STÖSSEL HOIST BY HIS OWN PETARD
The following order (No. 439) was published on the 29th by General
Stössel:
'To-day the enemy attacked the position held by the 13th East
Siberian Rifle Regiment and 4th Reserve Battalion in force, and
crept up on to Wolf's Hills, but were hurled back by our guns.
Nevertheless, it was impossible for us to hold the position longer,
owing to the lack of frontal communications and the number of
ravines, which made the enemy's advance easier, and another position
has been taken up from Pan-lun-shan, through Temple and Water-Supply
Redoubts.'
From this order it might be imagined that the enemy had been defeated,
and that we had evacuated Wolf's Hills of our own accord, merely to
occupy a new and more advantageous line. That we had retired, badly
pressed by the enemy and in complete disorder, does not admit of the
slightest doubt.
Had Stössel only conceived what was really in store for Port Arthur,
instead of being so firmly convinced that speedy relief was coming
from the north, he would by now have been with the 3rd Siberian Corps
awaiting him up there. He had received a telegram from Kuropatkin,
dated June 18, in which he was ordered immediately to hand over the
command to Smirnoff, and to leave Port Arthur in a cruiser. Had he
obeyed this order, it would have meant disgrace; on the other hand,
if he stayed even in defiance of orders, there was reason to suspect
that one victory over the enemy would have reinstated him. He stayed.
It was certain that some of the assaults before the relief would be
repulsed, and for this he wished to obtain the credit; by that time
Kuropatkin would arrive--a month earlier or later would not matter--and
would relieve the besieged town. Once that happened, Stössel would be
the saviour of Port Arthur. He would have succeeded in defending the
Fortress, and no blame of his actions would get a hearing. Nothing
succeeds like success.
On the 31st Stössel issued two interesting orders:
'The enemy is landing considerable numbers of troops from ten ships
hidden in Louisa Bay, whence they are marching through the water to
Pigeon Bay. Apparently they mean to attack the western front. From
a letter found on a dead Japanese officer, it is evident that they
intend, if possible, to take Port Arthur by August 10. I presume they
will attempt an assault. I am convinced that the gallantry of the
brave men under my command will repulse the enemy.'
In this order it will be noticed that a more humble tone was adopted.
Stössel was convinced that the assault would be on the western front of
Angle Hills and Liao-tieh-shan, and he set to work to build Fort No. 6,
at enormous cost.
The second order (No. 441) read:
'Commanding Officers and Officers! we are now standing in front
of the Fortress, on the last of the previously fortified advanced
positions....'
He and General Fock always thought that Angle Hill was not an advanced
position of the Fortress, but was quite outside of it. With the
original impracticable polygon of the Fortress--not in the least
corresponding to the conditions of the ground--the fortification of
Angle Hill, as a position of the enceinte, was a necessity. A glance
at the map will at once show that 203 Metre Hill, and then Angle Hill,
literally cry aloud to be fortified carefully and with permanent
works. On the latter should have been a permanent fort, on the former
fortifications of strong profile.
As a matter of fact, on Angle Hill we only succeeded in tracing out
fortifications for a weak armament, while on to 203 Metre Hill a road
was made, and materials and guns were taken up. It should be remembered
that it was Velichko himself, one of the most noted military engineers
in Russia, who drew out plans for the original polygon. To return to
the order:
'... Remember what this means. It means that you must at all costs
check the enemy, and not let him reach the forts of the Fortress.
I have reason to believe that they will attack over the open in
order to gain time, which for them, is all-important. The assault
must be repulsed. It will fall on the advanced positions, and you,
gentlemen, on these positions must not for a moment dream of letting
them break through, though the assault be, as is probable, at night.
You must remain at your posts alive or dead. You must hold the enemy
till dawn; if they do not retire then the Fortress will finish them.
Remember that you are glorious Russian soldiers.'
General Stössel was of opinion that his troops had not yet come within
the confines of the Fortress, and were holding the last positions
outside it. This order was, therefore, a District Order. As a matter
of fact, with the loss of Wolf's Hills the investment of the Fortress
proper had begun, and by the Regulations for the Guidance of Commanders
of Fortresses the _Commandant of the Fortress_ was now in supreme
command. Accordingly, Stössel, having given up his district, and
retired with his force within the enceinte of Port Arthur, should have
been subordinate to the Commandant. The Commandant of the Fortress,
Smirnoff, imagining that, from the moment the troops entered into
the Fortress he was in sole command, issued an order on July 31,
which, in conjunction with what General Stössel had written, gave the
impression that we had two commanders in the one fortress. It was a bad
omen. Stössel considered that he was still operating in the district;
Smirnoff, considering that Angle Hill, Ta-ku-shan, and Sia-gu-shan
were the advanced positions of the Fortress proper, assumed that the
blockade had begun, and therefore that all the troops were subordinate
to him. On reading the order issued by Stössel, Smirnoff protested, but
not very forcibly. Why? Because he had not the smallest idea that a
telegram (that of June 18) from the Commander-in-Chief had been hidden
from him, or that Stössel had been ordered to leave Arthur and hand
over the command to him.
