Among other naval customs which the Japanese had copied from the
British, was that of trying by court martial all officers who were so
unfortunate as to lose their ships; and on the day when I first received
permission from the doctors to take a short turn in the open air, I also
received an intimation that my trial for the loss of the _Kasanumi_
would be held, a week from that date, on board the flagship _Mikasa_,
which would then be in harbour.
Of course I was still very much of an invalid, for although the ghastly
wound in my chest had so far healed that it no longer needed dressing, I
was warned that even very trifling exertion might cause it to burst open
again, while I had by no means recovered my former strength.
Nevertheless, on the day appointed, I made shift to walk down to the
beach, supported by the arm of an orderly, and, with the same
assistance, to climb the flagship's side ladder when I arrived alongside
her in the steam launch which had been sent ashore to fetch me.
There is no need for me to describe at length the proceedings of a naval
court martial; it has been admirably done by Captain Marryat; and as it
was in his day, so it is to-day, in all essentials. Of course the trial
was the merest formality, for there could not be the slightest shadow of
doubt that the craft had been lost through collision with a mine, while
under way in a dense fog, and that it was one of those incidents of war
for which nobody but the enemy can be held responsible; and accordingly
I was honourably acquitted, and my sword was returned to me amid the
congratulations of the Admiral and the officers who had constituted the
court.
Five days later I received a visit from Togo himself, who seemed to have
conceived rather a liking for me. After making most friendly inquiries
as to my health and the progress which I was making toward
convalescence, he repeated his congratulations upon my acquittal by the
court martial, and then asked me how much longer I thought it would be
before I should again be fit for active service. I was happily able to
assure him that, unless anything quite unforeseen happened, I hoped to
be quite ready for duty in a fortnight, or even less if my services were
urgently required, and I remember that I gave the answer with
considerable eagerness, for there was a certain subtle something in the
tone of the Admiral's question which somehow suggested that events of
importance were in the air.
"Good!" ejaculated Togo. "That is excellent news, my friend, for if
what I hear be true, it would appear that the time is drawing near when
I shall be in urgent need of all the assistance which my officers can
give me. I will say no more at present--except that I hope you will
take the utmost care of yourself, and get quite well again as quickly as
possible--for at present my information is too vague to permit me to
make a definite statement. Meanwhile,"--putting his hand into his
breast pocket and producing a long, official-looking document--"it
affords me the utmost pleasure to hand you this, which is your
appointment to the command of the _Yakumo_. It has been my pleasant
duty to mention your name in my dispatches, in connection with many
services meritoriously rendered, the latest having reference to the very
valuable assistance rendered by you prior to and during the battle of
Nanshan; and this appointment is the outward token of the authorities'
appreciation of those services. I am looking forward with much interest
to the moment when you will take up this new command, for, as you know,
the _Yakumo_ is a very fine ship, and under a smart and enterprising
captain I shall expect great things of her."
"And by Jove! sir, you shall not be disappointed if I can help it," I
exclaimed, springing to my feet in a paroxysm of delight and grasping
the hand which the Admiral kindly extended to me. "I don't know how to
find words in which to express my profound gratitude to you, sir, for
all your kindness to me, from the moment when I presented myself before
you, an utter stranger," I continued huskily; but Togo interrupted me,
reaching up and patting my shoulder in a very kind, fatherly way.
"There, there," he murmured, soothingly, "say no more about it, my dear
boy; say no more about it. I want no wordy expressions of gratitude;
you should know that by this time. And if you really feel grateful to
me for anything I have done for you, you shall show your gratitude in
deeds, rather than words, when the strenuous times arrive which I
already see looming in the distance."
And therewith, affording me no opportunity to reply, the fine little
fellow, well named "the Nelson of Japan," hastily shook me by the hand
and effected his escape, while I sank into a chair, almost overwhelmed
at the extent of my good fortune.
Captain of the _Yakumo_! I could scarcely credit it. As the Admiral
had said, the _Yakumo_ was a very fine ship; she was indeed one of the
finest armoured cruisers which Japan at that time possessed. Her
waterline was protected by a belt of Krupp steel seven inches thick
amidships, tapering off to five inches thickness at bow and stern; she
mounted four 8-inch quick-fire guns in her two turrets, and fourteen
6-inch guns on her broadsides; she could steam twenty-one knots, when
clean; and she carried a crew of five hundred officers and men! A
rather different craft from the little _Kasanumi_, with her single
12-pounder and five 6-pounders, eh? I felt that, in command of such a
ship as that, I could dare and do almost anything. My delight must have
proved an important factor in aiding my recovery, for from the moment
when I received my appointment, my strength came back to me so rapidly
that, instead of the fortnight which I had allowed myself in my
conversation with the Admiral, I took only nine days to qualify for my
discharge from the hospital, and to report for duty.
