Chemulpo: After Action Report

Rear Admiral Uriu's ultimatum to the two Russian vessels anchored in the Port of Chemulpo, Korea, is about to expire, when to the west of Yo-dol-mi Island, the silhouettes of two ships appear in line ahead, heading straight for the Japanese.

The after-action report then, on the re-fight of the last stand of Varyag and Korietz, using Phil Barker's "Damn Battleships Again" rules, with a few adjustments of my own thrown in here and there.

In order to balance the inevitability of the Russians being overpowered, we deployed a 'cunning plan' involving two of the neutral ships; as described in my last post, the French Pascal and the Italian Elba. These vessels made an interference run in the direction of the Japanese, ostensibly as neutral shipping under the rules.

I was hoping also that wind and weather might become a factor, but unfortunately, and perhaps typically, the die rolls gave us 'Light airs and calm', and of course the time of day also did nothing to mask the Russian breakout attempt.

Rudnev, commanding the Russian flotilla was rated as type 4 gallant/mad, whilst Uriu was type 5 cautious.

To further mask the strength of the historical Japanese fleet, I resolved to employ only the models I had for actual vessels, rather than using proxies for the remaining ships, so this served to limit the firepower available. The balance of Uriu's fleet, including the Torpedo Boats, were judged to be further out to sea, watching for any Russian reinforcements approaching from Port Arthur.

Meanwhile, to the East of the Island, Varyag and Korietz, make best speed for the open sea:

Much to his annoyance, the shapes of the ships approaching Rear Admiral Uriu's Naniwa resolve themselves into two neutrals, and he furiously crosses their bows in order to prevent them from masking his line of battle, and the all-important guns of the armoured Asama.

The Japanese battle line resolved itself into the Asama, Takachiho and Akashi, and a tentative long range shot from the 6" guns of the Varyag failed to make any impression on the armour of the foremost Japanese cruiser; things were not looking good when in reply, Korietz was immediately damaged. Instead of puffs of cotton wool, I am using the 1/2400 shell splashes, CM36, available from Quick Reaction Force.

Thunderous fire from the Asama and Takachiho bracketed the two Russian vessels, and in a few cruel minutes, both were damaged, whilst ominously the Akashi began to pull away from the Japanese line, moving to cut off their enemy's escape route ahead:

Not dismayed, however, Rudnev's gunners fought back against the smoke and flame, and loading their weapons like men possessed, found the range against the Takachiho: a hit!

The intervention of the neutrals had effectively put Naniwa out of the fight, and some inspired rolling meant the Russians could actually strike back against the better armoured Japanese, whilst they in turn had some hideously low rolls, failing to make a dent, even on the 4SP Korietz.

The bit between their teeth, the valiant Russians turned into the approaching foe, and the range narrowing all the time, let loose a barrage of torpedoes, only to be damaged in turn by a rain of Japanese shells:

Varyag was damaged for the second time by the Asama, but incredibly, both gun and torpedo hits were made on the Akashi, however, with her impetuous turn into the enemy, Varyag was now effectively doomed; the weight of fire incoming meant she was going to be in real trouble.

The only bright spot was it meant that Korietz was able to pull ahead, whilst her companion took the heat.

Then, disaster! Blinded by smoke and torn and wrenched by weight of shot, a cruel blow was inflicted on the valiant Varyag, and she is crippled by the fire of the enemy....

The nobility of Rudnev's sacrifice means that the weaker Korietz, bloodied but unbowed, can make good her passage toward Port Arthur and immortality:

To be frank, the Japanese at this point could have closed in for the kill on the smaller ship, which was going to be easily outpaced by the cruisers, but in good gentlemanly fashion, Uriu refused to engage such a weakened opponent; whether the TBs waiting out to sea would have been as kind, remained to be seen....

Honours, even, then, the vast armoured bulk of the Asama, unscratched by the lighter guns of the Russians, is chivalrous enough to allow the brave Korietz to pass:

The immortal Varyag and Korietz:

So, having weighted the game as much as possible away from favouring the Japanese, the Russians, mainly due to some very fortunate dice, gave not a bad account of themselves. In reality, however, just as historically, there was not a lot they could do against the ships with greater defence factors; closing the range gave them a better chance to hit, but of course this works both ways!

