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13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Russia Loses Her Ice Free Port, March 2, 2009
A horizon filled with iron behemoths belching smoke is the stuff of scratchy newsreels. But big gun duels between pre-dreadnoughts in 1904 were a new, stunning phenomenon made possible by advances in naval architecture and engineering.
Author Robert Forczyk does many things in "Russian Battleship vs. Japanese Battleship," his book about the Russo-Japanese War, and does them quite well, from explaining the development of pre-dreadnoughts to detailing the efficiencies of big guns and armor plating to unrolling operational plans by taking us inside the conning towers of Vice Admiral Vitgeft and Vice Admiral Rozhestvensky, who commanded the Russian fleets and Japanese Admiral Togo who defeated them.
Like much of the history of this war, these sea battles have dropped out of mind -- upstaged by the dramatic surface actions of the First World War.
For Americans, the Russo-Japanese War is definitely shrouded in mystery. This book will change that a bit because of what Mr. Forczyk's exhaustive research and authoritative writing brings to that Far Eastern conflict.
What makes the book so exceptional is Mr. Forczyk's scholarship, his ability to make perfect sense of the fog of a forgotten war. This is an informed book, and I'm already looking forward to his next.
Readers need not fear, however, that "Russian Battleship vs. Japanese battleship" is all about counting the number of boilers per ship and belt line armor thickness. The book also spotlights Russian and Japanese naval operations; he has split it into the seven thematic chapters so familiar to the Duel series.
Mr. Forczyk's work focuses on the minutiae of the largest clashes between the Imperial Japanese Navy and the Czar Nicholas's Navy in 1904-05 as well as the truly critical events that set the war in motion. The book soars in those parts in which the author describes how the Russians sallied forth on the Yellow Sea, and how the Japanese failed time and again to deliver a knockout blow.
Mr. Forczyk, author of Warsaw 1944: Poland's bid for freedom (Campaign), has read very thoroughly, and tries to give an all-around account of the battleships, the officers, and the brave sailors of the two fleets. He is especially good on the analysis of tactics and weapon systems.
The author offers an insightful and intellectually detailed account of the smoky battles by bolstering his historical narrative with exhaustive analysis. He describes the strategic goals of the Japanese and Russian navies while narrating the action of sailors trying to cope with confused signals, failed weapons, knocked out bridges, flooded boilers and magazines.
With severe early losses, Admiral Togo saw the campaign develop as one of long-range attrition -- not willing to risk his few remaining battleships until the critical moment; he would attack repeatedly and sap Russia's will to fight. As the campaign for Port Arthur stalemated, Russian naval losses grew. Ordered by the Czar to breakout to Vladivostok, Vice Admiral Vitgeft displayed an ever-increasing fatalism. He stoically dispatched his picked-over fleet with: "Gentlemen, we shall meet in the next world."
Winter brought gloomy skies and rough seas that floundered torpedo boats, rendered long-range guns silent, and made naval maneuvers difficult. Bombarding Japanese Army 11-in. howitzers proved far more effective at sinking Russian battleships in Port Arthur, Mr. Forczyk notes, than Togo's hit-or-miss torpedo boat night raids.
The author expertly juggles narratives, including the story of Vice Admiral Rozhestvensky's famous, ill-fated 1905 circum-voyage from St. Petersburg, and Togo's own venture to intercept them. it's hard to imagine that Mr. Forczyk left any worthwhile stone uncovered. The author combines narrative and research materials for clarity of scene and immediacy. He follows Togo's decisive operation to a concisely written, masterly paced conclusion.
Mr. Forczyk recounts Admiral Togo's operations with unsparing diagnosis, killing all romantic ideas of what transpired in the Sea of Japan. When he sailed out of the East China Sea, Vice Admiral Rozhestvensky's squadron, unfit for fleet combat suffered a comedy of mistakes, among other things, the inability to effectively direct his straggling fleet. It must seem ridiculous to the reader that hospital ships in the Russian squadron remained fully-lighted at night. Rozhestvensky's attempt to protect his wounded from night attack advertised his location to Togo's scouting ships.
