Garrison.
As regards the garrison of the Fortress, General Smirnoff, its Commandant, gives the following details:
'The strength of our troops on the day of the surrender was as follows:
'On the defences of the Fortress:
| 'Bayonets (infantry and sailors) | 12,500 |
| 'Artillery | 5,000 |
| 'Engineers | 500 |
| 'Non-combatants in army | 1,000 |
| ——— | |
| 'Total | 19,000' |
There were 15,000 sick and wounded in the permanent, 5,500 in the extemporized hospitals. Total, 20,500 sick. As 24,000 men marched to the village of Chilindzui as prisoners, 5,000 of these must have been able to walk.
This led to a curious contretemps, for in the terms of surrender it had been stipulated that not more than 9,000 men would march out. The Japanese had accordingly made arrangements to handle and ration that number, and were quite nonplussed when they found that the 9,000 had increased to 24,000. While they were making the necessary arrangements to deal with these 15,000 extra mouths the exodus was stopped, and Smirnoff spent these last three days in his old quarters.
THE FORTRESS OF PORT ARTHUR