Wilgelm Vitgeft

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Wilgelm Karlovich Vitgeft (Russian: Вильгельм Карлович Витгефт) (1847-1904) was a Russian rear admiral during the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-1905.

Russian battleship Tsesarevich, participant of the Battle of the Yellow Sea.
Russian battleship Tsesarevich, participant of the Battle of the Yellow Sea.

Wilgelm Vitgeft was born in 1847 at Odessa. He completed his naval schooling in 1868 and subsequently circled the globe on the clipper Wsadnik. He was promoted to NCO in 1870 and to lieutenant in 1873. From 1875 to 1878 he received specialized training as an artillery and mines expert. Thereafter he served in various functions on ships of the Russian Baltic Sea fleet.

He obtained his first command in 1885, the gunboat Grosa. In 1892 he took over command of the cruiser Wojewoda. He was promoted to Captain 1st Rank in 1894. On 26 October 1899 he was promoted to Rear Admiral and transferred to the Pacific Fleet, where he served as chief of staff to the Russian Viceroy, Evgeny Alexeiev, until 1903.

After the outbreak of the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-1905, he became chief of the Naval Headquarters in the Far East. Following the death of Admiral Stepan Makarov, Vitgeft was appointed temporary commander of the Russian First Pacific Squadron (from 17 April 1904 it was called the 1st Pacific Squadron). Vice Admiral Skridlov should have replaced Makarov, but could not come to Port Arthur. Vitgeft hesitated to take his squadron to sea in an attempt to break through to Vladivostok, but in August 1904 he was ordered to do so. On the morning of 10 August 1904, the Russian squadron sailed out of Port Arthur in an attempt to escape the Japanese fleet blockading the port during the later days of the Siege of Port Arthur.

The Russian fleet consisted of the battleships Tsesarevich, Retvizan, Pobeda, Peresvet, Sevastopol, and Poltava, along with four cruisers and 14 destroyers. It was intercepted by Admiral Togo's Japanese fleet in the Yellow Sea and in the course of the long Battle of the Yellow Sea Vitgeft was killed when his flagship Tsesarevich was hit by several heavy 12-inch calibre shells. Most of the confused Russian force then put back to Port Arthur and the rest was interned in neutral ports.