The following day we dragged a 42-linia[99] gun to 203 Metre Hill, mounted it in a trench and, with General Kondratenko’s permission, asked Midshipman Vlassev to come over. Under his direction a stick about 4 feet long was fixed into the base of a cylindro-conical shell of calibre 41·5 linia. This wooden tail was pushed down the bore of the gun, which was previously charged with a small quantity of powder. On firing, the shell with its tail flew towards the enemy’s sap, where the 20-lb. charge of pyroxylin exploded, and destroyed all the enemy’s works as well as the men engaged in constructing them. Midshipman Vlassev and Major Gobiato (a gunner) undertook to try this method of firing. Though the first few shots were not successful, the wooden tail being either burnt up or broken, and the shell failing to drop where it was intended, they nevertheless struck fear into the hearts of the Japanese! Afterwards firing became more accurate, and the shells frequently fell right into the trenches.
For future fortress warfare some practical means must be devised for throwing 20-lb. charges a short distance with precision, and then close approach will be rendered so difficult as to be almost an impossibility.
Having noted the position of this dangerous gun, the enemy directed a tremendous fire upon it, but it took him a month to dismount it, and then only because it was impossible for us to protect it in the trenches from the constant fall of heavy shell.
The discharge of these great tailed shell was watched with the greatest interest by our riflemen. But the enemy, not to be outdone, also began to discharge large mines at us, the effect of the explosion of which was considerably greater than that of his 11-inch shell, but their striking effect was weak and limited to a terrific roar and an indescribable volume of smoke.
BLINDAGE ON THE LEFT FLANK OF 203 METRE HILL. THE MEN ARE RIFLEMEN OF THE 2ND COMPANY, 5TH REGIMENT.
p. 215]
During the last month the work of fortifying 203 Metre Hill had made rapid progress. One could walk freely about the trenches now, without the risk of knocking one’s head against the cross-beams in the blindages. Dug-outs had been made in the rear face of the trenches, so that a third of the defenders could turn in at night and obtain proper rest. The blindages in the most exposed places had been strengthened with rails and ½-inch iron plates, with earth and stone piled up on them to a height of about 6 feet, and the loop-holes were furnished with ½-inch iron shields, with a cross-shaped aperture in the middle for the rifle, so that the men felt themselves fairly safe when exchanging fire with the Japanese.
Unfortunately, however, the enemy began noticeably to increase his fire on the hill from 11-inch howitzers. One shell hit a traverse 9 feet thick, blew it to pieces, in spite of the fact that it was nearly all solid rock, and wrecked all the passages round it. I went to see what damage had been done, and saw that it would need a great deal of work to repair it. The passage round the traverse had been blown out to a depth of 7 feet. Three riflemen, who were standing alongside the traverse near an embrasure, were killed.