Varyag in 1904 at Chemulpo Harbour

At the same time, the senior officer Captain 2nd Rank Stepanov and Senior Boatswain Kharkovsky started plastering the holes in the hull under a hail of shell fragments. At this moment the cruiser had left the hollow water and left the dangerous spot using reverse gear. Unwilling to push his luck, Rudnev ordered to return to the roadstead.

The situation however remained tough. The water was pumped out using all available devices but Varyag’s list to port was aggravating and the ship was hailed by the enemy missiles. One of them hit the third smokestack killing two gunners of the 75 mm gun on the left board. On the afterdeck, a fire fighting division was trying in vain to fight the fire in the provisions department, where the flour had been set on fire by an 8 inch shell. This fire was extinguished only after the cruiser came back to the roadstead. Shortly after, another fire broke out when the netting between the first and the second stack caught on fire. However, to the amazement of the Japanese, Varyag increased its speed and was steadily moving toward the roadstead.

Since the navigating channel was narrow, only Asama and Chiyoda cruisers would pursue the Russian warships. Varyag and Koreyets were shooting back fiercely but due to sharp off-bow angles only 2 to 3 152 mm guns could be used for firing. At this time, a Japanese torpedo boat showed up from behind the Iodolmi Island and charged the Russian ships. Now the small-calibre artillery had its turn and using the remaining guns Varyag and Koreets opened dense barrage fire. The torpedo boat made a sharp U-turn and left without causing any damage to the Russian ships.

This failed attack did not allow the Japanese cruisers to make a timely approach to the Russian ships and when Asama resumed the chase, Varyag and Koreets were already approaching the anchorage. The Japanese had to cease fire since their shells were hitting near the ships of the international squadron. Cruiser Elbe even had to move deeper into the roadstead.

The Imperial Battleship Asama

At 12.45 pm on 27 January 1904 the Russian ships ceased fire too. The battle was over.

In all, Varyag shot 1,105 shells during the battle. According to the official Japanese information published during the Russian-Japanese war, none of the ships led by Uriu was hit and not a single crew member was injured. However, there are reasons to doubt the sincerity of this statement. The bridge was destroyed and fire broke out on the Asama cruiser. Obviously, the aft tower was damaged since it stopped fire till the end of the battle. The Takachiho cruiser was also severely damaged. The Chiyoda cruiser was sent for repairs to the shipyard. After the battle, the Japanese brought 30 corpses to the A-san bay. This information was received from the Italian and British sources and from the official report by the Russian envoy in Korea.

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