THE FIGHT FOR 203 METRE HILL
We now come to the culmination of the tragedy, and perhaps the
bloodiest scene of carnage of the whole war--the fight for, and capture
of, 203 Metre Hill. For now the enemy, foiled in their desperate
attempts to precipitate matters in the north-east, confined themselves
on that side to the slow but sure progress afforded by mine warfare,
and turned the whole fury of their attack on to our western front, of
which 203 Metre Hill was the key. It was of this hill--the scene of
eight days of the most desperate fighting--that Stössel had said in May:
'Why are heavy guns being mounted here? They are quite unnecessary.
When necessary, I will send a field battery up, and the devil himself
will not be able to come near it: all the approaches to it can be
distinctly seen.'
But the Japs knew its value, and knew that if they could take it they
would be able to destroy the fleet, which would practically mean the
end of the war. Nogi, under pressure from head-quarters, decided to
take the hill at all costs, and to take it quickly. He was not afraid
of losses; he only wanted 203 Metre Hill.
In November, at the beginning of the attack, the place, though covered
with fire and communicating trenches, was, as regards fortification
and armament, very weak. Everything possible had been done by Colonel
Tretiakoff to protect the 6-inch guns mounted on its highest point by
means of improvised protection of rails, beams, sheet-iron, stones, and
earth. On the 27th the attack commenced and followed the usual course.
For some hours the top of the hill was enveloped in the smoke of the
shells bursting over it; then the Japanese quickly, and in lines, crept
up the steep slopes, and the assault began. They fought and fought
like fiends--fought till exhausted, till they lost consciousness, one
of their battalions being literally swept from the face of the earth.
It was dark before the last of them was driven off and the fighting
ceased; but there was no rest, for all dug throughout the night--in
many cases dug their own graves. At dawn a single shot echoed forth
from the besieging lines, and in a few seconds the hill was again
a smoking crater--the focus of the concentrated fire of many guns,
whose shells were bursting in clusters. Then the assault commenced
and continued the whole day. The Commandant, keenly observant of what
was happening all along the front, was always ready with reserves to
forestall the enemy in strength wherever the latter chose to deliver
his blow. With a defensive line of eighteen miles the initiative was,
of course, with the besiegers, but the Commandant was able to counter.
The messages from the hill became more and more urgent. Kondratenko
asked and begged for reinforcements, but the local reserves had already
all been absorbed into the firing line: only one thing was left--to
combine forces; and Smirnoff sent échelons from the main reserve to Tea
Valley.
And what were Stössel's staff doing all this time? Some were reading
copies of telephone messages sent to the Commandant, and Stössel was
breakfasting, writing orders, eating, sleeping, eating again, and again
sleeping. What happened at the front he only heard at fourth-hand. He
had no telephone to his house--he hated telephones--and having nothing
to do, he now took an interest in the Town Guard, and decided to send
them up to the trenches on the hill. General Smirnoff protested. He
fully appreciated their worth, but he could not allow them to go into
the advanced positions, for though very keen and brave, they were
ill-disciplined and had little training, so that they could not be
expected to take the place of regulars. The Commandant always regarded
them as his last military reserve. Having, through the mediation of
Kondratenko, persuaded Stössel of this, he insisted on their being
appointed to the hospitals as attendants, to replace the regulars, who
were sent to the front. Stössel hated these civilian soldiers: why, I
do not know.
On the night of the 28th, 203 Metre Hill was still ours, and from
dawn next morning it was again the object of the same artillery fire.
The whole of the defensive line anxiously watched to see what would
take place on its top. For two days now it had withstood the fiercest
and most insistent attacks of our gallant foe. Its garrison, already
reinforced from the reserve, in spite of bravery which equalled the
enemy's, began to melt away. Assaults were delivered first from the
left and then from the right. At last the enemy seized the left peak
(it is a two-humped hill), and the flag of the Rising Sun fluttered in
the smoky air--a few more efforts on their part and the hill must be
lost. From the officer commanding the western flank--Colonel Irman--the
Commandant received a message that the Japanese had captured the hill.
