The Asama group gave Japan the second line its battle squadron needed, and its performance at Tsushima made battle-line cruisers look vindicated. Later battlecruiser advocates could read that outcome too simply. Merely getting the Russian Second and Third Pacific Squadrons to East Asia was an extraordinary feat of logistics and leadership. Given the condition of many Russian pre-dreadnoughts and the obstacles of the voyage, they might have ceased functioning before reaching Japan. Their exhausted arrival makes Tsushima poor evidence that a cruiser-like ship could always stand in a battle line.
Chapter · 35:44-37:02
Why Tsushima can mislead battlecruiser advocates
Armored-cruiser success at Tsushima encouraged later battlecruiser claims, but the Russian fleet had first survived an extraordinary and exhausting deployment.