Stössel was now in rather a quandary. He still hoped, of course, that
Kuropatkin would listen to and grant his petition,[14] or at least give
consent by silence; but at the same time he knew that, in the event of
Kuropatkin's original order being confirmed, there was an end to his
dream of glory, for he would have to leave Port Arthur in disgrace. If
a grand attack, however, should occur while he retained command, and be
repulsed, he would be saved. So, characteristically, he now after this
protest began to 'hedge' and make friends with Smirnoff. He visited the
latter, and said openly: 'Well, my duty is over now. It is for you to
act, and I won't interfere with you in any way. The whole defence is
absolutely in your hands.'
Smirnoff, in ignorance of the hidden telegram, had every reason to
believe in Stössel's sincerity. It never, of course, entered his head
that the other was playing a waiting game. Every one was convinced
that when the news of the rapid loss of the district which had been
entrusted to Stössel reached the Commander-in-Chief and St. Petersburg,
he would be shorn of all authority, and everything would be given into
General Smirnoff's hands. Every one was also certain that, once the
'District' ceased to exist and its troops came into the Fortress, they
came under the direct orders of the Commandant, and therefore Stössel,
having neither district nor troops, had no power. Besides the simple
logical issue, there was another and more material reason for supposing
that Smirnoff, with the cessation of operations in the district, would
assume complete control: this was based on an article in the military
regulations, in which it is laid down that the Commandant of a besieged
fortress must not subordinate himself to the Commander-in-Chief
of the field army, but must act as he thinks best--as the person
most conversant with the defence of the fortress. Unluckily in our
particular case, thanks to the complicated circumstances, to this
paragraph was added a rider--an Imperial order, which clearly defined
that the Commandant of Port Arthur was subordinate to the Officer
Commanding the District; but, of course, when this was written it was
only intended to mean _before_ the commencement of military operations.
Stössel and his Chief of the Staff were unable to justify any part
for themselves to play in the Fortress once the district had ceased
to exist: they appeared in it as stars, and, as there was already a
Commandant and a Staff existing, they did not know what to do. They
well knew that they were not competent to conduct its defence. While
waiting for the Commander-in-Chief's answer, they busied themselves
with writing the most voluminous orders, which, if things went right
for them, would be conclusive evidence of the minute care with which
they had gone into every detail of the defence.
At last, with the close investment, the time had come when General
Smirnoff could speak with the authority of the commandant of a besieged
fortress; the moment had come when he should free himself for ever
from Stössel's encroachment and attempts to usurp his authority.
Though he knew nothing of the concealed telegram, yet, as the absolute
master of the Fortress, being well aware of the work done by the 'band
of heroes,' and therefore of the demoralizing and harmful influence
exercised by the Generals in the defence, he ought to have stated
categorically in Orders that, in accordance with the regulations, he
had assumed sole command, and that any harmful interference in the
sphere of his duties or authority, or any encroachment on them, would
be tried according to military law in the field, and reported to the
Commander-in-Chief. General Smirnoff did not do this. Notwithstanding
his great strength of will and firmness, he was a true Slav. With all
his brilliant qualities as a strategist, tactician, and administrator,
he had not sufficient decision to run counter to an Imperial order--the
order which had placed him subordinate to Stössel. Though he never
lost his head in the most difficult crisis, and impressed every one
by his coolness and presence of mind, yet he could not decide to take
this all-important step--a step which would have spared Russia the
shame of the premature capitulation. He let the present opportunity
slip, and subsequent events, which unexpectedly developed, tied his
hands. Later he was powerless to control Stössel; then the only thing
left was to arrest him and Fock just before the surrender. He failed
at the critical moment to play his cards properly, and for his lack of
decision paid bitterly.
And so Wolf's Hills had passed into the possession of the enemy.
With glasses numbers of them could be seen constructing batteries.
Ta-ku-shan and Sia-gu-shan could not long hold out, being liable to be
shelled from front and flank from Wolf's Hills. The operations on the
advanced positions were over, and the enemy had reached the forts.
FOOTNOTES:
[Footnote 14: See p. 174.]