FROM LIBAU TO TSUSHIMA FIRST EDITION _August, 1906_ _Reprinted_ _January, 1907_ FROM LIBAU TO TSUSHIMA A NARRATIVE OF THE VOYAGE OF ADMIRAL ROJDESTVENSKY'S FLEET TO EASTERN SEAS, INCLUDING A DETAILED ACCOUNT OF THE DOGGER BANK INCIDENT BY THE LATE EUGÈNE S. POLITOVSKY _Engineer-in-Chief to the Squadron, who was killed at the Battle of Tsushima_ TRANSLATED BY MAJOR F. R. GODFREY, R.M.L.I. NEW EDITION NEW YORK E. P. DUTTON AND COMPANY 1908 PRINTED BY HAZELL, WATSON AND VINEY, LD., LONDON AND AYLESBURY, ENGLAND. TRANSLATOR'S PREFACE No detailed account of the voyage of the Russian fleet to the Far East has to my knowledge been published. The newspapers occasionally mentioned it as being here or there, and of course its doings in the North Sea are a matter of history; but from the time it left Tangier until it met its doom at Tsushima it was practically in oblivion. By chance this book came into my hands, and I thought it would interest British readers. Much has been said in derision of Admiral Rojdestvensky's fleet, but every one must agree that it was no mean undertaking to have brought this large fleet out to the Far East from Russia and laid it alongside the enemy. This was done, in spite of the difficulties of coaling without bases and of having to repair damages in the open sea. The fleet had to pass countries that were bound by the laws of neutrality, and some that were actually hostile to it. It was driven out of many ports by the ships of its allies. In spite of all these drawbacks, it accomplished a tremendous voyage with all "its units" intact. That it failed to win the battle is in no way surprising. A great number of the ships were useless and obsolete. The crews were disheartened by the failures of their comrades at Port Arthur. The beginning of the movements which resulted in the open mutiny in the Black Sea and in the recent mutiny at Cronstadt were developing. Finally, the spirit of the officers was not of the Nelsonian standard. We find the captain of the cruiser _Ural_ flaunting his desire to surrender without striking a blow for his country. It must be remembered that the dates are those of the Old Style, thirteen days behind those of the New Style, which has not been adopted by Russia. PREFACE Eugène Sigismondovitch Politovsky, engineer-constructor of the second deep sea fleet flagship, was born at Tashkend on November 12th, 1874. He received his education at the Emperor Nicholas I. Naval Engineering School, and left it in 1897. Up to the departure of the fleet for the East he served at the Admiralty at St. Petersburg. He went down in his ship, the battleship _Kniaz_ (Prince) _Suvaroff_, in the fight of May 14th, 1905. This diary consists of extracts from his letters to his wife, which it must be understood were not intended for publication.