Bridgeton pioneer., 1912-10-03
Suicide of NOQi
With the Whole
A Spartan, Trained For War,
He Was UnSparing of
Himself and His
Men.

sion of the funeral of the late
emperor Mutsuhito of Japan,
strange as it sounds to western ears,
was, after all, in keeping with the
whole life and character of the man.
In all that he did, in what he required
of himself no less than of those who
served under him, the dead soldier
represented a sterner age and more
self forgetting principle than are COM
mon under occidental civilization. He
was samura born, and as a samurai
he died, carrying out to the last ex-
treme that devotion to the memory
of his master which is summed up In
that curious doctrine of Bushido.
The man who could hear without re-
pining that his two sons had been
slain in one battle and could order
through all the long months of the
siege of Port Arthur wave after wave
of his gallant little soldiers to certain
death before Russian guns and bay
onets was only carrying out the teach
ings of his creed when he refused to
survive the monarch by whose virtues
his own military glory had been won.
Count Maresuke Nogi was born in
1949 a Choshu samurai and was
grown to manhood before the great
Japanese awakening. His birth des-
tined him to the profession of arms,
and like a Spartan lad the whole of
his training was directed to train him
in hardhood and valor. When he was
only fourteen he was studying the art
of war at the capital of the lord of
the Choshu, and to fit himself for the
service of his superiors he set himself
to subdue every natural desire. He
schooled himself to disregard pain,
to think little of personal pleasure,
even to seem Indifferent to his own
family, and above all to scorn the fear
of death.
With this end in view, he tasted for
long periods, travelled barefoot on
frosty mornings and took long jour
neys in the fiercest summer heat. 1t is
even said that in order to harden HIM
self to the sight of blood he attended
executions and dabbled his hands in
the blood of the victims. SO it came
about that when the Satsuma rebellion
began he was one of the Sternest of
the fighters. He was in command of
the Fourteenth regiment and before
the revolution came to an end had been
twice wounded severely.
During the period in which Japan
was preparing herself for the great
struggles which have raised her to
front place among the nations General
Nogi was studying the art of war and
imbuing himself with all that modern
science could add to the wonderful
training in hardihood which was his by
racial tradition. During the Chino
japanese war he was in command Of
the First brigade and took part in an
attack on Port Arthur, which was aft
erward to be the scene of his great
military exploit. The place was then
nothing like as well fortified as it was
by the Russians, and its defense was
feeble in comparison with the resist.
ance Of General Stoessel, but 1t is a
fair supposition that when Japan
crossed swords with it's northern neigh
bor it was the experience and the
knowledge that he gained in the earlier
war which partly caused General No
gi's selection to assail the Russian
stronghold with the third japanese
army.
Siege of Port Arthur.
The history of the great siege of
Port Arthur is one Of the most notable
In the history of war. Nogi landed at
Petsiwo on May 4, 1904, and occupied
Dalny four days later. The communi-
cations of Port Arthur with the north
were thus cut, and from that time on
the grip of Nogi on the fortress began
to tighten. The actual investment was
not complete before July 80, but for
two months the Japanese commander
had been skillfully driving the Russians
back and resisted successfully every
attempt of Stoessel to break through
his lines.
1t was not till the first day of the
new year that Nogi was victorious,
but in all his siege operations one
characteristic stands out-his absolute
ly remorseless use of his men. Twice
before the final assault on the 203
Meter HILL which determined the fate
of the garrison, there were three days
of general assaults. To the Russians,
hidden behind their breastworks and
covered by their redoubts, they We're
terrible enough. but to the Japanese
army they were almost incredible
trials of courage.
An eyewitness on the Russian side
thus describes the third attack of Aug
81, 1904, after the japanese assault
had been beaten off at II p. m. and
a. M:
"At Il. m. a third attack commenc
ed, and it seemed as if the passion
less, cold hearted Nogi had sentenced
the last of his troops to death. The
signal was given. and Il fresh wave of
living flesh and blood rolled forward
This time it was the attacll-the spring
of maddened, wounded, blood drunk
herd of tigers, not men. Our truly
awful fire was of no avail. The mass
roared forward with the strength of
tidal wave"