It was now necessary to determine how near we were to the enemy’s miners and to calculate the charge required. There were very few expert miners among officers or men. The sapper company had been but lately formed, and its commander was a pontoon expert, while all the other officers were young. Major Linder (commanding the company) had never had any experience of mining operations, and the only people who knew anything about them were Colonel Grigorenko and Lieutenant-Colonel Rashevski. The former had served with me in the 6th Battalion and knew that I had for some years practised offensive and defensive mining operations at the Engineer College at Kiev, and for that reason he had asked me to come and help him at this critical moment. According to the officer who was superintending the work in our mines, the enemy was extremely close, but just then they could only occasionally hear the sound of very cautious digging.
After hearing this report, we all went into the semi-caponier. We proceeded for a considerable distance through some dark casemates, and then came to the place where the mining was being done. We ordered every one out of the mine and climbed in to listen. Colonel Grigorenko and Lieutenant-Colonel Rashevski were with me. We began to listen, but our movements and breathing prevented our hearing well, so my two companions went out and I was left alone. Putting my ear close to the wall nearest the enemy, I held my breath and listened intently, but not a sound broke the dead silence.
I acknowledge that when my comrades climbed out of the mine, which dropped down steeply in the enemy’s direction, I felt none too happy.
Supposing the enemy had laid his charge and was just about to explode it! There would not be much of me left!
In my imagination I conjured up some very disquieting pictures, and all the time not a sound from the enemy. This rather confirmed me in the correctness of my supposition.
Long and intently I listened, several times changing my position, as my legs got stiff and cramped owing to my not being able to stretch them out. I strained my ears, ... not a sound. Suddenly ... a blow, a very careful one, then ... another and another; I tried to guess the enemy’s direction, and how far off he was. Though the formation was somewhat of the nature of sand-stone, still one ought to be able to judge fairly accurately. The man was working very cautiously with a pick, and I could hear it from all sides of our mine. As if it were now (one does not forget such moments!), I remember that the blows sounded near the left side of the passage and a little above it. The distance was less than a sagene (7 feet), but more than an archine (28 inches).
Though the worker was very careful in using his pick, yet he scraped away the loose earth and stones rather noisily.
This scraping sound was plainly audible through the intervening rock, but it was thought very probably that an enemy on the other side could not hear it.
When I had quite decided how attacker and defender were situated with regard to each other, I climbed out of the mine and reported the result of my observations. Colonel Grigorenko and his miners accepted my conclusions, and decided to lay their charge. A report was made to the commandant of the hill, who had himself heard the enemy at work, and he personally exploded our mine, which completely destroyed that of the Japanese, and, bursting along the gallery, hurled planks, tools, and men to destruction.
However, having once laid open part of the caponier, which was now quite unprotected by earth, the Japanese blew it up with dynamite and became masters of part of the interior, and from this time there was a continual struggle for the possession of this place, which lasted for a very long time. Some one who was actually there must, however, describe what happened. I only know about it from what I have heard, and cannot give any reliable information except as to what I personally saw on a visit to the fort after the Japanese had blown up the roof of the gallery.