Volunteers for Fireships--A Drama of Searchlights--The Devil's
Caldron--The Sacrifice of Fire--Heroic Hirose--Undaunted by
Death--Covering Themselves with Glory--Casualties Few but
Terrible--The Hero of Japan--Channel Still Unclosed--The
Shadows of Fate--The Great Catastrophe--The Story of the
"Petropavlovsk"--A Double Trap--Captain Oda and his Mines--The
"Bayan" to the Rescue--Preparing an Ambush--Makaroff Lured
Out--Cutting off the Unwary--Weather Permitting--Into the Jaws
of Death--Haphazard Fire--Rescue Work--The Character of the
Explosion--Accounts of Survivors--Tribute from the Japanese--On
Land--Chong-Ju--The Advance to the North--Concentration of
Troops--Kuroki's Line of Front--The Russian Position--Russian
Confidence.
[Sidenote: Volunteers for Fireships]
As on the occasion of the first effort to block the harbor at Port
Arthur, so upon the second a spirited competition took place among the
Japanese officers and men for the honor of occupying the post of danger
upon the fireships. The claim of the gallant men who had charge of the
previous attempt to finish the work which they had so well begun was
finally conceded, their Commander-in-Chief himself deciding the
question. Four merchantmen, larger than those already sunk, had been
filled with stones and explosives and were ready for the desperate
enterprise. The whole fleet left the rendezvous on the 26th of March
under the cover of night, and accompanied the fireships up to a
distance of some miles from Port Arthur. There the Admiral gave his
final orders, and escorted by a flotilla of eleven destroyers and six
torpedo-boats, which were spread out fanwise in front of them, the
doomed vessels started upon their last and proudest voyage.
[Sidenote: A Drama of Searchlights]
It was midnight when they set forth, and there was no moon. An inky
darkness brooded over the waters, which lay still and calm like a
village pond. No sound was heard, no light was shown on the flotilla
as, steadily and inexorably, it pursued its fateful passage over the
silent sea. The only ray of light visible came from the distant
searchlight on Golden Hill, set like the eye of a Cyclops, in the
forehead of Port Arthur. Slowly and monotonously the broad refulgent
beam swept backwards across the bay, throwing into strong relief every
object upon which it fell within a radius of more than two miles. Every
moment it seemed to the tense expectancy of the advancing force that
their presence must be revealed, but still they held on their course
with calm and patient courage, and still the slow minutes dragged along
without any sign of suspicion on the part of the garrison. At last,
when the Japanese had approached so near that they could make out the
dim contour of the fortress and the surrounding heights, the moving
light settled for a moment upon the lines of the foremost
torpedo-boats. Another instant and a startling change had come over the
scene. Swiftly the searchlight flashed up and down, backwards and
forwards it plunged and replunged upon the stealthy foe until the whole
flotilla, approaching with such grim determination, lay exposed to the
view of the Russian sentries. The trumpets rang out, the garrison
sprang to arms, and a storm of shot and shell once more burst forth
from the great guns of Golden Hill.
[Sidenote: The Devil's Caldron]
As the gallant Japanese made straight for the harbor entrance the
batteries on the Tiger's Tail joined in the fierce cannonade, and from
more than a hundred guns a hail of shells was poured down, till the
still waters of the bay were torn up into a maelstrom of foam, "white
as the bitten lip of hate." But the calm resolution of the attacking
force was undisturbed. The fan-like formation of the escorting flotilla
opened out more widely, and the fireships, passing swiftly through,
drove straight into the devil's caldron in front of them. A mile away
stood the point for which they aimed, a mile charged every yard of it
with destruction and death. But setting their teeth dauntlessly, intent
only on gaining the fateful goal, the picked crews of the merchantmen
pressed forward upon their desperate errand.
[Sidenote: The Sacrifice of Fire]
At last they reached the harbor mouth. The leading steamer, the _Chiyo
Maru_, drove straight from the east side of the channel, heedless of
the terrible fire of which she was the central target. Everything was
ready; the anchor was dropped; the fuse was set; and swiftly but with
precision the crew slipped into the boats and made off. A moment later
a terrific explosion rent the ship from stem to stern, and down she
sank through the boiling waters.
[Sidenote: Heroic Hirose]
The next to take her position was the _Fukui Maru_, which, edging to
the port side of the _Chiyo Maru_, let go her anchor. Now occurred one
of the most heroic acts which had yet characterized the course of the
war--an act which for cool and devoted gallantry has never been
surpassed in the annals of European seamanship. Waiting until the
vessel was securely anchored, the boatswain, Sujino, went calmly down
to the magazine to light the fuse. Just at that moment the Russian
torpedo-boat _Silni_ approached and discharged a Whitehead torpedo,
which struck the _Fukui Maru_ full in the bows and tore a gaping hole
in her below the water-line. Sujino was killed, but his comrades on
deck were unaware of his fate. All they knew was that the Russians
themselves had done their work for them and that the vessel was
settling down on the very spot designed for its destruction by Admiral
Togo. Commander Hirose, therefore, ordered his men to take to the
boats, but before he left the ship himself he determined to find the
brave Sujino if possible and save him from death. The steamer was fast
sinking; the water was pouring in at her bows like a mill race; and she
was the target of a perfect tornado of fire from the forts; but the
gallant commander searched through her three times for the missing man
before he would give up the quest. At last it became clear that further
search was useless. The vessel was on the point of going down, and
reluctantly Hirose clambered into one of the boats. As the crew pushed
off the _Fukui Maru_ went down by the head. Success, however, was
dearly purchased. The delay had enabled the Russians to concentrate
their fire upon the boats with deadly effect. The chief victim himself
was Commander Hirose. A shell struck him on the head, carrying away the
greater part of his body, and leaving in the boat only a shapeless
fragment of torn and blackened flesh.
