Kobo: A Story of the Russo-Japanese War

by Herbert Strang

  *CHAPTER V*

  *A Fleet in Action*

  War--Nearing Port Arthur--In the Night Watches--The First Blow--A Battleof the Giants--In a Box-battery--A Rescue

  Next morning Bob, in Yamaguchi's company, made a round of the fightingadmiral's flagship. The youngest of four sister vessels, the _Mikasa_,launched at Barrow only four years previously, had a displacement ofsome 15,000 tons, a tremendous armament, and armour-casing varying fromfour inches to more than a foot in thickness. Forward and aft were twopairs of 12-inch breech-loading guns, mounted in barbettes encased infourteen inches of armour. On the main-deck were ten 6-inchquick-firers, mounted on the "box-battery" system in an armouredcitadel, the latest device of the naval architect to afford protectionat once to the ship and to the crews fighting the guns. Bob already hadsome knowledge of armour-clad vessels, having more than once been sentby his firm to install range-finders in British ships, but never beforehad he enjoyed the opportunity of examining a vessel of the _Mikasa_type, now being adopted in the British navy.

  For an hour or two he was busy on the navigating-officer's bridge,examining the complicated apparatus of the range-finder. The difficultyof regulating this ingenious piece of mechanism is due to the unequalexpansion of the metals of which it is made. Obviously it wasimpossible to test its accuracy until a shot could actually be fired ata given range, but Bob saw that all its adjustments were satisfactory,and had an interesting discussion with the navigating officer, whoseduty it would be, when the vessel went into action, to call the rangesfor the gunners below.

  While this was going on, Bob was too much occupied to notice the signsof increasing activity in the harbour. The _Mikasa_ was surrounded bythe other vessels of the fleet--battle-ships and cruisers; torpedo-boatsand torpedo-boat destroyers formed an outer circle of wide extent. Inthe inner harbour no fewer than seventy transports were lying at anchor,and since early morning many of these had been filling up with cheerfulcrowds of Japanese soldiers and immense bales of stores, carried onheavy-laden sampans and lighters from the quays. While Bob was walkinground the vessel with Yamaguchi, he suddenly noticed thewireless-telegraphic operator make his way quietly to the bridge whereAdmiral Togo stood talking with the captain. The man saluted, andhanded the admiral a paper. The latter moved a little aside to read it,then spoke a few rapid words to the captain. A few minutes afterwards anumber of flags were flying from the masthead, answering signals wererun up on the other vessels, and a general movement was visiblethroughout the fleet. On the _Mikasa_ all was activity. Bob noted withadmiration the precision with which every man on board, without hurry orbustle, went about his allotted duty. The captain on the armouredconning-tower, with bells, speaking-tubes, and telephones all round him,issued orders which were carried out as instantaneously as though hewere touching the responsive keys of an instrument. On all the othervessels similar activity prevailed. The fleet was preparing to sail.Moving with the ease of living beings in their native element, theseveral vessels fell gradually into their settled place in the line, andthen, the _Mikasa_ leading, steamed slowly out towards the open sea.

  It was a moment never to be forgotten. Bob did not know whither thefleet was bound, nor on what enterprise, but he was certain that itsdeparture was the first step in a carefully-arranged scheme, and hisheart throbbed with the excitement of knowing that, happen what might,he was to be there, a spectator of, if not a participant in, events thatmight change the destiny of the world.

  Negotiations between Russia and Japan had been broken off. Every man onboard knew that, and recognized that this was inevitably the prelude towar unless Russia should do what no one could imagine her doing--yield.The sudden order to sail indicated that Admiral Togo had receivedinstructions to deliver, or at least to threaten, a blow at the enemy.More than this no one knew. A Russian squadron was lying at Chemulpo,the port of Seoul, in Korea; another, the strongest fleet Russia had inEastern seas, was at Port Arthur; a third was at Vladivostock, far tothe north. The Russians were known to be filled with vast contempt forthe "dwarfs"; they would surely not allow their insignificant enemy'sfleet to approach their much-prized harbours without first meeting themon the seas; and it was with the expectation of a terrible fight, shipagainst ship, that the Japanese went out fearlessly towards the unknown.

  Out into the sea, due westward, sailed the fleet, the _Mikasa_ and hersister ships proudly riding the waves, the smaller vessels driving theirbows through the water and rising like dripping seals from eachencounter. The battle-ships kept line behind the leader, each holdingon her course with unerring accuracy; and as they moved majestically onamid the surrounding cruisers and torpedo craft, they seemed to Bob likeocean leviathans accompanied by a brood of young.

