The Tsar's Last Armada: The Epic Voyage to the Battle of Tsushima

by Constantine V. Pleshakov, Konstantin Pleshakov

Release Date: 29 April, 2003

Edition: Paperback

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The Tsar's Loyal Admiral

A good modern history of the battle of Tsushima has yet to be written, I would recommend KAIGUN as a great place to start for the early history of the Japanese Navy. Co-Author David Evans was my college professor, his death is a great loss to Japanese Naval historiography. I agree with reviewers who note the lack of detail and accuracy (I thought the ALEXANDER III had a few survivors?), in general terms, the author does tells us important facts about the superior Japanese shells and the flawed dispositions of the Russian squadron prior to the battle. I wonder if the Russians would have made it if they did not have a lighted hospital ship (with the Admiral's girlfriend onboard) following the squadron as it tried to slip through the straits. If the fleet had slipped through to Vladivostok intact the course of Japanese and Russian history might have changed. I sense that Admiral Rozhestvensky almost wanted a clash of fleets, despite his comprehension of the inferiority of his squadron. The book is really a command history of the Squadron and the Russian Naval Bueracracy. One is left with a good sense of the personality of Rozhestvensky (I think this makes the book worth the purchase, as I learned alot I did not know). One is left feeling sympathy for him, but the book does mention that he botched his pre-battle deployment, a deployment he had months to plan for and coordinate. This probably ruined what little chance the Russians had. But the Russians shooting was not good enough, and too few of their hits did critical damage. I always thought the focal point of any Tsushima account should be the heroic struggle of the Borodino class battleships. Their fate was a terrible one, as anyone who views pictures of the damage to the surviving ORYEL can testify. I would like to visit the monument to the ALEXANDER III in St. Petersburg. The losing Admirals in history's decisive naval battles make for interesting reading. I would recommend XERXES AT SALAMIS by Peter Green, THE GALLEYS AT LEPANTO by Jack Beeching, THE DEFEAT OF THE SPANISH ARMADA by Howarth, TRAFALGAR, COUNTDOWN TO BATTLE by Alan Schom and GRAF SPEE'S RAIDERS by Yates.

Interesting Account & Worth the Read

Constantine Pleshakov's new book 'The Tsar's Last Armada: The Epic Voyage to the Battle of Tsushima' is a compelling account of the voyage undertaken by a Russian Fleet half way around the world which ended in its total annihilation at the hands of the Japanese during the Battle of Tsushima. The book concentrates more on the actual events leading up to the decision to send the Russian fleet on this journey, the voyage itself and the personalities involved. Some previous reviews have made mention of the lack of detail on the actual battle itself, however the book's titles gives you a fair idea of the content and I think it was a story told well, full of interest and drama.

In the introduction the author makes it very clear that the story is told from a Western viewpoint:
"The Russian and British archives that I have used allow one to tell the story of Tsushima with some hope of being objective and complete, yet, I know that my research is deficient. I do not read Japanese, and without Japanese archival evidence it is not possible to write anything truly comprehensive about the war. So this is the story of Tsushima told from a Western perspective, as it was seen through Russian, British, French, and German eyes - nothing more, but also, hopefully, nothing less."

Overall I found the story interesting and although I too would have liked more on the Battle of Tsushima there was enough to complete the story. The book has filled me with an urge to learn more of this decisive engagement and I will look around for another book to complete my education. The narrative was well presented and held my interest throughout the journey. Towards the end of the book I felt quite sorry for Vice-Admiral Rozhestvensky who appeared to have done the best he could under most trying circumstances.

This is decent account and I think accomplishes what the author set out to do, to tell the story "of the Russian squadron's long, difficult journey and fast, horrible defeat." One compliant that could be leveled at the author would be the standard of the maps provided. I am sure anyone who enjoys stories of mans determination and perseverance against adversity will enjoy this book. However you will need to look further for a more comprehensive account of the Battle of Tsushima.