[Sidenote: Undaunted by Death]
In the meanwhile, the other steamers were taking up their stations in
the order provided beforehand. The _Yihiko Maru_, regardless of the
terrible fire from the forts, steamed in on the port side of the _Fukui
Maru_ and cast anchor in her turn. The fuse was duly set and lighted;
officers and crew set off in the boats; and the ship blew up like her
fellows and sank in the channel. Now came the opportunity of the fourth
and last of this devoted fleet, the _Yoneyama Maru_. The difficulties
of the channel and the violence of the enemy's fire led her to take a
devious course, but the skill with which she was steered excited
universal admiration. Her commander drove her through on the starboard
side of the sunken _Chiyo Maru_ and then she was compelled to turn back
and slip between that ship and the _Fukui Maru_. On her way she ran
right upon a Russian destroyer and engaged it at close quarters for a
few moments, but her duty was not to fight but to sink at a spot
selected. Escaping therefore, from the clutches of the enemy, she
rounded the _Fukui Maru_ and the _Yahiko Maru_ and finally brought up
in the very centre of the fairway. There her crew prepared to send her
to the bottom, and if the operation could have been carried out
successfully there can be little doubt that the whole enterprise would
have gained its object, and that the channel would, at least
temporarily, have been completely blocked. But the Russian
torpedo-boats were active. One of their deadly engines of destruction
struck the _Yoneyama Maru_ just as the crew were about to cast anchor,
and she drifted somewhat to the westward before she sank, her bow
pointing towards the Tiger's Tail. Her crew escaped safely, but this
accident left too wide a space between the _Yoneyama Maru_ and the
_Yahiko Maru_ to effect a total obstruction of the channel.
[Sidenote: Covering Themselves With Glory]
All this time the torpedo-boat and destroyer flotilla had been far from
idle. The destroyers consisted of the _Shirakumo_, _Kasumi_, _Asashio_,
_Akatsuki_, _Akebono_, _Oboro_, _Inayuma_, _Ikadsuchi_, _Usugomo_,
_Sayanami_, and _Shinonome_, while the torpedo-boats were the
following: the _Karigane_, _Aotaka_, _Misasagi_, _Tsubame_, _Managuru_,
and _Hato_. Several of these, it will be remembered, had already
covered themselves with glory in previous combats. On this occasion
they fully maintained their high reputation. The hot cannonade which
was directed from the fortress upon the fireships so far from deterring
the escorting vessels acted rather as an attraction to them, for while
one division of the flotilla stood by the doomed steamers in order to
pick up their crews, the other approached well within range of the
garrison artillery in order to divert its fire from the main operation
which was proceeding in the channel. Here it was that the _Silni_,
under Lieutenant Krinizki, came into contact with the Japanese
torpedo-boats. Without a moment's hesitation that gallant commander
engaged the whole six at once. The unequal combat could not be long
maintained, but it was fierce while it lasted. Lieutenant Krinizki
himself was wounded, Engineer Artificer Swyereff and six seamen were
killed and twelve other men were wounded. But still, the remainder
fought gallantry on till a shell burst one of the little vessel's steam
pipes and destroyed her steering-gear. Her power to continue in action
was gone, and she was beached upon the shore below Golden Hill.
The work of the Japanese expeditions was now done. The survivors of the
fireships were by this time all picked up and the several vessels of
the flotilla were concentrated and retired out to sea.
[Sidenote: Casualties Few But Terrible]
In this remarkable operation the Japanese lost in all four killed and
nine wounded. Of these latter Lieutenant Hatsuzo sustained very severe
injuries; the wounds of the others, including Lieutenant Masaki and
Engineer Awada, being of a slighter character. In the circumstances it
was surprising that the casualties were so few, and one more
illustration was given of the comparative impunity with which torpedo
attacks can be made in harbor under cover of night. The smallness,
however, of the Japanese losses in this species of fighting in the
present war, must, of course, be largely attributable to bad shooting
on the part of the Russian gunners, and it would be unwise to draw too
general a lesson from it.
[Illustration: DESOLATION IN MANCHURIA.]