The combat ranges were adjusted downwards, to allow for the 1/3000th models, and the engagement easily took place on the 4x4 foot sea mat, although more shipping would have made things rather tighter.

The neutrals declined to take an active part, but had they got into the fight, things might have been more even, or at least made very interesting for the Japanese.

Good fun as a game, not least in paying tribute to the valiant and gallant fight put up by Rudnev and Belyaev, and of course things ended without the need to take on board the inevitable scuttling of the Russian ships that was to follow....

Chemulpo: DBA Scenario Ideas.

A look now at some ideas as to how to present Chemulpo 1904 as a 'Damn Battleships Again' Scenario, looking in particular at the various vessels, their classification, and how one might 'level the playing field' somewhat, in order to turn what was always going to be a one-sided encounter into something a little more balanced.

As I'll be using the ships that were present during the Boxer Rebellion from my earlier campaign, I don't have the requisite models to represent every vessel, but given that historically not all the Japanese vessels seem to have engaged fully, (I suppose the Asama alone could have done the job, in reality....) I'm going to work around that.

I think the battle could throw up some interesting outcomes, and depending if you extend into 'what-if' territory, the involvement of the four neutral warships could be crucial.

All the vessels in the photos here are Navwar 1/3000th, and eagle-eyed viewers will note that my Varyag is actually a masquerading French Chateaurenault - I ordered the wrong pack, so had to make do! All ideas relating to the scenario are not official, emanating from myself, rather than such luminaries as Mr Barker et al.

If you don't have an immediate reference like a Naval Annual or All the World's Navies, thankfully there are a number of sites online that have good information available for this period.

The always interesting battleships.ru website has a nice summary of statistics for the various participants here:

http://www.battleships.ru/Chemulpo_action.html

In addition to the major surface vessels, they mention eight separate Japanese Torpedo Boat types, although I have yet to see these particular ships confirmed by other sources; some say three boats, some six, and most have no detail as to which ones; certainly, historically, they seemed to have taken no part in the main action, although that doesn't stop you adding them in for maximum mayhem!

First up then, some basic ship statistics, starting with the Varyag, or 'Viking' herself:

HIRMS Varyag: 1st Class protected Cruiser

Speed: 23 knots

(I hasten to add that this was optimal, sources put her capability at more like 19 kt on the day.)

Armament: twelve 6"QF, twelve 3", eight 47mm QF, six 15" Torpedo Tubes.

Damn Battleships Again Class: 2nd Class Cruiser, 6 Ship Points.

Next, her consort, the sea-going gunboat the HIRMS Korietz or 'The Korean':

Speed: 12 knots (on a good day....)

Armament: two 8" L/35 muzzle-loading guns, one 6" muzzle loader, four 4", six 47mm QF. The website above also gives her a single 15" Torpedo Tube, but I have not seen this mentioned elsewhere.

DBA Class: Obsolete, this seems rather harsh, but in view of her weaponry and size.....2SP? Perhaps for the sake of balance, a 3rd Class Cruiser designation might hold, at 4SP - both these ships punched above their weight in terms of gallantry and bravado!

Now for the rather weightier opposition; first up, the impressive Armoured Cruiser, Asama:

HIJMS Asama

Speed 20.5 knots

Armament: four 8", sixteen 6" QF, twelve 12pdr QF, seven 2.5pdr QF, five 18" Torpedo Tubes

DBA Class: 1st Class Cruiser, 8SP.

HIJMS Takachiho and Naniwa (sister ships):

Speed 18.5 knots

Armament: six 6", two 57mm QF, four 18" Torpedo Tubes

DBA Class: 2nd Class Cruiser, 6SP.

HIJMS Naniwa (Rear Adm. Uriu's flagship):

HIJMS Akashi (Suma Class):

Speed 20 knots

Armament: two 6", six 4.7", four 3", ten 47mm QF, two 15" Torpedo Tubes

DBA Class: 2nd Class Cruiser, 6SP.

HIJMS Niitaka:

Speed 20 knots

Armament: six 6", sixteen 3", four 47mm QF

DBA Class: 3rd Class Cruiser, 4SP.

HIJMS Chiyoda:

Speed 19 knots

Armament: fourteen 6", ten 4.7", three 15" Torpedo Tubes

DBA Class: 1st Class Cruiser, 8SP.

