Togo maneuvered to bring his broadsides to bear and turned his ships in sequence across the Russian approach. That sequence offered a theoretical aiming point, and Mikasa received 15 hits in five minutes and about 30 heavy-caliber strikes during the action. Russian fire control could not keep punishing each Japanese ship as it passed through the same turning point. Japan held fire until about 6,400 metres and then used better-maintained ships, trained crews, and combat experience to overwhelm a tired formation. A Russian staff officer's description of incessant impacts, wrecked ladders, displaced guns, casualties, and burning paint conveys what the gunnery advantage meant aboard the target ships.
Chapter · 2:00:58-2:06:30
Togo's turn exposed the decisive training gap
The Japanese maneuver risked concentrating Russian fire on a predictable turning point, but Russia lacked the gunnery control to exploit it.