PROGRESS OF THE WAR.

Evening Post, Volume LXVIII, Issue 47, 24 August 1904, Page 4

PROGRESS OF THE WAR.

An eye-witneen of tho explosions on the landward wide of Port Arthur points to a h*-a.vy loss inflicted upon tho besiegers. The atory reads like exaggeration, for the troops would hardly bo moving in close formation, and Nogi must havo considered tho contingency of the ground being mined. We have been told, even at this distance, of such preparations, and it seeine strange that in thia caso ground lending itself to such a device was not first, tested, aa we fancy it might have been. For instance, what w*» to prevent ;i mob of cavalry liorswi being turned loose and driven at tlie gallop over the suspected mine-Held? That, device would certainly have saved the lives of njnny men. The- craft of th» Jap, ns well as his intelligence depnrUueut, seeing to have failed him on this occasion. Four ureas similarly mined havo yet to be exploded, and we shall bo curious to see how the besiegers havo profited by the late disaster. Yeaterday it was repot t-ed that tho Japanese had captured the northernmost part of the western lino of defence, but the Russian fine prevented its occupation. This potation i» mnde clear on the map we pubfish to-day. It is evidently Wangtu, and an examination of the plan will show that it can be made the target for tho converging lire of four forts in ttie vicinity still held by tho Russians. A very remarkable- movement is the detachment of a force, variously computed at fifteen regiments and 30,000 men, from Oko's aimy in Manchuria to reinforce Nogi before Port Arthur". Thia may moan many things, as, for instance, that the Japanese casualties have been much greater than the cable has been purnuttod to disclose ; that Nogi purposes a general assault along the whole lino of tie Russian defence— l 2 miles — and would make assurance doubly sure by strengthening his reserves ; or that the movement is but a feint to lull Kuropatkin in the north into a belief that he can take tho initiative against tho weakened aimy confronting him. It is expected at fcst. Petersburg that ho will now take the offensive, and the wish, in aucb a, case, may well influence the thought. We fancy that Oyama will be quite content to find that Kuropatkin is moving " from cover of his fortified position to seek battlo in ' tho open, where, considering the dispositions, bis enemy will have the choice of ground. On the other hand, the Russian must fight at some time, and better now than when Nogi has joined his army to the rest. When Stoessel stuck the German attache in the Tiger's Tail bnttery, 600 feet high, and did not permit him to &eu any fighting, it will be readily understood that Uic Russian commander did not want the nyn-combatantg to pass out and tell what they had seen. In this connection it is a reliel to hear that there are but few women and children left in Port Arthur, and it is to be hoped that they may be spare"d pnrticipntion in the horrors of its fail. At time of writing there comes word thut the Japanese destroyer has left Shanghai, and we hope that this announcement may be the beginning of the end of a most alarming mc. dent. Tokio hits probably been influenced by tome friendly advice from London. The plan of Port Arthur we publish to-day is the latest as it is tho best we havo yet seen as showing the position of the defending forte, and the natural points of vantage to the besieged. A writer in the Argus — who, it may bo mentioned, went through the siege" of Liidy&mith — on the 10th inst, made the following comments on the situation : — "As wo me dependent mnin-'y upon rumour for news, it is diilicu'.t to form an eoirect estimate as to the positions now held by the Japanese. For example, heavy fighting is said to have taken place at Wolf Hill, and the mevsage adds that this hill commands tho western hatbour and enfilades tha western forts. Thu points marked by crosses on the map show roughly the position of the inner forta or main defences of Port Arthur. A cable message published on August 7 stated that the Russians had been driven* to these permanent forts, and that all the outworks hnd been abandoned. There is a Wolf Hill and a White Wolf Hill, and doubt arises as to which of them is rereferred to. Wolf Hill will bo seen to

the N.W. of Port Arthur, and is aaid to hd six miles distant from the main ring of Russian forts. Further, it was stated a month :igo that the Japanese had stormed it. White Wolf Hill i* shown ou the map immediately to the houth of the larger or western port. Its position obviously commands that port, and it would enfiiade the Itu forts immediately to the northward, which are the important western defences of Port Arthur, and frequently described as the real key to the fortress. The high plateau overlooks all tho forts on the eastern side, and is sometimes called the Table Iloighte. It was upon this point that tho Japanese made their chief attack when they captured the fortress from the Chinese Au outstanding fort will be se<jn on tho east at Taku Mountain — the western exit entity of the Lung-wang-tung rango. It, too, wns said to have been stormed by th« Japanese early in July — but thero was sonuo doubt on the point. Taku Hill is three miles nearer the main d'efencea than Wolf Hill. "Tho line of forts to tho east of Port Arthur marked on the map as 'The Ridgo 1 aro sometimes called th© Nrlung group, nnd thoso further north Keekwan© forts. The harbour of Port Arthur faces almost due south, and is entered by a- narrow channel, three-quarters of a mile in length, the navigable width of which is nowhere moro than 250 yards, and falls in one place to less than 100 yards. On the right of this channel is the small cost port, 500 yards in length by 350 in width, in which are tho dockyard and dock, mid opposite the entrance of this port the channel takes a very sharp turn, almost at right angles, to the left, leading to the much lurger wost port. This is the natural harbour, oval in shape, two miles in length from «ist to west, and one mile in width from north to south. Its auchorage caIMcity for large vessels is, however, limited on account of the shallow water throughout tho greater part, though since its acquisition Dy the liussiuns its capacity has beon considerably increased by extensive dredging operations. The Russian fleet invariably anchors in tho small eastern port to the south of the town. Between the .west port and the entrance channel a low-lying spit of land runs northward from the coast, which is known by its Chinese name of the 'Tiger's Tail.' The narrow entrance and the sharp turn, affording only tbe smallest space for manoeuvring, render both the entrance and the exit from or to the sea. a matter of gi eat difficulty forthips of large size. "Owing to the configuration of the land, Port. Arthur was considered to be easy of defence. The harbour is girdled round with hills, varying in height from 250 ft to nearly 500 ft, and, with this assistance from Ntiture, what was regarded us an impregnable enceinte of forts was made, stretching from the eminence of Golden Hill, or Hwang-chin-ahan, commanding the outer roadstead, right round the rear of the town, and even down the back of the Tiger's Tail, so as to enfilade the roadstead, or reach an enemy at spa attempting un assault upon these high-placed defences. At immense outlay guns of great power 'were carried up these hills and mounted in the forts, while a forest of small quick-firers was placed nearer the water's edge and in other advantageous positions for sweeping the waterway or repelling a flank attack Bfihoro."