Based on real events - An attack at Port Arthur forces Russia to order a fleet of antiquated ships, manned by untrained crews to sail around the world to wreak revenge. A human story of men driven by poverty into the clutches of war, narrowly avoiding numerous conflicts with other nations. A humorous, unbelievable, emotional retelling of their voyage.

SYNOPSIS:

There were competing Russian and Japanese ambitions in the Far East, where the Chinese empire was disintegrating. The Russians had built the Trans-Siberian Railway from Moscow to Vladivostok across Manchuria and had bullied the Chinese into leasing them the ice-free port of Port Arthur as a naval base.

On 27th January 1904, Japanese torpedo boats fired on Russian naval vessels stationed at Port Arthur, causing significant damage to three Russian vessels. In retaliation, the Tsar, Nicholas II, orders a fleet to join forces with the rest of the Russian navy based at Port Arthur.

The Baltic Fleet follows the lives of Pyotr and Josef as they endure what is at times both humorous and at others a deeply saddening tale.

We follow them as they discover available ships are not fit for purpose and with the lack of available trained crewmen the whole journey is believed unlikely to even begin. However, the powers that be ensure it happens, no matter the consequences for the crewmen and their families. The ships eventually haphazardly sail out of Libava, a small town on the coast of Lithuania on October 15th, 1904, and begin the 18000 miles journey.

Along the way, the fleet almost begins wars with the British, the French, the Germans, and the Swedish, all because of lack of training, discipline, and sometimes sheer stupidity.

Their journey gets massively elongated when they are forbidden access to the Suez Canal following an incident with the British, which means they have to sail around the entire continent of Africa.

Eventually, we learn their fate as the remaining ships and crewmen arrive within striking distance of their destination.