African Nationhood

Chapter 444 The war situation in the Far East is settled

Hanking (Pretoria), Council of State.

Ouyang Geng walked into Chairman Shi's office with the report, "This is a briefing on the Russian-Eastern War in the Far East."

Shi Jintang took one look and sighed.

"These idiots are so muddy that they can't hold up the wall. Even though I've pointed out a clear path for them, they can't even walk smoothly."

No wonder Shi Jintang sighed like this.

Rozhdestvinsky arrived in Singapore on April 1905, 4.

The Navy ordered him to go to Cam Ranh Bay in Vietnam, where he would wait for the 3rd Pacific Squadron led by Nebogatov to rendezvous, and then go north to attack the Okinawa Islands.

The entry of the Rozhdestvinsky fleet into Cam Ranh Bay aroused strong protests from the Japanese government, and the French naval authorities were forced to order the Russian ships to leave the country.

On May 1905, 5, the 9nd and 2rd Pacific Squadrons of Tsarist Russia met at sea. The combined fleet was commanded by Rozhdestvinsky and Fuksam was appointed deputy commander.

On May 5, the Russian fleet refueled for the last time. The amount was enough to reach Vladivostok, causing the fleet to be overloaded and its speed greatly reduced.

The Russian navy captured this place very easily.

They then went to the island to rest, waiting to continue sailing to attack the Japanese coast the next day.

The Tsarist Russian Navy hastily launched a warning, but it was night and the visibility of both sides was limited and it was impossible to launch a formal war. The Tsarist Russian Navy only gathered its fleet to strengthen the alert.

The first thing they attacked was Etoru Island, which had Japan's administrative agencies on it.

At about 29 o'clock in the morning on the 5th, Nebogatov led the few remaining ships to escape towards Vladivostok.

However, the speed of Japanese ships is mostly 18-20 knots, while the speed of old-fashioned ships such as Russian ships is 15.5-18 knots.

On May 5, Tsarist Russia's Pacific Fleet passed through the Soya Strait and entered the Japanese Sea.

On the night of the 26th, Japan dispatched 20 torpedo boats and 12 destroyers to conduct a torpedo attack on the Russian fleet.

During this period, Deputy Commander Fuksam died of illness, but Rozhdestvinsky kept it secret, even from Nebogatov, the natural successor to Deputy Commander, and the flagship continued to fly Fuksam's flag.

To attack the northern islands of Japan, the follow-up intention is to continue to attack the coastal cities of Ezoti Island (Hokkaido).

At about 9 o'clock, he was besieged by the Japanese fleet. Nebogatov surrendered by first flying a white flag and then the Japanese flag.

The two sides engaged in a melee in the smoke, and the Russian ship was sunk and damaged many ships.

The Japanese navy, which received the news, took advantage of the night time to quickly assemble from the Tsushima waters to the Soya Strait.

By 27 a.m. on the 10th, the main force of the Japanese navy had been assembled. At this time, the armored battleships of both sides were basically the same, with 12 ships in total.

Therefore, the Tsarist Russian Navy was stuck by the Japanese Navy, and it was impossible for them to evacuate.

The Japanese ship also has an advantage in firepower. The Japanese ship can fire 360 ​​rounds per minute with a total weight of 21949 kilograms, while the Russian ship can fire 134 rounds per minute with a total weight of 8190 kilograms.

The Japanese ship took full advantage of its fast speed, maneuvered quickly, occupied a favorable position in the direction of the Russian fleet, and bombarded it fiercely.

At about 5:28 on May 16, fog formed on the sea, and the Japanese armored fleet and the Russian armored fleet broke out of contact for a time, and the Japanese fleet moved north.

It's a pity that the Japanese Navy responded too quickly. Before the Tsarist Russian Navy had time to enjoy the fruits of victory, the Japanese Navy led its fleet to attack.

