THE LAST DAY BUT ONE
The dawn of January 1, 1905, ushered in an anxious day. All the roads
near the forts were now so much under rifle and machine-gun fire that
movement on them soon ceased. In the Staff Office of the section it
was expected that the enemy would at any moment commence to pound and
then storm Eagle's Nest, which was now the key to the position. Sure
enough, about nine o'clock the bombardment commenced, shell after
shell with clockwork regularity striking the top of the hill. The
staff of the section went from their usual observation-place to the
dressing station, from which an excellent view of the rearward slope of
Eagle's Nest could be seen, and which had a telephone. At noon Captain
Galitsinsky, who was in command of the work, began sending in alarming
messages to the effect that the enemy, by repeated rushes, were
successfully concentrating in force in front of the position, evidently
with a view to an assault, and asked that he might be reinforced. The
assault soon began, but made at first little progress in face of the
garrison's steady fire. General Gorbatovsky, commanding the section,
kept the Commandant regularly informed of the progress, and urged that
our guns should increase their fire. Our fortress guns poured in a
fairly heavy fire, but not so heavy as the circumstances warranted,
as we had but few howitzers, which alone could have been effective.
Galitsinsky continued anxiously to report the critical condition of
the position. Gorbatovsky never left the telephone, talking all the
time with either Fock, Biely, or the Commandant: he kept on begging for
reserves to be sent up, saying that without reinforcements he could
not guarantee the issue. Suddenly some infantry were seen running
back from Tumulus Hill, and it was ascertained that the enemy, having
climbed a spur in front of Eagle's Nest, had enfiladed some of our
trenches. The men in them wavered and then ran. The presence of mind of
Captain Stepanoff alone restored order and averted a panic. A party of
fifty sailors were sent up to Galitsinsky, followed by a second party
somewhat later, and the fight waged hotly, our men with difficulty
holding their own.
At midday, while the issue of the fight was in the balance,
Rear-Admiral Loschinsky received the following letter, No. 2,544 of
January 1:
'The state of the Fortress is becoming so critical that its
further resistance cannot be guaranteed. If it becomes necessary
to surrender, it is essential that the most important papers and
standards be sent away. I am, therefore, directed by General Stössel
to ask you whether it will be possible to send a destroyer at any
moment to Chifu on board which an officer could be despatched with
such papers. If this can be arranged, the destroyer ought to keep
under steam ready to depart, as it will be impossible to foresee
the precise moment when she will be required. I have the honour to
inquire if this can be done?
'Reuss.'
Loschinsky replied to the effect that a destroyer would be kept always
ready, and, to ship articles more conveniently, would lie under
Electric Cliff. The _Statny_, under Lieutenant Baron Kasinsky, was told
off for this. While this took place the Commandant was occupied issuing
orders for the defence of the north-eastern front, and it never entered
his head that anyone was then thinking out arrangements in case of a
surrender. He was not told of the letter sent to Loschinsky, although
the latter, in his capacity of Commander of the coast defences, was
immediately under him.
Meanwhile the assault on Eagle's Nest continued, and about 2.30 p.m.
the telephone from it ceased to work. Everyone at the dressing station
was busy with his glasses watching the top of the hill, which was
shrouded in clouds of bursting shrapnel, when, to our intense surprise,
Galitsinsky, the commander of the place, suddenly arrived.
'How? What's happened? Why?'
'I was the last to leave. None of our men are there now.'
He looked exhausted, dishevelled, overcome.
The staff were much perturbed, for the loss of this important tactical
point decided the fate of the north-east front. Any minute the Japanese
might force their way along the valley and commence a massacre. Our
guns concentrated their fire on the position that a few hours before
had been ours; but soon Lieutenant Malchenko could be discerned riding
along the road past our position with a large white flag!
When he was seen, someone laughingly said:
'Looks as if he were taking our New Year greetings to Nogi.'
But he was not armed with empty greetings. Alas! he was taking to Japan
an unexpected New Year's gift. He was the bearer of the following
letter from General Stössel to General Baron Nogi, dated December,
1904 (no day of the month):
'Being acquainted with the general state of affairs in the theatre
of war, I am of opinion that no object is to be gained by further
opposition in Port Arthur, and so, to avoid useless loss of life, I
am anxious to enter into negotiations for a capitulation. If your
Excellency agrees, I would ask you to be so good as to appoint
accredited persons to negotiate concerning the terms and arrangements
for surrender, and to appoint a spot where they may meet my
representatives.'
The despatch of the _parlementaire_ had been decided on directly
General Fock had brought word of the capture of Eagle's Nest, and
Colonel Reuss had been immediately summoned to translate the above
letter into English. No meeting of the Council of War was held. There
was no attempt made to persuade Stössel to alter his decision to
surrender. The Commandant was not even informed of the intention to
despatch a _parlementaire_.
The decision to give up the Fortress had really matured on the day of
the last meeting of the Council of Defence, for General Stössel had
that day despatched a telegram to the Tsar, in which he reported that
the men had become worn out, and that the Fortress could not possibly
hold out more than a few days.[42]
In this he was undoubtedly influenced by the desire to save the lives
of his close friends. If any of them had opposed the despatch of the
_parlementaire_, and had informed the Commandant of it, Stössel alone
would never have dared to do it. But he was supported, and so risked
ignoring Smirnoff and proposing the surrender.
Simultaneously with the despatch of the _parlementaire_, Rear-Admiral
Wiren, commanding the battleship and cruiser division, received the
following letter from Colonel Reuss:
'A letter has just been sent by a _parlementaire_ from General
Stössel to General Baron Nogi proposing to begin negotiations for a
capitulation; there is, therefore, only to-night for you to do what
you consider necessary to your ships!'
