Federal Gunboat "Korietz"

The gunboat *Korietz* is inseparable from the Battle of Chemulpo Bay on February 9, 1904 — the opening naval engagement of the Russo-Japanese War. Trapped in the Korean port alongside the cruiser *Varyag*, the *Korietz* fought her way through a blockading Japanese squadron before both vessels were scuttled by their crews to prevent capture. The engagement preceded the formal declaration of war by a day, making it technically an act of undeclared aggression under international law, a point Russia raised and Japan dismissed.

Both crews were repatriated and received heroes' welcomes in Odessa. The *Korietz* herself had been launched in 1886 at the Burmeister & Wain shipyard in Copenhagen.