Undismayed by this announcement, the Japanese continued their investment with increasing severity, and on December 28th, or four weeks after the capture of 203 Metre Hill, they achieved the great triumph of wresting the mighty Urlungshan from its stubborn defenders. This, the greatest and most formidable of all the eastern forts of Port Arthur had defied many previous assaults, and had cost the army of the Mikado many hundreds of gallant lives. But like the northern fort of East Keekwanshan, it succumbed to the irresistible persuasion of dynamite. At 10 o'clock in the morning of December 28th, the mine which had been laid beneath the parapet was exploded, and the Japanese rushed in through the breach. Under the cover of artillery fire from the rear, the assaulters then constructed defensive works; and having thus established themselves and received reinforcements, they rushed forward again and captured the heavy guns of the fort. From this point another charge had to be made before the defenders could be driven out completely; but by half-past seven in the evening the task was accomplished, and the whole fort was in the hands of the Japanese, whose losses amounted to at least 1,000 men. The spoils included four big guns, seven smaller guns, thirty quick-firers, and two machine guns. The tunnels for the mines which were exploded under the parapet had to be cut through the solid rock, and no less than two tons of dynamite was used for the exploding charge. The result was that half the garrison of 500 men were killed on the spot. Next to the great Urlung fort, Sungshushan was the most formidable permanent work on the eastern ridge, and three days later this fell to the Japanese in much the same way. On the morning of the last day of the expiring year, dynamite mines were exploded beneath the parparet of the fort, and within an hour the whole fort was in the secure possession of the Japanese. Over 300 of the defenders were entombed in one of the galleries by the explosion, and of these only a half were rescued by the victors, the remainder perishing miserably. Other forts in the immediate vicinity fell almost immediately afterwards, and it became evident that the whole of the forts on the eastern ridge were practically doomed. Nothing now could stay the victorious onslaught of the Japanese, and the capitulation of Port Arthur, which but a little while before had seemed so remote and conjectural, now loomed in the immediate future. But even yet the world was hardly prepared for the end which was imminent. Up to the last, General Stoessel's dispatches had been confident and defiant, and it was thought to be quite likely that even yet he would reveal some hitherto unsuspected resources.
The Surrender of Port Arthur
In his somewhat rhetorical dispatches to the Czar, General Stoessel had repeatedly declared his determination to fight to the death, and although the signal successes of the Japanese during the month of December had evidently reduced very largely the resisting power of the garrison, the general expectation was that the hopeless struggle would still be carried on, and that Stoessel and his troops would in the last resort retire to the fastnesses of Liau-tie-shan. While deprecating this desperate counsel, as involving the useless shedding of blood, the world would have applauded its heroism. But as it happened, other counsels prevailed. On the morning of the first day of the new year General Nogi received a letter from General Stoessel proposing negotiations for capitulation, and the proposal was immediately accepted. But operations were not at once suspended. The Japanese attacked the same morning the Fort of Wantai on the East Ridge, and captured it after only slight resistance, while several of the forts in the vicinity were blown up by the defenders. In further recognition of the fact that all was lost save honor, the Russians then proceeded to explode mines on all the warships in the harbor, in order to ensure that they should be useless to the enemy into whose hands they were about to fall. Of the destroyer flotilla, only four vessels remained serviceable. These put to sea on the night of January 1st, and, managing to evade the blockading squadron, reached Chifu, where they were immediately dismantled. Then at last a truce was proclaimed, and for the first time for six long months the thunder of the great guns rolled no longer about Port Arthur. Immediately news of the proposed surrender was received in St. Petersburg, the Mikado magnanimously expressed his high appreciation of the loyalty and endurance displayed by General Stoessel on behalf of his country, and gave orders that all the honors of war should be extended to him.
On January 2nd the capitulation agreement was signed, its essential terms being as follows:—
The whole fortress, ships, arms, ammunition, military buildings, materials and other Government property were to be surrendered. The Japanese reserved free action if those objects were considered to have been destroyed or injured after the signing of the agreement. Plans of forts, torpedoes, mines, military and naval officers' lists, &c. were to be delivered over. Soldiers, sailors, volunteers and other officials were to be taken prisoners, but, in consideration of the brave defences they had made, military and naval officers and civil officials attached were to be allowed to bear arms, keep their private property of immediate necessity of daily life, and also to return to Russia upon parole not to take, till the end of the war, arms or action opposed to Japan's interest. Forts Itszshan, Antszshan and the others outstanding were to be surrendered to the Japanese before noon, January 3rd, as a guarantee.
"Great Sovereign! Forgive!"
The whole world was filled with sympathy and admiration for the gallant soldiers whose valor and endurance had withstood so long such heavy odds and such a fearful strain. These feelings were intensified by the lurid accounts which, now that concealment could no longer be of service, were published of the awful sufferings of the garrison during the later stages of the siege. An officer of one of the destroyers that escaped to Chifu on January 1st thus described the conditions which had compelled surrender:—
"Port Arthur falls of exhaustion—exhaustion not only of ammunition but also of men. The remnant left was doing heroes' work for five days and five nights, and yesterday it had reached the limit of human endurance. In the casemates of the forts one saw everywhere faces black with starvation, exhaustion and nerve strain. You spoke to them and they did not answer, but stared dumbly in front of them. Lack of ammunition alone would not have prompted any attempt to arrange terms. Lack of ammunition has been common in the fortress during the past months. Many forts had nothing with which to return the fire of the enemy. The Russians sat in the casemates firing no more than one shot to the Japanese 200. Then, when the assault came, they repulsed the enemy with the bayonet. But the men themselves, feeding for three months on reduced rations, were so worn that it is marvelous that they stood the final strain so long."
In his last dispatches, written just before the capitulation, General Stoessel himself said:—
"The position of the fortress is becoming very painful. Our principal enemies are scurvy, which is mowing down the men, and 11-inch shells, which know no obstacle and against which there is no protection. There only remains a few persons who have not been attacked by scurvy. We have taken all possible measures, but the disease is spreading. The passive endurance of the enemy's bombardment with 11-inch shells, the impossibility of reply for want of ammunition, the outbreak of scurvy, and the loss of a mass of officers—all these causes diminish daily the defence.