THE JUNE SORTIE OF THE FLEET
Meanwhile the navy had not been altogether idle, though the result of
its activity was not great. By the middle of June the _Pallada_, in
dry dock, was ready to go to sea, and the battleships _Cesarevitch_
and _Retvisan_--the pride of the Pacific Ocean Fleet--were ready to
throw the bandages off their now healed wounds. We were all greatly
excited, for if only the fleet could put out at full strength and get
the command of the sea, the transport of troops to Dalny, now being
carried on daily right under our very noses, would be stopped, and
then what might not happen? Important meetings were frequently held
at Admiral Witgeft's; but though the ships were ready, the council,
attended by all flag officers and captains of ships, was divided into
two parties--one for going to sea, the other against it. At the meeting
on June 18 a telegram from the Viceroy was communicated, in which the
fleet was ordered to steam out and engage the enemy, choosing the most
favourable conditions, and taking every precaution. The time chosen for
the start was the turn of the tide--daybreak--on June 24; but when the
hour came the _Pobieda_ was not ready, and her Captain was ill, so it
was put off till dawn the following morning. There were great efforts
made to keep this secret, as, owing to the removal of the gendarmerie
to Liao-tieh-shan by Stössel, the place swarmed with spies.
At three o'clock, after the twinkling of many lights, a signal was
hoisted, and the fleet came to life. At 4.21 the _Novik_ slipped
quietly out into the outer Roads, and after her the other ships in
turn, the _Pallada_ being the last to pass through the narrows; but the
fleet was short of the following guns: one 12-inch, twenty-six 6-inch,
and thirty 3-inch, and four of the ships had captains who had not
commanded them at sea before. From the highest point of Golden Hill the
whole squadron could be distinctly seen in the clear morning air. The
channels in its course had been swept for mines, some of which, while
being drawn in, had exploded quite close to the ships lying at anchor.
Seven mines were found near the _Cesarevitch_ alone! Notwithstanding
all our efforts at clearance, the roads were always more or less
full of them, and every officer and man going out to sea, though the
enemy were miles away, was gambling for his life. This is mentioned
because what our sailors had to go through and their great services at
Port Arthur are now forgotten in Russia. Russia has forgotten in the
whirlwind of the movement for political freedom that for eleven weary
months her loyal sons in Arthur tried to save the waning greatness of
their native land.
As the _Bayan_ slowly passed out far below, the bitter words I had
once heard about the state of the Russian navy, uttered by one of its
officers, recurred to me: 'So long as our fleet is purely for parades
and peaceful political demonstrations; so long as its Admirals do not
serve and work hard in peace-time, doing active duty, and not merely
writing orders; so long as the officers are promoted for anything
but their capabilities and services; so long as they do not know
their ships as the five fingers of their hands; so long as the whole
complement of the navy does not like the sea; so long as the Naval
Department does not cease trying to economize in what is the essence
of a fleet (shooting and cruising); so long as it hesitates to rid
the administration of the fleet of venerable, bent old men and "shore
admirals"; so long as the Naval College does not turn out men fond of
the sea and the navy, we and the senior officers can do nothing, and
our fleet will glide down the facile descent of deterioration. I say
this from bitter personal experience: I say that we are absolutely
unprepared. We will do what we can; we are ready to die--and we must
die in the unequal struggle.' As these words came back to my mind,
suggested by the _Bayan_ gliding slowly past down below, I looked up
from her to the horizon where, far away, could be seen the Japanese
ships waiting for ours. Of course they knew we were coming out, and
were ready. What did they not know? Probably the opinion just quoted
would be no news to them. By one o'clock our ships had moved out into
the open sea, where Togo with his whole fleet was awaiting them. The
destroyers out ahead, supported by the _Novik_ and _Askold_, at once
engaged the enemy's scouts, which drew off towards their main body. By
6 p.m. the squadron had gone down below the horizon, and could not be
seen from the highest points in Arthur, but the booming in the far-away
distance sounded like peals of thunder. We were all greatly excited to
know how the fight would end.
About nine o'clock the quiet of evening was broken by the growing
noise of heavy firing at sea. The fleet, attacked by a cloud of
torpedo-boats, and firing with every gun, was retiring rapidly to
Arthur. It was not yet visible, but the booming of the 12-inchers, the
ceaseless cracking of the smaller guns, sounded louder and louder.
We saw the reflection of the searchlights, and then some time later
dim specks gradually loomed up, and the squadron itself appeared; the
destroyers and _Novik_ formed a rear-guard, covering the retirement
with their fire. The fleet steamed in and anchored, let down its
torpedo-nets, and with its searchlights wove a regular net of light
to seaward. On the way back to port it had been twice attacked by
destroyers, but had beaten them off, and had made the outer roads
comparatively without mishap. The _Sevastopol_ alone distinguished
herself. Getting out of column, she struck a mine and was injured, but
was able to reach White Wolf's Bay and anchor. There was not enough
water for her to go into the inner harbour, for no one had thought in
peace-time of dredging the entrance.