[Sidenote: The Hero of Japan]
The most severe loss sustained by the Japanese was that of the gallant
Commander Hirose, whose death, while it inflamed his comrades with
pride, caused universal mourning. He had only recently been promoted
for the skill and courage which he had displayed in the previous
attempt to block the harbor. He was then in command of the _Hokoku
Maru_, and regardless of the appalling fire directed upon her, he
managed to rush his ship further than any of her companions up the
channel before he blew her up and sent her to the bottom. An act of
particularly cool, almost reckless, daring on his part on that occasion
was now fondly recalled by his men. The ship was sinking, she was the
target of all the Russian batteries, and the crew had taken refuge in
the boats; but Commander Hirose had forgotten something. It was nothing
less important than his sword, which he had left on the bridge. So, in
spite of the imminent peril of the situation, he coolly went back to
recover it, buckled it on, and escaped into the boat just in time, for
the ship went down a moment afterwards. Commander Hirose was well known
in naval circles in England, for he was a visitor to those shores a few
years before on business for the Japanese Admiralty, and had made many
friends. His remains were conveyed to Japan and accorded a public
funeral, and the Mikado only expressed the feelings of the whole nation
when he posthumously conferred upon the fallen hero the Order of the
Kite and the Order of the Rising Sun.
[Sidenote: Channel Still Unclosed]
The exact amount of obstruction caused in the channel by the sinking of
the fireships could not be ascertained. It is, however, apparent from
subsequent events that whatever inconvenience to navigation, temporary
or permanent, may have resulted, it was not sufficient to prevent the
passage of Admiral Makaroff's ships. At daybreak on the very morning of
the attack he led his whole fleet out and lined it up in the roadstead
in readiness to meet the Japanese fleet, which was in sight ten miles
out at sea. Seeing, however, that his enemy had no intention of coming
outside the range of the forts, Admiral Togo was not to be tempted
nearer, and retired with the whole of his force to the southward. For
several days he did not give any outward signs of activity, and his
ships were not sighted off Port Arthur, a fact which gave rise to the
impression that he was engaged in covering the transport of fresh
Japanese troops to the west coast of Korea. On the other hand, the
vigilance of Admiral Makaroff showed no indication of abating. On the
6th of April the steamer _Haimun_, specially chartered for the service
of the London _Times_, was overhauled by the cruiser _Bayan_ an at a
distance of thirty-five miles to the southeast of Port Arthur. A shot
fired across the _Haimun's_ bows brought her to, and two lieutenants
put off with a boat's crew and boarded her. The greatest politeness was
shown, and after an examination of the _Haimun's_ papers she was
allowed to proceed. The _Times'_ correspondent was able to observe that
the _Bayan_, which was flying the flag of the Admiral himself, showed
signs of injuries received in the recent fighting. Marks produced by
splinters of shell were visible all over her, and a large hole had been
rent in one of her smoke-stacks. This fact seems to bear out the story
published in the _Port Arthur Journal_ of the destruction wrought upon
the _Bayan_ by the high-angle fire of the Japanese in the bombardment
of the 10th of March. The correspondent added that the officers and men
who boarded his steamer "were a little fine drawn, but nevertheless
looked good material." Some indication can be gathered from this
statement of the strain which Admiral Togo's repeated attacks had
involved upon his opponents. The constant anxiety had necessarily begun
to tell upon the defending force, and many more than the officers and
crew of the _Bayan_ must have acquired that gaunt, tense appearance
that comes from a sense of ever-impending danger heightened by a past
experience of tragedy and disaster. No better illustration, indeed, of
the watchfulness entailed on the Russians by the perpetual menace of
their foe could be given than the case of Admiral Makaroff himself, who
sent the following telegram to the President of the War Relief Society
at Kronstadt on March 29th:--
"Last night was a very hot one, but we cannot hope for a very quiet
time now or in the near future. I sleep without undressing in order
that I maybe ready for any emergency. Consequently, I cannot observe
your medical advice to take care of myself; nevertheless, I feel
splendid."
[Sidenote: The Shadows of Fate]
These words were destined soon to receive a fulfilment more
heart-shaking than any that can have presented itself as possible to
the mind either of the writer of the letter or of its recipient. For
even then stern Fate was standing ready with the abhorred shears; the
shadows were gathering round the head of the devoted Makaroff; and his
weary watch, pursued so bravely, so unflinchingly, and, alas for him
and his country, so unavailingly, was moving swiftly towards its tragic
close.
[Sidenote: The Great Catastrophe]
For on April 13th the telegraph wires flashed all over the world the
news of a blow to Russia's might in the Far East, more appallingly
dramatic in its suddenness and more fatal in its consequences than any
that had yet befallen her in the preceding two months of bungling and
misfortune. The stunning intelligence was conveyed to the Czar in the
following telegram from Rear-Admiral Grigorovitch, Naval Commandant at
Port Arthur:--
"The battleship _Petropavlovsk_ struck a mine, which exploded and the
vessel capsized.
"Our squadron is lying under Golden Hill and the Japanese squadron is
approaching.
"Admiral Makaroff apparently perished with the _Petropavlovsk_.
