In spite of such distractions as the campaign in Manchuria and the career of the Baltic Fleet, Port Arthur remained the real focal point of the world-wide interest which the tremendous struggle in the Far East had aroused. The progress of the siege, which had been veiled in obscurity during the earlier months of investment, owing to the severity of the censorship, was suddenly and frankly revealed to the world in the late autumn, and from that moment the salient incidents of this thrilling drama could be followed almost from day to day. Winter's icy grip, which had brought to a pause the headlong train of the campaign in Manchuria, caused no interruption to the implacable contest for mastery between the heroic troops of General Nogi and the dauntless garrison commanded by General Stoessel. Not for an instant was there the least relaxation of effort on the part of the besiegers or of endurance on the part of the besieged. Rather was the resolution of both combatants screwed to a higher pitch by the knowledge that time might be the deciding factor in the conflict. The departure of the Baltic Fleet gave General Stoessel hopes of ultimate relief as the reward for holding on, and threatened General Nogi with the stultification of all his sacrifices. With Port Arthur remaining in Russian hands, the recovery by her of the command of the sea must always be a menacing possibility for the Japanese; while the fall of Port Arthur meant not only the destruction of the last remnant of the Russian Pacific Squadron, but the loss of the only practicable base for any future naval operations. The whole Japanese plan of campaign must rest on a more or less precarious foundation as long as Russia had a fleet in being in Eastern seas, for the vital lines of sea communication must be liable to severance. With the Russian flag swept from its last refuge, Japan must remain invincible to the mightiest armies that Russia could assemble in Manchuria.
Siege of Port Arthur
The story of the siege of Port Arthur has already been related in this narrative up to the moment immediately preceding the capture of 203-Metre Hill—an event that marked the turning-point of the whole protracted operations, and that proved to be the real beginning of the end. Before describing in detail the action that led to this signal victory for General Nogi's troops, it may be well to give a brief résumé of the situation as it then existed.
PORT ARTHUR AND THE SURROUNDING FORTS.
The investment may be said to have begun on June 26th, and between that date and the end of October a series of more or less desperate and costly assaults on the Russian outworks had carried the Japanese lines closer and closer to the permanent defences with which the town and the harbor of Port Arthur were secured from attack by land. In the great attacks of August 28th and September 20th, some progress was made to the east and north; but no great impression was made in the formidable chain of forts; and even on October 30th, when another assault was delivered, on the Keekwan and Urlungshan forts, the Japanese were repulsed with the loss of 2,000 men. On September 20th a determined assault had been made on 203-Metre Hill—the highest eminence of that ridge which runs between Louisa Bay on the west and the great forts, Itszshan and Antszshan, dominating the western approaches of Port Arthur. The attempt was almost successful, but not quite, and all that remained to reward the Japanese for their terrible sacrifice of life was the possession of a height, a little to the north, known as Namaokoyama, or 180-Metre Hill. This is due east of 174 Metre Hill, captured in August. At the same time the Japanese, however, succeeded in taking possession of the Sueishi lunettes, which defend the valley through which the railway runs, and of Fort Kuropatkin, which commands the water supply of Port Arthur. This was the position when, on November 26th, General Nogi ordered another assault on the fortress, with the especial object of capturing 203 Metre Hill. The possession of this height was of immense importance to the besiegers—not because it would threaten the great forts of Antszshan and Itszshan, but because it would afford a complete view of every corner of the harbor, and enable the fire of heavy guns to be directed on the last refuge of the Russian fleet. More than that, the position would command the branch line running from Port Arthur to Liau-tie-shan, whither the Russians were daily conveying stores, as if in preparation for a last stand in this inaccessible stronghold. Although not one of the permanent fortifications, the defences of 203 Metre Hill were of the most formidable kind. On the crest, and cut out of the hill itself, were two redoubts on the two distinct peaks, each mounting heavy guns, while the slopes leading up to them were traversed with trenches and wire entanglements.
HAULING GUNS UP A CAPTURED HILL AT PORT ARTHUR.
