 During the Battle of the Yellow Sea on 10 August , Asahi , now commanded by Captain <unk> <unk> , was second in line of the column of Japanese battleships , behind <unk> , and was one of the primary targets of the Russian ships . She was only hit by a single 12 @-@ inch shell that wounded two crewmen . Both guns in her aft 12 @-@ inch gun turret , however , were disabled by shells that detonated prematurely in their barrels . In turn she concentrated most of her fire upon the battleships <unk> and <unk> although both ships were only lightly damaged by the Japanese shells , which generally failed to penetrate any armour and detonated on impact . The ship made the critical hits of the battle , however , when two of her 12 @-@ inch shells struck the bridge of <unk> , killing the Russian squadron commander , Vice Admiral <unk> <unk> , two of his staff officers and the ship 's <unk> . The ship 's wheel was jammed to port by wreckage and then slowed to a halt which threw the rest of the Russian ships into total confusion . The second @-@ in @-@ command , Rear Admiral Prince Pavel <unk> , eventually gained control of the remainder of the squadron and headed back to Port Arthur . <unk> more than two months later , on 26 October , Asahi struck a mine off Port Arthur while on blockade duty . <unk> damaged , she was under repair at <unk> Naval Arsenal from November 1904 to April 1905 . Russian naval forces in the Far East had been destroyed or <unk> by this time and the Russians were forced to transfer ships from the Baltic Fleet that did not arrive until May . 
