The Mitchell capital. (Mitchell, Dakota [S.D.]) 1879-1918, 1905-06-23

ef war had been 10 dramatic, so spectacu-
lar, and the people of every nation watch
ed with GREATNESS interest the mighty
struggle. f
The siege began on May %, but 1t was
not until the middle of July that Gen.
Nogi was able to bring up siege guns and
begin an aggressive attack upon the
stronghold.
Gen. Nogi's first move was to capture
Taku mountain, an eminence 600 feet high
AIT of Port Arthur. This was neces-
sary for from the summit OF Taku noun
tain the Russians had a panoramic view
Of every foot OF ground over which the
Japanese forces were compelled to OPP
crate. Taku mountain was taken by storm
on July g.
Nogi's next move was to capture Wolf
hill. eight miles north OF Port Arthur.
This he did on August 8. after three days
fighting. Once secure on the range of hills
extending from Taku mountain to Vol
hill the japanese were in position to be.
gin operations against the great chain Of
forts forming the outer d%efenses of Port
Arthur. There were twenty-five of these
forts, with nifty redoubts. each n almost
q fort wedged in between, all connected
by covered ways.
These principal forts were Banjusan (2),
Erhlung ~, Keewan ~, Kinkeeshan,
Wantai, Antxeshan, Etxeshan. Taiyang.
kow. 2S Meter hill, ia, ls1, $50, and l6t
he Golden hill, Liaottshan. and Chick
wan forts. which were beyond attack cur
ing the siege.
Gen. Negi began operations against the
chain efforts on August n by an attempt
to carry the Banjusan forts by direct as
saNlt. II was more of q slaughter than
asshastle .lFtsFor two days a1RpanesessSgpna
- ~, 49, R--Aa ~ m yNANhIS.f.~
duced to a grim, ugly looking, shapeless
mass of clay pitted with countless shell
he,es and torn and SCARED by s%hrapnel.
There was not a sign of life about the
fort. 1t seemed impossible that any living
being could exist under the terrible rain
OF shot and shell.
Suddenly the japanese guns were silent
and the famous Ouchi regiment sprang
from its trenches-2,4 400 men, led by Col.
Ouchi himself-and advanced to the as
sault. OUCH was old hat he could have
no reinforcements, but that. he must cap
tvre the fort. He fell while leading his
men across the millet fields in the plain
below the fort. One-third OF the regiment
had been killed or wounded before reach
ing the slopes leading up to the fort. They
began the ascent, the machine guns Of
the Russians sowing death In their ranks.
With rapidly thinning ranks the charge
was pressed hSme until at last seventy
men-al that were left of the 2,400-reach-
ed the first ditch under the guns of the
fort.
The main attack failed, and the seventy
men Of the Ouchi regiment lay in the ditch
under the East Banfusan fort. The ditch
was "a feet deep, IL feet wide. and 80 feet
long. Al its bottom there was 4 feet OF
water. In this water the seventy men
stood a day and a night. The Russian
guns could not reach them as long as
they held the ditch; but they faced death
from starvation.
1t is a long story: but 1t is history. Those
seventy men captured the fort, and held 1t
until support arrived. They crawled up
the slope and one by n destroyed the
Russian machine guns. Then they blew
a gap through the parapet and charged
through 1t. Reinforcements came and the
fort was held.
The siege was full of such incidents,
but the japanese did not always succeed
in capturing the forts. Nogi lost 1900
keekwan forts.
Port Arthur Surrendsrs.
Finding that the Russian forces were too
strong to be taken by direct assault, Nogi
began an engineers siege. Foot by foot
the japanese literally burrowed their way
to the crests of the hills occupied by the
Russian forts. The work consumed all of
September and October, SO that at the
beginning Of November Gen. Nogi was
ready to resume direct %ssaults.
The rogram was the same with each
fort. The Japanese would sap their way
to the moat of a fort, tunnel under 1t,
and explode the walls Of the fort. A
storming party was always ready to
charge through the breach. Then would
follow desperate hand to hand fighting In
side the forts. Sometimes the Russians
would beat of their assailants, sometimes
the besiegers would hold the forts they
had stormed.
In his manner the Japanese captured
the forts or 13l, l6s, ia, and $50 Meter
hills. There still remained the key to the
whole western position, 23 Meter hill.
summit Of this height, crowned by a
fort as i~mpregnable as engineering skill
could make 1t, commanded a view of the
inner harbor of Port Arthur, where the
Russian feet had remained in hiding since
August 10.
Nogt captured EOS Meter hill November
80, after a fearful sacrifice of men. Japan,
however, was amply repaid for the sacri-
fee, for 1t gained the loss of the Russian
fleet.
Observers stationed on c03 Meter hill
were able to locate every battleship, cruis-
er, g%unboat, and destroyer in the harbor.
BY telephone they gave the direction,
AAAoA ~ AAA0 oA4o AA SAAu ~
ct the huge mortars. These mortars drop
ped their shells over the Intervening
anges OF the hills, and one by one the
Russian ships were destroyed. The bat
tleships Pobieda, Retvixan, Poltava, and
Peresviet were sunk at their anchor, as
were TIE great cruisers Pallada and Bayan
and a lumber of gunboats and destroy
ers. The battleship sevastopol tookirefuge
outside the harbor only to be dislodged by
the daring men ofsTogo's fleet.
1t was December 20 by the time Nogi's
gun had completed the task of destroying
the feet. That task marked the real be-
ginning of the end of the siege. Deem
Der rs the Japanese blew up and captured
the Ehrlung forts, two miles north of
Port Arthur. December 81 they captured
in the same way the Rihlung and Wantai
forts, still nearer the stronghold, and
made a breach in the old Chinese wall,
which formed the inner line OF defense.
etoessel had defended Port Arthur for
al days and could do no more. He had
less than 10000 men able to stand on their
feet. He had 1900 sick and wounded IN
the hospitals and was without medicines
ar asurgfcal supplies. His men were worn
out under the strain OF the lombard
,ment that week after week, day and night,
had swept Port Arthur with a storm OF
steel.
Having done his best, stoessel sent q
note to Nogt Offering to. surrender. At !
O'Clock on the evening of January !, 1906
the guns were silenced and the long siege
was ended