the minefield just laid by the Japanese. The ship sank in less than two minutes after one of her magazines exploded, and Makarov was one of the 677 killed. In addition to this loss, the battleship was damaged by a mine. On 23 June, the ship was present when the Pacific Squadron sortied in an abortive attempt to reach Vladivostok, but the new squadron commander, Rear Admiral Wilgelm Vitgeft, ordered the squadron to return to Port Arthur when it encountered the Japanese battleline shortly before sunset, as he did not wish to engage his numerically superior opponents in a night battle. Battle of the Yellow Sea On the morning of 10 August 1904, Asama was coaling when the Russians sortied from Port Arthur in another attempt to reach Vladivostok. The ship was not in position to join the battle until around 19:00 when she opened fire at a range of from the damaged Russian battleship Poltava. The shell fell short and the Russian cruisers came to the support of the battleship so that by 19:25, Asama hotly engaged with the Russian ships at a range of . Despite the arrival of the elderly cruisers of Rear Admiral Hikohachi Yamada's 5th Division around 19:30, Asama was forced to disengage when the other Russian battleships came within range. The following morning she met up with Tōgō's 1st Division and then rejoined the 3rd Division. On 14 August, the 3rd Division was ordered to Tsingtao to confirm that the Germans had indeed interned the battleship and three destroyers that had taken shelter there after the battle. After their return, they were reassigned to the blockade of Port Arthur. On 18 September, Asama and the armored cruiser were transferred to the 1st Division. When the Imperial Japanese Army began sinking the Russian ships in Port Arthur with large-caliber howitzers in early December, Tōgō ordered the two cruisers home to refit. On 30 December, Asama and the armored cruiser were ordered north to the Tsugaru Strait. Before the Russian ships from the Baltic Fleet approached Japan, the two cruisers were recalled south and rejoined the armored cruisers of Kamimura's 2nd Division. Battle of Tsushima As the Russian 2nd and 3rd Pacific Squadrons approached Japan on 27 May, having sailed from the Baltic Sea, they were spotted by patrolling Japanese ships early that morning, but visibility was limited and radio reception poor. The preliminary reports were