1901, but the Russian government was slow and uncertain in its replies because it had not yet decided exactly how to resolve the problems. Japan interpreted this as deliberate prevarication designed to buy time to complete the Russian armament programs. The situation was worsened by Russia's failure to withdraw its troops from Manchuria in October 1903 as promised. The final straws were the news of Russian timber concessions in northern Korea and the Russian refusal to acknowledge Japanese interests in Manchuria while continuing to place conditions on Japanese activities in Korea. These actions caused the Japanese government to decide in December 1903 that war was inevitable. As tensions with Japan increased, the Pacific Squadron began mooring in the outer harbor at night in order to react more quickly to any Japanese attempt to land troops in Korea. Russo-Japanese War She was one of three ships to be struck by Japanese torpedoes in the surprise attack on the night of 8/9 February 1904. Tsesarevich was hit abaft the portside torpedo bulkhead and the ship took on an 18° list that was partially corrected by counterflooding compartments on the starboard side. She got underway, but ran aground at the narrow harbor entrance. She was refloated and moved into the harbour for repairs that lasted until 7 June. Some of the ship's guns were removed during the summer to reinforce the defenses of the port. Tsesarevich lost a total of four 75-millimetre, two 47-millimetre and two 37-millimetre guns. The ship was hit twice on 7 August by Japanese shells fired at long range; a fragment from one of them lightly wounded rear admiral Wilgelm Vitgeft. Battle of the Yellow Sea On the morning of 10 August, the First Pacific Squadron sortied from Port Arthur in an attempt to break through the Japanese fleet blockading the port and reach Vladivostok. The Russian squadron consisted of six battleships, Tsesarevich, , , , and Poltava, along with four protected cruisers and eight destroyers. The Japanese fleet, commanded by Vice Admiral Tōgō Heihachirō, was comprised four battleships, , , , , two armoured cruisers and , as well as seven protected cruisers. Tsesarevich and Pobeda both suffered mechanical problems within an hour of departure that forced the fleet to slow down to a speed of . Tōgō failed in his attempt to cross the Russian's T after spotting them around 12:25 and a general engagement began around