Togo, Heihachiro .
Evans, David. The Harper Encyclopedia of Military Biography01/01/92 :. p746D

Japanese admiral. Principal wars: hostilities with Britain (1863); Restoration War (1866-1868); Sino-Japanese War (1894-1895); Russo-Japanese War (1904-1905). Principal battles: Kagoshima (1863); Awaji (1868); the Yalu (1894); Port Arthur (Lushan), Yellow Sea (1904); Tsushima (1905).

Born in Satsuma fief, later Kagoshima prefecture (1848); as a youth took part in the defense of Kagoshima against a British bombardment (August 15-16, 1863); entered the Satsuma domain navy (1866), and as a gunnery officer aboard the Satsuma warship Kasuga he fought in the action off Awaji Shima (island) (March 1868) during the Boshin (Restoration) War that overthrew the Tokugawa shogunate; fought at Hakodate on Hokkaido against Takeaki Enomoto's abortive rebellion (1869); entered the new Imperial Navy as a cadet (1871); later that year he was sent to Britain as a naval student, and trained aboard H.M.S. Worcester, part of the Thames Nautical Training College (1871-1875); circumnavigated the globe as an ordinary seaman aboard the sailing ship Hampshire (1875); studied mathematics at Cambridge (1875-1876); observed construction of the armored ship Fuso at Sheerness (1876-1878); was promoted to lieutenant just before returning to Japan (1878); on extended sea duty (1878-1894); he was almost removed from the active list because of poor health (1893); placed in command of the cruiser Naniwa as war with China grew imminent, he sank the British-flag transport Kaosheng in the Yellow Sea upon discovering it was ferrying Chinese troops to Korea (August 25, 1894); took part in the battle of the Yalu as the last ship in Admiral Tsuboi's Flying Squadron (September 17, 1894); rear admiral (1895); held a series of important posts ashore (1895-1903); as war with Russia loomed, his imperturbability, good luck, and known ability to get the best from subordinates won him command of the Combined Fleet; directed the early attacks on Port Arthur (Lushan) (February 8, 1904), and then the blockade of that important Russian fortress and base; defeated Admiral Vitgeft's Port Arthur squadron when it sortied into the Yellow Sea (August 10); commanded the combined fleet at Tsushima from the flying bridge of his flagship Mikasa, maneuvering his fleet to "cross the T" of the Russian fleet (May 27, 1905); his one-sided, decisive victory virtually ended the war; a national hero and a figure of international renown, he served as chief of the Navy General Staff (1905-1909); was made a count (1907); although virtually retired, he was promoted fleet admiral (1913); held a series of honorary posts in his later years, and was made a marquis (1934); died later that year.

Probably Japan's greatest admiral, one of her great modern military leaders, and a talented leader of men; his grasp of strategy and tactics was demonstrated in his estimate of Russian intentions leading up to Tsushima and in his masterful execution of the battle itself; justifiably nicknamed the Nelson of the East.

Sources:

Falk,

Ogasawara,

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