THE NAVAL BATTLE AT THE YALU.

Temuka Leader, Issue 2740, 20 November 1894, Page 4

THE NAVAL BATTLE AT THE YALU.

The following is a narrative of the gieat naval battle at the Yalu river. On Monday, the 17th September, clouds of obt.rusivo black smoke, which the Japauese coal gives out, showed the approach of their fleet from the south. The Chinese Admiral (Ting) at once weighed auchor and drew up his squadron in a formation roughly like an obtnse-angled triangle, wjth two armoured shins at the a pe£> »ud advanced to give battle. The Japanese eamo o» in a Une, and carried out a series of evolutions with beautiful precision. The Japanese vessels, having a higher speed, kept circling round the Chinese, coming within range of the big t?uns of the armoured warships Tingyuen and Chen Yuen. The very first evolution detached three Chinese ships, one of which was the fine Elawick cruiser ChinYuen, Captain Warn handled his ship with admirable coolness. His vessel was badly hulled, and took a bad list to starboard. Soeing that she wa3 sinking, he went full speed ahead at the Japanese, who were /sticking to him, and made free practice, with the intention of ramming the enemy, but she foundered with all hands, numbering 250, just before the Bhip got home, The Chiug - yuen

took fire soon after this, but Captain Warn, subduing the flames, still j fought. Seeing a disabled Japanese ship near he came up intending to capture and sink her, but he was incautious enough to cross the line of her torpedo tube at a short distance. The Japauese thereupon shot her bolt, and blew the Ching-Yuen up. Out of a com- j plement of 2700 men Beven only are known to have escaped. The notorious Fong, who was reinstated as captain of the Tayuen, again distinguished himself by his devotion to the white.feather. He signalled his ship, which was badly struck, and then promptly took her out of the action. In doing so he ran her precipitately into the shallows, where the Elswick-built cruiser Yang Wai, whose crew numbered 150, were nearly all lost. The Tsi Yuen ran full speed to Port Arthur, when the foreign engineer went ashore and flatly refused to serve further with such a captain. Fong's head was promptly sheared olff by an imperative order from Tientsin. Fong's example was followed by the commauder of the wooden corvette Kiranchia, who bolted and kept so keen aft that at 11 p.m. he ran on a reef 20 miles east of the Tapen white boy. The desertion of these two ships would have reduced the Chinese fleet to seven vessels,, but they were reinforced by vessels from inshore, and, later on, by torpedo vessels, four in number. One of these—the Chen Yuen —took fire, and got into shallow water, where it was burnt completely out. The torpedoes only scored once in the action, and that was in the case of the CliingYuen. The issue was mainly due to over-con-' fidence and rashness on the part of the Chinese fleet. The two armoured vessels, the King Yuen and the Chen Yuen, received the continued and persistent firjng of the Japanese. The Chen Yuen, under the command of Commodore Ting, assisted by two foreigners, made admirable practice, and maintained excellent discipline. So persistent was their fire that their magazines were all but depleted. The ship's superstructure was almost entirely destroyed. It is amazing how lit*le of the machinery and boilers were damaged by the fire. The Tay Yuen was an appalling sight, all her deck gear being completely wrecked, but the vessel's hull and armament were uninjured. At about 5 o'clock the Japanese hauled off, and were chased .by two Chinese vessels, but after running 10 or 15 miles the Japanese suddenly turned round and attacked them vigorously, and then retired, and the Chinese warships went into port. The Japanese lost no ships. Considering the damage done to the ships it is astonishing how few were killed and injured. The opinion is that the Japanese fire was more accurate, of greater range, and more penetrating than the Chinese.