The story was short. According to the officers of the _Almaz_, the fleet under Rozhdestvensky met the Japanese in the Straits of Korea, near Tsu Island, and the opposing fleets immediately closed in. Being lightly armored, the _Almaz_, as had been expected by Admiral Rozhdestvensky before the battle, separated itself from the main fleet at the first opportunity and headed for Vladivostok soon after the commencement of the action, but not too soon to observe that the losses on both sides in the titanic combat were great. Early in the battle an officer of the _Almaz_, while watching Rozhdestvensky's flagship, the battleship _Kniaz Souvaroff_, for a signal, saw the flagship shudder from stem to stern, as if under a blow from a gigantic hammer, and hesitate in her course, while the waves rose high from her armored sides. Then she commenced to list and sink. The officers believe that the debut of the submarine boat as an effective agent in naval warfare, or perhaps a large mine caused the disaster to the _Kniaz Souvaroff_. The damage, however, was so extensive that the flagship soon went down, leaving the deck officers and many of the crew struggling in the waves. One of the Russian torpedo boats, either the destroyer _Buiny_ or the _Bravi_, ran in and picked up a number of the swimmers, one of whom was recognized through a glass as Admiral Rozhdestvensky. Under a grueling attack by the Japanese warships, aided by torpedo boats, mines and submarines, the _Borodino_, _Osliabia_ and _Ural_ were placed out of action and followed the flagship to the bottom. The fog, which had raised and lowered intermittently during the morning, began to settle down again, and the distance of the _Almaz_, which now succeeded in disengaging herself in the combat from the struggling ships, made it difficult for her to see clearly. The arrival of the _Grozny_ on the following day was marked by the same scenes of excitement as those which characterized the advent of the _Almaz_. The wounded commander of the destroyer, Captain Andriffski, confirmed the details given by the officers of the _Almaz_. He described his combat as a running fight, in which the _Grozny_ was engaged for several hours, finally sinking the pursuing Japanese destroyer. [Sidenote: Russian Story of Disaster]