1959-02-14 — Page 6

; Page" 6"

THE CHINA MAIL, SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 1955.

Beginning the most fantastic sea drama of this century

The fleet that had to die

ACTION STATIONS... RUSSIA'S BATTLESHIPS POUND BRITISH TRAWLERS INTO WRECKS

IN Tokyo the war lords decided the time had

come to strike. Quietly the captains of the superbly efficient fleet filed into the admiral's cabin. On the table they saw an unsheathed sambo, the short ceremonial sword. They knew what it meant. War!

"We sail tomorrow," said the admiral. "Show yourselves worthy of the confidence I place in you.” The briefing was short and crisp. There were few questions, and as the captains returned to their ships a mood of high expectancy spread through the Japanese fleet.

The attack went exactly as planned. Around the unsuspect- ing harbour the lights shone brightly. And there, drawn up in neat rows, at the mergy of the attackers lay the battleships et the enemy feet. Their crews were at rest, the shore batteries

manned.

Withi few drama-packed minutes the whole power of the anchored fret had heen crippled beyond recovery.

That was bow Japan an- nounced her declaration of war to the world.

Pearl Harbour? NO.

This happened 37 years before Pearl Harbour in 19041. The Jupe enemy was not America but Russia. The harbour wag Enst stronghold, Russia's Far Port Arthur. The raiders were wt altplanes at destroyers and torpedo bonte,

Never had such a crushing blow

fallen on a nation at the start of great war. And now only one thing stood between Russie and the prospeel of utter defeat in the Far East.

RAMSHACKLE

That was a ramshackle collee- tion of ships, hardly worthy of the title of fleet, on the other side of the vast Husian con- tinent at the Baltic ports of Libau ond eval.

It consisted of between 40 and 50 ships, most of them hopelessly out of date, fla crews were un- uained; Its officers in the main brave but incompetent.

Upon its fleet, despite its unreadiness, were pinned all the hopes of Russia.

BUT THERE WAS ONLY ONE WAY OF GETTING THE FLEET FROM THE DALTIC TO THE FAR EAST. THAT WAS BY SAILING IF ROUND THE WORLD.

This is a page of history, a page unique in the utter improbability of everything it records. It is an authentic, fully-documented account of events that shook the world... and brought Britain and Russia to the brink of war.

by RICHARD HOUGH

shape for its fantastic 18,000– infle journey-and the Battle that awaited it.

That man was Admiral Zinory Petrovich Rozhestvensity.

Rozhestvensky was 55, tall

one-man power bearded and a stallon; he had thrust himself to the

by sheer personal dynamie.

RUTHLESS

Now he ruthlessly applied that dynamic to his new task, rack- ing and promoting and slushing through red tape to get things

swiftly done more

than ever before.

size the old tub if we don't look out."

It took 30 hours and three dredgers to get her the Oryol Then hastened to take up her station for the farewell ceremony.

The 15,000-ton Suvoroff, and three similar ships, the Boro- dinu, Alexander II, and Oryol.

On paper they looked for off. midable. But their value was diminished by the frequent changes in their long period of construction, during which the

On October 9, 1994, the designers had been prevailed on Czar and Czarina arrived to add more and more weight in by special train to see the form of officers' accommoda- the feet away flon and comforts, which were enterprise an taken seriously in the Russian prise which fused Navy.

gether all the ingredients of grand drama: courage and patriotiam rnd affected cowardice;

treachery; and disaster

cafe which the world has rarely

This resulted in alarming top-heaviness which boll speed and stability. In deed, the dunger of capsizing was so great that when it was Bnally decided to strip unneces- sary weight from the superstrue ture the order was given that only essential signal flags should Ee huisted on the yards. Bat-

Towering above all his other problems was that of cool. Ating was barred. cruising speel his ships would uje 3,000 tons daily; of full To man these unwieldy iron- moed this

would increase to clads Rozhestvensky had crews Thane tons a day. He needed mainly of peasants, with little SUB.000 tons altogether.

rea training. Among them were Russia had no coaling stations subversive and mutinous ele- the route; and in a world meats, But that was not known that was abrost entirely hostile until later;

to her she could not be sure of being allowed to put in at n single port to take on supplies. Britain, for example, was high- i sympathetic towards Japani.

