A second alternative was to send Vitgeft to Zinovy Rozhestvensky rather than expend him in the early sortie. As a capable second-in-command, Vitgeft could have explained local conditions and the state of the Pacific squadron to the approaching fleet. Such an appointment could have displaced one of the less useful political appointees attached to Rozhestvensky. If Viceroy Alexeyev remained committed to immediate aggression, he could instead have assumed direct command and responsibility for it. Alexeyev's long survival, compared with the deaths of commanders sent on operations he advocated, exposes the separation between authority and accountability.
Notable Point · 53:20-55:14
Vitgeft could have served as Rozhestvensky's theatre adviser
Sending Vitgeft to the approaching Russian fleet would have supplied a proven second-in-command with knowledge of Port Arthur and the Pacific theatre.