 At the start of the Russo @-@ Japanese War , Hatsuse , commanded by Captain Yu Nakao , was assigned to the 1st Division of the 1st Fleet . She participated in the Battle of Port Arthur on 9 February 1904 when Admiral Tōgō Heihachirō led the 1st Fleet in an attack on the Russian ships of the Pacific Squadron anchored just outside Port Arthur . Tōgō had expected his surprise night attack on the Russians by his destroyers to be much more successful than it actually was and anticipated that they would be badly disorganized and weakened , but the Russians had recovered from their surprise and were ready for his attack . The Japanese ships were spotted by the cruiser Boyarin which was patrolling offshore and alerted the Russian defences . Tōgō chose to attack the Russian coastal defences with his main armament and engage the Russian ships with his secondary guns . Splitting his fire proved to be a bad idea as the Japanese 8 @-@ inch ( 203 mm ) and six @-@ inch guns inflicted little damage of significance on the Russian ships who concentrated all their fire on the Japanese ships with some effect . Although a large number of ships on both sides were hit , Russian casualties numbered only 17 while the Japanese suffered 60 killed and wounded before Tōgō disengaged . Hatsuse was hit twice during the battle , losing seven crewmen killed and 17 wounded . 
