Tsushima 1905: Death of a Russian Fleet (Campaign, 330)

The Russo-Japanese War began with a surprise Japanese naval attack against an anchored Russian fleet in Port Arthur, which still believed itself at peace. It ended, to all intents and purposes, with the Battle of Tsushima, the most decisive surface naval battle of the 20th century, in which some two-thirds of the Imperial Russian Fleet was destroyed. This superbly illustrated volume explores the background to the war, records the opening naval encounters, and documents the strategy, tactics, and movements of both sides as the crucial naval campaign came to a head in the Tsushima Strait between Korea and Japan. It also explores the lasting impact on military maritime technology of the decisive Japanese victory at Tsushima, which was the first major fleet action between steel warships, the first in which wireless telegraphy played a key role, and the last battle to see the surrender of an enemy battle line at sea.