BLESSING

At last came the day in Oclo.. her 1004 when the four battle- ships were towed by tugs into

There was only one solution:

acquire another and equally the roadstend. large fleet of colliers and coal.

Three of the four survived at se for the whole journey. Finally, a contract on this basis the dangerous shoals. But the had neglected to was arranged

with the German Oryol, which Hamburg-Amerika line.

take soundings, come lo rest on a sundbank.

Senior offleers in full dress

take

To cod 40 ships, perhaps 30

er 40 times in unpredictable uniform hurried in pinnaces to

weather outside the three-mily

unit:

the world's naval experts. But AND what else could you expect from

those crazy Russians anyway?

the

And upon one man fell immense burden of getting it in

over salvage operations

seen.

on its

enter- w-

on B

One of the last orders issued to the Russian feet before it ailed from the Baltic was that "Holy water is to bo sprinkled by priests as a blessing on guns and decks before the enemy is engaged."

Another Acet bulletin an- that the Empress nounced

to those ships chapels a chalice of her with would present own workmanship.

Seven times in turn the Czar and boarded his great ships was greeted by shouts of "Long

live your Imperial Majesty

from the soilors in their new blue jumpers and black trou-

S.

After receiving the officers, he climbed to the forebridge of each vessel and made speech, urging the crews "io take vengeance

the In- so'ent Japanese who had troubled the peace of Holy Russia.

Thirty-six

on

houry

later

survey his armoda will some- thing approaching pride.

were BO

These reports, in fact, were completely groundless. There Japanese warships All his vessels were at last within thousands of miks of in their steaming 'stutions Rozhestvensky's armada as

the Nort Sea even the repair ship Kam- emerged into chatka, which in the practice early on October 10. exereses had established her- self as the buffoon ship of the whole squadron.

And on Thick fog desvendød, every ship there was a mocd of tension and anxiety as the fleet Groped its way forward,

The Kamchatka was supposed to be a floating workshop which

Nerves already on edge were would maintain the mechanical Jarred anew by a report from efßciency of the whole deel; in. lookouts that two silvery shapes

herself had more had been seen in the sky. fact, she breakdowns that any other There could now be no doubt! captain had Enemy spotters in balloons were vessel, and her

reputation 3

for shadowing the flect! acquired hilarious mistakes of naviga- tion.

the

TENSION

As the ships steamed througla A Baltic there was still nugging worry. la Rozhestven sky's mind Japan was report- ed to have sent "suleide" delach- ments to European waters

54 The man was mad, said while the entire ship's comple- Rozhestvensky gave orders for nient of 000 men ran with his fleet, now known as the shouts of mixed mockery ond

Second Pacide Squadron, to enthusiasm to and fro octo59

sail. the main deck in on attempt to rock the vast vessel of the mud. "Take care, lads," they called may cap- lo each other. "We

As the backbone of his force Rozhestvensky had his flagship,

Now, from the bridge of the Rozhestvensky could Suvoroff,

An Intelligence section set up by the Ruslan Navy in Copenhagen had been busily by Justifying its existence repoiting suspicions: vessels hove-to in isolated creeks.

ཙ དྷར། ། མཱ ཀ བ ད

WORSLEY

Shell after shell smashed into the trailers

for realise was that their new lare Rozhestvensky, prepared every Japanese trick, refused to gets were indeed cruise disclose his position. It wouldn't their own, the ships of Admiral have been the arst time that Enkvist which had became de- the Japanese had sent out false tached from the main feet signals on Russian wavelengths, during the previous night's fog.

inter the Ninety minutes bugle calis for action stations sounded and the acute tension of the past hours found release in a sudden outburst of sound. and movement.

It had

FANTASTIC

Now for the record of this fantastic night as it appeared to on the the victims of the attack, all begin

from the Suveroff, bridge of

The Gamecock Fleet of 100- which two deres had suddenly fon, single-screw trawlers, cacti

Search- sighted ahead. been

with crew of eight or nine, at once swung in lights were their direction, the emergency had left full on October 19 and reached its fishing ground on ***Engage

ency" signal was

the Dogger Bark 220 miles east) These balloons were as intake flashed, and the sea and airy

by north of Spurn Head on the gible as today's Rying saucers. about the ironcluds became They were never traced again. dazzling criss-cross kaleidoscope evening of the 21st. Their phantoms remain only cs of white beams that nitted and evidence of the tremendous fear darted, paused to probe a wave of attack which gripped the and fashed up again to the to the north-east steering in Russian feet.

