On the foggy night of October 21, 1904, the Russian Baltic Fleet was embarking on an agonizing 18,000-mile journey to reinforce forces in the Russo-Japanese War. Commanded by Admiral Zinovy Rozhestvensky, the sailors were consumed by extreme paranoia, convinced that Japanese forces had set naval mines and stationed stealth torpedo boats off the English coast. As the warships approached Dogger Bank, eerie mist covered the water, and lookouts spotted small silhouettes in the distance.
Overcome by panic, the Russian warships opened uncoordinated fire, blasting away for over twenty chaotic minutes. In reality, the targeted vessels were harmless British fishing trawlers from Hull, completely uninvolved in the East Asian conflict. The barrage sank one trawler, damaged several others, and killed two British fishermen.
In the pandemonium, Russian ships even mistook each other for enemy craft, shelling the Russian cruiser Aurora and killing a sailor and chaplain. The blunder triggered immediate rage in London, nearly sparking war between Britain and Russia before international arbitration and massive Russian reparations defused the crisis.