CHAPTER IX
Fortifying 203 Metre Hill—Situation at the beginning of November—Mining operations.
On my inspections now I had to run and jump like a goat from traverse to traverse, and even crawl on all-fours. I had indeed good reason for complaining more often perhaps than any one else of the inaction of our artillery.
Not long before this the Japanese smashed up our water-cart as it was wending its way to Division Hill. Well, we ate the horses, but the cart itself was shattered to pieces, and all because our guns allowed the enemy to get too close up to our positions.
Thank God! the Japanese could not see our staff headquarters, or otherwise the structure would have been razed to the ground. Stray shells alone caused a certain amount of damage to it, so one can imagine what would have happened if the opposing artillery had actually ranged on it.
A short time ago, when the Japanese sent up a balloon, I climbed on to the roof of one of the buildings to see if we were visible to the men in its car.
I could see the balloon distinctly through my telescope, but it seemed very doubtful if the Japanese could see the chimneys of our houses, so we no longer worried about their safety.
I have already said that the Japanese sapping operations near 203 Metre Hill were progressing apace, and consequently we were now racking our brains to devise means of impeding their work. I proposed making a sortie on a large scale. In order to ensure its success, I took a photograph from 203 Metre Hill of our own and the Japanese works, and told Major Fofanov, the officer commanding our 5th Company, whom I had selected to lead the sortie, to make a careful study of the ground himself, but in the end our senior officers refused to give us permission to make any sortie on a large scale. We had, consequently, to be content with a series of small ones. Numbers of men always volunteered for these sorties, of whom Acting Ensign Makurin and Rifleman Stoliarov of the 1st Scout Detachment especially distinguished themselves.
One of their sorties was brilliantly successful. The Japanese in the saps and trenches were bayoneted, the trenches were wrecked, and a quantity of digging tools was captured, while our own losses were insignificant. One sortie, however, made by Makurin on the night of October 20–21, was a failure, probably for the reason that the Japanese had anticipated it, and our men were thus met by rifle fire and hand grenades. Our losses were heavy, Makurin himself being severely wounded in the arm.
These sorties were our only means of combating the Japanese sap work, until at last we discovered a new method—one that had been tried by Midshipman Vlassev in the centre of our positions. A description of the procedure was given us when we were all drinking tea (of which we always had a plentifulsupply) in the staff headquarters, and we promptly decided to try the experiment ourselves.
The following day we dragged a 42-linia[99]gun to 203 Metre Hill, mounted it in a trench and, with General Kondratenko’s permission, asked Midshipman Vlassev to come over. Under his direction a stick about 4 feet long was fixed into the base of a cylindro-conical shell of calibre 41·5 linia. This wooden tail was pushed down the bore of the gun, which was previously charged with a small quantity of powder. On firing, the shell with its tail flew towards the enemy’s sap, where the 20-lb. charge of pyroxylin exploded, and destroyed all the enemy’s works as well as the men engaged in constructing them. Midshipman Vlassev and Major Gobiato (a gunner) undertook to try this method of firing. Though the first few shots were not successful, the wooden tail being either burnt up or broken, and the shell failing to drop where it was intended, they nevertheless struck fear into the hearts of the Japanese! Afterwards firing became more accurate, and the shells frequently fell right into the trenches.
For future fortress warfare some practical means must be devised for throwing 20-lb. charges a short distance with precision, and then close approach will be rendered so difficult as to be almost an impossibility.
Having noted the position of this dangerous gun, the enemy directed a tremendous fire upon it, but it took him a month to dismount it, and then only because it was impossible for us to protect it in the trenches from the constant fall of heavy shell.
The discharge of these great tailed shell was watched with the greatest interest by our riflemen. But the enemy, not to be outdone, also began to discharge large mines at us, the effect of the explosion of which was considerably greater than that of his 11-inch shell, but their striking effect was weak and limited to a terrific roar and an indescribable volume of smoke.
