Battle off Ulsan
Part of the Russo-Japanese War
Sinking of the Russian cruiser Rurik in the Battle off Ulsan, 1904, from a contemporary propaganda postcard
Date: 14 August 1904 Location: off Ulsan, Korea Result: Japanese victory
Combatants
Japan	Russia
Commanders
Vice Admiral Hikonojo Kamimura	Rear Admiral Nikolai Essen
Strength
4 armored cruisers, 2 protected cruisers	3 armored cruisers
Casualties
minimal casualties with 1 armored cruiser suffering slight damage	heavy casualties and 1 cruiser destroyed with two cruisers suffering heavy damage

The naval Battle off Ulsan, also known as the Battle of the Japanese Sea, took place on 14 August 1904 during the Russo-Japanese War, 4 days after the naval Battle of the Yellow Sea. Insert non-formatted text here Combatants Imperial Russia Empire of Japan Strength 500,000 Soldiers 400,000 Soldiers Casualties 25,331 Killed 146,032 Wounded 47,387 Killed 173,425 Wounded Greater Manchuria, Russian (outer) Manchuria is region to upper right in lighter Red; Liaodong Peninsula is the wedge extending... August 14 is the 226th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (227th in leap years), with 139 days remaining. ... 1904 (MCMIV) was a leap year starting on a Friday (link will take you to calendar). ... Ulsan, a metropolitan city in the south-east of South Korea, lies on the Sea of Japan (East Sea), 70 kilometres north of Busan at the geographical location 35°33′ N 129°19′ E. In the past the city operated as a major center of Korean whaling, which led to... Korea (Korean: (ì¡°ì„  or 한국, see below) is a geographic area, civilization, and former state situated on the Korean Peninsula in East Asia. ... Armored cruiser General-Admiral (1873) Armored cruiser USS Brooklyn (1898) Armored cruiser HMS Good Hope (1901) Armored cruiser SMS Blücher (1908) The armored cruiser was a naval cruiser protected by armor on its sides as well as on the decks and gun positions. ... Protected cruiser armour scheme — a cross-section (armour in red) Protected cruisers were a type of naval cruiser of the late 19th century. ... Insert non-formatted text here Combatants Imperial Russia Empire of Japan Strength 500,000 Soldiers 400,000 Soldiers Casualties 25,331 Killed 146,032 Wounded 47,387 Killed 173,425 Wounded Greater Manchuria, Russian (outer) Manchuria is region to upper right in lighter Red; Liaodong Peninsula is the wedge extending... The Battle of Port Arthur (February 9, 1904) was the opening battle of the Russo-Japanese War. ... The Battle of Chemulpo Bay was an early battle in the Russo-Japanese War (1904-1905). ... The Battle of Yalu River took place from April 30 to May 1, 1904, and was the first major land battle during the Russo-Japanese War. ... The Battle of Nanshan was one of many vicious land battles of the Russo-Japanese War. ... The Battle of Te-li-Ssu was fought on June 14 and June 15 of 1904 between Russian and Japanese forces. ... The Battle of the Yellow Sea was the first main naval engagement of the Russo-Japanese War, being fought on August 10, 1904. ... The Siege of Port Arthur (1 August 1904-2 January 1905), the Russian deepwater port and naval base at the tip of the Liaotung Peninsula (See Map below the Battlebox) in Manchuria was one of the longest and most vicious battles during the Russo-Japanese War. ... Combatants Japan Russia Commanders General Kuroki Tamemoto General Count Fedor Keller Strength 25,000 General Count Fedor Keller had assumed command of the Russian Eastern Force from General Zasulich after the Battle of Yalu River. ... Combatants Japan Russia Commanders General Yasukata Oku Lieutenant General Georgii Stakelberg Lieutenant General Nikolai Zarubaev Strength 20,000 Casualties 1,000 (estimated) 1,000 (estimated) The Battle of Tashihchiao (Jpn. ... Combatants Japan Russia Commanders General Nozu Michitsura Lieutenant General Mikhail Zasulich Casualties 836 1550 The Battle of Hsimucheng was a minor land engagement of the Russo-Japanese War. ... The Battle of Liaoyang (August 24, 1904 - September 4, 1904) was one of the major battles of the Russo-Japanese War. ... Combatants Japan Russia Commanders Oyama Iwao Alexei Kuropatkin Strength 150,000 210,000 Casualties 20,345 killed, wounded or captured 44,351 killed, wounded or captured The Battle of Shaho was a land battle of the Russo-Japanese War fought along a 37-mile front centered at the Sha River... Battle of Sandepu Conflict Russo-Japanese War Date January 25 and January 26, 1905 Place Near Mukden in Manchuria Result Draw The Battle of Sandepu, (also known as the Battle of Heikoutai) was a major land battle of the Russo-Japanese War. ... The Battle of Mukden was the last major land battle of the Russo-Japanese War, fought from February 20 to March 10, Japan and Russia near Mukden in Manchuria. ... Combatants Japan Russia Commanders Heihachiro Togo Zinovi Rozhdestvenski Nikolai Nebogatov Strength 4 battleships, 27 cruisers, in addition to destroyers and auxiliary vessels 8 battleships, 3 coastal battleships, 8 cruisers Casualties 117 dead, 583 injured, 3 torpedo boats sunk 4380 dead, 5917 injured 21 ships sunk, 7 captured, 6 disarmed The... August 14 is the 226th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (227th in leap years), with 139 days remaining. ... 1904 (MCMIV) was a leap year starting on a Friday (link will take you to calendar). ... Insert non-formatted text here Combatants Imperial Russia Empire of Japan Strength 500,000 Soldiers 400,000 Soldiers Casualties 25,331 Killed 146,032 Wounded 47,387 Killed 173,425 Wounded Greater Manchuria, Russian (outer) Manchuria is region to upper right in lighter Red; Liaodong Peninsula is the wedge extending... The multinational Combined Task Force One Five Zero (CTF-150) The British Grand Fleet, the supreme naval force of World War I A rare occurrence of a 5-country multinational fleet, during Operation Enduring Freedom in the Oman Sea. ... The Battle of the Yellow Sea was the first main naval engagement of the Russo-Japanese War, being fought on August 10, 1904. ...

