STARVATION OR CAPTURE BY ASSAULT FOR PORT ARTHUR.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLI, Issue 12609, 25 June 1904, Page 5 (Supplement)

STARVATION OR CAPTURE BY ASSAULT FOR PORT ARTHUR.

With the final investment of Port Arthur by tie Japanese "the beginning of the end for that fortress :is said by '■ the naval; expert of the London Times to be in sight. Ho does not think the place can be reduced by . starvation to the surrender point this year. ''The question that remains open," according to him, "is whether the Japanese will resort to a simple investment and siege or bombardment followed by assault." This last alternative must be far from easy,; if it be true, as -Mi-. Angus Hamilton writes in the Fortnightly Review, that " the" fortifications which surmount every) hill on the land side are semi-enclosed works of extreme strength." Mr. Hamilton has enjoyed facilities for study of this topic on the spot, and he declares: , > X "It is incredible to think that the fortress can be reduced by bombardment i alone. ; The Josition is one of great natural strength, eavily manned, with forts placed in, position on all exposed points. With ' a little care it is ■• quite : possible to ' detect r some eighteen or twenty hill-batteries •in addition jioHhe hill forts, each of which is in communication with the central? Station in Port Arthur. There are four sea batteries, varying from six to eighteen guns each," and the i number jof batteries ;,■ on Golden Hill, which is the determining key to the main position, is eight, composed of sixty guns. These grins are 10-inch or 11-inch ■ PoutUoff, supplemented with batteries of Canet quickfirers, and mounted near the Marconi'mast. In the main the sea-batteries of Port Arthur are more or less, invisible. In some instances the : positions *to the- south of the harbour entrance at once strike the practised eye, as the sail 1 of which their superior slopes' are composed is of a darker, redder hue than the surrounding ground, which is of a pale yel-low-ochre tinge. However, the batteries on Golden Hill are completely masked. Invisibility has been studied here, and their profiles are" low or else carefully covered with grass. ; It is quite evident, moreover, : that the guns do not fire through embrasures, while they have the additional advantage of being placed high above the level of the sea. By this means they command a wider field of fire, and they can also bring a plunging fire to bear on a ship deck, themselves safe from direct, us opposed to high-angle, fire." '* - > ' ■■' ' ' .. , But the defenders of the place must beware:— ' * "**";' , * These advantages do not mean, however, lhat Port Arthur is safe from attack or that it would suffer little from bombardment. While the defences themselves would not show material damage, the interior parts of_ the harbour and the town would probably be ruined by high-angle fire from attacking warships. A fire of this description, flighting the cliffs, would burst with great effect in the rear-of the position. By this means the dockyard, the torpedo basin, the coalyards, the old and the new town, the collection of barracks, and the vast deposit of stores which haw been accumulated in the fortress, would be in great danger." .