'But, sir, his appointment——'
But Stössel only roared again, 'I never alter my orders!'
What could Smirnoff do? The reader must remember that, by an order issued in March, Smirnoff was made subordinate to Stössel; that the latter had been appointed Aide-de-Camp to the Tsar, which in the eyes of the troops vested him with great authority, as he could speak in the Emperor's name. What, I ask, could he have done? How should he have acted? It is easy to say now what he should have done, but, taking his position at the time and everything else into consideration, I personally do not see what would have been best to do. Even now, disgusted as he was, the Commandant knew nothing of the official deceit of which Stössel was guilty. [The first that Smirnoff heard of the concealment of the orders was from Kuropatkin himself, when he returned from being a prisoner of war.]
After this interview the two men went totally different ways. They only met once again—on the day on which the last council was held.
More than once when I accompanied Smirnoff on his inspection he said to me:
'I am hindered and opposed at every—literally every—turn in the defence, and if Arthur falls all the shame and all the responsibility will be thrown on me. But, no; I'll defeat them. If Arthur falls, I and all the other Generals will die with it.'
But he did not; the eventual capitulation was for him—the Commandant—as complete a surprise as it was for the rest of the garrison.
Extract of December 17 from Colonel Raschevsky's Diary.[37]
'From 2 p.m. the Japanese have bombarded Chi-kuan-shan Fort and Little Eagle's Nest. An 11-inch shell struck the casemate of the former, wounding three more officers....
'It is rumoured that Fock has issued an order decreasing the garrison of the forts by half, withdrawing half to make up a reserve. This is exactly contrary to General Smirnoff's principle, but Fock seems to think that the inaction and monotony of fort life breeds disease....'