Onime No Kyo
Posts: 16842
Joined: 4/28/2004 Status: offline
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The Russian fleet wasnt going anywhere. According to the account of an American military attache (who's name I conveniently forgot, McCullum, or something like that), the Russian fleet was holding its own for a while against both shelling and torpedoes. But by the time the Japs dragged those howitzers up the hill, the Russian fleet was not only bottled up but the whole city had been cut off for months, making the moorings the world's biggest shooting gallery (especially considering the vantage point the Japs had). By that time, the Russian sailors had no option but to dive for cover. Incidentally, most of the "movable" naval artillery had long been emplanted on shore by then. So, as far as I can tell, a moving, manevering gunboat is a far cry from Port Arthur. PS.... Incidentally, according to one "so-called" historian (his conclusions are junk, but I dont have the data to refute his data), the Russians had 2 whole flotillas in action when Barbarossa hit. One of them was on the Dniepr and the other was at the mouth of the Danube on the Rumanian border. By "flotilla", the guy means amphib ships, cutters and even big-gun gunboats (like 8 or 10 inchers, no kidding!). What they planned to do with them you can make up your own minds (because I refuse to accept the guys conclusions), but I thought it was pertinent to the discussion.
< Message edited by Onime No Kyo -- 10/7/2004 3:38:37 AM >
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"Mighty is the Thread! Great are its works and insane are its inhabitants!" -Brother Mynok
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