Naval Historywith Dr. Alex

Q&A · 4:45:53-4:48:48

Nagato appears in Japan before the Russo-Japanese War

Nagato's arrival in 1900 gives Japan an overwhelming hypothetical battleship advantage and raises the question of whether Russia would risk its relief fleet.

Alternate HistoryDreadnoughtsIJN NagatoImperial Japanese NavyNaval TechnologyRoyal NavyRusso Japanese War
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Question

What happens if Nagato appears in Tokyo Harbor on 1 January 1900?

Short answer

Japan gains a battleship advantage large enough to alter Russian decisions, including whether to send the relief fleet, provided reports of Nagato are believed.

Notes

The counterfactual puts Nagato in Tokyo Harbour on 1 January 1900, years before the Russo-Japanese War. Her later battleship capabilities would give Japan an enormous advantage over the Russian ships considered in the scenario. The comparison uses the as-built ship, including eight 16-inch guns and a speed of about 26.5 knots. Port Arthur's defenders and a relief fleet would face a threat far beyond the historical balance. If Russia believed the reports, dispatching Rozhestvensky's fleet becomes doubtful. This is an alternate-history judgement about deterrence and force imbalance, rather than a reconstruction of an actual Japanese deployment.