Before taking action, Smirnoff wished to corroborate this, for Colonel
Tretiakoff (who was actually on the hill and really conducting the
operations there, as Irman, though a most gallant field artilleryman,
was ignorant of fortress warfare, and moreover had not that precious
gift of a military leader--the gift of quietly and sensibly weighing
the surrounding circumstances) reported that a hot fight was being
waged on the top, but that he hoped, with the assistance of the
reserves, to keep possession of the right and disputed peak. He said
the local reserves were exhausted, and asked earnestly for help from
the main reserve. Smirnoff, after confirmation, at once sent up a
fresh body of men. I must mention that a spectator got a different
impression of the progress of the fight, according to his point of
view. One onlooker reported that the enemy had seized the hill and our
men were in full flight. Another, watching from a different place,
reported at the same time that the enemy were falling back. A third
said the fighting was over and the hill was ours. Anyone watching from
the direction of Pigeon Bay would have said the Japanese had taken
it, as the western slope hid the whole field from view. Moreover, the
attackers and defenders themselves could not see everything going
on--they were too busy in hand-to-hand fighting to observe more than
a few yards around. Smirnoff had to sift out the various messages
coming in in order to arrive at the truth, and it was not till he had
done this, and was sure that we could still hold on to the hill if
reinforced, that he threw more men into the fight.
Suddenly an officer arrived in a tremendous hurry, and said that he was
instructed by General Stössel to summon General Smirnoff at once to the
District Offices for an 'extraordinary' conference. The District Staff
had also received Irman's message, and it had made a great impression
on all those assembled at the office.
'Irman reports that the Japs have seized 203 Metre Hill,' commenced
Stössel at once.
General Fock chimed in:
'It's absurd to try and hold out there longer: we must think of the
men. It's all the same: sooner or later we shall have to abandon it. We
must not waste men; we shall want them later.'
To Fock Smirnoff replied:
'It is premature to think of abandoning the hill at present. I am
pouring in reinforcements, and it is still ours.'
[Illustration: RESERVES WAITING UNDER 203 METRE HILL.]
'But Irman--Irman reports--and he knows what he is saying--he reports
that the hill is in the enemy's hands, and it is essential for us to
take steps to get the men away, to save our reserve, to, to----'
'I repeat, there is no particular danger; I have already taken the
necessary steps,' said Smirnoff.
'But Irman, who commands that front, reports steps must be taken. The
enemy will break through; he'll force the line, and there'll be a
street massacre,' said Stössel and Fock together.
'They cannot break through the line of forts and intermediate works,'
answered Smirnoff.
'Oh yes, they can. You must retrench--cut off Tea Valley--and thus
prevent a possible dash through.'
'I have already said that to you,' said Fock to Stössel, 'and I urge
it being done. It is absolutely necessary to retrench, to cut off into
compartments.'
'I quite agree--I quite agree,' echoed Nickitin.
Fock turned to Stössel.
'Sir, won't you order Tretiakoff to remain on the summit of the hill
all the time? Let him sit there. Let him see for himself how the men
are faring.'
The latter turned to Reuss and told him to telephone to Colonel
Tretiakoff on no account to leave the top of the hill.
Smirnoff looked helplessly at those around, his glance now angry, now
contemptuous.
'But Tretiakoff is always there! He is himself in immediate command of
the fighting.'
This reply changed the current of Stössel's thoughts, for he replied:
'And so with the loss of this hill the days of this place are as good
as----'
'Gentlemen, I guarantee that 203 Metre Hill will be ours as long as it
can be reinforced without risk to the north-east front. You may feel at
ease; I promise you that by morning-tea to-morrow I will give you the
hill,' interrupted Smirnoff, his voice trembling.
'But it is all the same necessary that Tea Valley be partitioned off,
or they will be able to break through,' was the reply.
'I have not enough men; if I do that I can't hold on to 203 Metre.'
'Take the Town Guard--make use of them,' said Stössel.
Smirnoff, seeing that the only way of getting away was to agree, said:
'All right; but I promise you by morning-tea to-morrow the hill shall
be yours. Good-bye,' and departed.
Meanwhile, on the place itself the fight was desperate. One moment
success was ours, the next it passed to the foe. At times it seemed
as if all were lost. But no! not yet. Gathering themselves together,
inspired by their officers, reinforced from the reserve, our men made
a final effort and hurled the enemy down. The hill was again ours.
What took place there cannot be written of with an ordinary pen--it
could only be described in blood. The hopes and fears, the gallantry,
the----words fail me. Some of the details are perhaps known to General
Tretiakoff, the hero of that spot, and those under him. It was just
now, when it seemed to be touch-and-go with the hill, that a rumour was
spread to the effect that Kinchou had been recaptured by Russians--by
Trans-Baikal Cossacks. It was nonsense, of course, but the men were so
worn out and so hungry for good news from the north that the hope of
relief by General Kuropatkin, cherished deep down in their hearts, made
them believe. The third day's fighting came to an end; darkness set in,
and the position was not yet lost. At tea-time on the morning of the
30th it was still ours--Smirnoff had kept his promise.