HIJMS Chihaya:

Speed 18 knots

Armament: two 4.7", four 3"QF, five 18" Torpedo Tubes

DBA Class: 3rd Class Cruiser, 4SP.

So, even discounting the up to eight TBs, Japan seems to have a whacking great advantage, but I think with some special rules, you could engineer in some interesting bonuses to give the Russian pair a chance.

Depending on whether you see Rudnev's mission as to go down in a blaze of glory, or to attempt to break the blockade, then DBA allows for some interesting impacts on play using wind and weather as well as navigation hazards. If you saw the map I linked in my previous post, you will notice not only the Yo-dol-mi island, but also the 5 fathom line across much of the eastern edge; this would play well as a shoal, for instance.

Next of course, we have to factor in the dash and elan of the respective commanders, Uriu certainly seems to have been relatively cautious and methodical, conservative, even, whilst Rudnev allowed himself to be caught in a situation that could only engender rashness - I like the Flag Officer's Classification no4: "He is a gallant officer and/or completely mad" - could have been written for him!

Then, of course, there is the potential involvement of the neutrals; this could take the form of running interference, as it were, with perhaps them behaving as merchant shipping under the rules, and just happening to sally out in line astern and covering the Russian pair in the process (Will Uriiu fire on/through them?), or even something more active.

Historically speaking, the U.S.S. Vicksburg was definitely erring on the Japanese side of things, geopolitically at this period, the two countries were, if not allied as such, benevolently disposed toward each other, and indeed, in terms of trade, the dominance of a victorious Russian Empire would perhaps not have been in America's interests.

Perhaps we could then discount her active participation, but what about the British HMS Talbot? Bayly had made his point as "Yours, disgruntled of Chemulpo....." with his protest letter, but surely, could not have gone further, attacking an ally at the expense of a global competitor?

I think, on balance, he will act as he did historically, although it would be nice to think he would come up with some sort of diversionary wheeze as I mentioned above to allow the Russians to leave without bloodshed....

Turning finally to the other two European nations, this is where I think that the best possibilities for action lie. The French, if anything, were natural allies of the Russians at the time, and how could they resist the romance of that last, gallant sally? In reality, they looked on, a la Charge of the Light Brigade, and shrugged "C'est Magnifique....mais ce n'est pas la Guerre!", but wouldn't it be great, if impassioned by the Russian example, they joined the fray?

Descartes Class Cruiser, Pascal:

Speed 19.5 knots

Armament: four 6.4", ten 4", two 18" Torpedo Tubes

DBA Class: 2nd Class Cruiser, 6SP.

Finally, the Italians; not to stereotype their nation, but could they stand idly by and watch the French go to glory and beyond without them? I say: "Avanti Italia!"

Lombardia Class Cruiser, Elba:

Speed 17 knots

Armament: four 6", six 4.7", eight 57mm QF, seven 47mm QF, two 14" Torpedo Tubes

DBA Class: 2nd Class Cruiser, 6SP.

Plenty to think about, there, I think, I'll be running a refight along these lines in the next few days, so keep a lookout for the After Action Report!

Varyag and Korietz

"From the Ship's Log of the Russian Cruiser Varyag, 9th of February 1904:

11:10 All hands on deck, Varyag

11:20 Cruiser goes to open sea, Korietz in 1 cable length (200m) behind. English and Italian crews cheer Russians, on the Italian Cruiser Elba, the Russian anthem is played.

11:25 Battle alarm on Varyag, Japanese Cruisers Asama, Naniwa, Takachiho, Chiyoda, Akashi, Niitaka bearing line from Richy Island to Northern Passage. Japanese Torpedo Boats behind Cruisers.

11:45 Varyag opens fire with port guns.

11:47 Asama opens fire with 8" gun, all Japanese squadron then opens fire......"

What the Japanese would call the "Jinsen Oki Kaisen" was about to begin. Rear Admiral Uriu's ultimatum was to expire at four o'clock on the 9th, when he threatened to attack the Russian ships in the Port of Chemulpo itself if they had not left the roadstead by midday.

