these dispositions culminated with the russo-japanese war (1904–1905). the japanese battleship mikasa was the flagship of admiral tōgō heihachirō. at the battle of tsushima, the mikasa led the combined japanese fleet into what has been called "the most decisive naval battle in history". the russian fleet was almost completely annihilated: out of 38 russian ships, 21 were sunk, 7 captured, 6 disarmed, 4,545 russian servicemen died and 6,106 were taken prisoner. on the other hand, the japanese only lost 117 men and 3 torpedo boats.