In October 1904, Russia dispatched its Baltic Fleet, renamed the Second Pacific Squadron, on a grueling 18,000-mile journey to reinforce forces in the Russo-Japanese War. Command was handed to Admiral Zinovy Rozhestvensky, who quickly realized the expedition was doomed. Just days after departing, paranoid sailors mistook British fishing trawlers in the North Sea for Japanese torpedo boats.
In the chaotic Dogger Bank Incident, Russian ships fired upon innocent fishermen, shelled their own vessels, and nearly provoked a war with the British Empire. The fleet's bad luck only escalated from there. Ships were plagued by toxic coal dust, venomous pets brought aboard by bored crewmen, and constant mechanical breakdowns.
Supply ships repeatedly failed, and nervous gunners fired on neutral merchant vessels, friendly repair ships, and even a Swedish steamer. When the fleet finally reached the Tsushima Strait in May 1905 after seven exhausting months, the waiting Japanese Imperial Navy wiped out almost the entire Russian fleet in a matter of hours, ending one of naval history's most absurd sagas.