BLINDAGE ON THE LEFT FLANK OF 203 METRE HILL. THE MEN ARE RIFLEMEN OF THE 2ND COMPANY, 5TH REGIMENT.p. 215]
BLINDAGE ON THE LEFT FLANK OF 203 METRE HILL. THE MEN ARE RIFLEMEN OF THE 2ND COMPANY, 5TH REGIMENT.p. 215]
BLINDAGE ON THE LEFT FLANK OF 203 METRE HILL. THE MEN ARE RIFLEMEN OF THE 2ND COMPANY, 5TH REGIMENT.
p. 215]
During the last month the work of fortifying 203 Metre Hill had made rapid progress. One could walk freely about the trenches now, without the risk of knocking one’s head against the cross-beams in the blindages. Dug-outs had been made in the rear face of the trenches, so that a third of the defenders could turn in at night and obtain proper rest. The blindages in the most exposed places had been strengthened with rails and ½-inch iron plates, with earth and stone piled up on them to a height of about 6 feet, and the loop-holes were furnished with ½-inch iron shields, with a cross-shaped aperture in the middle for the rifle, so that the men felt themselves fairly safe when exchanging fire with the Japanese.
Unfortunately, however, the enemy began noticeably to increase his fire on the hill from 11-inch howitzers. One shell hit a traverse 9 feet thick, blew it to pieces, in spite of the fact that it was nearly all solid rock, and wrecked all the passages round it. I went to see what damage had been done, and saw that it would need a great deal of work to repair it. The passage round the traverse had been blown out to a depth of 7 feet. Three riflemen, who were standing alongside the traverse near an embrasure, were killed.
I asked the men: “Well, how do you like this kind of visitor? Do you find it trying?” “Not a bit, sir. They seldom do much damage, beyond singeing us a bit—look there!” and a soldier pointed to one of the hills near the Shipinsin Pass where a puff of smoke was hanging. In another second a huge 11-inch shell screamed over the hill, and, striking somewhere behind, burst with a tremendous roar. Thousands of splinters flew in all directions. “M-iles over,” drawled one of the men unconcernedly.
“That is why they have put you here,” I continued. “Every one knows what splendid men you are—that you will not surrender; you must be proud that you are so honoured by the whole garrison. Men of the 5th Regiment are posted in all the most dangerous positions.”
“Weareproud, sir,” answered a chorus of voices.
That is how things were when no attack was proceeding. But the end was bound to come. The enemy’s saps had come half-way up the hill, and we continued to strengthen our positions.
203 Metre Hill had by now a complete belt of wire entanglements round it. To further strengthen this obstacle, I gave orders for abattis to be constructed in it. Trees were cut down near the staff headquarters and dragged up to the hill. In this way an open attack was rendered an absolute impossibility. The redoubts and trenches on Akasaka Yama were also completed. Acting Ensign Yermakov and Major Mousious surpassed themselves. General Fock came to Akasaka Yama and was very satisfiedwith the work done there, which I believe he has mentioned in his “Notes.”[100]
I had many companies of other regiments on the positions in my section. As I have already said, these companies were sent up as they were needed, and so they became rather intermixed. This was in every respect most undesirable, as, whenever anything went wrong, it was impossible to determine who was really to blame.
It became very evident to me that it is not by any means the same thing whether four companies of different units hold a position, or whether it is defended by one battalion, under its own commander.
In view of this, the whole of the 27th Regiment, with the exception of the 1st Company, was ordered to concentrate on Akasaka Yama and the 5th on Division Hill, 203 Metre Hill being defended as before by the 2nd, 4th, and 6th Companies of the 5th Regiment, with four machine guns, the 1st Company of the 27th Regiment, and the 7th Company of the 14th Regiment under Lieutenant Vanikovski. These men were all familiar with their various positions, and had become indifferent to constant danger and quite accustomed to looking down from the top on the enemy digging below without any particular feelings of alarm.
I must acknowledge that in view of past experience I did not like changing my tried companies for new ones. I therefore organized them in reliefs—two days’ rest near the staff headquarters to one on the position.
Interval Hill was occupied by one company of the 25th Regiment under Major Veselovski. In the reserve I had the companies of the 4th Reserve Battalion.
