The San Francisco call., 1905-01-04
Defenders of the Rihlulg
Mountain Fort Perish
Almost to a Man Re-
sisting Enormous Odds
ONLY ONE HUNDRED
AND FIFTY ESCAPE
Losses of the japanese i'll
the Last Great Battle
of the Port Arthur Siege
Total One Thousand Men

| HEADQUARTERS OF THE JAPA.
| NESE THIRD ARMY, IN FRONT OF
! PORT ARTHUR, Dec. 29.-After many
weeks of patient toll by a regiment OF
! the center division the making of nine
| tunnels under the north wall Of Rih-
! lung Mountain fort through solid rock
was completed and the mines laid or
December 2S.
! Without warning seven mines con-
J tanning two tons of dynamite were ex-
/ ploded at 10 o'clock on the morning OF
| the 2Sth. The spectacle was magnifi-
cent. The entire front walls of the fort
| seemed to be lifted into the air in a
tremendous Opaque curtain of earth
and debris of all kinds.
| There was no preliminary lombard
ment to give the Russians a hint OF
what was in store for them. Half the
garrison perished as the result of the
explosions and the subsequent charge
of the Japanese.
The force of the explosions was tre-
mendous. The entire hillside was COW
cred with earth and debris and the
moat was filled to a level with the
broken walls of the fort.
| In anticipation of a stubborn resist
ance by a large garrison the japanese
| before daylight pushed large force
! into the trenches, where they remained
concealed until the explosions took
place. The moment the mines were
| fired whole park of siege guns opened
| concentrated fire upon the fort, which
was obscured from view by the burst
| ing shells. Under cover of this wonder
| full practice large force in the nearest
| saps charged over the filled-in moat
| and attacked the first line of Russian
| trenches, behind which were machine
guns.
GARRISON FIGHTS BRAVELY.
The Russians were thrown into the
greatest confusion and many of them
twere killed by the explosions. Never
theless they fought desperately, but
were not able to withstand the mum
( bers and determination of the Japa-
neSe, who passed over the broken walls
| like ants in the face of a fire from the
machine guns, and the first line of
| trenches was captured after twenty
minutes of awful fighting.
| The fort was arranged in two levels. In
In the lower level there were in the
| the lower level there were infantry in the
| rear were machine gun trenches, with
a deep iRterior. In the center of the
higher level there were quick-firing
guns, and heavier guns in the emplace-
ments. In the rear of the higher level
masonry were the concreted barracks,
the magazines and the kitchens of the
garrison.
When the Japanese captured the low
er level in the first spirited charge they
were not able to advance farther. With
splendid courage, however, the black
masses of troops maintained their po-
sition, Notwithstanding an awful con-
centrated fire from the fortress and
from artillery in the forts of Antze and
Shuishi Valley, and made a trench line
from the broken walls to capture the
machine gun trenches.
JAPANESE GAIN THE CREST.
All the time Japanese artillery bonn
barded the rear of the fort and the
Chinese wall, SO as to prevent the ar
rival of reinforcements.
At o'clock in the afternoon the
japanese massed and captured the ma
chine gun trenches and the lower Sec
tion of the fort. Then they charged
the higher level in splendid form, going
up in twos and threes until IA large
body had gained the crest OF the north :
east corner. Before dark the walls Of
the higher level. were black with men,
who had gained the interior in small
parties, despite the awful fire. r
In the meantime more of the Japan
ese gained the higher level of the fort
from the gorge at the west side..s--- !.
The Japanese attacked in over
whelning numbers from all sides, but
the remnant of the garrison continued
to fight with splendid spirit, contest
ing every inch of the interior.
/ ! FEW DEFENDERS ESCAPE.
Under cover of darkness the Japan
ese captured the last sections and the
barracks at 3 o'clock in the morning:
One hundred and fifty of the garrison
escaped through the connecting
trenches in the rear of the fort, which
they destroyed by mines to prevent
pursuit. Three prisoners were taken
and the others of the garrison were
killed.
The Japanese losses during the day
and night were about one thousand
killed or wounded.
With the fort the Japanese captured
four guns of large caliber, seven quick
fining guns and two machine guns, be-
sides others not yet counted In the
gorge at the rear of the fort they cap
tured thirty quick-firing guns which
had been mounted ready to repel any
attack upon the fort from the rear. Be-
fore retiring the Russians set fire to
the barracks and kitchens, which are
still burning.
Considering the enormous strength
of the fort, it's. capture at such small
cost of life was a great success.