It was a proud moment for me when I stood on the spacious quarter-deck
of my new command and, in the presence of all hands, mustered for the
occasion, read my commission appointing me to the command of the ship.
The vacancy had occurred in consequence of the death of her previous
captain, and when I boarded the craft, I did so fully prepared for a
certain coldness of reception on the part of the officers, for
naturally, in the ordinary course of events, the command ought to have
gone to the senior officer, one Commander Arisaka. But not so; on the
contrary, as I finished reading my commission, folded it up, and put it
in my pocket, the Commander approached, shook hands in the most friendly
way, expressed the extreme gratification felt by himself and the rest of
the officers of the ship at finding themselves under the leadership of
one who--as they were kind enough to put it--"had so brilliantly
distinguished himself"; and then proceeded to present to me the rest of
the officers in rotation, in strict accordance with their rank, all of
whom found something pleasant and complimentary to say. By way of
response, I made a little speech to all hands, crew as well as officers,
in which I expressed my gratification at finding myself in command of so
fine a ship, manned by so fine a crew, and voiced the hope that, not
only should we be able to all work comfortably and harmoniously
together, but also that the Admiral would speedily afford us an
opportunity to add fresh laurels to the _Yakumo's_ fame; a speech which
elicited a quite enthusiastic storm of "Banzais."
Agreeable relations with my officers and crew being thus satisfactorily
established, I took up my quarters onboard, and forthwith proceeded to
"learn" the ship--that is to say, I made myself intimately acquainted
with the localities and purposes of the numerous engines and pieces of
machinery with which she was fitted, the number and positions of her
magazines, and their contents, the number and situations of her torpedo
tubes, the uses of the many fitments to be found in her conning tower,
and in fact everything connected with her working, so that in the hour
of action I might have every detail firmly fixed in my memory, ready for
use at a moment's notice. And wherever I found anything capable of
improvement, I unhesitatingly had that improvement carried out, although
I feel bound to say that I found very little anywhere needing
modification. In this way, and by continually exercising the crew at
such evolutions as could be carried out with the ship at anchor, I very
soon became perfectly familiar with my new command and, as my strength
steadily returned, began to long for the opportunity to test myself as
well as my ship and crew. For during the whole of this time the
_Yakumo_, with several other cruisers, and our four battleships, had
been lying at anchor at our rendezvous at the Elliot Islands, not idle
by any means, but, like the _Yakumo_, "tuning up" for a certain
eventuality, the approach of which we all seemed to sense in some
mysterious way.
And yet, after all, I do not know that there was very much mystery about
it, for our Secret Service agents--of whom there were several in Port
Arthur--informed us that, from the moment when, on that memorable
Sunday, 7th August, one of the first twenty shells fired at the
stronghold by the investing Japanese, fell aboard the battleship
_Retvisan_, lying at anchor in the harbour, and seriously damaged her,
there had been a general outcry that the Russian fleet ought to go to
sea and fight, rather than remain in harbour and be ignominiously
destroyed without striking a blow in self-defence.
It was known that Admiral Vitgeft, and Prince Ukhtomsky, his second in
command, were utterly opposed to such a course, their freely expressed
opinion being that the Russian ships, already more or less seriously
damaged by the attacks to which they had been subjected from time to
time during the progress of the war, were totally unfit to meet and
engage the Japanese fleet, which, they had every reason to believe, was
in first-class fighting trim. There were certain officers, however,
whose mortification at their enforced inactivity blinded them to the
soundness of this judgment. "If the ships must be destroyed, let them
be destroyed at sea in the act of inflicting as much injury as possible
upon the enemy," was their contention; and it was certainly a reasonable
one. It was broadly hinted that the leader of this faction found means
to convey his contention to the ear of Admiral Alexieff; for, strange to
say, the following day brought a wireless message from the
Commander-in-Chief to Vitgeft, ordering the latter to take his whole
fleet to sea and proceed to Vladivostock, fighting his way thither, if
necessary. Every effort was of course made by Vitgeft to keep this
order a profound secret; but it was necessary to communicate it to the
captains of the several ships and other officers whose duties required
that they should possess such knowledge, and the delight of some of them
at learning that their long-cherished desire was about to be granted was
not conducive to secrecy. Moreover, the sudden, feverish hurry and
bustle of preparation was a sufficient advertisement of what was
impending; and that very night the news was signalled to the blockading
squadron in the offing, from which it was as promptly transmitted by
wireless to Togo, among the Elliots. The news was confirmed on the
following morning by our patrol vessels off the port, from which came
the information that a tremendous state of activity was discernible
among the Russian ships, and that all indications pointed toward an
almost immediate sortie.