In reality, then, and perhaps in contradiction to the affront felt by the English, Italians and French, Uriu was giving the Russians every chance to clear the neutral port, or even to scuttle their vessels in place, and have four whole hours to evacuate crews to the mainland or neutral shipping before he would pre-emptorily 'invade' the harbour.

http://international.loc.gov/service/mss/mtfms/msm/m1038/0001.jpg

Of course, this was really no choice at all; leaving the harbour meant an engagement that could only end in one way, and scuttling without even testing the enemy was bordering on cowardice; the advice and counsel of the European nations would err on the latter side, and meanwhile, mayhap their fillibuster reply to the Japanese might delay any real action - perhaps even a blockade of sorts might result; but Rudnev was made of sterner stuff - the honour of his naval service was at stake, the pride of his nation, and he would not concede without making some form of defiant gesture.

Whether he truly believed that his Varyag and her consort the Korietz could actually have a chance of breaking the ring of steel laid by the enemy, or whether he intended on going down in a 'blaze of glory', perhaps we shall never know, but clearing for action ten minutes before the midday deadline, both ships weighed anchor and set out for sea.

Within minutes of opening fire, the Japanese were able to bracket the Varyag before her own 6" guns had a hope of reaching the Asama, and tore away the port wing of the forebridge, started a fire in the chart house, and broke the foreshrouds. Casualties resulted at once, crucially amongst the personnel of the range finding equipment (However primitive it may have been in this era), and before midday, both main guns at the bow, and all of the secondary weapons on the port side, including their crews, were put out of action.

Rudenev was severely wounded in the head by shell splinters, the staff bugler and drummer who stood by his side were killed, and there were fires blazing on the bow and quarterdeck. The ship was now being steered from the steering compartment below, although damage to the rudders was making control difficult.

A useful map of the action:

http://www.russojapanesewar.com/chemulpo-map.html

Having passed Yo-dol-mi island, and with the distance to the enemy coming down to less than 30 cables, the decision was taken to turn about, but the steering was unresponsive with the rudders jammed at 15-20 degrees on the port side, so under fire, a slow turn to port was commenced only for the ship to be hit below the waterline by a large calibre shell which caused water to rush in and threaten the furnaces; desperate repair efforts were required to patch this and remain afloat.

There is some controversy as to whether the Varyag inflicted any damage upon her tormentors in return, the ship's log claims a hit on the bridge of the Asama, engulfing her in smoke and flame, which caused her to cease firing for a time whilst it was put out; the Japanese, for their part, strenuously deny that any such damage took place....

The Korietz had made slow progress on the starboard quarter of the Varyag, and for a time had been shielded from the Japanese, but now she too warranted the attentions of the enemy when Chiyoda, Naniwa and Niitaka entered firing range astern of the Asama.

Her own muzzle loaders were woefully out of range, but not to be outdone, she fired away for all she was worth, and quite possibly with no effect whatsoever, other than to cheer the spirits of her own crew.

Perhaps mercifully, the Japanese fire on her seems to have been largely ineffective, yet she could now do no more than follow her fellow warrior back toward the harbour.

By 12:40, both ships, the Varyag listing 20 degrees to port, and down by the bow, began to approach the harbour, and the Japanese broke off the pursuit, probably in order to prevent any 'overs' falling amongst the neutral shipping, which had stubbornly remained in place. I would guess it is for this reason also that Uriu did not send in his torpedo craft to finish the duel, given the damage an errant torpedo might do in the narrow confines of the port.

The endgame was yet to be played out, but given the international Press presence in the region, the legend of the gallant and defiant actions of the two ships was already being written; astoundingly, that early pioneer of film, Thomas Edison, ever one to grab an opportunity for publicity, made the following 'Short', seen from the Japanese side:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mw9lqO0JZ_4

An Austrian poet was soon penning the words of a song that was soon translated into Russian, and became the soundtrack to this film made some years later:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sfH1BF9JflM

I suggest you turn the sound up, and sing "Urrah" for the men of the Varyag and Korietz.....

Chemulpo: Last Stand of the Varyag and Korietz

In the annals of Russian Naval history, there is perhaps no greater example of sang-froid in the face of the enemy than that shown by the heroic defiance of the Cruiser Varyag and the Gunboat Korietz, when met by superior Japanese forces in the bay of Chemulpo (Modern-day Inchon) on February 9th 1904.