* * * * *
Towards the end of November the fortifications on all the hills were complete. On 203 Metre Hill was a huge redoubt, with two keeps, completely surrounded by wire entanglements.[101]The interval between 203 Metre Hill and False Hill was covered by several rows of fougasses. Akasaka Yama was encircled with a well-built line of trenches, and had a strong redoubt on the top, with two weaker ones on the right flank. On Division Hill there was a large redoubt with two retrenchments, the fire of which was directed towards Extinct Volcano, as an attack, we thought, was certain to come from that direction.
The communication trenches to Akasaka Yama and Division Hill were well screened from view and impervious to rifle fire. False Hill was also surrounded by well-constructed trenches, with covered communication passages leading to them.
The space between False Hill and Fort Ta-yang-kou North was the only piece in the section resembling a fortified position in the ordinary sense of the word, and it was held by only two companies,and four guns of small calibre. All the hills were self-contained and capable of making a separate resistance, and in case of need I could reinforce any one of them by two or three companies from the general reserve.
The men on the positions lived now in much greater comfort than before, particularly since there was room for all in suitable covered dug-outs at night.
They all had good kitchens, and on Akasaka Yama even baths had been made. In the matter of food there was, however, little variety, neither butter nor beef being available. Where had the artillery horses been taken? We saw none of them. We often ate mules and horses that had been killed on the positions, but some regiments were unable even to get them. The garrison was, in consequence, beginning to suffer from scurvy, and eventually this cursed disease stealthily found its way in among us also, and laid low many of our best men.
* * * * *
While we were, so to speak, having an easy time of it, important events were taking place in the centre.[102]Time after time we received reports from there of the defeat of the enemy’s attacks and his heavy losses. But we also knew that the enemy’s approaches were within striking distance of the forts, and that it would not be long before mining operations would commence.
On the evening of November 8, I received a note from General Kondratenko, inviting me to come andexamine the mining work at Fort Chi-kuan,[103]where they could already hear the enemy’s miners working. The main object of this examination was to ascertain how far off their work was going on.
That evening I rode into Port Arthur and met Colonel Grigorenko.[104]Having had tea with him and a fairly large gathering of officers, who made one feel quite at home, we all set out in carriages for Fort Chi-kuan, where we arrived without any mishap.
In company with General Nikizhin, Colonel Reiss, and several staff officers we passed through the north gate of the town, where the sentry was inclined to stop us, because, as he said, he had received no order to let us through.
The road passed through some dark ravines, and by a way which was quite unknown to me. In half an hour’s time we reached General Nadyein’s headquarters, which consisted of two barrack rooms, surrounded on all sides and roofed over with several rows of sand-bags.
General Nadyein had taken some time in building this splinter-proof, and had used thousands of sand-bags over its construction. Inside it was comfortable and light. It stood close under a steep cliff. On the way to it we had heard a good many bullets whistling around, but the staff quarters themselves were in an absolutely safe place.
Telephone wires on service poles radiated in all directions from the headquarters office.
General Kondratenko and Colonel Irman joined us here and accompanied us to the position, to the advanced lines of which we proceeded on foot.
There was a continuous rattle of rifle fire from all sides, and it was already quite dark. We proceeded along the narrow communication passages, sometimes coming out into a deep ravine, and thence into the fighting trenches, where our riflemen were standing in silence with their overcoats half thrown open (a coat turned inside-out looks like a rock from a distance, and the men in my section always wore their coats like that). Occasionally some of them would take aim and fire into the darkness.
Just as I was going past one of the men, he literally deafened me for the moment with the report of his rifle. “What are you firing at?” I asked. “Into the trench there, sir.” “What are you firing into the trench for?” “I saw something moving there,” he said. I looked over the parapet. The enemy’s trench was indeed very close,[105]but I doubt if it were possible to see anything moving in it.
In this way we went on for a long time, now crawling along on the ground, now standing up to our full height, Colonel Reiss suffering most inconvenience of all. He had to bend the whole time, as he was so tall that otherwise his head would have been quite a foot over the top of the parapets of the trenches.
At last we stopped. “What’s the matter?” we asked of those in front. “We have to run one by one across this piece of open ground.” I took my turnto run across. There was a good deal of firing going on here, I suppose in order to let the Japanese know that we were on the alert. The rifle firing, however, was accompanied by fairly frequent discharges of what appeared to be heavy guns.
