User blog:SPARTAN 119/Surigao Strait 1905: Winfield Scott Schley (Spanish-American War) VS Heihachiro Togo (Russo-Japanese War)

Winfield Scott Schley, the American rear admiral that defeated the Spanish fleet at the Battle of Santiago de Cuba in 1898

VS

Heihachiro Togo, the Japanese admiral known as the “Nelson of the East”, who crushed the Russian fleet at the 1905 Battle of Tsushima

=Winfield Scott Schley= Winfield Scott Schley was a US Navy officer who served in the American Civil War and Spanish-American War, best known for his taking direct command of the US fleet at the Battle of Santiago de Cuba, with his direct superior William T. Sampson being ashore at a meeting with Army General William Shafter at the time of the battle. The battle became known for a subsequent controversy over whether Sampson or Schley would take credit for the victory.

Schley was born in 1839 and graduated from the US Naval Academy in 1860. Soon after, the American Civil War broke out, and served on various ships during the war, most notably taking part in the capture of Port Hudson, Lousiana as part of the Vicksburg campaign. After the war, Schley would serve in the San Salvador intervention of 1866 and the Korean Expedition of 1871. After these operations, he would serve in various commands until the Spanish American War was declared in 1898, where he would reach the rank of commodore and ended up a second-in-command of the Flying Squadron of the US Navy, consisting of various battleships, cruisers, and armed yachts, under Rear Admiral William T Sampson.

During the Battle of Santiago de Cuba on July 3rd,1898, Sampson was away on shore at a meeting with Army General William Shafter, so Schley was in command of the Flying Squadron in his absence. During the battle, Schley led the US fleet against the four cruiser and two destroyers of Spanish admiral Pascuel Cevera. Schley’s ships destroyed the Spanish squadron before Sampson was able to return from the meeting ashore. When Sampson returned, however, he sent a telegram taking credit for the victory without mentioning Schley. While Sampson was responsible for the ship position and some of the planning of the battle, Schley was in command for the actual battle.

This led to a controversy over whether Sampson or Schley should take credit for the battle practically divided the Navy into pro-Sampson and pro-Schley camps. This controversy led to a court of inquiry, where Sampson accused Schley of cowardice and ineptitude in his actions in the lead up to and during the battle, claiming he would have been court martialed had he not won the battle. The court of inquiry eventually found Schley had made several errors, however, due to the length of time elapsed, charges were dropped. The news media and the public sided with Schley, viewing Sampson as having taken credit for the battle and pressed the charges against Schley out of professional envy. In 1899, Schley was promoted to rear admiral, and he retired in 1902. Schley died in 1911 at age 71 and was buried with full military honors at Arlington National Cemetary.

USS Iowa
Completed in 1896, the USS Iowa (BB-4) was the first US battleship to bear the name Iowa (the WWII-era USS Iowa was the second). The ship carried four 12-inch guns in two turrets, eight 8-inch guns in four turrets, six 4-inch guns, and several smaller guns, as well as four 14-inch torpedo tubes. The ship was armored with between 4 and 17 inches of Harvey armor, which was stronger than standard nickel steel. The ship had a top speed of 17 knots.

USS Indiana
The USS Indiana was the first US battleship comparable to her foreign contemporaries, launched in 1893. The ship carried four 13.5 inch guns in two turrets, as well as eight 8-inch guns, and four six-inch guns. The ship also carried a number of smaller guns and four torpedo tubes. The ship had 5-18 inches of Harvey armor on the primary turrets, the hull, and armored belt, with thickness varying depending on location. The rest of the ship was armored with 3-10 inches of conventional nickel-steel.

USS Oregon
The USS Oregon was an Indiana-class pre-dreadnought battleship launched in 1893 by the United States Navy. The vessel fought alongside the Massachusetts, Texas, and Iowa in the Battle of Santiago in Cuba. The vessel carried an armament of four 13 inch guns in two twin turrets, eight 8-inch guns in four twin turrets, and four six inch guns. The ship also carried 20 six-pounder guns and six one-pounder guns. The ship was armored Harveyized steel on the belt, turrets, and hull, ranging from 6.25 to 18 inches in thickness, and conventional nickel-steel alloys on tower, deck, and 8-inch turrets, with a thickness of between 4.5 and 10 inches.

=Heihachiro Togo= Marshal-Admiral The Marquis Tōgō Heihachirō was a Japanese admiral who served as the commander of the Japanese combined fleet from 1903 to 1913, and is most famous for his victories at the Battle of the Yellow Sea and the Battle of Tsushima in the Russo-Japanese War, and is considered one of the greatest naval commanders in Japanese history.

Togo was born in 1848 to a samurai family, and had his first experience of war at age 15, when he manned a cannon used to defend against the British Royal Navy when they bombarded Kagoshima in retaliation for the killing of a British citizen by the guards of the Satsuma daimyo in 1863. In 1866, Togo joined the Satsuma navy and served on the steamship Kasuga during the Boshin War on the side of the Imperialists. In 1870, Togo secured a place in the newly establish Imperial Japanese Navy and was selected to travel to London to study at the Royal Naval College. In 1872, with no places available in the Royal Naval College, Togo instead trained at the Thames Nautical Training College, which he graduated second in his class in 1873. Togo would go on to circumnavigate the globe on a British training ship, study at Cambridge University, and observe Western shipbuilding techniques in London.

