about a quarter to two o'clock in the afternoon
It came from the _ Izumi _ -- one of the ships which had been dispatched on the previous night for the purpose of luring the enemy into the eastern channel -- and reported that at length her captain had succeeded in ascertaining the full force of the enemy 's fleet , and that it consisted of eleven battleships of the 1st , 2nd , and 3rd classes , nine cruisers , nine auxiliary cruisers , and nine destroyers . These were heavy odds to face with our four battleships , eight armoured cruisers , and eighteen protected cruisers ; yet never for a moment did we shrink from the encounter , for we were , one and all , _ determined _ to conquer . Moreover , the weather , gloomy as it was , was in our favour , for our ships , having been painted the peculiar grey tint that had been found so effective in the atmosphere of the Sea of Japan , were scarcely visible at a distance of four miles , while the heavy sea would probably give our own gunners a great advantage over those of the enemy . It was about a quarter to two o'clock in the afternoon , and we were steaming in line ahead , with the _ Mikasa _ leading , our course being about South-South-West , when , the fog thinning somewhat , we suddenly saw , away on our port bow , a great cloud of black smoke , underneath which we presently discerned several large ships approaching in two lines , their black hulls and yellow funnels showing up with remarkable distinctness against the light grey background of fog . Instantly every telescope and pair of binoculars in the Japanese fleet was levelled at them in an endeavour to identify the craft in sight -- for we were intimately acquainted with the characteristics of every ship in the enemy 's fleet -- and presently we recognised the big , three-funnelled craft at the head of the port line as the _ Oslabia _ , while the two-funnelled battleship leading the starboard line was undoubtedly the _ Suvaroff _ , Admiral Rojdestvensky 's flagship . Astern of her followed the _ Alexander Third , Borodino _ , and _ Orel _ ; while in the wake of the _ Oslabia _ we were able to identify the _ Sissoi Veliki , Navarin _ , and _ Admiral Nakhimoff _ , with a long string of other craft at that moment too far distant for identification . While we were still endeavouring to identify some of the more distant ships , the _ Mikasa _ made the general signal : `` The fate of our Empire depends upon our efforts .