OUR SECOND ATTACK ON TA-KU-SHAN--A FLAG OF TRUCE
The daily land bombardment of the town and port made every one
extremely jumpy; for after our fleet's return it seemed likely that the
Japanese would again bombard us from the sea, and then our position
would not be enviable. There is nothing worse than uncertainty, and it
was horrible work wait, wait, waiting, for decisive events, not knowing
how, when, or where they would happen.
On August 11 I again accompanied Smirnoff--who was much depressed
by the events of the previous day--on his tour of the defences, and
witnessed from B battery our second attempt to recapture Ta-ku-shan and
Sia-gu-shan. As before, far too small a number of men were told off for
this attack, and, to make matters worse, by the time they had reached
the foot of the hill they took the wrong direction. Smirnoff watched
the failure of this second attack in silence, but his brow was black,
for it was indeed a comedy that was being enacted before us. Was it
wise to attack such high, precipitous hills with the fewest possible
men, when the veriest tyro in military science knew that hills of such
importance to us would be held to the last by the enemy? While this
foolery went on the Japanese steadily pounded the town and port.
At daybreak on the 12th the bombardment of Angle Hill and a gradual
advance of the enemy towards it commenced. Smirnoff placed Kondratenko
in command of the western front, while Fock was appointed to command
the general reserve. He himself, being convinced that the Japanese,
forcing the points on Angle Hill, would sooner or later deliver their
main assault on the salient angle of the north-east front, turned all
his attention to it and to 203 Metre Hill on the west. Meanwhile,
General Stössel seemed to be chiefly impressed with the importance of
not tiring the men. His anxiety on this account was evinced by his
order of August 12:
'A tired soldier is always sleepy and dull. Men are not to be
employed on fatigue for more than five hours in the twenty-four.'
At this time the enemy were putting the last touches to the iron ring
which was being welded round the Fortress, and their batteries were
daily growing, while our defences were far from ready. If our men were
compelled to work hard, it was necessary. They dug, dug, dug without
end in the stony soil, but they did it that they might the more easily
be able to repulse the assaults, and that they might get protection
from the rain of iron and steel which during the five long months was
to be showered on them with such wonderful generosity. This was no
time to think of resting: every moment was precious. The men realized
it, and delved ceaselessly, willingly, knowing that the deeper the
trenches, the better it would be for them. But General Stössel's order
had the evil effect on their spirit that might have been expected; for,
after it, when men were urgently wanted for working-parties, their
commanding officers took advantage of it to protest direct to Stössel
that they were being overworked.
General Smirnoff was much dissatisfied at this period with the
fortification and work on 203 Metre Hill. This hill, which was
destined to play such a fateful rôle in the defence of Arthur, was in
the salient angle of the western front, and its top, commanding the
surrounding heights, overlooked the Fortress, the inner harbour, port,
town outer Roads, and the distant sea; yet it was armed only with four
6-inch guns. There were no masonry casements or earth bomb-proofs, and
protection against the fire of 6-inch and 11-inch guns was given by
sand-bags, stones, earth, and dry cement. The guns had been mounted at
the beginning of the campaign, and no strong batteries to protect the
garrison from the effect of 11-inch shells had been made; now only one
thing could be done--that was to dig caves into the hill.
About midday on the 13th a balloon soared up above Wolf's Hills, and
our nearest batteries at once opened fire on it with shrapnel. Whether
we made a hit or not it was impossible to say; but after being about
half an hour in the air it descended quickly. Chinese spies stated that
officers of the Japanese General Staff were making a reconnaissance in
it, and had taken some photographs of the Fortress, for General Nogi
was surprised at meeting with opposition at so many points which had
not been fortified before the war, and which were not shown so in the
plans in his possession. The works which checked him, after Smirnoff
had been five months in the place, were very probably a considerable
surprise.
We had no balloons in the Fortress, nor had we pigeons or wireless
telegraphy! No station was rigged up there, and therefore
communications were not established.
On the night of August 13 the Japanese attacked Orphan Hill, but were
driven back.
As I went round the defences almost every day, I marvelled to see the
healthy, happy look of the men, who all looked as if the work agreed
with them. Since the beginning of the strict blockade the officers
had ceased to drink as much as they did--that is to say, in the
main positions, where I never saw any debauchery. On the advanced
positions, on the contrary, drinking had been carried on abnormally.
Stössel and Fock had deprived the men of their vodka, but the officers
were drunk day and night, which, besides being bad for their own
health, had a demoralizing effect on the men. Their behaviour may be
explained, perhaps, by the fact that they had so poor an example set
them by two of their superiors who never had any influence for good.
They hated one of the Generals, who abused them on parade and played
the buffoon with their men (he was known as the 'Mad Mullah'), and they
feared the others. When the strict investment began, and the infantry
officers mixed and lived with those of the artillery, who were on a
higher plane as regards education and intelligence, all this changed.
As soon as the 4th Division entered the Fortress and Fock was appointed
to command the Reserve, a great change was also noticeable in that
Division.
On August 14 an artillery duel was waged all day. At night and in the
early hours of the following morning the Japanese began to concentrate
against our left towards Angle Hill, which they attacked at 3 a.m. In
spite of being repulsed, they at dawn made a second attack, which met
the same fate and caused them heavy loss. After the failure of this
second attempt their guns opened fire with shrapnel all along our line,
and under cover of it the infantry, with desperate rushes, tried to get
close to our positions, evidently with a view to a general assault.