The author knows how to narrate a complicated story, but also to dissect opposing leaders clearly and succinctly. His book is filled with fascinating characters such as the Russian Admirals: Marakov, Vigeft, Prince Ukhtomski, and Rozhestvensky -- a world class incompetent -- the Hamilcar of his day.
The author's profiles of Admiral Togo Heihachiro, Vice Admiral Kamimura, and Vice Admiral Dewa, the key players in the Imperial Japanese Navy are more sketchy. He has distilled the essence of their authority and command in a way that helps readers understand the basis of their decision making while avoiding the mistake made by many historians of judging the past by modern standards.
But what "Russian Battleship vs. Japanese Battleship" demonstrates most of all is something baseball analyst Bill James would likely appreciate: how you can see something that has become familiar much more clearly if you look at it from the statistical angle. Mr. Forczyk has a few surprising conclusions for the reader in his revealing analysis.
Many of the disasters that Mr. Forczyk chronicles are well known: the 1905 grand finale near Tsushima Island, for example, or Vice Admiral Marakov and Vice Admiral Vitgeft's clashes off Port Arthur. But supposedly even effective admirals had their horror stories. Togo, for example, made one of the most dreadful mistakes in the war by sending the battleships Hatsuse and Yashima in close to bombard Port Arthur. There, 496 sailors were killed when mines sank both battleships; the Imperial Japanese Navy's biggest loss for one day in the Russo-Japanese War, and a humiliating tragedy that Togo's admirers often choose to forget.
There are finely written accounts of the key warships. Few of the Russian battleships were impressive: Peresvyet lacked firepower -- Sissoi Veliki was overweight -- cylindrical boilers handicapped Poltava -- the Borodino was so heavy, its armor belt was underwater.
The expertly crewed Japanese warships had fewer deficiencies but they were serious: Hatsuse and Yashima were both quickly sunk by mines; "Both Mikasa and Shikishima suffered premature explosions in one of their 12-in. guns, indicated problems with propellant and fuses -- reducing Togo's long-range firepower by nearly 25 percent."
Mr. Forczyk covers these momentous changes with great skill, deftly mixing narrative and analysis, and explaining much that is difficult or unapproachable in this fascinating period. Casual readers take note: Although it's a short book, it is a serious book -- not popular history. But it is also intensely rewarding. The author has a broad vision. He rarely loses the naval enthusiast's attention.
This thoroughly researched book belongs on the A-list of Russo-Japanese War histories; its a worthy addition for all who admire Mr. Forczyk's prose and his ability to see into, and explain, warfare.
"Russian Battleship vs. Japanese Battleship: Yellow Sea 1904-05" contains four representative naval officer biographies, two 3D battle maps, two excellent battle action paintings, and two nice battleship profiles.
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11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Engaging Account of the Last Pure Battleship Duels!, March 2, 2009
Osprey's 'Duel' series comes up with another winner in the form of Robert Forczyk's RUSSIAN VS JAPANESE BATTLESHIP, YELLOW SEA 1904-05. An incisive, imaginatively-illustrated summary of the naval battles waged during the Russo-Japanese War, Forczyk's book not only brings those long-ago battles to life but also shows why the outcome of those sea-going slugging matches had been decided even before the first salvo boomed out.
Forczyk, a noted historian, spends the first 40 pages of the book examining the radical developments in warship design, armor, armament, powerplants and communications that transpired in the late 1800s and how Japanese and Russian battleships of that period reflected those developments. He also discusses the factors that lead to the Russo-Japanese War, the strategies adopted by both sides and, lastly, compares the make-up of Russian/Japanese battleship crews.
Forczyk is also a gifted writer. I greatly enjoyed the skillful way in which he laid the foundation for the inevitable hostilities and their equally inevitable outcome item by item. And, although humor is almost unknown in Osprey publications, Forczyk managed to sneak it into RUSSIAN BATTLESHIP VS JAPANESE BATTLESHIP by characterizing the Russian fleet's C-in-C as "a screaming imbecile of a commander."
