THE FALL OF KIAO-CHAU.
We must now hark back to Kiao-chau, and learn what was taking place in that "model of German culture." I have already told you how Germany played the chief part in ejecting the Japanese from the Liao-tung peninsula, and how, while professing to be China's friend, she stole from her 200 square miles of territory, on which she established the fortress and naval base of Tsing-tau. A few years later, when a mixed force of British, American, German, French, Russian, and Japanese troops invaded China during the "Boxer" rising,[148] the Kaiser's soldiers treated the Japanese with the utmost contempt. Japan had therefore old scores to pay off. She was Britain's ally, and, as such, was Germany's foe. Friendship for Britain and hatred of Germany made her eager to take a hand in the great struggle, though it is said that many high-placed Japanese believed that Germany would win. Nevertheless Japan did not hesitate for a moment to throw in her lot with the British. She was staunchly loyal to her plighted word; while the Germans, who scorned her, were tearing up their bond in Belgium.
The war was not three weeks old when Japan declared war, and undertook to make a clean sweep of German sea power in the Far East. She proposed to wrest Kiao-chau from the Germans, and at the end of the war restore it to China. Japan has a fine navy of six Dreadnoughts, six other battleships, four first-class battle cruisers, and large classes of other cruisers, destroyers, and coast-defence ships. A squadron of her fleet at once co-operated with the British in Eastern waters. Her army, which had been trained on the German model, numbered 250,000 on a peace footing, and could be increased to 1,100,000. It was admirably equipped, especially with heavy guns. Japan was thus formidable, alike by land and sea.
Before I describe the blockade, siege, and storming of Tsing-tau, let us have a clear idea of its geographical position. The map on the opposite page shows you the German protectorate of Kiao-chau and the surrounding country. Kiao-chau Bay, which has an area of about 200 square miles, is almost land-locked. At the southerly point of the peninsula on the eastern side of the bay you see the fortress of Tsing-tau, from which a railway twenty-two miles long runs north, skirting the shore and sweeping round the head of the bay to the station at Kiao-chau. The peninsula itself is flat and low-lying, except along the south coast; but here and there a number of low hills rise from the plain, and these the Germans had strongly fortified as the outer defences of Tsing-tau. You will see several of them on the map; one is marked Bismarck Hill, another Moltke Hill. Several rivers cross the peninsula, the most important being the Chang-sun, which enters the sea almost opposite to Potato Island in Kiao-chau Bay. The ground is marshy in the course of this river, and also along the coast farther north.
On 27th August an Allied fleet appeared off the south coast of the peninsula. A small island was seized as a naval base, and the sea was diligently swept for the mines with which the Germans had strewn it. So thoroughly was the work done that only one Japanese vessel was blown up by mines during the whole of the operations. The line of warships now extended east and west, so that all communication with the fortress by sea was cut off. Then the bombardment of the forts and harbour began.
On 2nd September the Japanese were ready to begin their land attack. The Gulf of Pechili lies directly to the north of Kiao-chau Bay. On the Shantung coast of this bay you will find Lai-chow. It was near this place that the first Japanese force landed. You will notice that the Japanese had to cross a strip of Chinese territory before reaching the boundary of German territory. When they crossed the boundary they found themselves held up and brought to a standstill. The autumn rains, always heavy in Shantung, had been heavier than usual; all the rivers had overflowed their banks, and had spread out into wide lagoons. Until the floods subsided it was impossible to reach Tsing-tau by this route. Nevertheless the Japanese by 13th September had reached the town of Kiao-chau, and had seized the railway station, twenty-two miles from Tsing-tau. General Kamio, who commanded the force, sent aeroplanes over the fortress, and bombs were dropped on the wireless station, the electric power station, and on the ships in the harbour. Soon the floods began to fall, and Kamio found himself able to advance. By the 27th he had reached Prince Henry Hill, the chief of the outer defences of the fortress. Next day he assaulted and captured the hill, from the crest of which all the forts around Tsing-tau could be bombarded. He was now in much the same position as the Germans when they had broken through the outer line of the Antwerp defences and were enabled to shell the inner forts. Prince Henry Hill was the key to Tsing-tau, and it is surprising that the Germans did not make a greater effort to retain it.
Landing of the Japanese at Laoshan Bay. Photo, Record Press.
Meanwhile the Japanese had made another landing at Laoshan Bay, on the south side of the peninsula, where they were within the boundary of German territory. Japanese engineers erected a solid pier, by means of which men, guns, and stores were brought ashore, and on 23rd September transports arrived with a British force consisting of 1,000 of the South Wales Borderers and 500 Sikhs, under General Barnardiston, who was in command of our troops in North China. The British force was landed easily and rapidly, and all was now ready for a march on Tsing-tau itself. You will notice that the Allied force at Laoshan Bay had only a short distance to march before joining hands with General Kamio's men. The floods were no longer a great obstacle, and the advance was not delayed. On the evening of 28th September, just after the capture of Prince Henry Hill, the Allied forces were only five miles from Tsing-tau; and their lines stretched right across the peninsula, so that the fortress was shut in both by land and sea. German warships in Kiao-chau Bay attempted to do what British monitors afterwards did on the Belgian coast—that is, shell the right wing of the enemy. Japanese aviators, however, showed such skill and daring that the warships were driven off.