The fourth day was but a repetition of the preceding three. Shells of
all sizes, from 11-inch to small quick-firers, rained upon the place.
All cover, or anything that looked as if it might afford shelter, had
long ago been turned into heaps of stones, iron, beams, rubbish, and
mangled bodies. During the night shelters of sorts had been scraped up,
only to be swept away by the first breath of iron which accompanied
the morning light. The fury of the assault reached its zenith at 4
p.m. Fortunate it was that the enemy's demonstrations on the east were
weak, and so enabled us to withdraw troops from that front to assist
here. Bayonet fighting again took place for some hours, but at four the
Japanese were compelled to fall back. The hill was still ours, but its
slopes were thickly strewed with more dead, more dying. In four days
we had, excluding dead, lost 37 officers and 4,000 men wounded. Among
the dangerously wounded was the gallant Colonel (now Major-General)
Tretiakoff, of the 5th Regiment, wounded in head and chest. When those
near him implored him to go to the rear to get his wounds dressed, he
refused, muttering, 'I will die where my regiment dies.'
On the morning of December 2, Colonel Irman, on receipt of a message
from the top of 203 Metre Hill, telephoned to Smirnoff:
'All the assaults have been repulsed, and the hill is completely in
our hands.'
This glad news was soon known, and the town rejoiced, for the enormous
importance of this spot to Arthur was recognized by all, and Smirnoff's
intention to hold on to it, even though thousands of lives were
sacrificed, was appreciated. The north, south, and east fronts had,
however, been considerably weakened, every available man that could be
moved from them being taken--this hill had greedily swallowed up all,
even the reserves of the reserve. The Commandant went to Fort No. 5 to
make a detailed reconnaissance of the position, and after a thorough
inspection of the enemy's approaches and distribution, he became more
than ever convinced that things were in a most critical state. The
enemy had got possession of almost all the slopes, and apparently
had no idea of withdrawing. They were merely resting--bracing up for
a last and final blow. The slope towards the western front, as well
as the road joining it to the hill, were in our hands; all the rest
was theirs. There was not the slightest doubt that the assault would
be renewed with greater force and fury. Four hours Smirnoff spent in
the fort, and returned in anything but a happy frame of mind, for the
attack might be renewed at any moment. Exactly at midday, after an
anxious respite, the bombardment again broke out.
That evening the garrison read the following order (No. 865, of
December 2, 1904) by Stössel:
'I have just returned from seeing Colonel Irman. [Stössel had gone to
Tea Valley, and made a speech to the men, not apparently realizing
that it was no time for words.] 203 Metre Hill is all ours! Let
us thank God for it. You--heroes that you are--have done what was
impossible, what was only possible to brave men like yourselves.
From November 20 to December 2--_i.e._, for twelve long days--the
enemy has repeatedly launched his columns to the attack on A Battery,
on B Battery, Kuropatkin Lunette, Erh-lung-shan, Chinese Wall,
Chi-kuan-shan, Fortification No. 3, Tumulus Battery, Pan-lun-shan,
ending with 203 Metre Hill and the position at Pigeon Bay--_i.e._,
from sea to sea. Day and night they have come on, not sparing
themselves; they have fallen under your heavy blows, but you have not
yielded to them a rood of ground. What was ours on November 20 is
ours to-day. In the Tsar's name, as his aide-de-camp, I thank you.
You have delighted him. May God preserve him! Hurrah!'
A white flag was raised on the north-east front this day, and the
Japanese asked for a truce to bury their dead. The Commandant at once
gave permission, fire ceased, and friend and foe mingled amicably.
All at once shots rang out from Erh-lung-shan Fort--it was an awkward
moment for us. It turned out that Stössel, annoyed that his permission
had not been asked for the dead to be buried, had therefore ordered
the firing to recommence. Smirnoff was quite within his rights in not
referring the matter, but Stössel's dignity had been hurt. He was now
formally asked for permission, and granted one hour's armistice.
On the north-east front a white flag was again raised by the enemy in
front of Kuropatkin Lunette. The fire gradually ceased, and we put one
up in reply. From both sides officers and men moved out to meet each
other, and they met like old friends.