The news arrived by wireless, about an hour after sunrise; and
immediately upon receiving it the signal was made for all captains to at
once proceed on board the flagship. Some such signal had confidently
been expected, after the news of the preceding day; we were in fact all
waiting for it, and its display was equivalent to the starting signal
for a race, for no sooner did the flags break abroad than they were
read, and the next instant the shrill piping of many boatswain's
whistles was heard in the calm morning air, the crews of the captain's
gigs were seen rushing along the booms and dropping recklessly down into
the boats, and in less than a minute the mirror-like waters of the
harbour were being churned into foam as the flotilla of gigs darted away
from the ships' gangway ladders, each striving to be the first to arrive
alongside the _Mikasa_. I was not the first to reach the goal, for the
battleships were all lying together, with the cruisers some distance
outside them, but my boat was the fourth alongside, beating the
_Asama's_ gig by half a length, to the intense disgust of Captain
Yamada, who occupied her stern-sheets.
"Never mind, Yamada, old chap," I exclaimed, as we shook hands and
ascended the _Mikasa's_ side ladder together; "perhaps you will get the
pull of me later on. But I'll bet you a case of champagne that the
_Yakumo_ scores a hit before the _Asama_, to-day."
The bet was eagerly accepted, and, chatting gaily, we passed along the
flagship's deck and entered the Admiral's state cabin, where we found
Togo and the captains of the four battleships already assembled and
conversing eagerly. The Admiral shook hands with both of us,
complimented me upon my rapid recovery, and then turned to welcome the
other captains who were fast arriving, while we joined the little but
quickly swelling group of officers who had already arrived; for of
course Togo would say nothing until everybody was present.
We were not kept waiting very long, however, perhaps a matter of ten
minutes after my arrival, and then Captain Ijichi, of the _Mikasa_, who
as each captain arrived, had been ticking his name off a list, announced
that all were present, and rapped sharply on the table with his
sword-hilt for silence. The next moment, to use a common expression,
one might have heard a pin drop. Then Admiral Togo stepped forward,
unrolled a chart and spread it open upon the table, and stood for a
moment looking round the crowded cabin with a curiously intent and eager
gaze.
"Gentlemen," he said, "the wireless message which has this morning
arrived from the blockading squadron off Port Arthur, entirely confirms
the news of yesterday, to the effect that the Russian fleet is about to
put to sea, probably with the intention of making for Vladivostock. I
imagine Vladivostock to be its destination for the simple reason that
there is no other port open to it; moreover, as we are fully aware,
there is a dry dock at Vladivostock large enough to receive a
battleship; and I conjecture the intention of the enemy to be to take
his damaged ships there for the purpose of repairing them, so that they
may be in condition to reinforce and assist the Baltic fleet upon its
arrival in these waters.
"Gentlemen, if that be the enemy's intention, it must never be carried
out; we must prevent it at all costs--short of the loss of our own
battleships, which we _must_ preserve in order that we may be able to
meet the Baltic fleet upon something like equal terms, when it arrives.
Now, the question of how best to meet the Port Arthur fleet without
unduly risking our own battleships is one that has greatly exercised my
mind ever since the moment when it first became apparent that the
Russians were meditating a sortie, and I have formed a plan which I will
now lay before you, and upon which I shall be very grateful to receive
your frankly expressed criticism and opinion.
"Taking it for granted that the purpose of the Russian Admiral is to
make for Vladivostock, I propose to proceed to Encounter Rock, which, as
you are all aware, lies directly in the track of ships bound from Port
Arthur southward past the Shan-tung promontory,"--the Admiral pointed
out upon the chart the positions of the three places mentioned as he
spoke--"and there await the arrival of the Russians, who will by that
time be so far from Port Arthur that I trust the measures which I
propose to take to prevent them from returning may be effective.