"The Grand Duke Cyril, who was saved, was slightly wounded.
"I beg humbly to report to your Majesty that those saved from the
_Petropavlovsk_ up to the present are Grand Duke Cyril, six officers,
32 sailors, all wounded. The bodies of four officers, a surgeon, and 12
sailors have been found.
"The Japanese fleet has disappeared. Details will be supplied by
Rear-Admiral Prince Ukhtomsky, who has assumed provisional command of
the fleet."
Swiftly upon the track of this first message there followed the brief
account of a further disaster, which placed another of Russia's finest
battleships _hors de combat_. Prince Ukhtomsky telegraphed that "during
some manoeuvring of the battleship squadron, the _Pobieda_ was struck
by a mine amidships on the starboard side. She was able to gain the
port by herself and none on board were killed or wounded."
[Illustration: BLOWING UP OF THE PETROPAVLOVSK.]
[Sidenote: The Story of the "Petropavlovsk"]
The news of this fearful _debacle_ created a paralyzing effect in
official circles at St. Petersburg, and spread consternation among
Russia's sympathizers throughout Europe. The first brief reports left
room for speculation as to the cause of the disaster, and an accident
was conjectured such as that which had destroyed the _Yenesei_; but the
later accounts and the dispatches of Admiral Togo to his Government
speedily put the real facts beyond doubt. It then became known to the
world that Admiral Makaroff had fallen a victim to the deeply-laid
plans of his brilliant adversary, and, moreover, that the whole Russian
fleet had only narrowly escaped capture or complete destruction. The
story of the operations which practically gave the _coup de grace_ to
the Czar's maritime power in the Far East is a remarkable one. It shows
what a revolutionary effect the discoveries of modern science have had
upon naval warfare, and it proves, too, how completely the lessons of
that science have been assimilated by the Japanese.
On the 11th of April Admiral Makaroff, still pursuing his policy of
activity, took the whole of his effective squadron out to sea, for a
distance of six miles to the south of Port Arthur and exercised it in
manoeuvres. No sign of the enemy was perceived, and the fleet
returned to the harbor in safety.
[Sidenote: A Double Trap]
But Admiral Togo was not far away. Despairing of ordinary means of
tempting Admiral Makaroff into the open to meet his more powerful
fleet, he was preparing a double trap in which to catch his wary foe.
He hoped, by the display of a markedly inferior force, to entice him
beyond the range of the forts and then rush in with his battleships and
capture or destroy the whole of the Russian fleet. But in the event of
failure in this manoeuvre, he had ready another scheme. The course
taken by the Russian ships on leaving and returning to the harbor on
the occasion of the frequent excursions which they had made of late had
been carefully noted by the Japanese officers, and Togo had determined
to mine the passage extensively, so that even if the enemy eluded a
decisive battle at sea, he still hoped to do damage to their ships by
driving them in the hurry and confusion of a headlong flight upon the
hidden perils of his mine field. As it turned out, this part of his
plan succeeded, and the result was probably even more startlingly
effective than he expected; but it was only by a mere chance, as
already mentioned, that the other and grander portion of his scheme
failed of realization. If he had managed to interpose his powerful
fleet between the Russian Squadron and Port Arthur, there can be little
doubt that, although he himself would probably have sustained some
severe losses, the Czar's naval force in the Pacific, already weakened
by its former disasters, would have been practically eliminated. As it
was, indeed, the success he attained was sufficiently striking. By it
he secured the decisive supremacy of the sea in the Gulf of Pechili,
and rendered possible at last the important movements on land which the
strategists at Tokio were waiting to initiate.
[Sidenote: Captain Oda and His Mines]
The arrangements of the Japanese were carried out with their usual
thoroughness. At midnight on the 12th of April, the fourth and fifth
destroyer flotillas and the fourteenth torpedo flotilla reached Port
Arthur roadstead, having with them under escort the mining ship, the
_Koryo Maru_. The _Koryo Maru_ was a new vessel of 2,700 tons burden,
specially constructed for torpedo and mining work. Captain Oda, the
officer in command, was one of the ablest experts in this branch of
warfare in the Japanese navy, and he had only recently been decorated
for his distinguished services. He had invented a new type of mine of a
particularly deadly description, and it was now to be tried for the
first time in actual warlike operations. The work of laying the mines
was entered upon without delay, and with all the customary daring and
resource exhibited by the Mikado's sailors in this dangerous class of
service. Notwithstanding the relentless glare of the searchlights,
which threw the vessel into strong relief and made her the target for
two hundred guns, Captain Oda and his men calmly went about their work
unheeding. The torpedo-boats and destroyers in the meantime took up a
position on the flanks of the _Koryo_ and endeavored to attract the
fire of the fortress to themselves, while their escort was doing her
deadly work unsuspected. The enterprise was aided by a renewal of the
extraordinary feebleness and lack of skill which had so often been
characteristic of the Russian defense in the past. Not only were the
garrison gunners unable to hit the mark so plainly presented to them,
but the torpedo flotilla, which, despite its recent losses, still
constituted a formidable force, did nothing to interfere with
operations which threatened so vitally the safety of the fleet. Even
Admiral Makaroff seems to have been at fault on this occasion. It is
almost inconceivable that the true nature of the _Koryo's_ proceedings
was not guessed by him, and that the most active measures were not
taken to put a stop to them. Whatever may have been the reason,
however, nothing effective was done, and Captain Oda was able to
complete his work unharmed in spite of the shells which were churning
up the water all round him. It must be remembered, nevertheless, that
the immunity which the _Koryo_ actually enjoyed is no measure of the
risk that she ran. No more heroic and devoted act illumines the long
history of naval warfare than the laying of these mines close to the
harbor, and under the full fire of the enemy's guns, any one of whose
missiles, by exploding the dangerous cargo, might have sent the ship to
destruction in a moment. But, as it turned out, the _Koryo_ was saved
by the bad gunnery of the Russians, and having performed his duty well
and thoroughly, Captain Oda withdrew to the open sea.