  Map of Korea and part of Manchuria]

  In the dusk, soon after passing between Quelpart and the southernextremity of Korea, Bob noticed that part of the fleet had disappeared.He remarked on the fact to Sub-lieutenant Yamaguchi.

  "Yes," he replied; "some of the vessels have gone off northwards, toChemulpo probably."

  "Where are we going, then?"

  "I don't know, but I should guess to Port Arthur--the place the Russiansrobbed us of nine years ago."

  "Well, I hope that if there is to be any fighting we shall have firstshot. What are the chances?"

  "Port Arthur is nearly a hundred miles farther away than Chemulpo. Ifthe Russians come out from Chemulpo, Admiral Uriu is bound to open theball. But you needn't envy him that. Port Arthur is the nut to crack;the Russians have been spending heaps of money on fortifications, and,of course, if we can get past their fleet we shall have to bombard.Then you'll see what our gunners can do: and you'll come in there withthat range-finding instrument."

  "But you'll have to fight the Russian fleet first. You can't expectwhat we call in England a walk-over, you know."

  The Japanese smiled.

  "Come and have a game of 'go' in the cabin," he said.

  Bob had already been initiated into the intricacies of 'go', theJapanese equivalent of chess. He played, and took a beating with asang-froid that the self-contained Japanese themselves could not excel.

  Now the _Mikasa_ altered her course and steamed N.N.E., passing outsidethe Mackau Islands, and thence across the Yellow Sea to the Shantungpromontory. Early on the afternoon of the next day the fleet had comewithin six hours' easy steaming of Port Arthur. It was bitterly cold,but the sea was smooth and the air clear, and Bob, who had borrowed atelescope, often swept the horizon in eager search of any sign ofRussians, expecting that they would be scouring the Yellow Sea to getthe earliest possible intimation of a Japanese attack. No war-ship wasto be seen; only a few Japanese junks were sighted beating up against abrisk south wind, making for Kiauchau or the Yang-tze ports.

  Suddenly, at a signal from the flagship, the squadron slowed down untilthe vessels had only steering-way; and the order was given to clear foraction. With wonderful celerity the men moved hither and thither,stowing away wooden bulk-heads, mess-tables, benches, and otherinflammable articles of furniture, to avoid the risk of a conflagrationon board as the result of bursting shells. The decks were drenched withwater and sanded; some of the seamen filled the boats from their hoses;some stacked coal around the bases of the funnels; others hung canvasscreens round the Maxims and the smaller quick-firers. Ammunitionhoists were rigged, the guns were cast loose, and hammocks were heapedaround the conning-tower to protect this vital centre from flyingsplinters. Below decks the torpedo crews were busily overhauling thetubes, while the gunnery staff were preparing fuses and seeing thatshells were collected in readiness for hoisting.

  Watching these preparations, careful not to get in the way, Bob wishedwith all his heart that he could have taken an active part instead ofbeing a spectator merely. If, as seemed probable, a night attack was inquestion, there would be little scope for the range-finder, and in anycase he himself would not be required unless the instrument failed,whic
h from his examination he thought unlikely. But the circumstancesin which he found himself were so novel, that even though he could donothing, the anticipation of what he might see warmed his blood andfilled him with excitement.

  Dusk fell; once more the vessels went ahead, steaming at half-speed."We shall be within fighting range of Port Arthur before midnight," saidYamaguchi confidentially to Bob. The orderly confusion of the precedinghours had now given place to a quietude which was even more impressive.The _Mikasa_ seemed to be pervaded by a tense expectancy, officers andmen stood in silent watchfulness, and when they spoke it was in lowtones, and disconnectedly. Admiral Togo stood with Captain Igichi andthe navigating officer on the conning-tower, whose top had been removed;and Bob felt that every man on board had unbounded confidence in hiscause, his admiral, and himself.

  The vessels showed no lights. In the growing moonlight they glidedalong like monstrous ghosts. Only the phosphorescent gleam of the hugewaves thrown up by their bows gave indication that these were nounsubstantial fabrics, but huge bulks of metal forcing their way, byfavour of the toil and sweat of self-sacrificing engineers and stokersfar below decks, against the resistance of the mighty element.

