In October 1904, Imperial Russia dispatched its Baltic Fleet to the Pacific to fight Japan, initiating an 18,000-mile journey that devolved into absolute chaos. Command of the hastily assembled Second Pacific Squadron fell to Admiral Zinovy Rozhestvensky, who was tasked with steering a fleet plagued by poor training, incompetent crews, and severe paranoia. Just days into the voyage, paranoia peaked during the notorious Dogger Bank incident.
Mistaking British fishing trawlers for Japanese torpedo boats—thousands of miles from Japan—the Russian ships opened fire on the civilians and each other, killing innocent fishermen and two Russian sailors before Britain nearly declared war. The comedy of errors only deepened as the fleet rounded Africa. The supply vessel Kamchatka became legendary for its incompetence, accidentally firing on neutral Swedish, German, and French ships, losing its steering, and repeatedly signaling panic about phantom torpedo boats.
During a prolonged stopover in Madagascar, morale plummeted as tropical heat melted coal, deadly venomous snakes and predatory pets brought aboard escaped, and disease ravaged the men. Whenever Admiral Rozhestvensky lost his temper—which was almost constantly—he hurled binoculars into the sea, consuming staff supplies by the dozens. Miraculously making it to the Far East in May 1905, the exhaust-choked, barnacle-encrusted armada immediately encountered the modern Japanese Navy at the Battle of Tsushima.
Admiral Togo annihilated the Russian fleet in under two days, bringing a merciful end to history's most famously cursed naval voyage.