Admiral Wiren, distinguished and gallant officer that he was, was
thunderstruck at such tidings, and immediately went off to Admiral
Grigorovitch, to whom it was also news. Thence he went to General
Biely, and even to the Commandant, who were both equally thunderstruck
at what he told them. From them he went to Stössel, where the
information of what had been done was confirmed.
The troops, who very soon heard of it, no longer remained troops. It
was absurd to count on their obedience. And is it to be wondered at?
They had fought long, obstinately, doggedly, dying and suffering awful
agonies. They had been accustomed to expect death, and now--now--what
did they not hear? Their hopes rose. They longed for life. They did
not wish to die, and no power on earth would have again made them
exchange these hopes for death. After the news of the despatch of
the _parlementaire_, it would have been impossible to inspire 30,000
worn-out men, whose minds had already been poisoned by the fatal
doctrine of some of their leaders, with the idea that the Fortress
should be held to the last, and the senior commanders recognized this.
When the Commandant went to the Admirals, and a council was held, with
him in the chair, to consider what had best be done to avert a shameful
surrender, they all came to the inevitable conclusion that there was
not the slightest hope of counting on the obedience of the troops
already demoralized and knowing all about the negotiations. The arrest
of Stössel, Fock, Reuss and others would have caused dissension in the
garrison, perhaps a mutiny, and the last state of the Fortress would
have been worse than the first. The Commandant and Admirals accordingly
wisely refrained from taking any active steps, in order to avoid the
awful scandal, which would only have increased the shame surrounding
the surrender, and would have availed nothing.
Admiral Wiren issued orders for the ships under his command to be
disabled by charges being exploded in their most vital parts (engines,
boilers, etc.), but though every precaution was taken, the last
demolitions were only brought off by the morning of January 2. The
_Sevastopol_ on that morning was tugged out by the _Silacha_ to a
depth of 30 fathoms, and her Kingston valves[43] were opened, with
the result that she heeled over to starboard and quietly foundered.
It was impossible to blow up the large number of guns in the Fortress
as well as its munitions of war, as, according to the terms of the
capitulation, all the forts, guns, ammunition, etc., were to be handed
over intact. During the afternoon and night several guns were destroyed
and much ammunition was buried; but General Biely, by Stössel's direct
orders, strictly forbade this, as the enemy had said they would make
reprisals if the guns, etc., were found destroyed. Some obeyed, others
did not. Certainly most of the Artillery spent the night destroying
their weapons and equipment.
_From the Raschevsky-Schwartz Diary, January 1, 1905._
'The firing gradually slackened, and about 6 p.m. ceased. Deathly
silence took the place of the constant noise of firing and roars of
explosions, even the whistling of bullets overhead ceased. Tired and
anxious, we went to the dressing station, where we bolted some food,
and then went to the New Chinese town to the staff quarters of the
section. We had scarcely lain down to snatch a little rest, when a
mounted scout arrived with a letter from General Fock, in which he
ordered Gorbatovsky immediately to carry out his orders, and abandon
the third defensive section, for which he gave no reasons. He added
that the section up to Fortification No. 2 was also to be evacuated.
[On December 22, Fock, realizing the importance of this section, had
ordered me to draw up a scheme for strengthening its defence. I had
done this on the 23rd, and had carried the work out in two days.]
Nothing was left for us but to obey the orders, and orders to this
effect were accordingly issued by eight that evening. And so the
whole of the north-eastern front and almost half of the eastern front
was in the enemy's hands. The Fortress could no longer hold out, as
all roads to the town were in the hands of the Japanese, and from
Zaliterny Battery they could demolish the town at leisure. It is
inexplicable how anyone understanding the great importance of this
section and of B Battery could have ordered their abandonment without
a fight.
'At the same time a second message was received, in which it was said
that the Japanese had agreed to the negotiations, and had ceased
firing, requesting that we also should cease. The horrible day gave
place to a warm, quiet night, and the unusual silence seemed uncanny.
Suddenly explosion after explosion rang out from the harbour--our
battleships being blown up. It was the last straw....'
The letter referred to above, in which General Gorbatovsky was ordered
immediately to carry out instructions with regard to the abandonment of
the third defensive position and the portion up to Fortification No. 2,
is now in his possession. The abandonment of these positions was in no
way warranted by circumstances, and to carry out such a retreat without
fighting was most demoralizing to the troops. The negotiations for a
capitulation were still before us, and had we retained something 'up
our sleeve,' we could have bargained obstinately and have threatened to
hold out longer, in order to obtain better terms. This threat would not
have been an empty one.
At dark two huge conflagrations burst out from Eagle's Nest, lighting
up the whole north-east front. Port Arthur lay silent--more silent
than it had been for five long months--while the tongues of flame
seemed to lick the low clouds which brooded over the Fortress and
its triumphant foe. The silence was short-lived, however, for soon
several muffled explosions from the direction of the harbour and the
forts showed what Wiren was doing to his ships and the artillery to
their guns. Another fire broke out near the harbour, and the town
lay bathed in its blood-red glow. From the summit of Quail Hill the
picture of Port Arthur on its last night--last night as a portion of
the Russian Empire--was tragic enough. The place seemed to shudder
at each dull explosion, as if it knew that it was near its end. Its
former owners, having once more bought it at the cost of thousands of
lives, were standing on the threshold of their great holiday and of the
long-coveted prize.
FOOTNOTES:
[Footnote 42: The text of this message has been quoted.--A.B.L.]
[Footnote 43: Valves which control the sea-water inlets of a
ship.--E.D.S.]