  As the fleet drew moment by moment nearer to the great port, the strainbecame intense. Conversation had entirely ceased; the deep silence wasscarcely broken, it seemed, by the hollow throb of the engines. Alleyes were strained to pierce the distance, to catch sight of the enemythat now, surely, could not be far away, and the first intimation ofwhose proximity might be the explosion of a torpedo hurling the vesseland every soul on board to destruction. Suddenly, on the port quarter,appeared the lights of four vessels steaming in the same direction asthe fleet towards Port Arthur, the gleam from whose lighthouse had forsome time been distinctly visible. A ruse was being practised on theRussians. The vessels were Japanese torpedo-boats, making direct forthe harbour, in the expectation of being taken for scouting vessels ofthe Russian fleet. Would the trick succeed? The _Mikasa_ glided on.

  It was now past ten o'clock, and in the distance the heights above PortArthur appeared a black ridge against the faintly moonlit sky, throwingdeep shadows on the waters of the harbour. Between the _Mikasa_ and theroadstead several small black spots could be seen dotting the surface ofthe sea. The four torpedo-boats crept gradually closer; they cameunsuspected upon the outermost vessel of the Russian fleet. Suddenlythe sounds of three muffled explosions, at intervals of a few seconds,vibrated through the air. Bob held his breath; this was the beginningof things: what had happened? In a moment, from the far distance, camethe rattle of machine-guns, followed by the deeper boom of quick-firers,growing in volume until it seemed as if the whole armament of theRussian fleet was engaged. On board the _Mikasa_ there was the clang ofa bell. The vessel slowed down, then stopped; the other battle-shipsfollowed her example; and as search-lights flashed from the Russianvessels and the forts, cutting brilliant white cones through the lesserradiance of the moon, Bob caught a glimpse for the fraction of a secondof the low hull of a Japanese torpedo-boat speeding forward to dischargeits deadly missile. Hard by was the vast bulk of a cruiser, andstretched in a long line in the roads lay a dozen other war-ships ofvarying sizes, from the huge _Petropavlovsk_, instantly recognizable byher monstrous form, to the few Russian torpedo-boats which alone seemedto be alert.

  After a time the firing almost ceased; but the flashlights continued tomake wild gyrations, and every now and then there was a renewed rattleof machine-guns from the Russian ships. Not a shot was fired from theJapanese fleet. In advance of the battle-ships the cruisers had steamedforward to support the torpedo-boats; but the general bombardment whichBob expected had not begun.

  He was beginning to think that all was over, and wondering what hadactually taken place, when a dull explosion broke the silence, followedby two other shocks. Immediately the Russian search-lights swept roundtowards the harbour, and the forms of the vessels were silhouettedagainst the illumination.

  "They have got in behind them--under the shadow of the hills," saidYamaguchi in Bob's ear. The little Japanese was panting withexcitement. "Caught napping, if ever enemy was! You see? Theyexpected another attack from the open. Our boats have got between themand the harbour; if only it were morning light!"

  It was as Yamaguchi said. Buried in the dense blackness cast by thefrowning heights above the harbour, the Japanese torpedo flotilla hadstealthily crept to the rear of the vessels lying outside. It was astroke cunningly planned and boldly executed. On board the _Mikasa_ menand officers waited eagerly to learn the result. They had not a doubtof its success. At length Admiral Togo received a wireless message fromthe admiral of the advanced squadron announcing that four Russianvessels had been struck by torpedoes, and as the news was circulatedthrough the ship, the manner in which it was received impressed Bob witha sense of the confidence, and at the same time the self-restraint, ofthese allies of Britain. There was no excessive elation; not a cheerwas raised; every man seemed to regard the event as inevitable. Thefleet at once wheeled round and ran out to sea, so as to be at dawn outof range of the Russian batteries.

  The sun rose very red over Korea; the south wind blew steadily, toppingthe swelling sea with snowy crests. On the far horizon could bedescried three Japanese cruisers, and the lower hulls of severaldestroyers, stationed like watch-dogs on the skirts of the Russianfleet. Soon after eight the cruisers were seen to be approaching, andbehind them appeared the funnels of several Russian vessels in chase.Admiral Togo immediately signalled his fleet to stand in to the supportof the cruisers, and the crew of the _Mikasa_ braced themselves ineagerness for the expected fray. A sigh of disappointment broke fromthem as they saw the Russians almost at once retire towards Port Arthur,and anchor under the protection of the batteries on the heights. Surelythe enemy, whose every word and action hitherto had indicated supremecontempt of their opponent, would not lamely accept the previous night'sattack without attempting a counterstroke. But it was not known on the_Mikasa_ that Admiral Alexieff had devotedly informed his majesty theTsar that two of his battle-ships, the _Retvisan_ and the _Tsarevitch_,and the cruiser _Pallada_, had been so seriously damaged by the Japanesetorpedoes that they now lay helpless in the channel, where in allprobability they would remain ingloriously out of action for some timeto come.

