The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1905-01-04
Story of Heroic Defense
of Port Arthur.
narrowing Days Began in The First
Week of The War With An Attack BY
Torpedo.Boats--. Graveyard OF
Costly Russian Fleet.
The End.
Baltimore News.)


Port Arthur, the Gibraltar of the
power and influence there has been
from the very start of the war the
objectt Of Japan's attack.
The siege and the defense have
oeen marked by bravery, gallantry and
desperation unequalled in modern
warfare and hardly excelled in mill
tary history. The story of the oper-
atoms is one of repeated fighting. both
oy land and sea OF the most desper-
ate and thrilling character. Isolated
instances of heroism that would have
set the world ringing under less over
whelming circumstances have been
1warfed by the generally magnificent
conduct of both forces. BY sea there
have been torpedo boat dashes of SUI
perb recklessness, and big ships have
ploughed through mine fields with
heroic disregard to- give BATTLE, or
II wild efforts. TO escape BY land
the japanese have hurled themselves
against positions declared to be inn
pregnable. They have faced and
scaled rocky heights crowned with
batteries and crowded with defend
ers, suffering losses that military ex-
perts say would have appalled, any
European army.
In the doomed fortress its people
have lived under devastating rain
of shell and shrapnel. On scanty ra-
tons beseged on every side, know
ing that hope of succor or escape was
vain, the garrison has fought With a
stubbornness that has evoked the adj
miration of the world. They met the
untiring assaults of the japanese with
a grim valor that won even the praise
of their foe, and the fighting has
been waged with a Telentlessness that
often refused truces to bury the dead
apd collect the wounded. over corpse
filled trenches men nave fought hand
to hand with cold steel and dubbed
guns, and at short range have hurled
at each other hand grenades filled
with high explosives. The whole story
is one of undaunted courage and sub
lime bravery.
What Port Arthur has cost in hu-
man life and in n1oney no estimate
of even approximate correctness can
be made. The losses have been APP
palling. 1t has been reported that
in some engagements leading up to
the recent capture of 203 Metre Hill
the attacking force lost as high as
40 per cent of the force engaged,
while the garrisons losses. of which
no word has come. must have been
fri2htfu.
The defense of the position which
fell to her as a heritage after the
Chinese-,Japanese var has cost Rus
STA practically her entire fleet in those
waters. Her ships lie from Port Ar
thurs inner basin to Chemulpo, in
Korea, and along the Shantung penin-
suia and battered hunks of once proud
vessels are informed IN neutral Chinese
harbors. Save the three or four cruis-
ers and some lesser craft that lie III
the e-hound refuge of Vladivostok,
not warship now flies the Russian
cross in the waters of the Northern
Orient.
And Japan too, mas had her losses
in the ong-drawn-out operations.
Mines have struck from Admiral
Togo's feet list many fine ships and
smaller vessels since the morning of
February s. when he hurled his fleet
at the Russian ships in Port Arthur
roadstead
The siege began almost with the
firing of the first gun in the war, now
nearly eleven months ago. and when
perhaps the greatest stronghold in
the world was garrisoned by 40, 600
Russian soldiers, supported by a
formidable squadron of modern bait
tle-ships, cruisers and torpedo-boats.
ihes: "i'Snips nave peeH Ucslroyfo
or dispersed
The campaign which has resulted
in its fall was begun more than six
months ago. In the first week after
the withdrawal of Japan'S Minister
from Toxic Admiral Togo dealt his
first blow in the damaging Of the
CzareVitch, Rctvizan and Pallada.
This ana the other carly naval
victories of the Mikado's fleet We're
followed by repeated efforts to close
the mouth Of the llarbor Of Port Ar
thur by sinking dismantled steamers
there. None of these attempts proved
very successful. Almost daily there
have been bombardments from the
water.
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