The Fleet That Had To Die

[Norman_E]

Currently on Kindle at 99 pence. https://www.amazon.co.uk/Fleet-That...111&sr=1-1&keywords=the+fleet+that+had+to+die
I read this book in hardback well over 50 years ago, and am just reading it again. Its the story of the Russian fleet of warships that sailed from the Baltic to their destruction at the battle of Tsu Shima in 1905. Simply getting the fleet there against the monumental incompetence of the Russian admiralty and of most of the fleet's officers plus the mutinous inclinations of many seamen was a major achievement in itself, and the book details the struggles of admiral Rochestevensky just to follow and sometimes disobey admiralty orders.

 

[Poignard]

Thanks for that. I have just ordered it. Looks like £0.99 well-spent.

 

[Fick1995]

Thanks for sharing especially the link, i just ordered too and it's worth it.

Fake id

 

[Rum Run]

Currently on Kindle at 99 pence. https://www.amazon.co.uk/Fleet-That...111&sr=1-1&keywords=the+fleet+that+had+to+die
I read this book in hardback well over 50 years ago, and am just reading it again. Its the story of the Russian fleet of warships that sailed from the Baltic to their destruction at the battle of Tsu Shima in 1905. Simply getting the fleet there against the monumental incompetence of the Russian admiralty and of most of the fleet's officers plus the mutinous inclinations of many seamen was a major achievement in itself, and the book details the struggles of admiral Rochestevensky just to follow and sometimes disobey admiralty orders.

Was this the mob who perpetrated the North Sea Incident, where a Russian fleet mistook some Hull trawlers for the Imperial Japanese Navy and opened fire on them? Military Intelligence at its finest there

 

[Kukri]

Yes. Britain was allied to Japan, and the Russians thought that Japanese torpedo boats were hiding amongst the British fishing fleet. One consequence was that ports in the British Empire were closed to the Russian Fleet, at a time when Britain had all the best ports and naval bases...

 

[Old Bumbulum]

It's a fascinating illustration of how Russian politics has long held grandiose and utterly unattainable dreams of Imperialist might far, far beyond the abilities of it's barely competent military to achieve them.
Rien plus ça change!

Poor Admiral Rochestevensky was stuck with what he knew would be a suicide mission that could only involve the total loss of Russia's fleet, much of which was obsolete and largely unseaworthy even in home waters, let alone halfway around the world accompanied by utterly incompetent staff and senior officers appointed from the aristocracy rather than for Naval skills.
How he attained what he did is something of a miracle and I think his achievement in merely getting there and engaging the Japanese is one of the most impressive, if saddest tales of duty and professionalism in the certain knowlege of abject and disastrous failure in Naval history.
If the description of the ensuing catastrophe at the hands of Adm. Tōgō does not draw a tear you're harder than I. Russia lost all 11 of it's Battleships, 4 of it's 8 cruisers and 6 of it's 9 destroyers plus numerous support and other vessels.

Rochestevensky was severely wounded, captured and returned to Russia to face a death sentence. At his trial he, as a true Commander, insisted that he and he alone took full responsibility for the cluster**** the Government, Admiralty and his Staff had subjected him to and the Tsar was sufficiently impressed to commute the death sentence.

If it were fiction you wouldn't get halfway through before putting it aside as a tale so daft and far-fetched it wasn't worth wasting time to read it.

Top shelf!

 

[mattonthesea]

Thanks for sharing especially the link, i just ordered too and it's worth it.

Fake id

Weird: now says it doesn't exist in Kindle!

 

[NormanB]

Yeah kinky no worky for me and I have also tried searching for the kindle version directly on the website to no avail.

 

[Norman_E]

Its strange that the Kindle edition has vanished entirely. There is a footnote to the story however, in that one of the crusers that fought at Tsu Shima still exists, this is the Aurora, which is now a museum vessel at St Petersburg, another was the Zhemchug which as torpedoed and sunk at Penang by the German WW1 surface raider the light cruiser Emden, which is the subject of another book I recommend, The Last Corsair https://www.amazon.co.uk/Last-Corsair-Story-Emden/dp/1841580619 Now out of print and only available secondhand.

 

[milljan]

I would love to have this too. it's been months since the last time I have read a very interesting plot under such genre. I'm excited to get my hands on it.

 

[SAMYL]

Several on Ebay for little money.