Background

The Vladivostok Cruiser Unit of the Russian fleet made up of the armoured cruisers Rossia, Gromoboi and Rurik raided against Japanese sea commerce in the first stage of the war. City and harbor of Vladivostok with the Statue to the fighters for Soviet power in the Far East (bottom right) Vladivostok (Russian: ) is the administrative center of Primorsky Krai, Russia, situated close to the Russo-Chinese border and North Korea. ... The armored cruiser was a naval cruiser protected by armor on its sides as well as on the decks and gun positions. ...

News that the First Pacific Squadron from Port Arthur had sailed reached Vladivostok in the afternoon of 11 August 1904. But the Vladivostok cruisers were not ready for action, since as late as 5 August 1904, a telegram had been received from Admiral Wilgelm Vitgeft stating that he had decided to perish with Port Arthur. Owing to the delay in sailing, there was little hope of being able to assist the First Pacific Squadron at the critical passage of the Tsushima Straits. However, the Russian command assumed that Admiral Vitgeft would be successful in breaking through the Japanese blockade, and therefore ordered Rear Admiral Essen to sortie the Vladivostok Cruiser Unit to rendezvous with the fleet in the Sea of Japan. The Russian fleet formed in a line abreast at intervals of four nautical miles and headed southward at 14 knots, in hourly expectation of sighting the Port Arthur Squadron. Port Arthur is the name of some places: Port Arthur, Tasmania, Australia Old Western name for Lushun, China Port Arthur, Texas, United States of America Port Arthur, Ontario, a city in Ontario, Canada, became part of Thunder Bay in 1970. ... City and harbor of Vladivostok with the Statue to the fighters for Soviet power in the Far East (bottom right) Vladivostok (Russian: ) is the administrative center of Primorsky Krai, Russia, situated close to the Russo-Chinese border and North Korea. ... August 11 is the 223rd day of the year (224th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1904 (MCMIV) was a leap year starting on a Friday (link will take you to calendar). ... August 5 is the 217th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (218th in leap years), with 148 days remaining. ... 1904 (MCMIV) was a leap year starting on a Friday (link will take you to calendar). ... Admiral is the rank, or part of the name of the ranks, of the highest naval officers. ... Admiral Wilgelm Vitgeft commanded the Russian First Pacific Squadron on the morning of August 10, 1904, which sailed out of Port Arthur in an attempt to escape the Japanese fleet blockading the port during the later days of the Siege of Port Arthur in the Russo-Japanese War. ... The Tsushima Strait (対馬海峡) is a strait between the Korean Peninsula and Kyushu, the furthest west of the four largest islands in Japan. ... A blockade is an effort usually (but not always, see below) at sea, to prevent supplies from reaching the enemy. ... The Sea of Japan (East Sea) is a marginal sea of the western Pacific Ocean. ...

However, the fleet had not been sighted by the following morning. As the Russian squadron approached Pusan, Admiral Essen advised his captains that he had no intention of attempting to pass Tsushima Straits, and ordered the squadron back to Vladivostok. It was a fateful decision. Pūsan is also a Vedic Hindu god. ...

