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Page 8
Meanwhile the Chinese ships had been forced still nearer to the land,
and the _Chao-Yung_, an absolute ruin, drifted helplessly ashore,
half a league from where we stood. By the aid of our glasses we could
perceive her condition clearly--her upper works knocked to pieces; her
decks, strewn with mutilated bodies, an indiscriminate mass of wreck
and carnage. Her crew were abandoning her, struggling to land as best
they could. Subsequently the _Yang-Wei_ went ashore similarly battered
to pieces and burning. She was much further off, and we made her out
less distinctly. On the Japanese side not one ship had sunk as far as
we had seen, and though the flagship and some of the smaller craft
were in an unenviable state, the attack was kept up with immense
spirit, and prompt obedience was paid to signals, which were frequent,
whereas we looked in vain for any sign of leadership on the part of
the Celestials. Later in the action another of their best ships, the
_Chih-Yuen_, came to grief. She had evidently been for long in
difficulties, labouring heavily, with the steam-pumps constantly in
requisition, as we could tell by the streams of water poured from her
sides. Bravely she fought on unsupported, and her upper deck and top
guns were served until she sank. At length her bows were completely
engulfed; the stern rose high out of water, disclosing the whirling
propellers, and bit by bit she disappeared. We could hear distinctly
the yelling sounds of triumph that rose from the Japanese ships as she
went down. The _Chen-Yuen_ and _Ting-Yuen_, which seemed to
fight together during the action, tried when too late to assist her.
At five o'clock, as darkness came on, the firing rapidly decreased,
and the opposing squadrons began to separate. Some of the Chinese
vessels were out of sight in the gloom to the southward, and the
Japanese slowly drew off seaward. We thought it now high time to
regain the _Columbia_, and took to our boat, discussing the fight and
speculating on the probable renewal of it. We felt little surprise
that the Chinese should have had the worst of it, for we had had good
reason to suspect that their fleet had greatly fallen off from the
state of unquestionable efficiency to which English tuition had
brought it. Whilst ashore in Talienwan I had a conversation with Mr.
Purvis, an English engineer on board the _Chih-Yuen_. I asked him what
he thought would be the result of an encounter with an equal Japanese
force. He said the Chinese would have a good chance if well handled,
expressing on that head distinct doubts.
"They are very brave," said he--and I can answer for it that there was
no perceptible flinching on their part during the action--"and I
believe Ting to be a good man, but he is under the thumb of Von
Hannecken"--meaning Captain or Major Von Hannecken, a German _army_
officer, one of the foreign volunteers in the fleet. The significance
of the remark is apparent when we consider the statements made to the
effect that it was he who was really in command on the day of the
engagement, Admiral Ting deferring to his suggestions. I am in no
position to affirm whether this is really the truth or not, but if it
be indeed the fact, it cannot be held to be astonishing that disaster
should have overtaken a fleet manoeuvred by a _soldier_! I recollect
that Mr. Purvis also informed me that the boilers of two or three of
the vessels (instancing the destroyed _Chao-Yung_) were worn-out and
unfit for service. Laxity of discipline, too, seems to have resulted
in disobedience or disregard of orders. As an instance of this, it is
alleged that instructions telegraphed from the conning-tower of the
flagship were varied or suppressed by the officer at the telegraph,
and that a subsequent comparison of notes with the engineer afforded
proof of this.
I was forcibly struck by the comparatively unimportant part played in
this action by that "dark horse" of modern naval warfare, the dreaded
and much-discussed torpedo. Both squadrons had several torpedo-boats
present, though, as I have shown, those on the Chinese side did not
enter the action until it had been proceeding more than an hour. The
Japanese allege that they did not use the torpedo at all during the
action, and however this may be, there is nothing to show that the
weapon made on either side a single effective hit. I drew the
impression from what I saw, that it would be apt to be ineffectual as
used by one ship against another, an antagonist in the evolutions of
the combat, as the prospect of hitting, unless the ships were very
close together, would be small. The specially-built boat, running
close in, and making sure of the mark, would of course be dangerous,
although the storm of shot from the quick-firing guns ought even in
that case to be a tolerably adequate protection. The torpedo
undoubtedly was not given a fair chance at the battle of Yalu, but the
result seems to indicate that its terrors have been overrated, that
artillery must still be reckoned the backbone of naval warfare.
Probably the torpedo will turn out to be most effective in surprise
attacks on ships and fleets at anchor. The experience of Wei-hai-wei
seems to point to this.
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