[Sidenote: "Bayan" to the Rescue]
In the meanwhile, the torpedo-boats and destroyers, besides distracting
the attention of the defending force from the work of the mine
transport, were engaged in more active operations on their own account.
At dawn the second division fell in with one of the enemy's destroyers,
the _Strashni_, which was creeping stealthily towards the harbor mouth
from the direction of Dalny. The Japanese were on her track in a
moment, and, cutting off her retreat, bombarded her with their
6-pounders, until in a few minutes she became a total wreck and sank.
An attempt was made to save her crew, but the work of rescue was
interrupted by the appearance on the scene of the Russian cruiser
_Bayan_. Admiral Togo's destroyers sheered off upon the approach of
this formidable adversary, and left to her the task of picking up the
drowning men, but the _Bayan_ was too late to be of much service, and
only five men could be recovered. At about the same time as this
incident, a second Russian destroyer was encountered by the Japanese
coming from the direction of Liau-tie-shan. A strong effort was made to
capture her, but she was more fortunate than the _Strashni_, and
managed to escape to Port Arthur in safety.
[Sidenote: Preparing an Ambush]
But now began the larger and more important operations which were
destined to end so disastrously for Admiral Marakoff and his fleet.
Admiral Togo had ordered a weak squadron, consisting of the first-class
cruisers _Tokiwa_ and _Asama_ and four second-class cruisers, to act as
a support to the destroyers, if attacked, and at the same time to serve
as a lure to the Russians, and tempt them away from the protection of
Port Arthur. He, himself, with his main fleet, lay in hiding thirty
miles away to the southeast, waiting for an opportunity to dash in and
cut off Makaroff's retreat. The day was not unsuitable for such an
enterprise. Rain was falling, and a mist hung heavy over the sea,
disguising the smoke of his great warships.
[Illustration: ARRIVAL OF A DISPATCH FOR GENERAL KUROPATKIN.]
[Sidenote: Makaroff Lured Out]
By eight o'clock on the morning of the 13th, the Japanese cruiser
squadron appeared on the offing and engaged in a long-range fire with
the _Bayan_, which had not returned to the harbor. Admiral Makaroff,
seeing the smallness of the force opposed to him, gave the order to his
fleet to steam out in column formation and attack the venturesome
enemy. Hoisting his flag on the _Petropavlovsk_, the Russian
Commander-in-Chief led the way himself, followed by the battleships
_Poltava_ and _Pobieda_, the cruisers _Diana_, _Askold_, and _Novik_,
and the destroyer flotilla. In the roadstead the fleet was joined by
the _Bayan_, and the whole force then set forth majestically to engage
the Japanese.
[Sidenote: Cutting Off the Unwary]
But the orders of Admiral Togo were well observed by Admiral Dewa,
commander of the cruiser squadron. Gradually the Japanese began to
retire before the superior force opposed to them, drawing Makaroff
onwards, further and further out to sea. The Russian fleet began a hot
fire at long range, to which the Japanese ships replied at intervals,
just sufficiently to keep their opponents occupied and to lure them on
to greater efforts by the display of a manifest disparity of strength.
By this skillful manoeuvring they succeeded in enticing Makaroff out
a distance of fifteen miles to the southeast of Port Arthur. Now was
the time to communicate with Admiral Togo. Wireless telegraphy flashed
the news of the success of the ruse to the Commander-in-Chief. His
great battleships were waiting with steam up and cleared for action.
Directly he received the message from the retreating squadron he
signalled to the new cruisers, the _Nisshin_ and _Kasuga_, to join him,
and then advanced at full speed with eight powerful vessels to cut off
the unwary Russians.
