Tsushima pits Russia against a fused Japanese force

The Russian squadrons met a Japanese fleet that had been standardized ruthlessly around common capabilities. Asama-type ships sat near the boundary between armored cruiser and battleship because they were heavily armed, heavily protected, and intended to back the battle squadron. They retained cruiser roles, but those roles were embedded in a fleet-level design rather than pursued independently. The result was a fused force instead of a traditional squadron that happened to contain both cruisers and battleships. That distinction matters when using Tsushima to judge hull categories, because the outcome also reflected integration, doctrine, and support.