Having made one more turn, we saw before us a magnificent spectacle, which at once explained the firing we had heard. It was not gun firing, but the bursting of the Japanese hand grenades hurled at Fort Chi-kuan. I thought how pleasant it would be to be hit on the head by such a projectile.
But it was indeed a wonderful sight. From behind the breastwork of Chi-kuan (we were near the gorge) hissing streams of fire, either singly or in “bouquets,” shot high into the air and, falling into the fort, burst with a report like that of a heavy gun.
For about five minutes we watched this wonderful firework display. An officer who had been farther to the front explained that the missiles were pyroxylin or melinite cartridges, to which was attached some wadding saturated with kerosene. The wadding was lighted and the cartridge thrown into the fort by some mechanical means, and there it burst as soon as the “slow-match” had burnt down.
The Japanese hoped by this means to set fire to the sand-bags, planks and beams that were piled up in stacks at the entrance to the fort.
Not knowing how long this display would last, we went across the entrance of the fort into a bomb-proof on the other side without any one being injured. Thanks to the light of some small lanterns and the flames of the wadding which was blazing everywhere, I was able to see that the fort was almost completelywrecked; parapets and traverses presented an absolutely ruined appearance, everywhere pieces of planks and beams from blown-up bomb-proofs were heaped up, and there were numbers of deep, wide holes where 11-inch shell had burst.
I noticed several riflemen on the parapet lying behind sand-bags. They were sentries. I also noticed a well-built retrenchment in the principal salient of the fort.
As I followed the others as quickly as possible into the stone bomb-proof, I became conscious that a moment before I had been somewhat uneasy as to whether I should escape without having my face damaged (just before I had seen a soldier with his face and arms horribly burnt).
The large vaulted casemate we had entered was filled with soldiers, quietly seated all round it. We passed through it and turned to the left, and then proceeded farther through several doors until we suddenly found ourselves in the brightly lit casemate of the officer commanding the fort. We had a short rest there. Colonel Grigorenko explained the situation, making it clear to us that the enemy’s mining parties, drilling their way through in two directions, had already got very close to the wall of the semi-caponiers which were placed in the chief salient of the fort, while we had counter-mined in two places.
It was now necessary to determine how near we were to the enemy’s miners and to calculate the charge required. There were very few expert miners among officers or men. The sapper company had been but lately formed, and its commander was a pontoon expert, while all the other officers wereyoung. Major Linder (commanding the company) had never had any experience of mining operations, and the only people who knew anything about them were Colonel Grigorenko and Lieutenant-Colonel Rashevski. The former had served with me in the 6th Battalion and knew that I had for some years practised offensive and defensive mining operations at the Engineer College at Kiev, and for that reason he had asked me to come and help him at this critical moment. According to the officer who was superintending the work in our mines, the enemy was extremely close, but just then they could only occasionally hear the sound of very cautious digging.
After hearing this report, we all went into the semi-caponier. We proceeded for a considerable distance through some dark casemates, and then came to the place where the mining was being done. We ordered every one out of the mine and climbed in to listen. Colonel Grigorenko and Lieutenant-Colonel Rashevski were with me. We began to listen, but our movements and breathing prevented our hearing well, so my two companions went out and I was left alone. Putting my ear close to the wall nearest the enemy, I held my breath and listened intently, but not a sound broke the dead silence.
I acknowledge that when my comrades climbed out of the mine, which dropped down steeply in the enemy’s direction, I felt none too happy.
Supposing the enemy had laid his charge and was just about to explode it! There would not be much of me left!
In my imagination I conjured up some very disquieting pictures, and all the time not a sound fromthe enemy. This rather confirmed me in the correctness of my supposition.
Long and intently I listened, several times changing my position, as my legs got stiff and cramped owing to my not being able to stretch them out. I strained my ears, ... not a sound. Suddenly ... a blow, a very careful one, then ... another and another; I tried to guess the enemy’s direction, and how far off he was. Though the formation was somewhat of the nature of sand-stone, still one ought to be able to judge fairly accurately. The man was working very cautiously with a pick, and I could hear it from all sides of our mine. As if it were now (one does not forget such moments!), I remember that the blows sounded near the left side of the passage and a little above it. The distance was less than a sagene (7 feet), but more than an archine (28 inches).
