Battle of Chemulpo Bay

Battle of Chemulpo Bay
Part of the Russo-Japanese War
Varyag and Korietz go into battle.
Date 9 February 1904 Location off Chemulpo Bay, Korea 37°20.8′N 126°31.37′E / 37.3467°N 126.52283°E / 37.3467; 126.52283Coordinates: 37°20.8′N 126°31.37′E / 37.3467°N 126.52283°E / 37.3467; 126.52283 Result Japanese victory
Belligerents
Japan	Russia
Commanders and leaders
Uryū Sotokichi	Vsevolod Rudnev
Strength
1 Armoured cruiser, 5 protected cruisers, 1 aviso, 8 torpedo boats	1 Protected cruiser, 1 gunboat
Casualties and losses
No casualties reported by Japanese, 1 torpedo boat and about 30 men by Russian sources	33 killed, 97 wounded; both ships scuttled after the battle

The Battle of Chemulpo Bay (Korean: 제물포해전 Chemulpo hae jun Japanese: 仁川沖海戦 Jinsen'oki kaisen Russian: Бой в заливе Чемульпо) was an early naval battle in the Russo-Japanese War (1904–1905), which took place on 9 February 1904, off the coast of present-day Incheon, Korea.

The opening stage of the Russo-Japanese War began with a pre-emptive strike by the Imperial Japanese Navy against the Russian Pacific Fleet spread among Port Arthur, Vladivostok, and Chemulpo Bay (now part of Incheon, Korea). Command of the Chemulpo operation was given to Rear Admiral Uryū Sotokichi, with six cruisers, three to eight torpedo boats (depending on sources), the aviso (dispatch boat) Chihaya, three transports and 2,500 ground troops. Chemulpo also had strategic significance, as it was the main port for the Korean capital of Seoul, and was also the main invasion route used previously by Japanese forces in the First Sino-Japanese War of 1894. However, Chemulpo, with its wide tidal bore, extensive mudflats, and narrow, winding channels, posed a number of tactical challenges for both attackers and defenders.

...
Wikipedia