[Sidenote: Weather Permitting]
The plan had been well laid and it seemed on the brink of success, but
that incalculable factor, the weather, intervened and brought Togo's
calculations to naught. The wind suddenly freshened, and, blowing away
the mist under cover of which the Japanese men-of-war were approaching,
disclosed the smoke of their funnels to Admiral Makaroff. In a flash he
saw the trap into which he had nearly led his fleet, and gave orders to
retreat to Port Arthur with all haste. Back, therefore, the Russians
scurried with the Japanese in full cry at their heels. Steam as they
might Togo's ships were too late to catch their enemy, and great must
have been the disappointment of the gallant Admiral and his men when
they saw the prey slip from their grasp. But the curtain had not yet
fallen upon the drama. Makaroff's ships had emerged from Port Arthur
and passed over the mine field in safety; by a singular stroke of luck
they had eluded the Japanese battle fleet, but they had still a third
danger to encounter--they had once more to pass over the deadly engines
of war which Captain Oda had placed in their path. And here it was that
the blow fell.
[Sidenote: Into the Jaws of Death]
By about half-past nine the fleet, with the _Petropavlovsk_ at its head
regained the roadstead and the protection of the fortress guns.
Signalling to the torpedo flotilla to enter the harbor, Admiral
Makaroff turned his own vessel towards the east and ordered the
cruisers to follow him. The battleship _Pobieda_ was to the stern of
the _Petropavlovsk_, on the starboard quarter. Close behind her again
came the _Poltava_. The Commander-in-Chief was on the bridge of his
ship with the Grand Duke Cyril, son of the Grand Duke Vladmir, and
cousin of the Czar; Captain Yakovleff, and some other officers.
Suddenly the horrified spectators on shore saw a great white column of
foam rise on the right side of the _Petropavlovsk_. A dull report was
heard, followed by another and more terrific explosion under the
bridge. A huge thick cloud of greenish yellow smoke rose around the
doomed vessel, a topmast, a funnel, a turret and the bridge were hurled
into the air, and the huge monster heeled over on her starboard side.
Her poop rose up, showing the propeller working in the air. Fire burst
out in every part, and in a moment the ship was a mass of flame. A few
seconds more and the whole fearful spectacle was torn from the eyes of
the paralyzed onlookers, for with a tremendous lurch the vessel turned
further on her side, the waters rushed in upon her in torrents, and
with a roar and a hiss the mighty mass plunged beneath the foaming
surface of the sea. The _Petropavlovsk_ had gone to her death carrying
with her the gallant Admiral himself, his staff, and full six hundred
officers and men.
[Sidenote: Haphazard Fire]
This terrible catastrophe threw the whole squadron into the utmost
confusion. The other ships began a rapid haphazard fire in all
directions to destroy the mines which they knew lurked in every
direction, but their shots were purposeless; there was no mark at which
to aim, and no effect was produced. And then, to carry further dismay
to the already nerve-shaken fleet, a mine exploded on the starboard
side of the _Pobieda_. She listed at once, but her fate was happier
than that of the _Petropavlovsk_. No second explosion followed; the
watertight bulkheads were shut to, and sorely wounded though she was
she managed to keep afloat and to crawl into the harbor with the
cruisers crowding behind her.
[Sidenote: Rescue Work]
The _Poltava_ in the meanwhile had remained upon the scene of the
disaster, and her boats put out to save any of the crew of the flagship
who could be found. In this work they were aided by the torpedo gunboat
_Gaidamak_, and their combined efforts succeeded in rescuing the Grand
Duke Cyril, seven officers, and seventy-three seamen. These were the
only survivors.
[Sidenote: The Character of the Explosion]
The difference in the effect of the mine explosions upon the
_Petropavlovsk_ and the _Pobieda_ was due to causes which could not
have been foreseen. The terrible character of the disaster which befell
the flagship was due to the fact that the mine exploded underneath her
boilers, and that when these burst the explosion of the ammunition
magazine, which was in the same part of the ship, immediately followed.
The whole affair was over in less than a minute and a half. On the
other hand, the explosion at the side of the _Pobieda_ did not touch
the boilers, and seriously--indeed for the purposes of immediate
warfare, irremediable--damaged as she was, the same appalling results
did not follow in her case as in the other.
[Sidenote: Accounts by Survivors]
The accounts of the survivors of the _Petropavlovsk_ all confirm this
view. But so swift indeed was the tragedy that there was not much time
or opportunity for the formation of correct conclusions upon this or
upon any point. The narratives of the men who were picked up were of
the kind usually met with on the occasion of a sudden catastrophe. They
were mainly confined to their own personal experiences and miraculous
escape. Upon the memories of some, however, certain outstanding
incidents were sharply and indelibly photographed. One of the last
things which a signalman saw upon the bridge before he was hurled off
was the figure of an officer lying weltering in his blood. It was
Admiral Makaroff himself. Captain Yakovleff, the commander of the
vessel, was hurled against a stanchion with such force that he was
thought to be killed, but he was afterwards picked up alive. The Grand
Duke Cyril had an escape just as marvelous. He, too, was knocked on the
head, but he was not rendered unconscious, and when he was thrown into
the sea he fell clear of the sinking vessel. He was an excellent
swimmer, and in spite of the shock and injury he had sustained, he
managed to keep afloat until he was picked up. Rear-Admiral Molas,
Makaroff's chief of staff, was in his cabin when the explosion
occurred, and was drowned. His body was one of the few that were
afterwards washed ashore. Another picture which some of the survivors
retained in their mind was that of "an old man with a beautiful white
beard," who was standing on the deck just before the disaster with a
book in his hand sketching. This was the famous war artist,
Verestchagin. Only that morning his friend Makaroff had invited him to
share the hospitality of the flagship and so gain further material for
his realistic pictures of the horrors of war!
