text: On the first night of this battle, the generals of the defending force were at a party hosted by Admiral Stark.
full_question: On the first night of this battle, the generals of the defending force were at a party hosted by Admiral Stark. Fortifications were sent to the nearby town of Dalny prior to this battle, which was incited by a surprise nighttime torpedo attack by Admiral Togo that took out two Russian battleships. Diplomatic ties were cut between (*) Russia and Japan two days before this 1904 battle, which was named for the then-Russian naval base at the tip of the Liaodong Peninsula in Manchuria. For 10 points, name this largely inconclusive naval battle which is often considered the first battle of the Russo-Japanese War.
first_sentence: On the first night of this battle, the generals of the defending force were at a party hosted by Admiral Stark.