Old Crock

Oh, dear! The Vladimir Monomakh was already obsolescent when she was built in the early 1890s. It proved the Russians weren't in the game and needed foreign technology if she wanted a modern navy. She was built originally with a full ship rig (sails) to save coal - standard world practice until the late 1870s.

Monomakh shouldn't really have been included in Rhozdventsky's inventory, but for some reason, joined Enkvist's armoured cruiser squadron.

Enkvist left her to guard the supply ships when he fled the battle of Tsushima. Monomakh's captain instead decided to follow the rest of the fleet as they tried to make Vladivostok. Miraculously, she caught up during the final stages of the battle. Likely the Japanese considered her not worth sinking and so let her go.

After dusk on the 27th May 1905, the Japanese battle squadron drew off and let loose the destroyers to clean up the surviving Russian fleet. At that time, Orel was a smoking ruin, unable to steam, Suvorov had capsized, as had Alexander III, and Borodino blown up.

Admiral Nebogatov was trying to gather the remnants about him to continue the run to Vladivostok, but the surviving Russians were in a poor state.

Battleship Sissoi Veliki and cruiser Admiral Nakhimov were torpedoed and sunk with heavy loss of life. The next to go was poor old Monomakh, sunk by a single Japanese torpedo.

The Russian destroyers all got battered about, trying to protect the battleships. In the end, only Biedovy, Grozny and Bravy survived the night, Biedovy giving out late the next afternoon.

The next morning Navarin sailed into drifting mines laid by Japanese destroyers and sank. Orel, adrift, ran up white flags and the crew took to the boats. Nebogatov was left with Nikolai I, Seniavin, Ushakov and Apraxin.

All, but the Ushakov ran up white flags when they found their old fashioned guns hadn't the range to beat off Togo. Ushakov took a vote among the crew and refused to surrender - she went down colours flying after a two hour hammering.

The last to go was the old Dimitri Donskoi, an armoured cruiser of similar age to the Monomakh. Her captain beached her on Takeshima Island to prevent her being torpedoed and fought her there for three days. Eventually, with all ammunition gone, her crew walked ashore after setting charges.

Don