The book's final 36 pages detail the opening battle at Port Arthur on 8-9 February 1904, the Battle of the Yellow Sea on 10 August 1904 and the debacle at Tsushima on 27 May 1905. (Forcyzk quite correctly summarizes this last encounter as "less a battle than an execution of an untrained mob.") For those of us with only a passing knowledge of the Russo-Japanese War, this section is especially informative.
The text is illustrated with over 50 b&w and color photographs, diagrams of fleet movements, ship profiles, maps and battle scenes.
All in all, Forczyn's book is a wonderful piece of work that will be enjoyed by all sea war buffs. Highly recommended.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent Evaluation let down by its maps, April 16, 2009
Robert Forczyk does his usual excellent job covering the battleships of the Russo-Japanese War. He starts out with the design and development of the ships. He discusses the technical innovations that impacted the designs; including the obvious (guns, armor, engines) as well as not so obvious but critical things like shells, fire control systems and communications. The importance of these last three to actual effectiveness was not limited to this war; think Jutland.
We learn that the excellent Russian APC shells were not bought in quantity (due to cost) and so had no impact on the battles; Japanese Shimosa shells were very destructive, but also very temperamental: the number of burst barrels from prematures significantly degraded Japanese combat power over the course of an extended battle. The Japanese fire control system was much better thought out and more effective, but also more vulnerable to battle damage.
Along the way, Forczyk skewers some myths and throws out some real nuggets of information. Rozhestvensky's reputation as a gunnery expert was completely unfounded; Makarov was a "bull in a china shop" (not sure I agree); the long-range gunnery contests, which so many claim presaged the dreadnought era, were a waste of ammunition. This was particularly important to the Japanese as they had to carefully ration ammunition and high-quality coal, neither of which could be imported after the start of the war, and both were getting worryingly low by the Battle of Tsushima.
Forczyk makes the point that the pace of development was so great, both sides had to risk using untested technology or be left in the dust. Inevitably, this came back to bite both sides. Russian battleships were not as badly designed as is often claimed and were superior at surviving underwater explosions. Some of the oft-questioned design choices were due to the fact that they had to be able to travel long distances to even get to the Far East, had to carry large amounts of coal and had to be able to transit rather narrow canals. The Japanese had to worry about none of these things. The Russian ships that were not significantly overweight were quite good; the ones that were, weren't.
The heart of the book is, of course, the battle descriptions. Here Forczyk makes a risky choice: instead of focusing solely on the two major battles, he covers the entire war from the point of view of the battleships. This might seem a waste of crucial pages, but in fact it provides the context for the battles and shows how the ships performed in a whole host of minor actions.
Up to this point, the book is excellent, but there are problems with the coverage of the two main battles. The first is fairly minor: the various cruisers appear and then disappear from the action, leaving this reader with little idea of what they were trying to accomplish and, usually, only vague notions of what they did accomplish. I know this book is about the battleships, but a little more understanding of the actions of the cruisers would make the actions of the battleships clearer as well.
Of course, following their movements on the maps would help -- if there were any maps that showed the movement of ships. This is the only major shortcoming of the book, and it is major. Besides a strategic overview of the theatre of operations, there are two "still life" maps showing the location of battleships at one particular moment in each battle. They are pretty, but being pretty is the job of the two beautifully drawn battle scenes. Maps are supposed to be informative and these are not. This is a problem, as both battles were complicated. Forczyk makes a valiant effort to describe the battles in words, but good maps are essential. I have read a number of descriptions of both battles (with maps), I know how they go, and I still got lost several times.
I don't really know how to score this book. The prose, photos, drawings and battle scenes deserve a 5; the maps deserve a 2 or 3. If you are interested in the battleships of the Russo-Japanese War and their actions, you should get this book. Just be sure to have on hand another account of the battles of the Yellow Sea and Tsushima -- one with good maps.
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