The Combined Fleet was formally created on 18 July 1894 by the merger of the Standing Fleet and the Western Fleet. The Standing Fleet (also known as the Readiness Fleet) contained the navy's most modern and combat-capable warships. The Western Fleet was a reserve force consisting primarily of obsolete ships deemed unsuitable for front-line combat operations, but still suitable for commerce protection and coastal defense. Vice-admiral Itoh Sukeyuki was appointed the first Commander-in-Chief of the Combined Fleet. for the duration of the first Sino-Japanese war against China.
Read more about Combined Fleet: Commanders of The IJN Combined Fleet
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“On the middle of that quiet floor
sits a fleet of small black ships,
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their spars like burned matchsticks.”
—Elizabeth Bishop (1911–1979)