A large bomb-proof, impervious alike to rifle and shell fire, was being constructed for the reserve, but the ground was solid rock, and so the work was slow. We had finished our inspection and were talking to the commandant in a splinter-proof, when we heard a loud crash, caused by the bursting of a large Japanese shell somewhere near.
We all followed Colonel Irman out of the shelter. The gun detachments were working at their guns, laying them on some far-distant point from which the enemy’s shell had come. It was dangerous to stand in the open, so with Colonel Irman I ran to the nearest gun, where the signaller could always give warning of the coming of a shell. Ere the guns had been correctly laid, the signaller shouted: “Look out!” I ran quickly down into a traverse with some sailors. The enemy’s shell screamed over our heads, and burst with a tremendous report on the traverse of No. 2 gun. In the twinkling of an eye, the sailors were at their places and the two 6-inch Canet guns[78] roared forth. I jumped up to see where our shells fell, and clearly saw two puffs of smoke on a very far-distant hill, right behind the Japanese positions. “Do you mean to say there is anything there?” I said to the gun captain of No. 1 gun. “Yes, sir, it is there all right, we noticed it a long time ago.” Again the signaller shouted: “Look out!” and we again rushed under cover while the shell shrieked over us, but this time it went a long way over and burst somewhere behind the fort. Almost before it had struck, the sailors were at their guns and two more shells were sent towards the same spot, and then other forts joined in adding to the death and destruction.
This artillery duel continued for a long time. We alternately came out to observe and ran back under cover. Colonel Irman was much more indifferent to danger than I was. It seemed to me that my position behind the traverse was not a particularly safe one, and I decided to change it for a bomb-proof. At the next shout of “Look out!” I put my idea into execution, but with unfortunate results. A number of men rushed with me towards the point of safety, we tumbled one on top of the other, and I found myself among those who had not time to get into the bomb-proof before the enemy’s shell fell behind us, burst with a deafening report, and buried us in smoke, stones, and dust.
Luckily, none of us were badly hurt, but I had a large bruise on my back to carry away with me as a memento of the occasion.
We had paid no attention to the other hills during this bombardment, but now we saw that the Japanese were evidently preparing for something very important.
When peace reigned again on Fort Ta-yang-kou North, we noticed that 203 Metre Hill was wreathed in smoke from bursting shell. Apparently, instead of the usual daily allowance of two or three dozen shell, the Japanese had already expended more than a hundred rounds on it. This caused us much anxiety, and we galloped off as hard as we could go to the position of the staff. When we arrived, we received a message from 203 Metre Hill from Major Stempnevski to the effect that the enemy was sweeping the hill with artillery, and that the left flank of our trenches had suffered severely from shell fire.
Namako Yama was also being heavily bombarded, and it was evident that an assault was imminent. It would be difficult to hold this hill, as it was swept from front to rear and from flank to flank. We could hear very heavy firing from the north-eastern section too, where the situation was evidently even more serious than with us. Namako Yama was fairly strongly held by six companies.[79] On the right flank were two 6-inch guns and one quick-firing gun, with Lieutenant Kolmakov in command. On 203 Metre Hill there were only two companies, the 2nd and 4th of the 5th Regiment, and two quick-firing guns (I do not count the two short 6-inch guns, as they had been silenced long before). Fearing for the safety of 203 Metre Hill, I sent another company there from the reserve.
Compared with other points, the position of the defenders there was serious. Food could only be taken up to them at night, and there being no water at all on the hill, that had to be carried up at night also. It was impossible for any one to show himself on the skyline. As the enemy was within a stone’s-throw of the defenders, eight patrols of six men each had to be furnished at night. There were no junior officers in the companies, and gun ammunition was very scarce.
Foreseeing the capture of 174 Metre Hill, we had actually begun to fortify Namako Yama on August 11. The work itself was very heavy, besides which the rocky nature of the soil and the want of tools hampered us greatly. A battery for two long 6-inch guns had been previously constructed on the hill and a road made leading up to it. The men only worked at night, as it would have been madness to do so in the daytime in face of the enemy’s heavy fire. It was even dangerous to move about, and every day we had several men killed there. The total number of defenders amounted to about 500 men. By day one section out of each company was in the trenches and furnished sentries for observation purposes, while three sections slept behind the slope of the road, which ran the whole length of the hill, where small splinter-proofs had been made out of planks. After dinner at night the garrison of the post started work, covering itself with a line of outposts.
On the night of August 25–26 I was awakened by heavy rifle firing in the direction of Division Hill. Soon an orderly galloped up with the report that the Japanese were climbing up Namako Yama. I threw on my clothes and galloped off towards Namako Yama, ordering two reserve companies, posted near the regimental staff quarters, to proceed there immediately.