1959-02-28 — Page 6

↑ Pago.

THE CHINA MAIL, SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 28, 1959.

The fleet that had to die

The greatest sea drama of the century now moves to its fantastic climax

ONE MISTAKE SENDS A WHOLE NAVY

AT

TO ANNIHILATION

T last, six months after leaving the Baltic, the whole naval might of Russia sailed into the Korea Strait-where the navy of Japan waited to meet in what was to be the biggest clash of battle- ships the world has seen or is likely to see: the battle of Tsu-Shima.

Under Admiral Rozhestvensky was every Ruşalan warship that could font. The Second Pacific Squadrun, the ramshackle armeds of 40 chips he had brought round the world in the face of elmost insuperable difficulties, had been joined in the last stages of the voyage by an even more antiquated collection of chips, the

Third Pacific Squadron."

Third Partne

So now, in May of 100S, the Second and Squadrons salled on the last stage of their journey to avenge the First Squadron the fleet that had been almost obliterated by Japan early in her war against Russia.

Colliers, and transports were left behind, And the fleet stripped for the fight.

Day and night since entering the danger zone the gun crewn had been at action stations. But Rozhestvensky had no intention of meeting the Japanese fleet iramediate battle if he could avoid it. His aim was to reach Vindivostok and reft before the bottle. But to get there he had to asil his fleet through a stroll 70 miles wide. skirted by Japanese territory.

It was an astounding thing that this vant Russlan Acet had been allowed to approach so near to the Japanese bases without being detected-s0 close that the fleet was now Intercepting

radio

from the enemy ahore-based stations.

PART THREE

Only once have two great modern naval Powers committed their entire fleets in one docisivo action. This is the record of that historic battle-a battle for which Russia had sent a floot 18,000 miles round the world.... only to moot disaster at the

hands of the Japanose Navy.

by RICHARD HOUGH

Every man under Rozhestven- four battleships.

+

They

were

Suvoroff and the rest on the battleship, Oslyabya, which was leading a second group of Russian ironclads.

sky's command knew that the stored to their original course. Jeps were waiting to strike In The effect was that his fleet their own time.

ccased to be one battle Unc,

In all the shipa the tables and became two parallel lines of and chairs, the wooden fittings shops.

The decks were head and sprinkled, like the with holy water.

OROGUVTC,

to

J

The rat. hit on the Survorul! landed abreast

forc of the und anything combustible that No che will ever know what funnel, and one of the six-inch was not viläi to their fighting strange reasoning prompted the gun turrets, falling directly on efficiency hel been Burled miral carry" ont this to the dressing station rigged overboard.

the Brat positive up in this sheltered spot, which down step he had taken beyond the served normally as the ship's Eun order to take up battle stations, church, It was at this bonfused and crucial moment that Tego's main battle feet, headed by the battleship Mikasa, appeared on the horizon as a long, steady line of grey hulls and towering cuperstructures.

The signal

bc

From his flagship, the battle- Would the Russian luck hold ship Suvoroff, the admiral sent in the next few criticn! hours?

signat 10 his fleet: It seemed as if it might. That "Tomorrow. at the hoisting of Bight a thick

wrapped colours battle flags are to mist itself round the vessels, Cap sent up." Lain Ignatius, of the Suvoroff, Admiral Togo, commander-in- was optimistic. “It's 200,000 to chief of the Japanese fleet, a one against anyone running into tough, grizzled little man with us necidentally," he said. "But brilliant black eyes, stood on the I don't like this breeze. bridge of his flagship. Above him

streamed the signal in a parody breaking up the nisl."

"The of the Nelson manuer: fate of the empire depends on today's event. Let every man do his utmost."

Visibility

It's

Vially varied greatly from moment to mument. It was at its thickest when a shout from the forship's look-out

caused

to

a dozen pairs of binoculars

sweep the murky sea.

Then the let drew back Uke

a curtain across alage, reveal- sudden nakedness a cruiser cutting

ing with

two-funnelled

up.

Not one of the medical orderlica survived the explosion; only the doctor remained unharmed beside the Image of Christ with its glass intact and the candles which

alill burned in their

holders.