[Sidenote: Tribute from the Japanese]
The full magnitude of the success which his plans had gained was not
revealed to the Japanese Admiral till the Russian dispatches made it
public to the world. He saw a vessel, as he phrased it, "of the
_Petropavlovsk_ type" strike a mine and sink, and he thought also that
another ship--he was referring to the _Pobieda_--lost freedom of
movement; but he did not know that with the _Petropavlovsk_ perished
the brain of the Russian defence, a brain which, if it had been
employed from the first by its master, the Czar, might have given a
totally different character to the war. The death of Makaroff in itself
brought no rejoicing to the Japanese in their hour of victory, but only
that feeling of almost personal sorrow which brave and chivalrous men
feel for the death of a gallant foe. No finer or more generous tributes
indeed could have been paid even in the western world than were paid to
the memory of the brave but unfortunate Makaroff by the members of this
so-called yellow race.
[Sidenote: On Land]
On the 14th Admiral Togo once more brought his fleet before Port
Arthur, and by means of an indirect bombardment, silenced the new forts
on Liau-tie-shan. He then retired again to prepare for a further
attempt to cork up the harbor, which should finally reduce the Russian
fleet to a state of ineffectiveness, and leave the sea clear for the
transport of the great army which was to be launched against the
Liao-tung Peninsula and southern Manchuria. Already General Kuroki,
with the First Army, was encamped on the south bank of the Yalu River
prepared for an advance upon the Russian position at Khiu-lien-cheng.
[Sidenote: Chong-Ju]
But before dealing with the momentous events which now occurred in
rapid succession, both on land and sea, it will be necessary to return
for a few moments to the earlier fortunes of the First Army, whose
advance through Korea as far as Ping-Yang was described in Chapter III.
It will be remembered that a small skirmish took place between Russian
and Japanese patrols to the north of that town on February 28th. A
month elapsed before the opposing forces came seriously into touch with
one another again. During that period General Kuroki slowly but
steadily continued his advance in the face of terrible difficulties
arising from the weather and the state of the roads. The mud on these
north Korean highways in the spring makes them almost impassable, but
the Japanese had thought of everything, and brought large supplies of
wood with which they practically relaid the road, and made it admit
even of the passage of heavy artillery. The Cossack patrols retired
before this persistent advance, and no real attempt to dispute it was
made till the vanguard of the Japanese neared Chong-ju, a little town
about thirty miles north of Anju and fifty south of Wiju. Here, on
March 28th, they found six squadrons of Cossacks belonging to General
Mishtchenko's Brigade, posted on an adjacent hill, prepared to dispute
the forward movement. A brisk engagement ensued. The small force of
Japanese which first appeared upon the scene, according to the
testimony of General Mishtchenko himself, gallantly held their ground
in spite of the commanding position occupied by the Russians and the
raking cross fire which they maintained, and it was only after half an
hour of fierce fighting that they gave way and fell back upon their
supports which were hastening to the front. Reinforcements now rapidly
arrived, and the Russians, finding their position untenable, retired
along the road to the north, yielding up possession of the town to the
Japanese. In this smart little affair the Russians, according to their
account, lost three killed and twelve wounded, the Japanese casualties
amounting to five killed, including one officer, and twelve wounded,
including two officers.
[Sidenote: The Advance to the North]
After the capture of Chong-ju General Kuroki moved forward rapidly,
finding no resistance. On April 2nd he occupied Syoush-kou, a place
eighteen miles west of Chong-ju, and forty miles south of Wiju, and two
days afterwards his scouts entered Wiju itself, an important town on
the south bank of the Yalu. The Russians did not find themselves strong
enough to oppose the Japanese advance in Korea, and determined instead
to resist it on the north bank of the Yalu. General Kuroki therefore
occupied Wiju without firing a shot, and set to work busily to
consolidate his forces for the great enterprise of crossing the Yalu.
[Sidenote: Concentration of Troops]
The month of April was occupied by General Kuroki in the steady
concentration of his troops and in the collection of war material.
Pontoons were conveyed to the front in readiness for the operation of
forcing the river; heavy guns were transported over the Korean roads
with, in the circumstances, really marvelous rapidity; and masses of
cavalry and infantry arrived at Wiju every day. By the end of the month
the First Japanese Army had been brought up to its full strength,
amounting probably to between 60,000 and 70,000 men of all arms. It was
divided into three divisions, the 12th, the 2nd and the Guards. The
12th Division, it will be remembered, was the first section of the army
to put foot on Korean soil, being landed at Chemulpo during the first
days of the war, after the destruction of the _Varyag_ had left that
part of the coast clear for the Japanese disembarkation. It may be well
to record its composition exactly, as it is typical of all the Japanese
divisions. It was made up as follows:--Infantry, 12,000 (four regiments
of three battalions each); cavalry, 500 (one regiment); artillery, 900
(one regiment, 36 guns, two field batteries, two mountain batteries);
engineers, 700; transport corps, 600; hospital corps, 700; ammunition
column, 500; post office corps, veterinary corps, pontoon corps and
balloon corps, 1,000; total, 16,900. Attached to these combatant troops
were a force of 5,500 coolies for transport purposes, bringing the
grand total of the division, combatant and non-combatant, up to 22,400.
