russian squadron "see" the burning "Asama"?
4. Alas, later researchers did not begin to understand this situation. Worse, they also exacerbated the mistake: after all, the official Russian historiography, although it attributes the “burning and turning of Asama to flight” to Askold, nevertheless at least attributes this event to the period before the breakthrough of Askold. But in later Soviet sources, we already come across the fact that "Askold" fought first with "Asama", and then with "Yakumo" already during the breakthrough.
We will be fair to the Chief of the cruiser squadron and the commander of "Askold". Based on the foregoing, we can safely say that their "fault" lies only in the fact that they mistook the Yakumo for the Asama, but the battle with the Asama, the fire on it and the retreat of this armored cruiser were not invented by them. …
