Last Friday – Black Friday! – Sue and I paid one of our regular visits to Bluewater, during which I visited the branch of Waterstones. As usual I scanned the display of book on the Osprey display stand and my eye was caught by TSUSHIMA 1905: DEATH OF A RUSSIAN FLEET.
Tsushima is a battle I've often read about, and after realising that it not only covered the course of the battle but also the events leading up to it, I bought a copy.
The book is divided into nine chapters and an index, arranged as follows:
TSUSHIMA 1905: DEATH OF A RUSSIAN FLEET was written by Mark Lardas, illustrated by Peter Dennis, and published in 2018 by Osprey Publishing (ISBN 978 1 4728 2683 1) as part of their Campaign series (No.330).
Tsushima is a battle I've often read about, and after realising that it not only covered the course of the battle but also the events leading up to it, I bought a copy.
The book is divided into nine chapters and an index, arranged as follows:
- Origins of the campaign
- Chronology
- Opposing commanders
- Japanese
- Russian
- Opposing forces
- The Imperial Japanese Navy
- The Imperial Russian Navy
- Orders of battle
- Opposing plans
- Japanese
- Russian
- The campaign
- Opening days, 8 – 9 February 1904
- Port Arthur blockaded, February – August 1904
- The Battle of the Yellow Sea, 10 – 14 August 1904
- Voyage of the Baltic Fleet, October 1904 – April 1905
- Tsushima: the approach
- Tsushima: the first day
- Tsushima: the conclusion
- Aftermath
- The battle sites today
- Further reading
- Index
TSUSHIMA 1905: DEATH OF A RUSSIAN FLEET was written by Mark Lardas, illustrated by Peter Dennis, and published in 2018 by Osprey Publishing (ISBN 978 1 4728 2683 1) as part of their Campaign series (No.330).
Bob,
ReplyDeleteLooks to be a very interesting read. From memory the Japanese Fleet beat the Russians soundly...and I think that the Japanese had a lot of British built and designed ships in their Fleet. Regards. KEV.
Kev Robertson,
DeleteAll the Japanese battleships were designed and built in the UK. Almost all the Japanese cruisers came from the UK, Italy, and France.
Russia's fleet was mostly home-built to French-influenced designs, although they did have one US-built battleship.
The Japanese had home advantage and were not saddled with having to use a whole squadron of obsolete ships that were sent out from the Baltic to bulk out the fleet.
All the best,
Bob
I’ve always felt that the voyage of the Baltic Fleet and the battle of Tsushima were in some ways the least interesting part of the story of the war at sea. And then there’s the land war, which often gets even less attention.
ReplyDeleteAnd just about on topic as this is another of you posts about your naval book collection. It was my birthday a few days ago and between my wife and my younger son I received “Before the Battle Cruiser” by Aidan Dodson and “British Battleships of the Victorian Era” by Norman Friedman. There is too much meat in them to form a reliable opinion in so short a time but they are both looking pretty good so far. The former, in particular, is attractive because of its world wide coverage of big cruisers (rather than being limited to the Royal Navy as is so often the case).
Mike Hall,
DeleteI have read some excellent histories of the Russo-Japanese War that did tell the story of the land campaign as well as what happened at sea. I've wargamed some of the land battles, and they combine both mobile and static warfare ... and are well worth refighting.
I have been sorely tempted by BEFORE THE BATTLE CRUISER (it might end up as a Christmas present for myself!) and anything by Norman Friedman is always excellent value. Enjoy your new books ... I'm very envious.
All the best,
Bob
I am reading Tsushima at the moment. It’s pretty good so far.
ReplyDeleteThe Tumbling Dice ships for this period are great.
Simon Jones,
DeleteI've certainly enjoyed reading this book, and may well build some model ships of my own ... as and when I have the time!
All the best,
Bob
I've just received my copy & have yet to read it, but am about a third of the way through painting my 1/2400th Russo-Japanese ships from Tumbling Dice. However, I did immediately notice an error on the picture caption on page 79, which states that Kasuga & Nisshin both carried a forward 10" gun. They didn't. Nisshin carried two twin 8" instead. Unfortunately, things like that always makes one wonder what other factual errors a book might contain.
ReplyDeleteFor anyone interested in the naval war, I can highly recommend the two-volume set by Piotr Olender,'Russo-Japanese Naval War 1904-1905'. They contain many rare photos and a wealth of detailed information at a very reasonable price, too.
Terry,
DeleteI must admit that I hadn't spotted that error ... but as a writer, I know that sometimes they creep in inadvertently.
Thanks for the book suggestion. I'll see if I can find a copy, assuming that it isn't horrendously expensive.
All the best,
Bob
Hmm, that Navwar Battle Pack - I can recommend the David Manly period rules for a nice quick play game
ReplyDeleteGeordie an Exiled FoG,
DeleteNavwar produce some excellent models, and they would be ideal for refighting this battle ... as are David Manley’s rules.
All the best,
Bob