The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1905-01-03
DETAILS OF THE SIEGE.
From the Japanese Landing to the
Fail Of Port Arthur.


of the fortress of Port Arthur from
communication with the mainland of
Manchuria in the first week of last
May. The Japanese had landed on
the peninsula much earlier but had
been forced to fight their way both
north and south on the peninsula in
order to gain a foothold.
The Russian army at the beginning
OF the japanese advance extended
from Port Arthur on the south to
Hardin on the north. In order to
strike Port Arthur the Japanese were
forced to break the strong Russian
| line. push the northern army far
enough north to make it innocuous
and then drive the southern army into
the Port Arthur fortificatfons. The
first great fight of the Port Arthur
campaign was the battle of Nan
Shan. 1t was the object of the Rus
slams to delay as much as possible the
japanese southern advance in order
to occupy as much of the Japanese
strength as possible around Port Ar
thur and give the northern army a
chance to secure reinforcemcnts from
Russia. Nan Shan Is a rocky ridge
between the gulf of Lao Tung on the
west and the open sea on the east.
The Russians had constructed care
fully built trenches protected by meats
and barbed wire entanglernents. The
ground over which the Japanese
would be forced to charge was thick
with dynamite mines.
The trenches We're bristling with
machine guns and quick firing field
artillery. Russian officers afterward
acknowledged that they believed the
line across the narrow neck would
hold out weeks and give them time to
build other lines behind it. The jap
anese rushed the hill between daylight
and dark. The little fighters from
Japan crept as close as possible to
the lines and suddenly opened a ter
rife artillery fire on the Russian guns.
Under cover of the stream of metal
which poured over the Russian
trenches, regiments sprang up and
the Port Arthur Russians heard the
terrible "Banzai," as the little yellow
heroes fell and died by companies, but
broke the wire entanglements, leaped
back down the hill. It was the first
experience of the Port Arthur Musco-
vites with the deadly japanese infan-
try rush.
the siege the Japanese have hardly
paused for breath. Assault followed
assault, interspersed with arduous and
feverish mining and sapping opera
lions. The Russians with the Japa-
nese army in front and the sea behind
fought with a steady, sustained des-
peration that astonished even the jap
anese.,
Military engineers and foreign off,
GERS say that Port Arthur and its ap-
proaches formed the strongest coTnbi-
nation of Notifications in the world.
The Russians had spent ten years and
millions of dollars in building the
forts.
Thirteen large hills were surmounted
by forts, each supported and protected
by the other. If an enemy captured one
fort, he Immediately found himself as
sailed by several others constructed to
command the first. All were mined, TO
be blown up the moment the japanese
had enough men within the walls to
make the slaughter effective. Before
the forts was an irregular valley ex-
tending almost around Port Arthur.
Outside this valley was another series
of outside fortified ton on the hills be-
yond. To capture this outer line of
forts and then work across the inter-
vening valley by trenches cut part of
the way through solid rock, was the
task Of the japanese army after the
victory at Nan Shan.
One of the first forts to fall was Wolf
mountain. This gave the Japanese |
left from Wolf mountain. After several
months fighting and bloody assaults,
the outer rim of forts was taken and
the japanese found that they had just
begun the real siege.
General Nogi, commanding the Japa- |
nese army, was given orders at this
time to push the siege with the utmost
vigor in order to wipe out the Russian
force on the south, that the northern
Japanese army might be free to push
General Kuropatkin to point where |
he could retreat and fight rear guard
actions no longer, but must fight or
surrender Then began the series of
terrible infantry attacks which ended
in the temporary defeat of the Japa- |
nese and their return to the slower but |
safer methods of mining and Sapp1ng. |
oven the careful and well informed |
JaDanese general staff had undereSti- |
mated the Russian strength
Then began the long, tedious process
of digging a way into Port Arthur. Zig |
gag trenches were driven through the
then frozen ground and large bomb |
proof shelters were cut out otSo1d rock.
At intervals parallels were constructed |
in which to mount artillery. Inch by |
inch the Japanese line advanced. Rus
sian sorties from time to time delayed
the advance and hundreds of japanese
soldiers were killed by hand bombs
thrown into the parallels by Russians
ri swift night attacks At last the
trenches had been driven to within 1zO
feet Of Fort Kuropatkin and Nogi de-
cided to attack. At dawn, selected men
suddenly dashed from the JapdnSSe
ines and swarmed over the fort 3 walls
IN a few hours the fortlhcauon was III
the hands of Nogi.
The two points against which Nogl /
directed most of his heavy 1lre were
the kew forts on 203 Meter hill and on /
KeelSwan mountain. With these IN his
possession, he could destroy both ola
and new Port Arthur and sink the Rus
sian feet in the harbOr- AS early as the
sarIv mart of November attacks were /
made on these strongholdS- Inc RuS-
slams said that before that time the as
sa1lits had been '.child's play com
pared to what was coming. They We're
right. but it did not stop the japanese.
The mere item Of digging the zigzag II
rrenches M to these forts cost the jap
anese q. fortune One japanese officer
said recently that it would have been
IMPOSSIBLE to drive the trenches through
he rocks and frozen earth had not the
TaDanese used American mine drilling
machines which worked by steam
Novem Der 27 came the first great
assault on Keekwan and Rihlung. The
trenches on Rihiung mountain n Sa