On the night of the 15th-16th desultory firing went on all along the
line. On the morning of the 16th a Japanese officer came in with a flag
of truce. He bore a letter from Baron Nogi, which ran approximately as
follows:
'The Russians have given signal proof of their gallantry, but Arthur
will be taken all the same. Therefore, to avoid useless loss of
life and any possible violence, murder or looting by Japanese troops
fighting their way into the town, which it will be difficult at once
to prevent, His Highness the Emperor of Japan suggests a discussion
of negotiations for the surrender of the Fortress.'
A Council of War was at once summoned, at which Stössel suggested that
no answer should be given, as the proposal that the Fortress should
capitulate was a piece of insolence. Smirnoff expostulated, explaining
that the elementary rules of military etiquette required that a reply
should be sent. Stössel then said:
'Well, if an answer must go, let us send a blank piece of paper or else
merely write a joke on it.'
Smirnoff insisted that an answer, and a polite one, should be sent, and
he drafted one which was eventually signed by both Stössel and himself:
'The honour and dignity of Russia do not allow of overtures of any
sort being made for a surrender.'
The morning of the 17th was very unpleasant, with fog, sleet, and
mud. The town was already being bombarded, and the shells could be
heard bursting in the harbour. With General Smirnoff's permission, I
accompanied the flag-of-truce party taking out the reply: it consisted
of Captain Golovan, an officer of the General Staff, and Lieutenant
Mackalinsky, of the Fortress Staff. As we went out the passers-by gazed
at us with curiosity and wonder, many of them thinking probably this
was the end of Arthur. At last we reached the fortifications near the
cemetery; on this being reported to the Commandant, he at once ordered
the guns to cease fire: so that exactly at nine o'clock we were able
to move on. I was told to ride in front with the flag, with one of the
mounted scouts, the rest of the party and escort following a short
distance behind. We passed our firing-line and piquets and went on
some distance, but seeing nothing of the Japanese, I began to get
suspicious, for I could not forget how they had fired on our Red Cross
at Green Hills; perhaps they were now lying in the kiaoling on either
side of us ready to pour in a volley. It was jumpy work.
'Sir, sir, there they are!' whispered the man riding beside me. I
looked ahead, but could see nothing. At last, however, I noticed four
Japanese dressed in khaki behind a sharp bend in the road on a small
pass. They were difficult to distinguish from their surroundings, while
we, in our uniform, were very conspicuous. Having approached to within
fifty yards, we heard in Russian--
'Halt!'
We stopped.
'Advance one!'
We stood as still as statues, and a man, evidently a non-commissioned
officer, came up.
'What do you want?'
We answered.
'All right.' He gave some order to one of the men, who quickly moved
off.
We stood and looked at one another. The non-commissioned officer, a
broad-shouldered, thick-set man, took out a note-book and, with great
coolness, wrote something in it. After ten minutes, an interpreter,
with a truculent-looking Captain, and a young Lieutenant, came up. At
last Major Yamoaka, who had brought the Japanese message, arrived,
accompanied by a mounted orderly with a flag and the Corps interpreter,
who, in spite of his high rank, spoke Russian most atrociously. After
we had presented our credentials, he took and gave us a receipt for
our letter, and in his turn handed us one, for which we gave him a
receipt. The interpreter informed us that 'this was a very, very
important letter.'[16] When the ceremony of handing over the letters
was finished, a shell whistled past towards Ta-ku-shan. Major Yamoaka
anxiously asked:
'They are surely not firing?'
To which Lieutenant Mackalinsky quietly answered:
'No, it is probably at sea.'
Later it turned out that the enemy's infantry could be seen to be on
the move from one of the batteries, and the non-commissioned officer on
duty, unable to restrain himself, had fired at them--a mistake he had
to pay for.
Having received the letter, Major Yamoaka arranged the time and
place of meeting for further negotiations. We well knew that
further negotiations would not take place, but of course made some
pleasant reply. We bowed and parted, and as soon as we reached the
fortifications on Cemetery Hill and lowered our flag the guns boomed
out again along the whole line. Once inside the line a Cossack met us
and told me that Stössel wanted to see me. The General had watched us
from Jagged Hill. Mackalinsky proceeded to report to the Commandant,
and we, with Golovan, going on to General Stössel, found him in a
casemate of the battery. He had just breakfasted, and was in a most
affable frame of mind, surrounded by the young officers from the
nearest batteries. Their laughter and jokes could be heard from a long
way off, and the array of empty bottles showed that breakfast had not
been a dry meal.
'I didn't want to answer those yellow-skinned scoundrels. I wanted to
draw a caricature and sent it back. They wanted the Fortress? I'll show
them the Fortress!'
There was general laughter. The youths, under the soothing influence
of plentiful liqueurs, forgot their positions as junior officers, and
shouted:
'Splendid, sir, splendid; quite right. Your health, sir.'
'And do you know, gentlemen, they took me for a foreigner--a Swiss by
birth? By heavens! I am not lying. Quite recently I got a letter from
Austria, from some Stössel or other who pretended he was proud of his
relation in Arthur. Others write that I only became a Russian subject
in 1893. I have got the letter!'
Again there was laughter. The General was in the best of form. Whether
he was talking seriously or not I do not know. Presently he thought it
was time to return to Arthur, and told me to accompany him: we rode
through the arsenal.
'Look what a number of captured guns there are! I took all those in the
Chinese War.'
All these guns passed into our hands when we peacefully occupied
Arthur!
FOOTNOTES:
[Footnote 16: This letter was from the German Emperor to his naval
attachés--whom he ordered to leave the Fortress. One of them, Captain
Gilgenheim, was killed by Chinese pirates on his way from Arthur to
Chifu.]