Each ship in its soltury, detached world felt its way

Shortly after 12 o'clock the lights of several ships were seen

base of the clouds.

looge line-ahead formation. They

be warships it was some time before the could only

probably Admiral Lord Charles crrant searchlights charged en uneasily forward over the oily their target a group of little Beresford's Chinonel Fleet re- swell with the sirens shrieking vessels, with a larger one among turning from their Tynemouth

their visit, the fishermen güessed.. them and concentrated all around.

At noon a wind sprang up beams on it. and cleared most of the fog away, to reveal the feet in a sorry mrray.

CONTACT

This

I

When the searchlights came was a fleet of British un, sweeping their. Angers in- fishing trawlers. The boats swift ares over the pen, there was still only surprise among were barely half a mile away,

The fleet was scattered, in

On every Russian ship the

section of the fleet the Kam-

loose formation. The cruisers, gun barrels swung round and under

Admiral Enkvist, wers withering are opened up of

the gunners had now far dheod. In the main rate

pproached before.

a

gossamer walte in the bind the trawler crews.

Even Night, ilke Boattered toy# ing

the irst, shots that surprised in the night.

slammed into the water were accepted

moment A nothing worse than the prelude

for

В

a

to night gunnery practice.

never

2.

D.

I was rather to avold a col- lision than because of the gun- ire that the trawls were cut and

chatka, despite a breakdown Soon the ammunition for full steam ahead was ordered during the night, had now some of the 12-pounders was in every boat, somehow contrived to get itself running low and the trolleys ahead of the flagship and was with fresh supplies were not

fost.

Nerves were still at breaking on the Oryol a midshipman ran -arriving. Amid all the disorder point when darkness fell again from the after bridge on to the the clusive enemy must be main deck waving an empty lurking just over the horizon.

shell case.

And that runs the setting for a fantastic blunder that nearly brought Britain and Russia to war.

BLINDING

Panie broke out among the Ashermen only when the search- "They've fred away

my lights concentrated their blind- shells," he was crying in ing light on three of the unguish. "Cive

trawlers "like a ring of fire," and the sea around thern was ammunition!""

churned up by hundreds of exploding shells.

me

Tore

From the Kamchatka, still Strikes were already being lost ahead at the main squadrón, came a report that contoot-had made; three of the boats had how been definitely established been hit, and one was Ilsting with the foe.

heavily; the tide of battle was running with the Russians. "Chased by torpedo-boats," - Thiến suddenly, from tha mo radioed succinelly at west, fresh batteries of search- duik, and after", a- Se lights sprang up, sweeping over announced that she was firing the ironclads and blinding the "My male, Jim Tozer, slipwed

on them.

gunners.

The men silil below.climbed on to deck, waving their arms and shouting at the tops of their voices. "To show what we were, I held a big platco up," one Asherman soldater.

a haddock."

"How many?" the Suvoroff Between the beams muzzle-

I was going to take more demanded. "From which side?" Bashes were observed and shells than a sh or two to hait the “About... eight. From all whined overhead and sent up ussian gunners hot that they directions,""

"Have they discharged any the Suvoroff.

fountains of non-water helde were getting the range, which from the Suvoroff war down to torpedoes?" signalled the

100 yards. Suvoro

Up went the cry

ot

„There whi'a' short Interval "Cruiseral"

Tho Заредесе

. There was cortalo io. bơ mi

hit before long, "Going on: deck, 1 ma- neveral·

when the radio-operator's quick must be bringing up reinforce dastr on to do low glance: ments. This must be their main over the rails could be plotted, fleet. The great-sturrets, WKNK?KKE # DoveroG MIỀN TRÊN C then: We haven't seen: skype swung round, and the rangis? KAFIKENKA SWalola Merk

The Kamohatics? Later appoxyw, Anders called out the distanceTEELPLINTAS UN LIVE PERSONES id abdous to locate her, a manip: the Rin guns slowly red and budd Frupedtedly, hadede har to one by one opened dipe, head exposes bertsoarchikatites: But What the Russians did not

the Channý Phra -

(Chata, NE PREKLOS 11