In this naval battle, except for three ships of Russia's 2nd and 3rd Pacific Squadrons that fled to Vladivostok, the rest were completely destroyed (including sunk, captured, and detained by neutral countries).

Ship losses totaled 27 tons, which was greater than the combined losses of both sides in the famous Battle of Jutland in World War I.

4830 personnel were killed and 5917 captured (excluding wounded and those detained in foreign ports). The Japanese lost only 3 torpedo boats, 117 killed and 587 wounded.

……

Such a disparity in battle-loss ratio is disappointing.

Shi Jintang originally thought that Tsarist Russia could greatly deplete Japan's national power, but he did not expect that these rigid old men still did not escape the fate of being destroyed in a naval battle.

Ouyang Geng chuckled, "The core of the harassment war is to be a fast guerrilla without greed for victory. Even I, a civilian, understand this truth, but the commander of the Tsarist Russian Navy does not understand. A defeat is inevitable."

Ouyang Geng finished sighing and handed Shi Jintang a report.

"Although the Tsarist Navy did not implement the strategy we formulated for them very well, they were not stupid enough. The warships with heavy battle damage even knew how to surrender on Sakhalin Island."

After looking at the results report of Shi Jin Tang, I felt happy.

Six ships, including the ironclad "Leshitron", the destroyer "Lapun", the cruisers "Fortitude" and the "Emerald", fled to Sakhalin Island to escape, and took advantage of the situation to attack the South China Navy stationed there. surrender.

“The Japanese navy came to negotiate, but the Sakhalin defenders ignored them, and they had no choice but to leave in the end.

Now that Tsarist Russia also wants these warships, what should we do? "

"What else can we do? Let the Russians pay to redeem them. If they want ships, they can give us Qing immigrants. Anyway, there are many Qing people in the northeastern region of the Qing Dynasty.

Don't make it any easier, just incorporate it into our naval fleet. "

Ouyang Geng nodded, "Okay, I will inform Tsarist Russia. According to intelligence, a serf uprising broke out in Tsarist Russia. Tsarist Russia is in trouble both internally and externally. We have asked Britain and the United States to help mediate.

The two sides of East Russia are about to sign an armistice agreement, and representatives of the four parties are already negotiating in Portsmouth, England. "

"This time Tsarist Russia falls, their influence in the Far East will be reduced to a minimum. Next, we have to be careful about Japan."

Ouyang Geng nodded, "Well, what should we do next? Do we want to discuss Sakhalin Island with Japan?"

Shi Jintang nodded, "You send a telegram to the British mainland and ask them to urge East Russia to sign a contract, and be sure to indicate our territorial rights to Sakhalin Island in the contract."

Ouyang Geng nodded and left.

……

On September 9, Tsarist Russia and Japan signed a contract in Portsmouth. The main contents of the Eastern Russia Treaty of Portsmouth are:

(1) The Russian Empire recognizes that Japan enjoys political, economic and military privileges in Korea, and Russia is not allowed to interfere.

(2) Russia transferred the concession rights and ancillary privileges in Port Arthur and Dalian Bay acquired from the Qing Dynasty to Japan.

(3) Russia transferred the acquired South-Manchuria Railway and branch roads, rights, coal mines, etc. to Japan free of charge.

(4) Russia allows Japanese people to operate fisheries in the Japanese Sea, Sea of ​​Okhotsk, and Bering Sea along the Russian coast.

(5) Both East and Russia will station road protection troops along their respective railways, with no more than 15 troops per kilometer.

(6) Russia ceded Pochet Bay (the mouth of the Tumen River) to Japan, and Japan gained sovereignty over many islands in this bay.

Also: Both East and Russia recognize the territorial sovereignty of the South China Autonomous Territory over Sakhalin Island, which shall not be violated at will.

In view of the restoration of peace in the Far East, the Nanhua Naval Command and the Cabinet sent a large number of personnel and materials to Sakhalin Island to establish the Sakhalin Island Administrative Office.

(End of this chapter)