Togo acted first. He brought his entire doet, while still out of

The bombardment increased range, eres the bows of the two

in intensity, as salvo after salve Ruslan lives. Then he swung of 12-inch "portmanteaus," them round in a loop to put eight-hel and six-inch shells, ceme when the Asahi sont into voice how the battle was going. them on almost the same raked the flagship from stem to

shella He shook his head slowly when course as the Russian ships, but

her bows three 12-inch stem and the surviving ilors which ripped open the armour he was told the time had come editing in towards them,

the 10 on deck succumbed paralysis

their plating and sent the sea pour- to transfer han to a destroyer. shock, o!

ing in. responses nunibed by the on-

She heeled to an angle of 60 slaught.

degrees. Her captain, with B sodden cigarette between his lips called to his men aiready in the water. "Goodbye, ship- mater"

The quiet hero

It was a daring gamble. The turn would take ton minutes to complete. During that time the

There was no escape from the metah flying holocaust nowhere to hide, nowhere to do The, comming-tower, the fing bo ship's brain centre, received two direct hits to quick succession, the armour plate but filled the little steel cell with splinters that screamed round and round like distraught trapped bees, kilog and wounding before they at last lost their momentum.

Both · RozlustvenČKY

To his imperial headquarters Japanese gunners would Toge sent the signal: "The helpiers, their sights masked by enemy fleet haubing been sighted, their own ships. The Japanese which failed to perce the combined squadrons will go battleships were trow within out to meet it and defeat it.”

range of the Russians, Far 1on minutes they would be sitting targets.

So the scene was set for the drama that was to follow.

vivid and And the most

Acted first

That task was made carter by

A British Crossword Puzzle

7

On

were

and

50

Wandering

und

She sank at half-past three, the first amoured battleship ever to the sent to the bottom by gunfire.

Confusion

"Come on

Gently they carried the wounded admirat

into a turret ...

air," de Colongue dozen sailora standing try! Implored. "We haven't much "Let him gently, he's very bad." Rozhestvensky groaned slight- time. There are some cruisers

(Contd on Pago 7) coming up." Then to the half-

PRINCE PHILIP....

By His Friends

(Continued from Page 5)

farmer

President of the

At various times he took over open the SUTTY CARK. It Brital Association;

Prince Philip really is in

He's a very good seaman. honour to ask you to declare old the Britannia and managed the was the kind of slip that every ship perfectly.

speaker dreads. public Towards the end of the tour sort of thing that haunts he took Britannia into Gibraltar broadcaster's nightmares. harbour.

The Fleet was waiting to greet him, dressed overall.;

The end of the Dalyibya and the Suvoroff disablement of

of the first signalled the end phase of Tau-Shima. The socia As we paced cach ship lined was a decline into confusion and

up to greet us, the Duke burried some BD

out of the wheelhouse on to the chaos that lasted

that bridge. and during minutes,

There he took the salute, then time the battle lost all and developed into a series of ducked back

into the wheel- isolated actions.

house to continue with hils directions. Richard

тетет- Dimbleby ders...

shape

Captain Bukhovstoff, of the automatically Alexander II, took over the first position from his C-in-C. In the fearful game of follow-my-leader when the Suveroff swung away.

The tercaled in science, He wants

a to know all about everything..

'He really works at it.

My blood ran cold I stole

a quick glance at the Queen.

I peeped over my shoulder at the Duke. He was grinaing all over his face.

His address to the 1951 meet- the British Association ing of Her features were completely was on "The British contribu- and 'technology composed, but from the way she tion to selence pursed her lips 7 guessed she was in the past hundred years,”

It was a vast subject for him praying she wouldn't make the.

to tackle. His address turned same mistake.

out to be a brillant success.

But I had to work hard to that doubler convince came the Prince had really written the thing himself.

board the It was written on

WOS com- Captain Rou Harry, Appeals Magpie, which he the Secretary of the National Play- manding in the Mediterransen. in ing Fields Association; seya; While his ship was at cen, ko became Prest would work late into the night, **THE ARXANIC" and traduction and he did all the Prince Phillip

"LIGHT" MP 2010: ""Skaytag volan alasandrasteaz elth reference.

token president books. The Arst draft Was His presentation Whe pro- just another Borodins now received the con-

serawled in lofigand on naval centration of fro freen the Japanese first squadron, at a fessional, but he did make one was due for a big shock.

signal pads. The finished re- xango, Alane, and half miller mistake.

He doel wire an offer in QUI muli was a masterpicen. S "The mised out a parseraph headquarters for three months. Slowly Bukhovatoft completed

Prince Philip brings a ranh full circle, with Togs doubling

from his script and when a cer-

During that time, he worked and direct approach to scienco, back on his ecurve in another

tain plece of film should have

as just another celal, turning. Ho puts it over well because perfectly

up at his executed 180-degree been cued it was not and so

desk cach morning, he's basically interested their exy pt.

falled to appear.

gelung through whatever prob- people. turn to prevent The Russian chipe were forced into another and wider circle. In the midst of it all, roceiv

through the water less than a Rohistvensky's orders just detailed record of that drama Ignatzius, the ship's captain, and already wounded, mile away, Captain Ignatius's before the main fleets

came was provided by the one Briton, their control over the move 200,000-to-one chance had come within sight of each other, who was there.

