THE CHINO-JAPANESE WAR. 1894—95. 562 fleets were converging on each other without either havingtheleast idea that abattle was so near at hand.

Navy. With the advice of his white officers, Ting had done a good deal to make his fleet fit for action. Coal sacks werepiled round the barbettes of the ironclads to afford additional protection ;but the thin steel roofs of the barbettes and the shields of most of the guns wereremoved,as theexperienceof the Tsi-Yuen's action with the Japanese cruisers near Asan had shown that these defences, while too weak tc stop a shell, were just strongenough toburst it, instead of lettingit fly harmlessly past the gun.

All boats except one for each ship were sent ashore, and a quantity of wooden fittings were removed. But this clearance was not complete, and a lotof gilded andlacquered woodworkwas left in position, and proved very dangerous during the battle,catching fire easily, and being verydifficult to extinguish once it was alight.

The weak point of the Chinese fleet was the slowness of the ships. To make matters worse they wereill provided with ammunition. The Chen-Yuen, for instance,had only three modern shells for her heavy guns. There were ver)- few quick-firers mounted, while the Japanese were armed with a considerable number of these splendid modern weapons, and their protected cruisers also carried heavy- Canet gunsof a type that, it was expected,would pierce the thickest armourin the Chinese fleet.

AdmiralIto's squadron consisted of eight fine protected cruisers of the newest type,allofhigh speed, and having steel belts, curved steeldecks under water to protect the engines, magazines, and vitals of the ship, and also in several cases strongly-armouredbarbettes. Therewerebesides two old ironclads,and a gunboat and an armed merchantman, but the eight cruisers were the realfighting force.

The followingis a listof thefleet in theorderin which they fought at the battleof the Yalu:— The Japanese Fleet.

Before tellingthe story of thesea-fight off the Yalu River,it will be well to say something of the composition of therivalfleets. The following table gives a list of the Chinese ships in the order in which Ting awaited the attack of the Japanese:— The Chinese Fleet.

The battleship Ting-Yuen flew the flag of Admiral Ting, and he had for his assistant on board the German artillery officer, Major von Hanneken, who had escaped from the unfortunateKowshing. On board of the other battleship, the Chen-Yuen, wasCommander McGiften, formerly of the United States Navy, who was servingnominally as second in command to the Chinese captain, but really was the actual commanderof the ship. There werea few Europe uis .and Americans here and there in the other ships, acting as engineers or gunnery officers. Some of them had served as engineers or seaman gunners and petty officers in the British rULlS Ships. Tons. Ia .y fe j= c Notes.

InLineof Battle. Right— Yang- Wei Chao-Yung ... Chmg-Yuen ... Centre— Lai-Yuen 1.35° 1.35° 2,300 6 6 5 7 7 16 18 knots speed.

2,850 4 8 9j-inch armour belt;8inches on barbette. 114-inch armour I belt;12 in. on { turrets. Four j 12-inch guns on each ship gj-inch armour belt;8 inches on barbette.

Chen-Yuen Ting- Yuen 7.430 7.430 6 12 12 King-Yuen 2,850 Left— Clit-Yuen Kwang-Chia..

Tsi-Yuen Not in Line— Ping-Yuen 2,300 1,300 2,355 5 7 3 16 8 10 18 knots speed.

2,850 3 8 8 - inch armour belt ;5inches on barbette. Hwang-Ping... Four Torpedo Boats and two Small Gunboats.

1,030 [No armour carried by ships unless noted inthis column, which also notes heaviest guns andhighest speed in fleet] rULlS.

Ships. Tons.

so ac ■ '.H c m 3 Notes.

/an Squadron.

Y.sliino 4,150 44 Swiftest ship in either fleet; speed, 23 knots;2-inch steel protectivedeck. Speed. 18 knots; 3-inch steel deck. One long I2&-inch gun, «!■ in. steeldeck Takacliice 3.650 12 Akitsushiina ... 3,150 I. CO