February 8, 1904

Battle of Port Arthur

Japanese Night Attack and Daylight Battle at Port Arthur

Eighteen torpedoes produced three hits — and those three hits disabled two Russian battleships and a cruiser without sinking any of them.

Destroyers out at six, torpedoes after midnight

At 6 p.m. on 8 February 1904, Japanese destroyer flotillas headed toward Port Arthur. Their torpedo attacks came after midnight, on 9 February by local Japanese time, while many Russian officers were ashore at a ball and some sailors were asleep with their clothes removed.

Torpedoes damaged the battleships Tsesarevich and Retvizan and the protected cruiser Pallada. All three stayed afloat, though the damaged ships grounded trying to reach shelter — Retvizan obstructing the harbour passage behind it.

A U.S. Navy historical study counts 18 torpedoes fired for three hits; other published accounts give 16.

Tōgō comes in by daylight

On the morning of 9 February, Vice Admiral Dewa Shigetō reconnoitred the anchorage from roughly 7,000 yards and identified twelve large ships and smaller vessels. Admiral Tōgō Heihachirō then brought the Combined Fleet in for a gun engagement.

Mikasa opened fire at 11:55 a.m. at about 8,500 metres. Russian ships and shore batteries replied, and the Japanese divisions withdrew between approximately 12:20 and 12:45.

No Russian capital ship was sunk. The squadron was impaired but not destroyed, and the daylight exchange was indecisive.

What a one-day label hides

The conventional "8 February" compresses an operation that crossed midnight. A Russian report quoted in the Japanese official account dates the attack 26 January / 8 February, reflecting Russia's Julian-calendar usage.

Two familiar claims do not survive the sources. Dewa did not report the Russian fleet paralysed — he reported visible damage, mostly anchored ships and an opportunity to attack; and the Russian captain's report reproduced in the Japanese official account says the ships had not spread their torpedo nets, so torpedoes cannot have tangled in them.

Japan and Russia issued their formal declarations of war on 10 February, after the fighting had already begun.

Sources

Researched 24 Aug 2026 5 sources not yet audited Traditional date

How this was checked

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Traditional date. This date is the conventional one, not one fixed by a contemporary record.

What the sources leave uncertain

Modern histories conventionally date the battle February 8–9. Japanese operational timings place the torpedo launches after midnight on February 9, although the flotillas sailed on February 8.
A Russian report quoted in the Japanese official account dates the attack January 26/February 8, reflecting Russia’s Julian-calendar usage and contemporary conversion conventions. A one-day date label therefore obscures both the midnight boundary and the calendar difference.
Published accounts differ on whether 16 or 18 torpedoes were launched; the U.S. Navy historical study consulted here gives 18.