On August 11 I again accompanied Smirnoff—who was much depressed2 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 enacted3 before us. Was it wise to attack such high, precipitous hills with the fewest possible men, when the veriest tyro4 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 steadily5 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[Pg 156] 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 St?ssel 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 fatigue6 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 Fortress7, 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 stony8 soil, but they did it that they might the more easily be able to repulse9 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 generosity10. This was no time to think of resting: every moment was precious. The men realized it, and delved11 ceaselessly, willingly, knowing that the deeper the trenches12, the better it would be for them. But General St?ssel'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 St?ssel 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 destined13 to play such a fateful r?le in the defence of Arthur, was in the salient angle of the western[Pg 157] 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 masonry14 casements15 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 garrison16 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 descended17 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 opposition18 at so many points which had not been fortified19 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 wireless20 telegraphy! No station was rigged up there, and therefore communications were not established.
As I went round the defences almost every day, I marvelled22 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[Pg 158] advanced positions, on the contrary, drinking had been carried on abnormally. St?ssel 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 buffoon23 with their men (he was known as the 'Mad Mullah'), and they feared the others. When the strict investment began, and the infantry24 officers mixed and lived with those of the artillery25, 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 duel26 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 repulsed27, 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 desultory28 firing went on all along the line. On the morning of the 16th a Japanese officer came in with a flag of truce29. He bore a letter from Baron30 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[Pg 159] 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 negotiations31 for the surrender of the Fortress.'
A Council of War was at once summoned, at which St?ssel suggested that no answer should be given, as the proposal that the Fortress should capitulate was a piece of insolence32. Smirnoff expostulated, explaining that the elementary rules of military etiquette33 required that a reply should be sent. St?ssel 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 St?ssel and himself:
'The honour and dignity of Russia do not allow of overtures34 of any sort being made for a surrender.'
The morning of the 17th was very unpleasant, with fog, sleet35, 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 Lieutenant36 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 cemetery37; 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 scouts38, the rest of the party and escort following a short distance[Pg 160] 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 conspicuous39. 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 Corps40 interpreter, who, in spite of his high rank, spoke41 Russian most atrociously. After we had presented our credentials42, 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,[Pg 161] 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 St?ssel 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 St?ssel, 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[Pg 162] soothing43 influence of plentiful44 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 St?ssel 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 arsenal45.
'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!
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1
uncertainty
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| n.易变，靠不住，不确知，不确定的事物 | |
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2
depressed
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| adj.沮丧的，抑郁的，不景气的，萧条的 | |
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3
enacted
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| 制定（法律），通过（法案）( enact的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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4
tyro
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| n.初学者；生手 | |
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5
steadily
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| adv.稳定地；不变地；持续地 | |
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fatigue
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| n.疲劳，劳累 | |
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7
fortress
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| n.堡垒，防御工事 | |
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8
stony
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| adj.石头的，多石头的，冷酷的，无情的 | |
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9
repulse
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| n.击退，拒绝；vt.逐退，击退，拒绝 | |
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10
generosity
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| n.大度，慷慨，慷慨的行为 | |
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11
delved
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| v.深入探究，钻研( delve的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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12
trenches
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| 深沟，地沟( trench的名词复数 )； 战壕 | |
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13
destined
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| adj.命中注定的；(for)以…为目的地的 | |
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14
masonry
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| n.砖土建筑；砖石 | |
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15
casements
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| n.窗扉( casement的名词复数 ) | |
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16
garrison
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| n.卫戍部队；驻地，卫戍区；vt.派(兵)驻防 | |
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17
descended
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| a.为...后裔的，出身于...的 | |
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18
opposition
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| n.反对，敌对 | |
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19
fortified
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| adj. 加强的 | |
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20
wireless
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| adj.无线的；n.无线电 | |
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21
orphan
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| n.孤儿；adj.无父母的 | |
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22
marvelled
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| v.惊奇，对…感到惊奇( marvel的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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23
buffoon
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| n.演出时的丑角 | |
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24
infantry
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| n.[总称]步兵(部队) | |
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25
artillery
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| n.(军)火炮，大炮；炮兵(部队) | |
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26
duel
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| n./v.决斗；(双方的)斗争 | |
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27
repulsed
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| v.击退( repulse的过去式和过去分词 )；驳斥；拒绝 | |
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28
desultory
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| adj.散漫的，无方法的 | |
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29
truce
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| n.休战，(争执，烦恼等的)缓和；v.以停战结束 | |
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30
baron
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| n.男爵；(商业界等)巨头，大王 | |
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31
negotiations
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| 协商( negotiation的名词复数 )； 谈判； 完成（难事）； 通过 | |
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32
insolence
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| n.傲慢；无礼；厚颜；傲慢的态度 | |
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33
etiquette
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| n.礼仪，礼节；规矩 | |
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34
overtures
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| n.主动的表示，提议；（向某人做出的）友好表示、姿态或提议( overture的名词复数 )；（歌剧、芭蕾舞、音乐剧等的）序曲，前奏曲 | |
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35
sleet
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| n.雨雪；v.下雨雪，下冰雹 | |
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36
lieutenant
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| n.陆军中尉，海军上尉；代理官员，副职官员 | |
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37
cemetery
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| n.坟墓，墓地，坟场 | |
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38
scouts
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| 侦察员[机，舰]( scout的名词复数 )； 童子军； 搜索； 童子军成员 | |
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39
conspicuous
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| adj.明眼的，惹人注目的；炫耀的，摆阔气的 | |
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40
corps
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| n.(通信等兵种的)部队；(同类作的)一组 | |
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41
spoke
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| n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说 | |
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42
credentials
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| n.证明，资格，证明书，证件 | |
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43
soothing
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| adj.慰藉的；使人宽心的；镇静的 | |
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44
plentiful
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| adj.富裕的，丰富的 | |
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45
arsenal
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| n.兵工厂，军械库 | |
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