The Japanese fleet made up of more modern armored cruisers Izumo, Azuma, Tokiwa, Iwate, and two protected cruisers Naniwa and Takachiho under the command of Vice Admiral Hikonojo Kamimura, had passed very close to the Russian squadron in the dark on opposite courses but neither was aware of the other. The Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) (: 大日本帝國海軍 Shinjitai: 大日本帝国海軍 or 日本海軍 Nippon Kaigun) or sometimes referred to as the Combined Fleet was the Navy of Empire of Japan (Dai Nippon Teikoku) from 1869 until 1947, when it was dissolved following Japans constitutional renunciation of the use of force as a means of settling... Armored cruiser General-Admiral (1873) Armored cruiser USS Brooklyn (1898) Armored cruiser HMS Good Hope (1901) Armored cruiser SMS Blücher (1908) The armored cruiser was a naval cruiser protected by armor on its sides as well as on the decks and gun positions. ... The Izumo (出雲) was an armored cruiser of the Imperial Japanese Navy built in Elswick, Great Britain by Armstrong Whitworth. ... The Tokiwa (常盤) was an armored cruiser of the Imperial Japanese Navy. ... The Iwate (岩手) was an armored cruiser of the Imperial Japanese Navy. ... Protected cruiser armour scheme — a cross-section (armour in red) Protected cruisers were a type of naval cruiser of the late 19th century. ... The Naniwa (Japanese:浪速) was an 1885 cruiser of the Imperial Japanese Navy. ... Category: ... Vice Admiral is a naval rank of three star level, equivalent to Lieutenant General in seniority. ...

Ever since 0130 on 14 August 1904, Vice Admiral Kamimura had been heading back from his night patrol area on a course that took him directly to the Russian squadron. No sooner had Admiral Yessen started to turn back to Vladivostock, than he sighted the four Japanese armored cruisers. August 14 is the 226th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (227th in leap years), with 139 days remaining. ... 1904 (MCMIV) was a leap year starting on a Friday (link will take you to calendar). ...

The situation was ideal for the Japanese. It was dawn on a fine summer day, and the enemy was as far from Vladivostok as it was possible to be in the Sea of Japan, with the Japanese between themselves and their distant base.

The Battle

At 0520 on 14 August 1904 the fleets had closed to 8500 yards, and the Japanese ships fired first. For some reason, Kamimura, in assigning targets, concentrated fire on the Rurik, the last and weakest in the Russian column. Subjected to twice the bombardment administered to her stronger comrades. Rurik lost most of her officers in a short time, and although extremely damaged, remained afloat, the diminishing number of survivors continuing to fire the few remaining guns until the very last, in a gallant display of classic heroism that won the admiration of the Japanese. August 14 is the 226th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (227th in leap years), with 139 days remaining. ... 1904 (MCMIV) was a leap year starting on a Friday (link will take you to calendar). ...

On the easterly run the Japanese ships took some hits, but nothing comparable to what they inflicted. It would be assumed that when the Russians sheered away, Admiral Kamimura would have pressed his advantage closer. Inexplicably, this did not happen. Kamimura oddly held his course during the Russian turn, and when the Japanese turned a few minutes later, it was to a new tack that actually lengthened rather than narrowed the range.

The remaining Russian cruisers tried to cover the Rurik, but with increasing damage, Admiral Yessen decided at 0830 to scuttle the Rurik, and save his other ships by heading back towards Vladivostok. Japanese cruisers chased them for some time, and firing continued, with more damage to the Russian cruisers and slight damage to the Iwate and the Azuma. The Russians were in far worse condition than the Japanese, but Admiral Kamimura then made another inexplicable decision: after pursuit of only three hours, while still on the high seas, and with long daylight steaming hours between the Russian cruisers and Vladivostok, at 1115 hours the Japanese ceased the chase, and turned back towards Pusan.

Despite Kamimura’s failure to destroy the two remaining Russian cruisers, he was hailed as a hero in Japan, and the Vladivostok Cruiser Squadron never threatened Japanese shipping again.

References

• Brook, Peter, Armoured Cruiser versus Armoured Cruiser, Ulsan, 14 August 1904, in Warship 2000-2001, Conway's Maritime Press , ISBN 0 85177 791 0
• Kowner, Rotem (2006). Historical Dictionary of the Russo-Japanese War. Scarecrow. ISBN 0-8108-4927-5
• Repington, Charles A. (1905). The War in the Far East, 1904-1905. London, 1905.
• Warner, Denis and Peggy (1974). The Tide at Sunrise: A History of the Russo-Japanese War', 1904-1905. New York.

External links

• Russo-Japanese War Research SocietyThe Battle of Ulsan