The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1904-12-10
Terrific Assault Made on Rih-
lung and KtkWan
FIGHT At CLOSE QUARTERS
Attackers Mounted the Heights on the
Dead Bodies of Their Comrades.
Russians Defend Forts
Valorously.

Headquarters of the japanese third
army. before Port Arthur. November %,
via Tien Tsln, December 9.-(Probably
held at headquarters for censorship
The general assault on Port Arthur which
began at noon November 26 is still in
progress. In the first series of assaults.
an attempt was made to capture the
forts at Rihlung an Kekwan mountain,
bly, penetrating the principal lines of for
tihcations surrounding them, and to en-
velop the city from the east. At the
same time a strong force pushed up the
gorge of the shushi valley between two
fortified ridges and attacked the support
ing fort In the rear of West Rihlung
mountain, officially called Sungshu noun
tain, with the intention of enveloping
the city from the west.
The attempt failed after the most fu-
rious fighting that has been witnessed
since Port Arthur was invested. The
fighting from noon, November %, until
after dawn of the following day, was
without cessation.
The assault began in the early morn
ing with a tremendous bombardment of
the forts on the western half of the for
tilted ridge by a battery which had been
placed in position on the crest of a
ridge to the rear. For hours ..e whole
western half OF the fortified ridge was
| deluged with heavy shells. At noon the
principal line of fortifcations was a per-
| feet hell of bursting shrapLel, and the
| spectacle was more wonderful than any
| thing previously seen.
Began Attack simultaneously.
The front lines of infantry having beer
strongly reinforced, began an attack 81
multaneously along the entire line from
east Kekwan mountain to west hlhluni
mountain. Through the haze caused bl
the smoke of the bursting shens, the as
saulters could be seen emerging from
the cover of the parallels as well at
swarming up the fortified ridge at half {
dozen different points.
| Rifles rapid-fire guns and machine
| guns bazed from the Russian positions
| where advances were made in the open
The men went down by hundreds. Th'
forts were belching smoke and burstinl
| shells, and the rampant walls were biacl
| with assaulters, who on reaching tn,
crests met with the heavy firing from
the forts which swept down line after
line of the Japanese.
As fast as the assaulters were repulsed
| more Japanese swarmed up, only to be
moved down in turn.
The determination and fury of the Jap
| anese assaults were equalled by the stub
borness of the resistance of the Russians
On the eastern extremity of the line the
Japanese made an assault in an attempt
to capture the Russian trenches situated
midway of the slope Of the east Kekwan
mountain.
The Japanese parallel up 10 thirty
five yards of the Russian trench line and
an entire regiment charged across the
men falling by hundreds before the awful
fire of the Russians. But still more men
came on over the bodies of the men who
had fallen, and by sheer weight of,num-
bers they reached the trenches, which
they captured at the point of the bayonet
Made Trenches a Perfect He'll.
The Russian shrapnel made the cap
tured portion of the trenches a perfect
hell, while the japanese shrapnel fire
assisted the captors to push east and
west along the trench line.
The assaulters succeeded in holding
some eighty yards Of the trenches In
front of the parallels, but their efforts
to rush the trench line east and wes
was a failure, owing to the impassablt
burning piles which filled the whole
space of the trench on the nortern side
as well as to the fact that their progress
was barred by the fire Of the Russian
machine guns.
THE Japanese built transverse wall
across the trench under the protection
of their machine guns, and tried to eros
| the hills, but they were unable to do so.
| At 6 o'clock In the evening furiou
Russian counter attack drove the Japan
ese back to the parallels with great loss
At o'clock the Japanese again cap
tured the same portion Of the trench
and made a desperate but unsuccessful
effort to cross the pits.
The awful struggle continued until
o. clock in the morning. when the Rus
slams again. counter attacked and recap
tured the trench, which was piled will
dead bodies. For over thirty yards be
tween the trenches there was veritabl'
shamble.
First Attempt on kekWan.
The first attempt to rush the fort OF
the northern portion OF Kek"ah noun
tain was made at l o'clock In the alter
! noon, when the assaulters swarmed W
the rampant wall from the moat, aho
met with an awful fire from within ano
from the Chinese wall In the rear oi lhe
fort
when the Russians saw that It was
tho Intention Of the japanese to rush
the fort they moved a considerable force
Sroro tho Chinese wall into a gorge to
The east and to the rear Of the fort
Durfng the four or five furious assaults
which the Japanese made upon the fort
some Of the garrison attempted to evac-
nate the fort over the rear ramparts
but were fired upon by the Russian
forces in the gorge
AS a result of the first assault the
rampant walls were black with bodies
In the second assault the Japanese sue
ceeded in gaining foothold in the in
terror, where the defenses were bomb
proof, with raised lines Of protected
trenches in the rear fort where the ma
chine guns swept the front of tho fort
and the walls. The assaulters attacked
this bomb-proof maze. where the fight
ing was hand-to-hand with bayonets ant
grenades.
AT 3 o'clock in the morning the Japan
| ese succeeded in establishing a trench
line within the ramparts. which they still
hold.
Another attempt was made to pierce tn
principal line o. fortihcations surround
ing the rear Of the eastern part OF
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Continued on Second Paas1