Night soon came down very dark, and all seemed peaceful; but the calm
did not last long, for that night the enemy made a madly gallant
attempt to torpedo our vessels as they lay in the outer harbour, and
hell was let loose. All night long Admiral Togo launched his destroyers
to the attack in pairs. Though our whole fleet was one blaze of light,
and though the shore searchlights perched up on high lit up the waters
to a great distance, the heroic enemy did not desist. On, on they
came, fired at from the whole front as the shore lights showed them
up afar off; diving one moment into darkness, the next again into the
glare, they dashed onwards. The fire of the ships became furious; the
ceaseless flash of the guns made them look like torches, but, however
brave, however fanatical the enemy, they could not withstand the hail
of steel poured on them by the fleet. The destroyers came in very close
before they fired their torpedoes, but still it was at ineffective
range. Having fired the first torpedo, they turned to starboard, firing
a second on the turn, and then at full speed steamed out to sea. The
lucky ones got away; others sank in view of the whole Fortress. I sat
through the night and watched these attacks till they ceased at dawn.
Next morning, on the flood-tide, our fleet came in to the inner
harbour. It had returned, the only result of its sortie being the
injuries to the _Sevastopol_, the expenditure of thousands of shell,
and a number of Whitehead torpedoes floating about in the outer Roads.
Arthur was disappointed. The following order, issued by the Commander
of the fleet before it went to sea, which appeared in the _Novy Kry_ of
the 24th, was depressing reading:
'As the ships which were damaged by our treacherous enemy before the
outbreak of war have been repaired, the Viceroy has given orders
for the fleet to put to sea, so as to assist our comrades on land
to defend Arthur. By the help of God and St. Nicholas, the sailor's
patron saint, we will endeavour to do our duty, be true to our oath
to the Tsar and defeat the enemy, weakened by the destruction of some
of his ships on our mines. The _Bobr_ has given us an example of what
can be done. May God be with us!
'Witgeft, Rear-Admiral.'
The fleet was there again in its usual place in the western and
eastern basins; but what was to be done? Who was to blame because it
had returned without having brought on a decisive action? Some of the
officers declared that a battle ought to have been brought on, that all
the chances were in our favour; others said the opposite, asserting
that a heavy engagement would have been the end of the whole fleet.
Arthur was divided into two camps: one against the navy, the other
in defence of it. I remember those heated quarrels about our naval
officers, and the abuse poured upon men who were in no way to blame.
The majority of those who spoke so bitterly of the fleet's return
ignored the fact that it went to sea very weakly armed. It had met the
Japanese fleet of four battleships, six armoured cruisers, six light
cruisers, and a number of destroyers and other vessels, about twelve
miles out. The fleets got within fifty or sixty cables of each other,
and when our ships increased speed so as to shorten the range and
bring on an action, the Japanese steamed off. Togo evidently wanted
to entice our fleet on and make a torpedo attack during the night,
and having thus weakened it, to bring on a decisive engagement in the
morning. It was depressing to see our ships driven in again like this,
and disheartening to give up all hope of obtaining command of the sea.
A strict blockade of the Fortress must come in the future. How long
it would last no one could say, but that men, guns, and war material
were already scarce with us--more than scarce--we well knew. Still, the
hatred shown towards the fleet was not sensible or just. Disappointed
with our many misfortunes, people were searching for a scape-goat--for
some one on whom they could vent their indignation. They became jumpy,
and therefore in no condition to look at things calmly: they were glad
to find some one to blame. From what I felt, heard, and saw on all
sides--and my opportunities for judging were great, as I moved about in
every grade of society in Port Arthur--I came to the conclusion, after
the return of the fleet, that its rôle on the sea was over.
During the gradual development of the military situation in the
district--when the most prominent features had been the extraordinary
errors on the part of General Fock--General Stössel was acting the
dictator in Arthur, where, in addition to his main task of interfering
at every step with the useful work of General Smirnoff, he lost no
opportunity of sowing dissension between the fleet and the army,
especially after the squadron's unlucky sortie. Everywhere on shore--in
the streets, in the restaurants--there was nothing but abuse and
curses for the naval officers, from highest to lowest. Every one
accused the sailors of not wishing to put to sea. One result of this
was the production of a scurrilous allegory by two anonymous authors.
The first described a dream, which he pretended to have had, and in
which the enemy, in the shape of a bull, was eventually killed by
Russian soldiers. The second narrated another dream, a sequel to the
first, in which the navy were represented as hares which bolted and
left the soldiers to fight the enemy alone. I happened to read this
effusion when I was on board one of the ships, for some one had had
it lithographed, and sent a copy to each of the ward-rooms in the
fleet, including a copy to Admiral Witgeft. This kind act naturally did
not tend to smooth matters between the services. Though the sailors
endeavoured to ignore it, at heart they felt the undeserved insult
deeply.