Vitgeft made another attempt to break through the Japanese blockade on 10 August in obedience to a direct order from Tsar Nicholas II. The squadron was spotted relatively quickly, and the Japanese main fleet intercepted the Russians in the early afternoon. In the resulting the Battle of the Yellow Sea, "Poltava" and "Sevastopol" were the last battleships in the Russian column and the former, slowed by engine problems, became the primary target of the Japanese battleships and armored cruisers when Vitgeft maneuvered the squadron past the Japanese and forced them into a stern chase. Shortly before sunset, a lucky hit killed Vitgeft and threw the squadron into confusion. The Russian second-in-command, Rear Admiral Prince Pavel Ukhtomsky, eventually gained control of the squadron and led most of the ships back to Port Arthur. "Poltava" was hit by 12–14 large-caliber shells and lost 12 crewmen killed and 43 wounded; "Sevastopol" was hit by several shells that killed 1 and wounded 62 crewmen.