The opening move of the Russo-Japanese War was the mission by Rear Admiral Uriu's flotilla to land troops for the invasion of Korea at Chemulpo. The Japanese force consisted of the Naniwa Class Cruisers Naniwa and Takachiho, the Suma class Akashi, the Tsushima Class Niitaka, the Asama and Chiyoda (own classes), the armed merchant Chihaya, at least six torpedo boats, and three transports carrying 25oo troops.

Ranged against these powerful vessels, Imperial Russia had the obsolete Gunboat Korietz, (Captained by G.P. Belyaev) whose 8" muzzle loaders were only augmented by the 6" guns of Captain Vselevod Rudnev's Varyag. This was as opposed to the modern 8" guns of the Asama, let alone the combined weight of fire of the whole Japanese force.

The Russian paquet boat steamer Sungari arrived in the roadstead at Chemulpo on February 7th, and reported the presence of the Japanese fleet; the Cruiser Chiyoda had already been in attendance for some months, keeping an eye on Russian activity. Interestingly, the Russians were not the only occupants of the bay, in that there were vessels from four other nations anchored at this port that served as the maritime outlet for the Korean capital of Seoul.

From Britain was the Eclipse Class Cruiser the Talbot, under Captain L. Bayly, from France was the Descartes Class Protected Cruiser Pascal, from Italy the Lombardia Class Protected Cruiser the Elba, and from the United States, the Gunboat Vicksburg under William A. Marshall.

Opinion varies as to exactly what happened next; either the Korietz was despatched on a voyage to Port Arthur to warn the Russian fleet there and engaged the Chiyoda, or she merely blundered out onto the Japanese flotilla, mistook them for friendly ships, yet somehow entered into a fruitless exchange of fire; in any event, the gloves were apparently off - yet how could the two Russian ships prevent the landing of the Japanese invasion force?

To be frank, they could not, would not, and did not, indeed they remained aloof whilst Uriu's troopships landed their charges - at this point the port was still officially neutral, and no offensive action could be taken within the roadstead with the various vessels of the other nations present.

This quaintly Victorian situation of trying not to show either concern or interest at the activities of an enemy under your very nose came to a head when the Japanese Admiral sent a written warning and ultimatum to the captains of the neutral ships.

He stated that he intended to take offensive action against the Russians, giving the exact time he intended to do this, and advising those uninvolved to move their vessels out of harm's way.

Captain Bayly, in rather Colonel Blimpish fashion, took umbrage at the bad form shown by the Japanese Rear Admiral, and no doubt moustaches bristling, sent a strongly worded letter in reply. This was countersigned by the French and Italians, who obviously understood these things, and what constituted a 'good show' or not; the notable absentees here were the representatives of the young nation of America, who refused to join in with this comedy of Manners.

Given that the English had signed the Anglo-Japanese Naval Treaty in 1902, had built most of Japan's Battle Fleet, and had a permanent flotilla based off their islands, Bayly's decision to stick up for the Russians seems incomprehensible, yet entirely explainable in a world dominated by Gentlemen's Clubs rather than strategic think-tanks.....and quite right too...... "It's all very well being an Ally....but that's dashed bad form don't you know, old chap...."

In any event, the Russians themselves would save the blushes of the other nations when they did what was perhaps the 'honourable' thing, and decided to fight - a glamorous, romantic act, given the odds ranged against them, yet really the only thing they could have done. At least that was what their hearts told them, but in cold reality, it would be a fruitless and downright suicidal run out to sea, where the Japanese were awaiting them....

I'll be looking in detail at what happened next in coming posts, and hopefully having a run-through of the action using Damn Battleships Again, and some of the minis I gathered for the Boxer Rebellion Naval Project, so keep a good lookout!

For those of you who might be interested, there is a good overview of things here:

http://www.russojapanesewar.com/chemulpo.html

and also a fascinating account of the background to the action, and the events themselves from a more neutral perspective, including astonishing original photographs taken at the time here:

http://populargusts.blogspot.com/2008/10/foreign-correspondents-in-korea-during.html

The postcard view at the top of the post is from my personal collection, the title reads: "French sailors from the Cruiser Pascal rescue Russian sailors at the Battle of Chemulpo". Interestingly, the artist also depicts an Italian flagged whaleboat helping out in the left middle distance, and has the neutral shipping ranged beyond.