The Kaiser had ordered his troops to defend Tsing-tau as long as breath remained in their bodies. The feeble defence of Prince Henry Hill did not seem to show that they were disposed to hold out to the last man. During the next month General Kamio was inclined to think that their defence was largely make-believe, for they fired their shells in the most wanton and reckless fashion, sometimes discharging 1,000 to 1,500 projectiles a day. He therefore determined on a grand assault instead of a long, slow siege.
From the sea a vigorous bombardment was kept up, and on 15th October the Japanese general offered a safe-conduct to all non-combatants who cared to leave the fortress. The American consul, several ladies and children, and a few Chinese took advantage of the offer. On 31st October, 140 Japanese siege guns were in position, and as it was the Emperor's birthday a royal salute was fired with live shells. Before, however, the guns were fired, the Japanese signalled, "Are you now quite ready, gentlemen?" The reply came in the shape of a whizzing bullet. Then the shells began to whistle. All the forts were bombarded; fires broke out near the harbour; the oil tanks were speedily in flames, and black smoke filled the heavens. The forts were assailed by guns of practically the same calibre as those with which the Belgian fortresses had been battered down. A British officer who witnessed the bombardment said, "It really was a wonderful sight, and the Japanese shooting was magnificent. . . . Every shell seemed to find the mark. There was hardly a stick left in the forts and redoubts; concrete platforms, trenches, guns, and barbed-wire entanglements, all were destroyed. Our small force did their full share."
The German warships in the harbour replied, but before evening one of them had disappeared, and a second sank two days later. On 1st November H.M.S. Triumph, in seven shots, silenced the forts on Bismarck Hill; on 2nd November Fort Iltis was put out of action, and the Allies drove the Germans off a hill which they were holding. Next day the electric light station and the wireless station were wrecked; and, under heavy shell and rifle fire, the besiegers advanced still nearer to the fortress. By the night of the 6th the Germans were almost ready to surrender.
Throughout the darkness the guns of the enemy roared at intervals. The Allies, however, pushed on and occupied central positions on the main line of defence. By this time they had dug their trenches to within a score of yards of the redoubts. When the Germans attempted to leave one of their strongholds they found enemy rifles and machine guns covering the only exit. Early next morning (7th November) all was ready for the final assault. Between six and seven o'clock, while the troops, in tense silence, were awaiting the order to storm, white flags appeared above the observatory and several of the forts. Then the little Japanese soldiers broke into loud shouts of "Banzai![149]" Tsing-tau had yielded, and the Kaiser had no longer an Asiatic "place in the sun."
At 7.50 in the evening terms of surrender were signed. Honours of war were accorded to the defenders, and it was arranged that they should march out the next day. At 10 a.m. on 10th November the governor, 201 officers, and 3,841 men laid down their arms as prisoners of war. The German casualties were heavy; the Japanese lost 236 killed and 1,282 wounded out of a total force of about 23,000; the British 1,500 were reduced by 12. In addition, the Japanese lost a cruiser, a destroyer, a torpedo boat, and three mine-sweepers.
In Japan the news was received with delighted surprise. There were great rejoicings in the island kingdom, and when General Barnardiston reached Tokio he was accorded a welcome such as had never before been given to any stranger. He was greeted by parades of troops and thousands of cheering school children. The whole Japanese nation made holiday to rejoice in its victory, and the capital was gloriously decorated and illuminated. The National Assembly was called together, and the greatest enthusiasm prevailed. The German officers had been allowed to retain their swords, and the people showed them the utmost kindness.
The rapid fall of the fortress was a great blow to German pride. One of the newspapers wrote as follows:—
"Tsing-tau has fallen. The history of the German leased territory is henceforth at an end. It was short but glorious. From a decayed Chinese fishing village had been made a shining testimony to German culture. That the most beautiful, the cleanest, and the most progressive town in the Far East had sprung up in a couple of years from the soil was calculated to awake the jealousy of the slit-eyed people of the East. Never shall we forget the bold deed of violence of the yellow robbers or of England that set them on to do it. We know that we cannot yet settle with Japan for years to come. Perhaps she will rejoice over her cowardly robbery. Here our mills can grind but slowly. Even if years pass, however, we shall certainly not often speak of it, but as certainly always think of it. And if eventually the time of reckoning arrives, then as unanimously as what is now a cry of pain will a great shout of rejoicing ring through Germany. 'Woe to Nippon.'"[150]
