A devastating defeat for the Imperial Russian Navy, the battle was the only decisive engagement ever fought between modern steel battleship fleets[2][3] and the first in which wireless telegraphy (radio) played a critically important role.

[8] With the inactivity of the First Pacific Squadron after the death of Admiral Makarov and the tightening of the Japanese noose around Port Arthur, the Russians considered sending part of their Baltic Fleet to the Far East.

[16][17][18] The draught of the newer battleships, which had proven to be considerably greater than designed,[20] preventing their passage through the Suez Canal[k] caused the fleet to separate after leaving Tangier on 3 November 1904.

[20] The longer journey around Africa took a toll on the Russian crews under Rozhestvensky, "who had never experienced such a different climate or such a long time at sea" as "conditions on the ships deteriorated, and disease and respiratory issues killed a number of sailors".

[18] The voyage took half a year in rough seas, with difficulty obtaining coal for refueling – as the warships could not legally enter the ports of neutral nations – and the morale of the crews plummeted.

Admiral Rozhestvensky did not reveal his choice even to his subordinates until 25 May, when it became apparent he chose Tsushima by ordering the fleet to head northeast after detaching transports Yaroslavl, Vladimir, Kuronia, Voronezh, Livonia and Meteor as well as auxiliary cruisers Rion and Dniepr with the instruction to go to the near-by neutral port of Shanghai.

At 02:45 on 27 May Japan Standard Time (JST), the Japanese auxiliary cruiser Shinano Maru observed three lights on what appeared to be a vessel on the distant horizon and closed to investigate.

At around 13:55, Tōgō ordered the hoisting of the Z flag, issuing a predetermined announcement to the entire fleet: The Empire's fate depends on the result of this battle, let every man do his utmost duty.

Captain 2nd Rank Vladimir Semenoff, a Russian staff officer aboard the flagship Knyaz Suvorov, said "It seemed impossible even to count the number of projectiles striking us.

[ah] This damage caused her to list, and the engine ceased to operate when she was being taken by the Japanese navy to First Battle Division home port of Sasebo in Nagasaki after Tōgō accepted the surrender.

Cruiser Asama and then battleship Asahi had to tow Oryol, and their destination was changed to the closer Maizuru Naval Arsenal to avoid losing the prize of war.

[65][an] Destroyer Grozniy increased speed being chased by Kagerō, but Byedoviy slowed down and stopped in the face of firing and approaching Sazanami while raising a white flag.

[68] But cruiser Akashi, accompanied by Sazanami and Kagerō, arrived at Sasebo port in the morning of 30 May with Byedoviy in tow, with not only the injured admiral but also the surviving members of the Russian fleet command onboard.

[av][aw][ax] In contrast, Russian battleship Borodino underwent sea trials from 23 August to 13 September 1904[63] as a brand new ship upon her completion,[82] and the new crew did not have much time for training before she set sail for the Pacific on 15 October 1904.

Therefore, the newly created Second Pacific Fleet should conduct training in the Baltic until the next spring while waiting for the rigging of another battleship, Slava,[ba] and the purchase of Chilean and Argentine warships.

The 'director' officer on the bridge had the advantage of having a higher vantage point than in the gun turrets, in addition to being steps away from the ship commander giving orders to change the course and the speed in response to the incoming reports on target movements.

He witnessed the capabilities of wireless telegraphy firsthand during the Spanish–American War, and sent several memos to the Navy General Staff urging that they push ahead as rapidly as possible to acquire the new technology.

At the time, Britain owned and controlled more harbour facilities around the world – specifically shipyards and coaling stations – than Russia and its allies (France,[bm] and to some extent Germany) combined.

[90] France openly allowed the Baltic Fleet warships into Tangier port before and after the Dogger Bank Incident; and the UK formally protested in the post-Dogger Bank negotiations, pointing out that the 'Neutral' countries cannot accept warships of the fighting countries into their ports without enforcing internment,[bn] and if France is no longer neutral in the war, the UK is obligated to commence military action in support of Japan as required in the Anglo-Japanese Alliance.

[109] Engineer Shimose Masachika (1860–1911) solved the instability problem of picric acid on contact with iron and other heavy metals by coating the inside of a shell with unpigmented Japanese lacquer and further sealing with wax.

[bu][114] The Japanese Navy imported cordite from Great Britain as the smokeless propellant for these Shimose shells,[109] so that the smoke off the muzzle would not impede the visibility for the spotters.

In the early 1890s, Vice Admiral Stepan O. Makarov, then the Chief Inspector of Russian naval artillery, proposed a new 12-inch gun design, and assigned a junior officer, Semyon V. Panpushko, to research the use of picric acid as the explosive in the shell.

[163] Ammunition ship Koreya, transports Yaroslavl, Vladimir, Kuronia, Voronezh, Livonia and Meteor as well as ocean tug Svir went to Shanghai and eventually returned home.

The second in command of the fleet, Rear Admiral Dmitry Gustavovich von Fölkersahm, after suffering a cerebral hemorrhage on 16 April, died in the night of 24 May 1905 onboard battleship Oslyabya.

After being ordered to separate from the fleet on 22 May,[n] auxiliary cruisers Kuban and Terek were interned at Batavia in Dutch East Indies by the Netherlands on 9 June 1905 after raiding a British and a Danish steamer destined for Japan.

[180] Transports Mercury, Tambov, Herman Lerke, Count Stroganov and repair ship Ksenia, which accompanied the Third Pacific Fleet to Cam Ranh Bay, had been sent home via Saigon.

In The Guinness Book of Decisive Battles, the British historian Geoffrey Regan argues that the victory bolstered Japan's increasingly aggressive political and military establishment.

Certainly the Japanese navy had performed well, but its opponents had been weak, and it was not invincible... Tōgō's victory [helped] set Japan on a path that would eventually lead her" to the Second World War.

[190] Britain's First Sea Lord, Admiral Jackie Fisher, reasoned that the Japanese victory at Tsushima confirmed the importance of large guns and speed for modern battleships.

The first, 1969's Battle of the Japan Sea (日本海大海戦, Nihonkai Daikaisen), directed by Seiji Maruyama, starring Toshiro Mifune as Admiral Tōgō, with music by Masaru Sato and special effects by Eiji Tsuburaya.