Camas Prairie chronicle. [volume] (Cottonwood, Idaho) 1901-1917, 1904-12-30
JAPS FOUGHT like DEMONS
TuNNELEp UNDER RUSSIAN FORT
AND BLEW 1T UP.

Brown Men-They Made Charge Az
ter charge-captured Field and Ma
chine Guns--An Important Position.
Headquarters of the Japanese Third
Army, Before Port Arthur.-Since the
general assault of Nov. 1921 against
the forts Rihlung and Kekwan noun
tains, resulting in furious fighting and
great loss OF life and described at
length by the Associated Press CORE
spondent in dispatch filed Novem-
Der 28), the Japanese have been en-
gagged in tunneling under the north
fort of Kekwan mountain. Two main
tunnels ran under the north wall of
the fort from the moat for a distance
of 40 feet and there were four short
branch tunnels. On the morning of
December Is seven dynamite mines
were laid, the object of which was to
destroy the north wall and SO give the
Japanese access to the fort The fort
had so long resisted the assaults of
the Japs that it was considered that
the explosion of the mines and the
subsequent attacks should be carefully
planned.
General Samejima. commanding the
left division, asked for volunteers who
would be prepared to capture the fort
or to die in the attempt. Two entire
battalions answered the generals call,
one from the left division and the
other from the general reserves. The
first battalion remained in the capon-
iere galleries during the explosion Of
the mines, while the second battalion
was in a parallel close to the wall of
the counterscarp.
In order that the dark blue uniforms
of the men might not show against
the brown of the soil, which would
be turned by the explosion, all the at
tackers wore brown wooden under
drawers over their trousers and brown
sweaters over their tunics. Instead
of cap each man wore brown wool
en- headpiece which extended to the
shoulders, leaving only the face visi-
BILE.
4 Carried Rifles and Dynamite.
Every man carried a rifle in his
right hand and dynamite grenades in
his left, while a lighted slow match
was attached to his cartridge belt
with which to ignite the fuses of the
grenades. In this peculiar garb with
the lighted matches at their waists
the troops presented strange appear
ance The soldiers from the battalion
in the caponiere galleries, who were
distinguished by white badges on theiI
arms, were ordered to attack i'm
mediately after the explosion of the
mines, and those of the second bat
talon in the parallel, who were dis
tinguished by red badges on theil
arms, were to make the second as
, sault.
Part of Fort Rises Into Air.
General Samejima personally con
Quoted these assaults at O'Clock or
the afternoon of December 10 after the
explosions had taken place. The frs
: mine exploded without warning anG
the explosion was not entirely sue
cessful, owing to the heavy concrete
! about the mine. The explosion of the
second mine followed Immediately ant
this was succeeded by five smaller ex
plosions. The sight was wonderful IL
the extreme. Huge clouds of brown
earth and debris were thrown 200 fee
in the air and it looked as if the whole
: fort had been thrown heavenward.
When the clouds of earth had set
tied down the snow for some 500 yards
around the fort was covered will
> brown earth, pieces of timber ant
blocks of concrete.
, Japs Swarm Through.
4 The explosions made two larg,
: breaches in the north wall of the fort
: through which the Japanese in thu
{ moat, swarmed. They charged 81
: quickly that so of them were eithel
I killed or wounded by the falling de
q bris. The Japanese succeeded in gain
: ing the ramparts and charged the in
r terror of the fort, but they were re
, pulsed by a portion of the garrison
q from behind wall at the rear of tn,
, fort which had not been touched b!
the force of the explosion. Behind thii
, wall there were four field guns ant
a three machine guns. In the meantime
the Russians had rushed reinforce
ments of some 800 to the fort through
the covered wall at the rear. The sec
a ond battalion Of attackers were no
able to advance Immediately, as th'
sapping trenches from the parallel t.
the most were filed with debris. WheI