W. C. ments of the fleet and the co- He was Captain The cruiser vanished 4.5

He began a turn to starboard. Pakenham, the Royal Navy's plex mechanisen of the ship was

Immediately observer,

cables were dramatically as it had appeared. and then almost

Japanese being lost the

severed

speaking tubes But from now on the Russian cancelled it, after it had been battleship Asuhi.

the leading fleet was constantly shadowed, executed by only

He was a striking figure.

He smashed.

·was tall, and wore a monocle; he always dressed immaculately. He watched the storm and tury of Tru-Shima' from a deck-chair on the most exposed Then Togo's ships switched to position on the quarterdeck of armour-piercing shells and, at a the Asahi, calmly taking notes. range of little more than a mile,

the Japanese C-In-C.

Two large-catibre hits on the asked, after the battle, to bring flagship's aft main turret fried before the Mikado the bravest one of the guns up at a drunken an in the Japanese fleet, Togo angle and killed or wounded ail summoned Parent The THE Crow

royal palace.

Another strucic the hull amid Recording the critical shipa the waterline, sending moments of the Japanese turn the sea storming in, ing manoeuvre, Pakenham Finally, at three o'clock in the wrote: "It was interesting to afternoon, 90 minutes after the walch each ship approach and start of the action, the admiral run through this warm spot, a weg smoked out of the wrecked feat all were lucky enough to and useicas cerning-tower. accomplish without receiving

By now he had been wounded ing the cparodie Are of friend serious injury."

in a doren places. He could a foc, tho

de burning, hulk of the Suvoroff It was luck, aided by the bon- scarcely stand, and Clapier fusion zmont

the Russian Colongue, his staff cfficer, took drifted slowly cast, the fleet battleships.

charge of the little party of past her and flaunting it *wounds in front of its admiral. conning- 'The battle of Tru-Shima and survivan Trom the

as they stumbled like heavily from a gash in the The Alexander III was listing ultimately the Russo-Japanese tower

through to be lost by the homeless wanderers wat, was mossentary healisticy of a the wreckage sucking some now own. She had at both her

furecia, A fired and wasted admiral wha place to set up a control post.

The Borodno, now could not make up his mind,

lead, was omitting flames from And when he changed si dis-

a vizen dres, and the Oryol behind her was in little better

ACROSS

3 Building (0).

Chant (0)

DOptimlatic (0)."

11 Mats (8).

12 Fall to include (4).

12 Periodelion (5).

18 Fascination (5).

19 Frolic (4).

22 Throws away (1).

29 Itom of jewellery

25 stant (0).

. 20 Put off (8).

20

22

1 Nlp (5),

DOWN

2 Weight (3).

3 Makes certain (7)

4 Quantity of paper (4).

Teeth (4).

Peculiarities of language

7 Jewish quarter (0),

10 Plucit (5).

14 Month (8).

13 Chonen by vote (7).

10- Investigated (0).

37 Collision (0),

20 Bag (5).

21 Show in (B).

22 Expensive (4).

20 Withered (4)►

regarded the consequences,

That hesitation resulted in

the floats facing one another in

two columns on, similor:

slightly converging cours07.

but

If Razhestvensky had given one more order, to alter courte

'Goodbye..

shape.

unrecognizable

in the

he

In the television programme

undertook during geophysical year I did the

rest.

Bercea.

*

lems were plied up for him- and taking his morning coffee from the office's communal coffee-pot like'everyone else.

+4

*

In

·ILla Idens were open. (to

The Commonwealth study I noticed the blunder but the He wanted to ind out just conference on human problems Duke remained calm and how we operated. Once he in industrial communities which up experily simply knew that, he set out to live he held at Oxford in 1960 was covered t

carried through by his personal passing on to a description of things up all round.

office drive and enthusiasm. He smartened up the what actually appeared on the

routine, brightened up

It was his idea to call it a After the programme thero publicity material, quickened "ludy conference" so that the vas a reception at the BBC. The whole pace of the asocia delegates would not feel they The Duke acked roe what I tlon-everything, in fact, but a had to produce a list of formul thought of the show. I said it new coat of paint for the offices, resolutions. was excellent but added: "If That sort of thing was out of The whole thing was in the Prince Philip, balance when the country's top next time I make a blunder in the question for a programme I cover it up as because it cost money which industrialists and trade union were "Wilret called to Suddenly another explosion

