ust.

[Illustration: THE RUSSIAN BATTLESHIP 'OREL'
_Taken after the battle of Tsu-Shima, showing effects of
Japanese shell fire_]

The "Borodino" now had the dangerous post at the head of the line. It
steamed eastwards for nearly an hour, followed by Togo on a parallel
course, the Japanese fire only slackening when fog and smoke obscured its
targets, and the fire of the Russians dwindling minute by minute, as gun
position after position became untenable or guns were disabled and
dismounted.

Long before this the divisions of protected cruisers under Admiral Dewa and
his colleagues had worked round to the southward of the Russians. Dewa and
Uriu, with their swift ships, were in action by a quarter to three. The
slower ships of Takeomi and the younger Togo's squadrons, united under the
command of Rear-Admiral Kataoka, came into the fight a little later. In the
heavy sea that was running the light cruisers afforded a less steady
platform for the guns than the big armoured ships, and their fire was not
so terribly destructive. But it was effective enough, and that of the
Russian rear ships was hopelessly bad. The Japanese cruisers drove the
transports and their escort, in a huddled crowd, north-eastwards towards
the main Russian fleet. The great wall sides of the German liner, now the
auxiliary cruiser "Ural," were riddled, and the giant began to settle down
in the water. The cruiser "Svietlana," hit badly in the forepart, was
dangerously down by the head. The transports "Kamschatka" and "Irtish" were
both set on fire, and the latter was also pierced along the water-line. She
sank at four o'clock. The "Oleg" and "Aurora" were both badly damaged. But
the Japanese unarmoured cruisers did not escape scathless. Dewa's fine
cruiser, the "Kasagi," was badly hit below the waterline, and was in such
danger of sinking that he handed the command of his squadron over to Uriu
and, escorted by the "Chitose," steamed out of the fight, steering for the
Japanese coast. Togo's old ship, the famous "Naniwa Kan," was also hit
below the water-line, and had to cease firing and devote all the energy of
the crew to saving the ship.

At five o'clock the Russian fleet, battleships, cruisers, and transports,
were huddled together in a confused crowd, attacked from the eastward by
Togo and Kamimura with the heavy squadrons, while from the south the line
of light cruisers under Uriu and Kataoka poured a cross-fire into them.
Away to th