The Japanese Attack Metre Hill
After his repulse in September, General Nogi had abandoned all further attack on the west; but the importance of effecting a lodgment there, together with his equal lack of success in the east, induced him to return to his earlier plan. But this time the methods of attack were changed. To prevent the concentration of the garrison at one point, assaults were delivered simultaneously on the two opposite sides of the perimeter of defence; and, instead of trusting to the mere weight of numbers to overcome resistance, the resources of the military engineer were drawn upon to facilitate approach to the critical points. At the last assault the Japanese infantry had moved forward in close formation over the open ground separating their forming point from the trenches of the enemy, and they had been swept down in hundreds by the concentrated fire from a dozen batteries. But early in November the Japanese engineers set to work to construct parallels from the low hills at the foot of the Metre range across the intervening valley and up the southwest corner of 203 Metre Hill, dominated by that one of the twin peaks which was known as 210. To construct similar approaches on the northeast side was rendered impossible by the fire of the neighboring fort Akasakayama. On November 27th fresh troops were brought up for the attack, and a tremendous artillery fire was concentrated on the summit of the Metre ridge. Field guns, firing shrapnel, and naval guns and howitzers, firing enormous shells, poured their deadly hail on the forts and trenches; but though they diminished they could not utterly subdue the fire of the intrepid defenders, and the Japanese casualties were very heavy as soon as their devoted infantry, emerging from the parallels, endeavored to climb the steep face of the hill. But after nearly seven hours' fighting the crest was won, and the southwestern peak fell into the hands of the Japanese. This success was the signal for an immediate and determined assault upon the 203 peak, but it proved futile. A deadly fire from the neighboring forts made the retention of the southwest peak impossible for the gallant men who had won it. They were driven down to the reverse slope again, and were thus unable to assist in keeping down the fire of the garrison of 203 peak. An attack on the Akasakayama works also failed, and thus the troops assailing the northeastern face of the hill were exposed to a flank fire as well as to a direct fire from above, and were driven back with heavy loss. But the Japanese managed to retain their position just below the crest of 210, and here they constructed trenches which made the reoccupation of the summit by the enemy impossible. But the Russians still disputed possession, and the opposing forces, behind sandbag defences erected within a stone's throw of one another, maintained an incessant fight with bullets, bayonets and hand-grenades. The proximity of the combatants compelled the artillery on both sides to desist from taking part in the encounter. The Japanese guns confined themselves to shelling the crest of 203 peak and the reverse slope of 210, in order to prevent reinforcements reaching the troops that still disputed the possession of that eminence. At this moment occurred one of those tragic incidents which throw such an ironic light on the best laid schemes of generals and the noblest self-sacrifice of soldiers. A party of Japanese managed at last to establish themselves in a trench on the slope of Akasakayama; but no sooner had they attained this hard-won position than they found themselves exposed to a merciless hail of shrapnel, not from Russian guns, but from those of their own countrymen. The Japanese artillerists had not observed the lodgment that had been made in the enemy's trenches, and they persisted in their bombardment with such deadly effect that their luckless comrades were compelled to relinquish the advantage they had gained, and to make the best of their way back to the main body under a double fire. On December 1st a renewed attack on both the 210 and 203 peaks was made, but with no success; and during the next few days the Japanese engineers were busy in extending their parallels and trenches, in order to allow the assailing troops to approach close to their objective before coming under fire; and while this work was going on the Russian positions were subjected to a furious and incessant bombardment. This bombardment reached its height on the morning of the 5th, when every preparation for the renewed assault had been completed. The Metre Hill, it is said, resembled a smoking volcano under the storm of shell that burst over it. This assault was to be a supreme effort, and every Japanese soldier who took part in it was conscious of the responsibility devolving on him, as, after saluting the regimental standards, he moved forward to take his place in the ranks that lined the parallels and advanced trenches. Early in the afternoon a simultaneous rush was made towards both of the crests of the Metre range. The moment was one of acute suspense, and with breathless anxiety the Japanese staff watched the far-off line of khaki-clad figures swarming up the hillside and climbing over the breastwork of the Russian trenches. The issue was not long in doubt. Meeting with scarcely any resistance, the storming parties swept on until they reached the crest of both peaks, and found themselves at last in undisputed possession of the long-coveted position. The explanation of this unexpectedly easy victory was not far to seek. The bombardment of the previous three days had been so severe that it had been impossible for the defenders to live under it. The 500-lb. shells from the howitzers had blown the place to fragments, and except for three men taken prisoners, every soul who manned the guns and trenches had been killed or forced to fly to the forts in the rear. Torn and mutilated bodies, mingled with piles of débris, lay about in hundreds, and the scene was rendered the more appalling by the presence of corpses, in every stage of decomposition, which had been lying on the ground since the attack on September 20th. But the Japanese were not left long in undisturbed possession of the ground they had won. General Stoessel, realizing as fully as his enemy the importance of 203 Metre Hill, made desperate efforts to recapture it. Six separate counter-assaults were delivered, and for hours the fiercest and most sanguinary hand-to-hand fighting raged. But the Japanese had stronger reinforcements than their adversaries, and their numbers and gallantry prevailed at last. After losing nearly 3,000 men, the Russian General realized that the case was hopeless, and left his enemy in possession of the stricken field. Immediately their position was assured the Japanese dragged up their guns and proceeded to pound the neighboring height Akasakayama, from which the Russians were forced to retire with all speed. While this substantial and, as it turned out, decisive victory was being won in the west, an equally determined assault was proceeding in the east against the great forts of Urlungshan, Sungshushan and East Keekwanshan. The Japanese carried their parallels within charging distance of the front of the forts, and then began to mine. Having reached a point beneath the counterscarp, they exploded their mines, and then rushed into the breach thus formed. But the Russians, though losing heavily by the explosions, were prepared for the emergency. They had machine guns placed in position to command the outer defences, and the assailants only gained the breach to be mown down by a hail of bullets. In this assault the Japanese had recourse to the traditional weapon of their ancient chivalry. Under the lead of Generals Nakamura and Saito, trained bodies of swordsmen of the famous Samurai, or warrior-caste, charged into the imminent deadly breach, endeavoring to close in a desperate hand-to-hand encounter with their stubborn foe. But even the traditional gallantry of Japan's knighthood was spent in vain in this enterprise, and the parapets of the forts remained inaccessible to assault. But the Japanese, whose resource in this protracted siege had only been equalled by their indomitable determination, had by this time learned the secret of success against such tremendous fortifications as those with which Port Arthur was begirt. Since gallantry and the sacrifice of life could not prevail, patience and ingenuity must be tried, and the engineers were called upon to carry further still the sapping operations which had already breached the outer works. As in the adoption of those deadly hand-grenades, which played so important a part in all the battles of the siege, so in the construction of parallels and the tunnelling of mines the world saw a return to the practice and methods of the 17th century. To find a counterpart to these huge forts of Port Arthur, with their scarps and counter-scarps, their glacis and cuponniéres and ravelins, one has to go back to the system of the great military engineer Vanban, who carried the science of fortification to its highest perfection. There was only one assailant to which these mighty works were not impregnable—and that assailant was the explosive power of dynamite. This resistless auxiliary the Japanese made speed to enlist in their service.