. On the Suroraff's port brain, well as you did I'll be very could go towards another play-leaders

Buckingham Palace to hear the ing neid. hurled then all to the deck. All Togo, calling in to re-open the happy

Prince uliloc his plan for the struggled to their feet, except cnipigement, caught sight of the

He laughed and said: "OL

conference. w kat Rozhestvensky, who had been stationary battleship between

course you realise it was my. hit once again, this time on the the two lines, and gave orders deliberate mistake to port and zip behind the long log.

for the guns to aim at the flag-

This essential

of fun Jupariero column, puristy D Very carefully they carried ship at 1,000 yards' range. stream of fira into the vulner- him into a turret and laid hum The Suvaroff suffered her which seems to bubble near the jable tail, end, the brief action

on a steel case. There he gared death agony hably. Her con- surface all the time showed it- (4).jmight have been hadlos

03 around Curiously at lie blackened dition socmed infinitely.deplor-self on another occasion.

The Queen and the Duke bad shetland Isles to Stepney, in wards, "he's just splendid Ririan wiccay.

Bunners and shouted: "Why able," Pakondom wrote in hito Instead ho.. allowed. Togo to aren't these guns firing?”

desprich, "Smoke curling come to Greenwich to open the London's East End, from handling a meeting” push him further and further At the tail of the fussian fleet round the stera was rolling famous Cutty Sark which was

The conferenço le starboard, until the range the wutiquated dronelada of the horizontally sway on the wind going into honourable retire-V-acre village green to had closed to 4,000 yarda, then "Third Pacific Squadron"" were If the absence of funnels.com- ment ta, I think, a naval school..

to have got off a bad start. to 3,000, and finally to less than barely abla to keep up with the tributed much to her air of dis- In his capacity as chairman of corner of a city hackmotreat.

Thoro wore 300 drierates from all parts of the Commonwealth, The whole Japanese ling now text of the fleet. Their gunners free, the now extensive con- the Culty

found their sim musked by the flagration roring amidships Committee, Mr Waltor Barrio through his meer pernonality. all thrown together and wODGET- sporidied from end to end with smoke from the phys shead showed its reality. Less than had the job of formally request-

ing just what was going to, Ho Just lurted u the muzzle flashes of nearly 500 They word helpless wiincassa half the ship can have been Ing the Queen to undertake the

yet sho fought ceremony,

fruit auction we bad in Covent appon, an in, half of which appeared to of the slaughter of their con habitable;

What he was supposed to say Garden, and it raised, £3,000. Then, Prinod Philip began to directing their fire on the redes

Horcalverinky

with a Wyatt spook in his usual style and he tlin

Jay was "Your Majesty, I have the He wont away wwlock on the case in the dia-honour to ask you to declaro Earp type stetson which bo hurt them-shade the DERS"

open the Chuty Park, S.

bought for 200, to help things ferende (thure and then, abled six-joch gun faurEL.

What' his actually makt was, along, thRAVE Prince Philip has the drack

Sir Harold Hartley,

of winning ovog azy audiecki, Your Majesty, I have the

"YESTERDAY'S CROSSWORD-Arom: 3 Streamer, 7 Habit,

antle.

be

# Addendum, 10 Astute, 21 Dlancet, 13 Mess, 17 Reistes, 18

Than come their own agony, enres, 20 Real, 21 Estates, 20 Ermice, 27 Converso, 20 Allke, s

This worico in hoerd ́en The fall slab-skled Oslynge Sediment. Dowar a Ahead, 2 Abats, 9 State, & Evan, Mid-

to Die, mado The Fleet That Had

fing'target for the Jupe, wet, Remiss, @ Decres, 12 Stato, 14 Umint, 14 Tossea; 15 Madam,

by Richard Hough (Umalsh isr decks were levelled to a 30 Seven, 10 Prools, 10 Eernet, 23 Treat, 23 Timio, 21 flower, 85;

kimedeng "wynebeland and her cod

***

•

on...."

From time to tkne ha rálnodi bla boud, and maked in a low

Saric · · Preservation

Early on,

he made a pledge cpen a new playing deld. And that he would go anywhere t certainly has. He has opened Belds all over Beitain-from the

•

half-mero, playground; at

the

Prince Philip, carus us many

at

A

critician by the shrewdert board- TOUM onri committer-rOOKI bruine in Britule. But bo won them over completely.

"That young man,” á Stading trade unionist told me after-

itscif

at

could