Zinovy Rozhestvensky
| Zinovy Rozhestvensky | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Birth name | Zinovy Petrovich Rozhestvensky |
| Nickname(s) | Mad Dog (never to his face) |
| Born | November 11, 1848 |
| Died | January 14, 1909 (aged 60) Saint Petersburg |
| Allegiance |
 Russian Empire
|
| Service/branch |
 Imperial Russian Navy
|
| Years of service | 1868 - 1906 |
| Rank | Vice Admiral |
| Commands held | Baltic Fleet |
| Battles/wars | |
| Awards |
Order of St. George Order of St. Vladimir |
Russo-Turkish War (1877–1878)
Russo-Japanese War
Zinovy Petrovich Rozhestvensky (Russian: Зиновий Петрович Рожественский) (November 11 [O.S. October 30] 1848 – January 14, 1909) was an admiral of the Imperial Russian Navy. He was in command of the Second Pacific Squadron in the Battle of Tsushima, during the Russo-Japanese War.
Under Admiral Rozhestvensky's command, the Russian navy holds the record of steaming an all-steel, coal-powered battleship fleet over 18,000 miles (29,000 km) one way to engage an enemy in decisive battle (Battle of Tsushima), selecting the Knyaz Suvorov, one of four brand new battleships of the French-designed Borodino class, as his flagship for the voyage to the Pacific.
Rozhestvensky was the son of a physician from St Petersburg, and joined the Imperial Russian Navy at the age of 17. He graduated from the Sea Cadet Corps, where he mastered English and French, in 1868, and the Mikhailovsky Artillery Academy in 1873. He initially served with the Baltic Fleet as a gunnery officer. In 1876 he transferred to the Black Sea Fleet.
During the Russo Turkish War Rozhestvensky served on board the gunboat Vesta. On June 10, 1877 six torpedo boats, five of which were armed with spar torpedoes, attempted to attack four ironclads of the Ottoman Navy at Sulina. Rozhestvensky volunteered to lead the first attack against the Turkish warships but his torpedo boat became caught up in the rope boom defenses that protected the enemy ships. The attack was beaten back by Turkish gunfire which destroyed one torpedo boat and the remaining boats withdrew, leaving the enemy ironclads intact. In July 1877 while still assigned to the Vesta, he engaged and damaged an Ottoman battleship, the Fethi-Bulend in a five-hour battle. Rozhestvensky was awarded the Order of Saint Vladimir and Order of St George for this action and was promoted to lieutenant commander. However, after the war he revealed in a newspaper article that he had falsified his reports, and that the overloaded Fethi-Bulend escaped with only minor damage. However, this revelation had no adverse impact on his career. From 1883 to 1885 Rozhestensky was seconded to the newly formed Bulgarian Navy. He also designed a defense plan for the Bulgarian coastline, and was one of the founders of the Technology Association of Bulgaria.
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