The Columbian. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1866-1910, 1905-03-02
GARRISON WAS WIPED OUT
japanese Blew Fort to Pieces
from Several Tunnels.
QUEER UNIFORMS WORN.

6eeiegers Carried Dynamite GrenaUes
and Lighted Matches-Many were
Killed by Falling Debris Of the
Fort After Explosion Owing to
Rapid Advance.
Headquarters of the Japanese
Third Army before Port Arthur via.
'in-Kow and n-Tsin.-After the
neral assault against the forts of
rh-Lung and Keek Wan Mountains,
ulting in furious fighting and
cat loss of life, the Japanese were
lsaged in tunnelng under the north
tort Of KeekWan Mountain
The fort had so 10 - resisted the as
saults of the Japan that it was
considered necessary that the explo.
sion of the mines and the subse-
qucnt attacks should be carefully
planned. Gen. Samejima. command
ing the left division, asked for volun-
tears who would be prepared to cap
ture the fort or die in the attempt.
In order that the dark blue uni
forms of the men might not show
against the brown of the soil which
would be turned by the force of the
explosions, all the attackers wore
brown woolen underdrawers over
their tunics. Instead of cap each
man wore a brown wooden headpiece,
which extended to the shoulders, leav-
ing only the face visible.
Every man carried a rife 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
srcnades. In this peculiar garb, with
the lighted matches at their waists,
troops presented a strange appear
ance.
The explosions made two large
breaches in the north wall of the fort,
through which the Japanese in the
noat swarmed. They charged so
quickly that fifty of them were either
killed or wounded by the falling
debris.
In the meantime the Russians had
Eoshed some 300 reinforcements to
the fort through the covered wall at
The rear.
The commander of this enterprise
realized that any attempt to gain the
interior of the fort would end in dis
aster If his whole force advanced in
sne body, so he disposed of his men
slong the wall and ordered them to
gain the lower level of the interior of
he fort by twos and threes, and to
nd cover in the holes which had been
.1e in the surface by the Japanese
lis. these offering good cover from
rifle and machine gun fire direct
i from the rear Of the fort. In these
oes $50 of the attackers had found
aver by o'clock in the morning.
Advancing carefully, the Japanese
approached the Russian defenses in
the rear of the fort, and by working
from hole to hole under cover of the
darkness. the entire battalion gained
the interior of the fort, notwithstand-
ing the desperate resistance made by
ahe Russians.
The first charge made against the
wall of sandbags proved unsuccess-
fui but charge followed charge until
midnight, when the last corner of the
Russian defenses was captured
The fighting was desperate in the
extreme with bayonets and dynamite
land-grenades, and the entire garr-
son was killed with the exception of
q party of twenty, who escaped
through the covered wall, which they
destroyed behind them by exploding
Four mines, thus preventing the Jap
anese from pursuing them.
Though the numbers engaged and
the area of the fighting were small,
both assault and defense were more
furious than any in the previous his
tory of the siege of Port Arthur. With
the exceptions noted the garrison
died fighting to the last man with
wonderful determination.
The final rushes of the Japanese
were irresistible. Their wounded re-
fused to retire, and insisted on con-
tnuing the fighting saying that they
had vowed to take the fort, and that
they must succeed