  Bob wondered why the Russians seemed disinclined to run out and risk afair and square fight in the open. Admiral Togo was not the man to waitfor an invitation. Between ten and eleven the order to steam ahead wasgiven, the fighting flag was hoisted, and the _Mikasa_, her collisionmats on, led the way.

  All hands were piped to dinner. Profiting by the experience gained whenhe commanded the _Naniwa_ in the Chinese war, Admiral Togo wiselyresolved to give his crew a good square meal before the action began.Bob went forward among the men, interested to see them dispose of theirstrange mixture of Japanese and European food, and to observe theircheerful demeanour. While he was with them a summons reached him to goto the gunnery officer on the bridge. He found that some slightadjustment was needed for the delicate mechanism of the range-finder,which occupied him but a few minutes. He remained by the officer'sside, and looked eagerly through his powerful glasses in the directionof Port Arthur, which presently came into view, a long bent line on thehorizon. The gunnery officer pointed out to him the entrance to theharbour, between a range of bluffs on the east and a low-lying peninsularunning almost due north and south. He learnt the locality of theHuang-chin-shan fort and the Lao-mu-chu battery on the bluffs, and theapproximate position of a series of fortifications on the island,commanding the entrance to the channel and the roadstead beyond.

  Then, looking through the eye-pieces of the range-finder, he saw a lineof Russian war-ships extended outside the harbour. The scale indicatedthat they were at least six miles distant. There were fivebattle-ships, six cruisers, a gun-boat, and seventeen smallercraft--destroyers and torpedo-boats. The mosquito flotilla was groupedclose to the entrance of the navigable chan
nel. Just beyond them Bobdescried the funnels of three large vessels apparently aground. Thesewere the victims of the night's operations--the vessels whose unhappyplight was soon to result in the removal of Admiral Stark from thecommand of the fleet his laxity had jeopardized.

  It was a fine sunny day, there was a gentle swell on the surface of thesea, and the _Mikasa_, steaming eighteen knots, drew rapidly nearer tothe great fortress. Bob, looking steadily through his glass, singledout the flagship, the _Peresviet_, on which he expected the _Mikasa's_attack would be directed. The gunnery officer's eyes were now rivetedto the range-finder. At length, whispering "Three miles and a half" inBob's ear, he touched an electric apparatus at his side. The clang ofbells was soon afterwards heard, signal-flags were run up at thevessel's fore, and Bob distinguished a curious clinking sound from aninvisible point below him.

  "Twelve-inch breech swung open," said the gunnery officer quietly."Keep your eye on the _Peresviet_."

  Almost immediately afterwards there came to Bob's ears a strange hoarsecough; the vessel seemed to wince. A few seconds of suspense, then Bobsaw a small puff of smoke beneath the bows of the _Peresviet_: a columnof water rose high into the air, and as the wind separated its particlesinto spray, it appeared as if a shower of many-coloured glass werefalling over the deck of the Russian vessel.

  "Beautiful shot!" said the gunnery officer. "We must alter the range."

  Before a second shot could be fired from the _Mikasa_, however, one ofher consorts had followed her example, and Bob saw a patch of dirtysmoke on one of the bluffs near the Lao-mu-chu battery.

  "Hasn't got the range yet," said the gunnery officer. "Now for ours."

  Again the coughing sound, again the staggering recoil, and the Shimoseshell burst on the armour plating of the _Peresviet_, which was at onceobscured by a cloud of dense black smoke. The bombardment had begun.

  Only a few seconds after the _Mikasa's_ second shot, Bob felt the airvibrate, and the sea around the vessel was churned white by shells firedfrom the Russian ships and the batteries on shore. Now also the othervessels of the Japanese fleet joined in the fray, manoeuvring withbeautiful precision so as to present moving targets to the Russiangunners and baffle their aim. The din all around was appalling; guns ofall sizes and species were making fierce practice against the enemy;Maxims rattling, quick-firers shrieking and wailing. A column of blacksmoke rose from the deck of the _Peresviet_, showing that she had beenhit near the base of her forward funnel. Then, as the eager sailorslearnt the success of the shot, Bob heard the first cheer of the day.Immediately afterwards a projectile whistled over his head, exploded inthe air beyond the vessel, and threw a rain of iron into the sea, thesplinters falling like stones cast by some giant's hand.

