THE WORK OF JAPANESE MINE-LAYERS
At 7 o'clock on the evening of April 12 our destroyer division of eight
ships went out, in beautiful weather, to do a long reconnaissance.
By 10 the weather had rapidly changed for the worse, and the sky was
overcast. A thick sea mist covered the water and it was hailing. In
such a night there was nothing to prevent the Japs getting within half
a cable of the place without being discovered. Notwithstanding the
little practice our men had had at sea in peace-time, they were not
at all put out by the weather. Those who assert that Russians do not
make good sailors, lie: all they want is good leaders. By midnight our
destroyers drew near a group of islands, and here the fog and murk of
the pouring rain were so thick that it was impossible for the vessels
to distinguish one another. Around were solid darkness and deathly
silence, broken only by the beat of the engines. Owing to the fog,
the proximity of the islands, and the rocky nature of the coast, the
division kept at low speed, being only able to get its bearings by the
cries of the gulls roosting on the shore hard by. About midnight among
the islands the _Strashny_ lost touch with the rest. At 2 o'clock she
made out some lights, and thinking them to belong to her division,
steamed slowly towards them, only to be met as dawn broke by a sudden
broadside. Instead of being with our ships, she was in the middle of
six Japanese destroyers and two two-funnelled cruisers.
Returning the fire, the commander ordered 'full steam ahead' and made
for Port Arthur; but it was too late. The enemy had everything in their
favour--numbers, strength, and speed. The _Strashny_ was overhauled
and riddled. But though Captain Urasovsky, who was commanding, and
all the crews of the bow guns were killed almost at once, and she was
soon full of dead and dying men, the engines still worked. She had
not been deprived of her life, her mobility--and she moved. Life was
dear to every man aboard her, and they fought like devils. Lieutenant
Malaeff, upon whom the command had now devolved, was everywhere--now
forward, now aft--giving orders and encouragement. In him the desire
to live beat strong, and a faint hope of assistance or of escape made
him disregard the slaughter all around him, the enemy's increasing
fire--all else but the main chance. Sub-Lieutenant Akinfieff fell
wounded in the side; the crew were falling fast. The swish, crack, and
whistle of shells was mingled with the groans, prayers, and shrieks of
the wounded.
Choosing a favourable moment, Malaeff fired a torpedo from the stern
tube at the nearest cruiser, and hit. She heeled over and stopped,
and the other cruiser and two of the destroyers went to her aid.
Things now looked better, as only four destroyers were left against
the _Strashny_. Encouraged by what Malaeff had done, torpedo-man
Cherepanoff dashed to the other torpedo-tube; but he had not got hold
of the firing-lever when a shell struck the torpedo and exploded it,
with awful results. Engineer-mechanic Dmitrieff was blown in half, and
every man near was killed. The engines stopped. The Japs also stopped,
and continued firing at a range of 80 yards. Akinfieff, who up till
now had been still able to give orders, was struck by another shell.
The last 47-millimetre gun was disabled; the vessel was penetrated
below water-line, and must sink. Convinced that there was no chance,
Malaeff raised the head of his dead comrade Dmitrieff, kissed him,
then returned to the crew. 'Better die than surrender,' he said, and,
going to the quick-firer, which had been taken off a blocker, he fired
point-blank at the enemy.
The fire of this little gun brought down the bridge of one of the
destroyers and the funnel of another. The Japanese, infuriated at such
dogged resistance, mercilessly shelled the _Strashny_. Malaeff fell,
wounded in the temple. The little vessel, her deck a-wash with blood
and loaded with dead and dying men, began to settle. Suddenly the
enemy ceased fire and were seen to be sheering off: the _Smiely_ had
put out from Liao-tieh-shan to the rescue. But it was too late, for
the _Strashny_ sank, leaving behind but a trail of crimson bubbles and
some wounded struggling in the water. Of four officers and forty-eight
men only five were saved, picked up under a heavy fire by the _Bayan_,
which had come out.
The danger for the _Bayan_ while rescuing the wounded increased every
moment, for the fire of six big ships and a destroyer division, which
had come up, was now concentrated upon her. But our fleet dashed upon
the scene, the _Petropalovsk_ leading, and the remainder in single
column after her. Getting into battle formation, and being joined by
the _Bayan_, the fleet steamed towards the enemy, and, opening fire,
drove them off. In the distance, more than hull-down, could be seen
the enemy's main fleet, consisting of eighteen ships: both of his
divisions were moving towards Liao-tieh-shan to concentrate. Our fleet
had turned and begun to change front under the protection of the guns
of the Fortress, when suddenly a great column of water shot up by the
stem of the _Petropalovsk_, and there boomed forth the dull sound
of a submarine explosion, followed immediately by a second and louder
report. The whole of the centre of the huge battleship was enveloped in
a sheet of flame and a cloud of yellow-brown smoke. Her stern rose high
out of water and her screws glistened in the sun as they whizzed round,
racing. In a minute and a half the _Petropalovsk_ had ceased to exist:
where she had been was cold, dirty water, flecked with foam.
[Illustration: ADMIRAL MAKHAROFF.]
The explosion was witnessed by many, and was signalled to the harbour
from Golden Hill, so the town received the awful news almost at once;
but no one knew any further details, nor wished to believe that
Makharoff had perished with his ship, and I shall never forget the
consternation in the harbour as reports were anxiously awaited. At last
the Captain of an incoming destroyer shouted through his megaphone:
'The _Petropalovsk_ has gone down, and with her the Admiral: they are
searching for his body.'
And what was the cause of this catastrophe? On the preceding night the
Admiral had been on the _Diana_, which was doing duty in the outer
Roads. Some small ships were sighted from the cruiser behind Flat Cape.
Makharoff thought they were our destroyers, and despite convincing
proofs that they were not, he would not open fire. They were Japanese
laying mines, one of which destroyed the _Petropalovsk_ and injured the
_Pobieda_.
And so perished the gallant Admiral whose command of the fleet had in
an incredibly short time done wonders, and who, had he been spared,
might have changed the whole course of after-events.