Carolina watchman. [volume] (Salisbury, N.C.) 1871-1937, 1904-12-15

ASSAULT ON PORT ARTHUR.
Account Of a Desperate Attempt Of the
japanese Forces TO Take the Frotress.

Account Of a Desperate Attempt Of the
japanese Forces TO Take the Frotress.
Headquarters of the Japanese
third Army Bsfor4 Port Arthur,
] November 28th, via Tien Tsin, De.
cember 6.-The general assault on
\ Port Arthur which began at noon
on November Goth is still in prog
ress. In the first series of assaults
an attempt was made to capture
the forts at Rihlung and Kekwan
| mountains by penetrating the
principal line of Notifications
surrounding them, and to envelop
tbs city from the east. At the
same time strong force pushed
Iup the gorge of Shishi valley be-
tween the two fortified ridges and
|ettacked the supporting fort in
the rear of the West Rihlung
mountain, officially called Sung
shu mountain, with the intention
of enveloping the city from the
west. The attempts failed after
the most furious fighting that has
been witnessed since Port Arthur
was invested. The fghtin lasted
from noon on November Goth an-
til after dawn on the following
day without cessation.
The assault began in the early
morning with tremendous bom-
bardment of the forts. For hours
the whole fortified ridge was del
uged with the heavy shells. At
noon the principal lines of fortifi-
cations was perfect hell of burst
ing Sharpenel and the spectacle
Twas more wonderful than any
thing previously seen.
Through the haze caused by the
ismoke of the bursting shells the
! aasaulters could be seen emerging
from the cover of the parallels as
we'll as swarming up the fortified
ridge at half dozen different
points.
| Rifles, rapid fire guns and ma
chine guns blazed from the Rus.
sian position where advances were
made in the open. The men went
down by the hundreds.
| As,fast as the assaulters were
repulsed, more Japanese swarmed
up, only to be mowod down in
1 turn.
The Japanese paralleled some
IS yards of the Russian trench
Fline, and an entire regiment charg-
ed across, the men falling by hun
Idreds before the awful fire of the
Russians. But still more men
|came on over the bodies of those
who had fallen and by sheer
weight of numbers they reached
the trenches which they captured
lat the point of the bayonet.
| The sssaulters succeeding in
holding some eighty yards of the
trench in front of the parallels,
but their effort to rush the trench
line east and west was q failure,
lowing to impossible burning pits,
! The Japanese built traverse
walls across their machine guns
and tried to cross the hills, but
they were unable to do 80.
At 6 O'Clock in the evening a
furious Russian counter attack
drove the Japanese back to the
parallel with great loss.
AT 9 o'clock the Japanese cap
tured the same portion of the
trench and made desperate but
unguccessful efforts to CROSS the
pits.
An awful struggle continued un-
| til 2 O'Clock in the morning when
the Russians again counter-attack-
cd and rccaptured the trench
which Eas piled with dead bodies.
For ovefsthirty yards between the
trench's there was veritable
shambles. The last attacks and
counter attaks were made over the
bodies of the slain.
The first attempt to rush the
III fort on the northern norton &c