'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, decided5 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 trenches6, 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[Pg 244] means of improvised7 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 enveloped8 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 exhausted9, till they lost consciousness, one of their battalions10 being literally11 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 forth12 from the besieging13 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 forestall14 the enemy in strength wherever the latter chose to deliver his blow. With a defensive15 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 St?ssel's staff doing all this time? Some were reading copies of telephone messages sent to the Commandant, and St?ssel 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[Pg 245] on the hill. General Smirnoff protested. He fully16 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 mediation17 of Kondratenko, persuaded St?ssel of this, he insisted on their being appointed to the hospitals as attendants, to replace the regulars, who were sent to the front. St?ssel hated these civilian18 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 artillery19 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 insistent20 attacks of our gallant21 foe22. Its garrison23, 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 corroborate24 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 fortress25 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[Pg 246] right and disputed peak. He said the local reserves were exhausted, and asked earnestly for help from the main reserve. Smirnoff, after confirmation26, 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 onlooker27 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 defenders28 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 sift29 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 St?ssel 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 St?ssel 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 premature30 to think of abandoning the hill at[Pg 247] present. I am pouring in reinforcements, and it is still ours.'
pic
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 St?ssel and Fock together.
'They cannot break through the line of forts and intermediate works,' answered Smirnoff.
'Oh yes, they can. You must retrench31—cut off Tea Valley—and thus prevent a possible dash through.'
'I have already said that to you,' said Fock to St?ssel, 'and I urge it being done. It is absolutely necessary to retrench, to cut off into compartments32.'
'I quite agree—I quite agree,' echoed Nickitin.
Fock turned to St?ssel.
'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.
This reply changed the current of St?ssel's thoughts, for he replied:
'And so with the loss of this hill the days of this place are as good as——'
[Pg 248]
'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 St?ssel.
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. Gathering34 themselves together, inspired by their officers, reinforced from the reserve, our men made a final effort and hurled35 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 rumour36 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[Pg 249] 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 mangled37 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 demonstrations38 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 strewed39 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 Regiment40, wounded in head and chest. When those near him implored41 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:
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[Pg 250] sacrificed, was appreciated. The north, south, and east fronts had, however, been considerably43 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 detailed44 reconnaissance of the position, and after a thorough inspection45 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 apparently46 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 respite47, the bombardment again broke out.
That evening the garrison read the following order (No. 865, of December 2, 1904) by St?ssel:
'I have just returned from seeing Colonel Irman. [St?ssel 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[Pg 251] ours to-day. In the Tsar's name, as his aide-de-camp, I thank you. You have delighted him. May God preserve him! Hurrah48!'
A white flag was raised on the north-east front this day, and the Japanese asked for a truce49 to bury their dead. The Commandant at once gave permission, fire ceased, and friend and foe mingled50 amicably51. All at once shots rang out from Erh-lung-shan Fort—it was an awkward moment for us. It turned out that St?ssel, 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 St?ssel's dignity had been hurt. He was now formally asked for permission, and granted one hour's armistice52.
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.
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1
culmination
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| n.顶点；最高潮 | |
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bloodiest
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| adj.血污的( bloody的最高级 )；流血的；屠杀的；残忍的 | |
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3
precipitate
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| adj.突如其来的；vt.使突然发生；n.沉淀物 | |
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4
warfare
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| n.战争(状态)；斗争；冲突 | |
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5
decided
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| adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的 | |
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6
trenches
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| 深沟，地沟( trench的名词复数 )； 战壕 | |
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7
improvised
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| a.即席而作的,即兴的 | |
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8
enveloped
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| v.包围，笼罩，包住( envelop的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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9
exhausted
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| adj.极其疲惫的，精疲力尽的 | |
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10
battalions
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| n.（陆军的）一营（大约有一千兵士）( battalion的名词复数 )；协同作战的部队；军队；（组织在一起工作的）队伍 | |
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11
literally
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| adv.照字面意义，逐字地；确实 | |
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12
forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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besieging
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| 包围，围困，围攻( besiege的现在分词 ) | |
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14
forestall
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| vt.抢在…之前采取行动；预先阻止 | |
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15
defensive
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| adj.防御的；防卫的；防守的 | |
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16
fully
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| adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地 | |
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mediation
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| n.调解 | |
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18
civilian
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| adj.平民的，民用的，民众的 | |
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19
artillery
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| n.(军)火炮，大炮；炮兵(部队) | |
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insistent
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| adj.迫切的，坚持的 | |
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gallant
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| adj.英勇的，豪侠的；(向女人)献殷勤的 | |
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22
foe
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| n.敌人，仇敌 | |
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garrison
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| n.卫戍部队；驻地，卫戍区；vt.派(兵)驻防 | |
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24
corroborate
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| v.支持，证实，确定 | |
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fortress
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| n.堡垒，防御工事 | |
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26
confirmation
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| n.证实，确认，批准 | |
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27
onlooker
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| n.旁观者，观众 | |
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28
defenders
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| n.防御者( defender的名词复数 )；守卫者；保护者；辩护者 | |
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29
sift
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| v.筛撒，纷落，详察 | |
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30
premature
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| adj.比预期时间早的；不成熟的，仓促的 | |
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retrench
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| v.节省，削减 | |
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32
compartments
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| n.间隔( compartment的名词复数 )；（列车车厢的）隔间；（家具或设备等的）分隔间；隔层 | |
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33
immediate
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| adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的 | |
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34
gathering
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| n.集会，聚会，聚集 | |
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35
hurled
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| v.猛投，用力掷( hurl的过去式和过去分词 )；大声叫骂 | |
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rumour
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| n.谣言，谣传，传闻 | |
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37
mangled
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| vt.乱砍（mangle的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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38
demonstrations
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| 证明( demonstration的名词复数 )； 表明； 表达； 游行示威 | |
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39
strewed
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| v.撒在…上( strew的过去式和过去分词 )；散落于；点缀；撒满 | |
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40
regiment
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| n.团，多数，管理；v.组织，编成团，统制 | |
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41
implored
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| 恳求或乞求（某人）( implore的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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42
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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43
considerably
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| adv.极大地；相当大地；在很大程度上 | |
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44
detailed
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| adj.详细的，详尽的，极注意细节的，完全的 | |
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45
inspection
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| n.检查，审查，检阅 | |
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46
apparently
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| adv.显然地；表面上，似乎 | |
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47
respite
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| n.休息，中止，暂缓 | |
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48
hurrah
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| int.好哇，万岁，乌拉 | |
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49
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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50
mingled
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| 混合，混入( mingle的过去式和过去分词 )； 混进，与…交往[联系] | |
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51
amicably
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| adv.友善地 | |
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52
armistice
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| n.休战，停战协定 | |
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