The daily sentinel., 1905-01-04
FALL OF PORT ARTHUR.

When the Russian military au-
thorities were considering the names
OF possible commanders for Port
Arthur. General Kuropatkin was
asked to suggest man. His answer
was prompt. Put =Stoessel there"
he said. Kuropatkin's suggestion
caused some surprise and some ar
gument. Stoessel had shown no
brilliant qualities as a leader But
kuropatkin said he was a splendid
defensive engineer and could be de-
pended upon to hang on as long as
there was the faintest glimmer of
hope. So Stoessel was selected and
the events that followed amply dem
onstrated the wisdom of Kuropat-
kin's choice.
Port Arthur has fallen after a re-
sistance So desperate, so heroic, so
manful, that Stoessel, though defeat
ed, will be accorded as high a place
in history, as any commander the
war has produced. He will march
out of Port Arthur with all the hon
ors of war, with all the tributes that
generous conqueror can pay to a
gallant foe. Stoessel lost. but he
made the Japanese pay a blood price
that will be remembered as long as
the Japanese nation survives. Well
may Stoessel be. esteemed by his fell
low countrymen, well may he be
paid honors by his foemen.
But in paying tribute to Stoessel,
the defeated, we must not lose sight
of Nogi, the conqueror. The Japan
ese general may have only followed
line of campaign laid down for
him months ago; indeed. it is more
than probable that he did, but he
followed that line we'll The good
soldier knows how to follow as well
as how to lead And Nogi had a task
set for him that would have brought
despair to the heart of the ordinary
commander.
Port Arthur was said to be i'm
pregnable. The statement was made
by military experts of several coun-
| tries at the outbreak of the war,
when it was seen that the capture
| of the citadel was one of Japan's
| early objects. We were told that
Japanese would waste men and mon
ey trying to take Port Arthur, and
that in the end they would be rout-
ed The Japanese knew Port Ar
thur was not impregnable. They had
captured it in 1895 from the Chinese
| and they believed they could cap
ture it again.
True, the conditions in 1904 were
vastly different from the conditions
in 1895. The Russians are vastly
better fighters than the Chinese Be
sides, they had added strength to the
Notifications. They had, as they
| thought, reduced them to the super
! lative degree of impregnabillty. But
they reckoned without the persist
ence of the Japanese. without their
tenacity of purpose, without their
frenzied patriotism, without their
splendid military ability. So, in
spite of the splendid Notifications
and the gallantry of the defenders,
the end was -foreseen for months
Nothing could drive the Japan
| ese from tnelr purpose. They set out
first to take Korea and prevent the
possibility of trouble in that quarter
| Korea quickly fell into their hands
Then they sank or scattered the Rus
sian fleet in Manchurian waters
Then Kuropatkin was driven back
and back into the interior until he
ceased to menace the success of the
Japanese operations against Port Ar
thur. Now Port Arthur is in the
hands of the Japanese and the main
armies of Nogi will be enabled to
cooperate with the armies of Oyama
against Kuropatkin.
The next conflict will be along the
Shakhe river. and the fighting there
will be terrific. for, if Kuropatkin
waits until spring to begin an of
fensive movement. something like
million men will be arrayed against
each other in fairly equal proper
tions, but with the preponderance in
favor of the Japanese Lake
| Herald.