The whole was under the command of Lieutenant-General Inouye, whose
chief subordinates were Major-Generals Kigoshi and Otani.
[Illustration: RUSSIAN CONCENTRATION ON THE YALU.]
[Sidenote: Kuroki's Line of Front]
As his army arrived at the front, General Kuroki began gradually to
occupy a wider front on the south bank of the Yalu, his left wing
operating at the mouth of the river in conjunction with a naval force
under the command of Admiral Hosoya, and his right extending to a
distance of twenty or twenty-five miles up the river, past Sukuchin.
[Sidenote: The Russian Position]
While the Japanese were thus concentrating on the left bank of the Yalu
the Russians were gradually strengthening their positions on the right
bank, the centre and key of which was formed by the village of
Kiu-lien-cheng. During all these weeks the greatest secrecy was
observed on both sides in regard to their numbers and dispositions--as
far, at least, as the outside world was concerned. It seems probable
from after events that the Russians themselves were largely ignorant of
the strength of the force which General Kuroki had at his disposal;
but, on the other hand, that able commander appears to have been
thoroughly well informed in every detail as to the position occupied by
his enemy. There was the greatest diversity of statement on the Russian
side after the battle of the Yalu upon the question of the real
intentions of General Kuropatkin in holding as he did the right bank of
the river. When the disastrous result of the conflict of May 1st became
known in Europe the friends of the Commander-in-Chief in the press
declared that it was due to the failure of the officer in immediate
command, General Sassulitch, to follow his instructions, which were to
offer only a strategical resistance to the enemy and to withdraw slowly
before the advance of a superior force upon Feng-haung-cheng, a
position about thirty miles distant upon the Liau-yang road. If this
explanation is correct, the activity shown by the Russians for weeks in
constructing earthworks on the heights around Kiu-lien-cheng is
rendered very remarkable, and equally difficult to understand is the
size and importance of the force to which was apportioned the task of
thus keeping in touch with the advancing Japanese army and conducting a
mere strategic defeat. For General Sassulitch was commander of the 2nd
Siberian Army Corps, and though the actual body of troops engaged in
the fighting-line in resisting the passage of the Yalu by the Japanese
did not amount to that strength, there is no doubt that General
Sassulitch had under him in the near neighborhood a force of not less
than 30,000 men. All the evidence, in fact, points to the conclusion
that the Russian Generals, including the Commander-in-Chief himself,
wholly underestimated the fighting power of the Japanese and the skill
with which they would be led when the opposing armies came to close
quarters.
[Sidenote: Russian Confidence]
The kind of talk which responsible military men in St. Petersburg
indulged in before the battle of the Yalu all goes to strengthen this
impression. On April 25th, the day before General Kuroki began that
series of movements which were to culminate in his crossing the Yalu
and driving the Russians before him in headlong rout, there appeared in
the _Echo de Paris_ the report of an interview which its St. Petersburg
correspondent had had with Colonel Vannovsky, of the Russian General
Staff, and formerly military attache in Japan. The utterances of this
sapient officer are amusing reading in view of what happened so shortly
afterwards. He thought it would still be some time before serious
military operations could begin on the Yalu, for the Japanese, in his
opinion, were far from having completed their concentration in Korea.
They probably, he said, had three divisions of from 12,000 to 15,000
men between Ping-Yang and the Yalu; and, including the Second Army then
disembarking, they had not more than 85,000 men near the front. Then
followed a valuable criticism of General Kuroki and his colleague,
General Oku, the commander of the Second Army. Both, he reminded the
interviewer, served in the Chino-Japanese War; but "he looked for
nothing extraordinary from them, both were more than sixty years of
age." On the whole, he thought that the Japanese would establish
themselves in Korea; if they crossed the Yalu it would be only to
satisfy public opinion at Tokio. Colonel Vannovsky soon had reason to
be sorry that he had spoken so disdainfully of General Kuroki, and with
such sublime assurance of the Japanese plans. If the crossing of the
Yalu was mainly dictated by a desire to satisfy public opinion at
Tokio, it must be said that public opinion at Tokio had its wishes very
amply gratified before many days had expired. It is a remarkable fact
that in the history of nearly every war the greatest disasters follow
the greatest self-confidence. And yet it can easily be understood how
the armies that had proved successful against those famous fighters the
Turks in the war of the seventies should despise the little dwarfish
Japanese, who had hitherto only faced the undisciplined hordes of China.