PORT ARTHUR VISITED.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 16530, 14 September 1921, Page 10

PORT ARTHUR VISITED.

RECALLING THE SIEGE. (By FREDERICK STUBBS, F.R.G.S.) It rr:ay interest some readers to recall the memorable siege of Port Ar- | thur in 1904, in which Japan lost 23,000 men. It will be remembered I that Russia, seeking a port that would ! be free from ice all the year round, j obtained a lease of Port Arthur from j China in 1896. Before long the Siberian railway was linked up with that 1 town, which Russia designed to make | one of the greatest naval ports and one j of the strongest fortresses in the ■world, j The neighbouring city of Dalny, the i new name they had given to Dairen 1 (then known as Talienwan), the Russians determined to make the metropolis of the Far Kast and one of the chief cities of the Orient. She went to work with energy, spending money and labour freely. Then in 1900 she began to extend her rule throughout Manchuria -China helpless; Great Britain and Japan protesting. At length, in 1904. Japan, seeing her existence as n great Power threatened by Russia, declared war against her, and three days later the Japanese fleet attacked Port Arthur, blowing up three war vessels, badly damaging four, and causing the rest to take refuge in the inner harbour under the powerful guns of the forts. On April 13 Admiral Togo, having sowed the outer roadstead with mines, enticed the Russian squadron out to sea, with the result that the* great battleship PetropauIcusk, with the Russian Admiral and a crew of 750 on board, was blown up, and the rest' of the vessels steamed for their lives. On, August 10 another destruction of Russian ships took place and the fleet at Port Arthur put practically hors do combat. In the meantime fJapane.se armies were being land cd on tha Lio-tung Peninsula. In Mav a, terrible struggle took place on the heights of Nanshan in which the Pur sians were driven back with a loss of 80 guns, and Janan was enabled to occupy Dalny. Then the siege of Port Arthur began in earnest, liy the end of July the attackers had taken Wolf Hilk about a mile from the harbour, and on August 16 the first general assault was ordered by Nogi. It succeeded indifferently, at a terrible cost to the besiegers who in five days’ fight ing lost 14,000 men. Then the slower but safer , method of sapping was resorted to until November 26, when another general assault was ordered and on the 30th 203 Metre Hill was taken. I climbed this hill. It is an eminence about two miles west of the new town. The slope is pretty steep but arrived at the summit one gets a fine view of the harbour and surrounding country. A single glance shows how commanding and important this position was, yet strange to say the Russians had neglected to fortify it rmht up to the very outbreak of hostilities. Afterwards it was fortified strongly, many lines of trenches and wire entanglements being constructed mid a tunnel dug in the snddfe of,the bill, through which reinforcements were sent to the trenches. This passage was not known to the Japanese until a she'll happened to stride it. an.sing a big gno. which revealed th“ funnel and speedilv led to its destruction. These trenches are left just as th-v wee© at the end of the siege, and f examined them with great interest. Tn parts the water had accumulated and they were very muddy, nevertheless I was able to traverse th°m, as well, as the broken tunnel, and to get an idea of the terrible force of modern explosives. To retrace our stops, by 17 several important position® had been occupied by the Japanese from whence thev opened fire on the 203 Metre Hill described above. A part of the trench was carried, and filled with Japanese soldiers. Then the adjacent Russian forts began to roar rnd not a Japanees within the trench escaped : every man was killed. This time the assault failed. On November 27 a Japanese howitzer battery opened fire upon rhe bill, destroying the trenches and shelters. The Japanese rushed forward ; for three solid days there were terrible hand-to-hand assaults : the top was reached, imd for a few' minutes held by the besiegers', but after a fearful counter-attack by the Russians, the Jay>anese were again thrown back. Once more they were foiled. Three days later, however, another important charge was carried through. On this occasion the younger son of General Nogi had been sent with, a message and succeeded in delivering it, but in returning was struck by a shell, thus leaving an aged general without an heir, his elder son haring been killed at the battle of Nanshan. On December 4 masses of Japanese troops dashed up the steep slopes once more, regardless of the enemy’s fire. Some of those present said that hell seemed to bo let loose, and the earth to vomit smoke and flame. Both sides fought bravely and stubbornly, but the Japanese would not this time be denied, and the dost; of the day saw them victorious. In this last fight alone the Japanese had 2366 killed and 5213 wounded. It was on this hill that the fiercest fighting took place, though forts had been erected on all the hills around, and each of these had also to he reduced. Idle North Fort, which 1 explored, has a- specially interesting history, and it was here that the brave Russian general, Kondrachento, was kill<*d, the spot being marked by a laudatory inscription. Here, too. were lengthy tunnels, portions of which still remain. On one occasion Japanese sol- . diers engaged in sapping these tunnels, j knowing that the operation was pecu--1 liarly dangerous and would probably cost them their lives, tied pieces of rope to their ankles, begging their comrades to pull back their corpses as soon as they were -killed. It was at this fort ' that the Japanese and Russians observed a truce and exchanged the bodies of their slain. On New Year’s Day, 1905, the lost, fort yielded, and the siege, which will ever be memorable for the fierce courage displayed by both sides, came to nn end. On January 2, General Stoessel met General Nogi at the little school house, of which 1 obtained, a photograph, and there surrendered his sword. By this surrender 40,000 men, 69 forts, 550 guns, 35,000 rifles, 4 damaged battleships, 2 damaged cruisers, 14 gunboats and destroyers, 45 small craft, and tons of ammunition, fell into the hands of the Japanese. I may add that the whole district still bears the scars, or one should, rather sav the wounds, occasioned by this titanic conflict; in the harbour the remains of sunken vessels can still be seen, and near the railway the skeletons of locomotives that were blown to pieces. The excellent museum that has been erected contains a most interesting collection of relics and trophies. On the top of Monument Hill I visited the Charnel Shrine, beneath which the cremated remains of 22,000 Japanese lie buried. On our reaching it. my companion Dr Noda-, 1 at once uncovered and made due reverence, as I did also as a tribute to the patriotism and bravery of these poor fellows. Close by stands also the Jemorial Tower projected by General Nogi and Admiral Togo, and dedicated with great ceremony in 1909: whilst . A*- -mat