Kingsbury County independent. (DeSmet, Kingsbury County, S.D.) 1894-1929, 1905-06-23

~ wal a bSCh ~ ~ SRNS@8&6
lar, and the people OF every nation watch
ed with GREATNESS interest the mighty
struggle.
The siege began ON May IS. but It 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 GOO feet high
east Of Port Arthur. This was neces-
sary for from the summit OF Taku noun
taia the Russians had a panoramic view
of every foot of ground over which the
Japanese forces were compelled TO op-
crate. Taku mountain was taken by storm
on July 70.
Nogis next move was to capture Wolf
hin, eight miles north OF Port Arthur.
This he did on August s. after three days
lighting. Once secure on the OF hills
extending from Taku mountain to Wolf
hill the Japanese were in position TO be-
gin operations against the great chain OF
forts forming the outer defenses OF Port
Arthur. There were twenty-five OF these
forts. with fifty redoubts. each one almost
a fort wedged In between. all connected
by covered ways.
These principal forts We're Banjusau CD,
Erhlung co, Keewan "a, Kinkeeshan,
Wantai. Antzeshan. Etzeshan, Taiyang-
kow. 2Q3 Meter hill, ia. 1871, $50. and 1863
Meter hills. On the side OF the sea We're
the Golden hill. Liaotishan. n Chick
wan forts, which were beyond attack Our
ing the siege.
Gen. Nogi began operations against the
chain OF forts on August 81 by an attempt
to carry the Banjusan forts by direct as-
sault. 1t was more of a slaughter than
a battle. For two days Japanese guns
had pounded the fort until Il had been re-
duced to a grim, ugly looking. shapeless
mass OF clay pitted with countless shell
holes and torn and Scared by shrapnel.
There was not a sign OF life about the
fort. Ii 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 Ouchl regiment sprang
from it's trenckes-2, 100 men,, led by Col.
Ouchi himself-and advanced to the as
sault. Ouchi was told that he could have
no reinforcements. but that he must cap
ture the fort. He fell while leading his
men across the mlllet 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 fsme until at last seventy
men-all that were left Of the 2,s0o-reach~
ed the first ditch under the guns of the
fort.
The main attack failed, and the seventy
men of the OUGHT regiment lay in the ditch
under the East Banfusan fort. The ditch
was "a feet deep, IL feet wide, and 30 feet
long. AT lis bottom there was 4 feet OF
water. In this water the seventy men
stood q day and a night. The Russian
guns could not reach them as long as
they held the ditch, but they faced death
from starvation
Ii Is a long story. but IL IL history. Those
seventy men captured the fort. and reid II
until support arrived. They crawled up
the slope and one by one destroyed the
RUSSIAN machine guns. Then they blew
a gap through the parapet and charged
through II. Reinforcements came and the
fort was held.
The siege was full OF such incidents,
bur the Japanese did not always succeed
in capturing the forts. Nogi lost H,0C0
men In repeated Efforts TO capture the
Keekwan forts.
Port Arthur S~urrenders.
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
4 DtElIIllE u EONCtiOtt 1tEAs. We W IN
ready to resume direct assaults.
The program was the same with each
fort. The Japanese would sap their way
10 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 I'M
side the forts. Sometimes the Russians
would beat of their assailants, sometimes
tha h,nGinuors wouid hold the forts they
had stormed.
In this manner the Japanese captured
the forts on l31, 100. ia, and $50 Meter
hills. There still remained the key 10 the
whole western position. 203 Meter hill.
The summit OF this height. crowned by a
fort as ~impregnable as engineering skill
could make II, commanded a view Of the
inner harbor OF Port Arthur, where the
Russian feet had remained In hiding since
August 10.
Nogi captured COS Meter hill November
90, after a fearful sacrifice Of men. Japan,
however, was amply repaid for tho sacri-
flee. for ii gained the loss 81 the Russian
fleet.
Observers stationed on a03 Meter hill
were able TO locate every battleship, cruis-
err, gunboat, and destroyer in the harbor,
By Telephone they savs .Sc direction.
angie, and range TO the artillery In charge
Of the huge mortars. These mortars drop
ped their shells over the intervening
ranges Of the hills, and n by one the
Russian ships were destroyed. The bat
tleships Pobieda, Retvizan, Poltava, and
Peresviet were sunk at their anchor, as
were the great cruisers Pallada and Bayar
and q number of gunboats and destroy
ers. The battleship Sevastopol took refuge
outside the harbor only TO be disiodged by
the daring men of Togo's fleet.
II was December 20 by the time Nogi's
guns had completed the task of destroying
the fleet. That task marked the real be-
ginning Of the end of the siege. Decem'
Der 26. the japanese blew up and captured
the Ehrlung forts, two miles north OF
Port Arthur. December 81 they captured
in the same way the Rihiung and Wanta
forts, still nearer the stronghold. ane
made a breach IN the old Chinese wall
which formed the inner line OF defense.
Stoessel had defended Fort arthur foi
24t days and could do no more. He hat
less than 10000 men able to stand on theil
feet. He had 1000 sick and ounde 4
the hospitals and was without medicine:
an d~surgical supplies. His mel were wori
out under the strain OF the lombard
ment that week after week, day and night
had swept Port Arthur with a storm o
steel.
Having done his best. Stocssel sent
note to N-gi Offering TO surrender. At
: o'clock on the evening OF January ] 1895
the guns were silenced and the Ions sieg'
was ended.
IL rcquifed two weeks time TO transfe
Port Arthur from Russian to japanese
] hands. In all Russia surrendered abou
M - 1890 "a