  "Better go down out of harm's way, sir," said the Japanese officer.

  Bob went down, not so much to be out of harm's way as to see the gunnersat their work. He looked in at one of the box-batteries. The gun crewof six men were busy with the shells that came up from the magazines onthe ammunition hoists; one was placed in the breech, behind hisbullet-proof shield the gun-captain laid his vast weapon, the men flungthemselves on their faces, and the shot sped away on its terriblemission. Then the breech was swung open, another shell was heaved intoposition, the sight was taken, and the vessel winced as the hugeprojectile flew on its way.

  Hitherto the aim of the Russian gunners had been far from accurate;indeed, all through the fight their shells did little damage, tellingonly too clearly of insufficient practice at moving targets. But it wasdifferent with the gunners in the forts. As they got the range, shellshurtled around the _Mikasa_; and Admiral Togo at once signalled to the_Hatsuse_ and the _Asahi_ to turn their attention to the fort, and theconcentrated fire of the three vessels was brought to bear upon it. Sodense was the smoke now that Bob could not distinguish the effects ofthe shots. Indeed, he was almost dazed by the noise around him--theclang of bells, the crash of the guns, the din of the working engines.All the time the captain stood on the conning-tower calm and unmoved,telephoning his orders to the captains of the guns as though it was acase of target practice instead of deadly war.

  Bob had seen nothing of Yamaguchi since early morning, and he wonderedhow the gallant little lieutenant was faring. So few shots from theRussians had actually struck the _Mikasa_ that Bob had ceased to fearanything for his personal safety. He knew that Yamaguchi was captain ofthe crew of a gun in one of the starboard batteries, and stepping over acoil of hose placed in readiness for extinguishing any fire that mightbreak out, he made his way along the deck to find his friend.

  There he was, peering through his glass to watch the effect of the lastshot from his gun. Bob stood unnoticed behind. A huge projectile hadjust come up on the hoist, and two men were steering it to its placeabove the breech. Suddenly, somewhere above his head, there was awhistle, a hiss, a sharp ringing noise, then a terrible crash, ablinding light, and volumes of yellow suffocating smoke. A shell hadburst on the armour casing near the muzzle of the gun. Bob was flungheavily against the breech-block, which had been swung open to receivethe shell. He was half stunned; there was a strange ringing in his ears;he gasped for breath, felt that he was choking, and believed that in afew moments he must lose consciousness. But it was not in his nature togive in without a struggle. Collecting himself with a desperate effort,he managed to grope his way, half-staggering, half-crawling, out of thebattery, away from the terrible fumes that still filled the confinedspace, hanging a thick yellow mist over the guns and settling down likea blanket upon the deck. Away from the noisome stench he quicklyrecovered so far as to be able to think again. What, he instantly askedhimself, had become of the gun's crew?--what had become of Yamaguchi?Men were now hurrying up from all parts of the ship, but before theycould enter the battery Bob was ahead of them, peering through the smokefor signs of the luckless gunners. The mist eddied, caught by a gust ofwind, and through a break he saw, prone on the deck, two of the gallantcrew shattered beyond recognition. And there--yes, a little to the leftof them, stretched on his face, to all appearances lifeless--there layhis friend Yamaguchi. One bound and he was at the lieutenant's side.He stooped to lift him, and though he husbanded his breath the deadlyfumes lying low over the deck made him gasp and turn sick. He felt thathis strength was again slipping from him, but exerting all thewill-power of which he was capable he raised the inert body, stumbledwith it across the battery, and fell with his burden into the willingarms of the sailors who were crowding to the rescue.

  Bob rescues Yamaguchi]

  At the same moment there was a sudden cessation of the din. AdmiralTogo had signalled the fleet to cease fire; the vessels wheeled round,and were soon running full steam ahead into the open sea. But signals,commands, movements, all escaped Bob Fawcett. Overcome by the deadlyfumes from the exploded shell, he lay on the deck beside Yamaguchi,unconscious, ignorant that the first bombardment of Port Arthur wasover.