Editorial Note: The dates cited in Eugene Politovsky’s account are from the old Russian Orthodox calendar, which is 13 days behind that of the (Gregorian) calendar system used in this article.A recent War on the Rocks article on the failure of the Spanish Reserve Fleet to prepare for war with the United States in 1898 offers a useful point of entry into what may be the most significant issue of poor fleet readiness ahead of a major battle. Fought on May 27, 1905, the Battle of Tsushima ended in the destruction or capture of nearly the entire Russian Baltic Fleet, The post Learning from the ‘Voyage of the Damned’: The Making of a Russian Naval Disaster appeared first on War on the Rocks .