Togo returned to Japan in 1878 and served as an officer on multiple ships of the Imperial Japanese Navy, getting his first command of a ship in 1883. Togo would serve in the First Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1895 as the commander of the cruiser Naniwa, which fought at the Battles of Pungdo and the Yalu River. In 1900, Togo was promoted to the rank of Fleet Admiral, and in 1903, he was made commander of the Japanese Combined Fleet. During the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-1905, Togo led the Japanese fleet at the Battles of Port Arthur and the Yellow Sea, winning both battles. In 1905, Togo won his greatest victory at Tsushima, where his fleet sunk 7 Russian battleships and 14 other ships, and captured an additional 7, while losing only three torpedo boats. At Tsushima, Togo made use of the emerging technology of wireless telegraph, as well as long-range gunnery to win the battle, foreshadowing the emergence of the tactics which would lead to the emergence of the first dreadnought battleships later that year.

Togo would serve as a fleet commander until 1913, when he retired to oversee the education of crown prince and future emperor Hirohito. Togo died in 1934, at the age of 86.

Mikasa
The HIJMS Mikasa was a Japanese battleship built in Britain starting in 1899 and completed in 1900. The ship was best known as the flagship of Heihachiro Togo during the battle of Tsushima during the Russo-Japanese War in 1905. The ship also saw action in the Allied intervention in the Russian Civil War, a failed attempt by the Allies to re-install the tsarist government in Russia after the Russian Revolution. The ship was state of the art for her time, a pre-dreadnought battleship armed with four 12-inch guns in two turrets, firing 850-pound shells up to 15,000 yards. The ship also carried 14 smaller 6-inch guns in single mounts, and a number of lighter, 12, 3, and 2.5 pounder guns, though these would be of little use for this battleship-vs-battleship match. Finally, the Mikasa carried four 18-inch torpedo tubes. The ship was armored with between 2 and 14 inches of armor, with the heaviest armor being on the barbettes and conning tower, and weakest on the deck. The Mikasa had a top speed of 18 knot (21 mph). The Mikasa is the only surviving pre-dreadnought battleship in the world, now a museum ship located in Yokosuka, Japan.

Asahi
The Asahi, like the other battleships operated by Japan at the time, was actually built by a shipyard in the United Kingdom from 1897-1900. The vessel was a pre-dreadnought battleship, armed four 12 inch guns in two turrets, as well 14 6-inch guns mounted in single mounts, as well as a number of smaller guns for protection against torpedo boats. The ship's armor ranged for 2 inches on parts of the casemates to 14 inches on the conning tower. The ship had a top speed of 18 knots.

Shikishima
The Shikishima was one of battleships of its class was built from 1898-1900, the other, the Hatsuse being sunk by a Russian mine in 1904. The ship carried four 12 inch guns in two turrets and 14 6-inch guns, as well as numerous smaller guns and four torpedo tubes. The ship had between 2.5-10 inches of armor. The Shikishima had a top speed of 18 knots.

=Ship Stats=

Firepower
Schley’s three ships take the edge here, with two of them having a main battery of 4 13-inch guns capable of firing significantly larger shells than the 12 inch guns. At closer ranges, all three of the American ships gain a further advantage of carrying eight 8-inch guns, four of which could be fired at any one target given their positions on the side of the ships, and their firepower is further boosted by four six-inch guns on the Indiana and Oregon. Overall, it means Schley’s ships have a heavier broadside (the maximum total weight of shells that can be fire from one side of a ship), and thus, greater firepower. Togo’s ships all have lighter (though still substantial) 12-inch guns, and their secondary armament consists of only shorter ranged and lighter 6-inch guns. Note that I do not include guns lighter than 6 inches in the broadside totals as they are unlikely to be able to damage an armored battleship.

Firing Range
Togo’s fleet may not have as heavy a broadside, however, their guns had a longer effective range, of 15,000 yards, meaning that if they manage to get the range right before the US ships close in (not an easy feat given the technology of the period- at Tsushima, Togo’s ships fired on the Russian fleet at 6400 meters, which would be well within the range of the US guns), they can hit the Americans hit them.

Armor
While the armor of the US ships may be thicker, one must also take into the account the type of steel used. Specifically Krupp cemented armor > Harvey armor > nickel steel. Specifically, Krupp cemented armor is about 15% stronger than Harvey armor, so the Mikasa’s maximum 14 inches of Krupp armor equals to 16.1 inches of Harvey armor, meaning that the two sides have roughly comparable armor in terms of penetration, however, the Krupp armor has a reduced chance of spalling. Even the Japanese ships with Harvey armor have it over the whole ship, while parts of the American ships have only weaker nickel steel. For this reason, the Japanese ships take a slight edge.

Top Speed
All three of Togo’s ships can reach 18 knots at top speed, giving them a speed advantage over all three of Schley’s ships.

Tactics
Both commanders proved to be highly skilled naval officer who led their fleet to victory with minimal losses, however, I give the edge to Togo as, while Schley fought using the older pre-dreadnought tactic of close to mid-range engagements using both the main and secondary battery at ranges of between about 1000 and 2500 yards, Togo pioneered the use of long-range gunnery with the main guns, picking off enemy ships before they could close the distance to use the secondary battery. It was this tactic led to the development of the dreadnought-type battleship soon after Togo’s victory at Tsushima.

Combat Experience
Both admirals served during multiple conflicts in a career lasting over 45 years, with Schley seeing combat in the American Civil War, the American interventions in Korea and San Salvador, and Spanish-American War, and Togo seeing action in the British bombardment of Kagoshima, the Sino-Japanese War, and the Russo-Japanese War. I give the edge to Togo, however, as he served for slightly longer. Also, while Schley commanded battleships, he never fought against them- the Spanish fleet at Santiago de Cuba consisted of only 4 armored cruisers and 2 destroyers (while Schley had three battleships, a second-rate battleship, 2 cruisers, and two armed yachts). Togo, on the other hand, faced a fleet of eight Russian battleships at Tsushima, while he had only five (though he had significantly more smaller ships than the Russians).