"I need not remind you that my instructions are, and have been
throughout the war, to risk our battleships as little as possible, since
upon them depends the safety of Japan--a fact which I believe we all
fully realise; I therefore intend to fight the forthcoming battle at
long-range, trusting to our superior gunnery to enable us to inflict the
maximum amount of injury upon the enemy with the minimum amount of
injury to ourselves.
"I purpose to proceed in the following manner. The _Yakumo_ will lead
the fleet to sea, followed by the _Kasagi, Takasago, Chitose_,
_Takachiho_, _Naniwa_, and _Chiyoda_, in the order named. These will be
followed, at a distance of three miles, by our six armoured cruisers, in
the wake of which will follow the four battleships, with the remaining
cruisers and the destroyers bringing up the rear. Further orders I
cannot give at present, since my plans are necessarily subject to
modification according to the reports which will no doubt come to me
from time to time from the blockading squadron, a portion of which will
follow the Russian fleet, reporting upon its formation, the course it
steers, its speed, and so on. The only thing further which I have now
to say is, that the duty of the destroyer flotilla will be to keep the
Russian destroyers so fully occupied that the latter will have no
opportunity to approach our big ships, while every opportunity must be
seized to attack the Russians, especially their battleships. That is
all I have to say, gentlemen, except that the fleet which we shall have
the honour to meet to-day _must be destroyed_, and I look to each of
you, individually, to give me your best assistance in the accomplishment
of this purpose. Now, has any officer any suggestion to offer? I shall
be most grateful for any helpful hint."
Nobody spoke, but all eyes wandered round the cabin, searching for a
possible speaker. The Admiral's eye met mine, and I thought there
seemed to be a question in it. As nobody else seemed inclined to speak,
I decided to answer that questioning glance.
"There is just one remark which I should like to make, sir, if I may be
permitted," I said. "I had not the good fortune to be present when the
Japanese last met the Port Arthur fleet, less than two months ago; but
from all that I have heard with regard to that meeting, I gather that
there would have been no Port Arthur fleet to-day, had not you, sir,
been too eager to meet them, revealing your presence to them at such an
early moment that retirement to Port Arthur was still possible for them.
If that be the case, the obvious lesson to be learnt seems to be that
we should on no account show ourselves until the Russians have run too
far off-shore to get back again before we can intercept them; and I
would also suggest the desirability of taking steps to effectually cut
off their retreat."
Togo nodded and smiled.
"Gentlemen," he said, "you have all heard Captain Swinburne's remarks.
Have any of you anything to add to them, or any comment to make upon
them?"
For a moment there was silence. Then Captain Matsumoto, commanding the
_Fuji_, stepped forward.
"I should like to say, sir," he said, "that I entirely concur in what
Captain Swinburne has said. Unlike that gentleman, I had the honour to
be present on the occasion to which he refers, and I believe all
present--including yourself, sir--will be inclined to agree that the
honourable captain has put his finger upon the two causes which then
combined to render the escape of the Russian fleet possible."
A low murmur of assent followed; and when it died away, Togo spoke.
"I thank you all, gentlemen," he said, "for the expression of opinion to
which I have just listened. I agree that a mistake was made upon that
occasion, and it was I who made it. But that mistake will not be
repeated, you may rest assured. I recognised my mistake when it was too
late to amend it, and I have now made my plans accordingly. Has any one
else any suggestion to offer?"
There was no response.
"Very well, then, gentlemen," resumed Togo. "Our conference is at an
end. Return to your ships, and get your anchors at once. We will
proceed to sea forthwith; and may Hachiman Sama," (the Japanese god of
War) "be with us to-day and crown our arms with victory!"
A moment's silence followed, and then the cabin rang with the exultant
shout of "Banzai! Banzai Nippon!" instantly taken up by the crew out on
deck, who heard it, and as instantly repeated by the crews of the other
ships, as the sound of the cheering reached them. Then, one after
another, we filed past the Admiral, who shook hands with each of us as
we passed out of the cabin; and ten minutes later the harbour was
resounding with the clank of chain cables being hove in through a
fleet's hawse-pipes and stowed away below.