Though the worker was very careful in using his pick, yet he scraped away the loose earth and stones rather noisily.
This scraping sound was plainly audible through the intervening rock, but it was thought very probably that an enemy on the other side could not hear it.
When I had quite decided how attacker and defender were situated with regard to each other, I climbed out of the mine and reported the result of my observations. Colonel Grigorenko and his miners accepted my conclusions, and decided to lay their charge. A report was made to the commandant of the hill, who had himself heard the enemy at work, and he personally exploded our mine, which completely destroyed that of the Japanese,and, bursting along the gallery, hurled planks, tools, and men to destruction.
However, having once laid open part of the caponier, which was now quite unprotected by earth, the Japanese blew it up with dynamite and became masters of part of the interior, and from this time there was a continual struggle for the possession of this place, which lasted for a very long time. Some one who was actually there must, however, describe what happened. I only know about it from what I have heard, and cannot give any reliable information except as to what I personally saw on a visit to the fort after the Japanese had blown up the roof of the gallery.
I do not now remember why I went to the fort that day, but I think it was simply out of curiosity. The roof of a large bomb-proof inside had then been wrecked by an 11-inch shell, and I noticed the amount of damage done. I saw the wooden wall dividing the ruined part of the casemate from the unharmed and habitable portion, near which General Kondratenko and seven of General Gorbatovski’s best officers were killed.
When I left the semi-caponier, it was thick with smoke from our rifles, though it was possible to breathe in it. Near the sand-bag wall dividing the portion occupied by the Japanese from ours stood two riflemen, who continued to fire through the embrasures at the enemy hidden in the dark on the other side. There was a huge heap of empty cartridge cases piled up round them, reaching almost as high as their waists.
* * * * *
The enemy in my section worked away at hissaps, and we continued firing at the sap-heads, throwing grenades into them, and frequently making sorties, the majority of which were most successful. Many of the men who took part in these sorties were deserving of, and recommended for St. George’s Crosses; but General Fock did not credit the 5th Regiment with any particular bravery, and kept back the reward lists (ordering them to be curtailed and combined on one general sheet), so that, when eventually the fortress fell, they were probably all lost, and many heroic deeds passed unrewarded.
GROUP OF OFFICERS AT DINNER. AT THE END OF THE TABLE COLONEL SEMENOV, ON HIS RIGHT GENERAL KONDRATENKO, ON HIS LEFT GENERAL GORBATOVSKI (WITH CROSS), AND NEXT TO HIM COLONEL IRMAN.p. 227]
GROUP OF OFFICERS AT DINNER. AT THE END OF THE TABLE COLONEL SEMENOV, ON HIS RIGHT GENERAL KONDRATENKO, ON HIS LEFT GENERAL GORBATOVSKI (WITH CROSS), AND NEXT TO HIM COLONEL IRMAN.p. 227]
GROUP OF OFFICERS AT DINNER. AT THE END OF THE TABLE COLONEL SEMENOV, ON HIS RIGHT GENERAL KONDRATENKO, ON HIS LEFT GENERAL GORBATOVSKI (WITH CROSS), AND NEXT TO HIM COLONEL IRMAN.
p. 227]
Availing ourselves of this period of comparative quiet, we varied occasionally the every-day routine work by riding into the town, or visiting other portions of our line of defences. However, a drive into the town was no great treat, as it was continually swept by fire, and once my horses were nearly killed by a shell bursting just ahead of them.
I generally went to see Colonel Grigorenko, but I also visited, though rarely, the commandant (General Smirnov) and General Stessel. We could always have tea with them and hear the latest news about everything.
It was most interesting to go to Golden Hill, whence they were continually firing on the enemy’s torpedo-boats, and where latterly an attack by fire-ships was expected. The search-lights were kept going all night, and if one of the Japanese ships happened to cross the illuminated area, she fared badly. All the shore batteries would open at once a terrific fire on the unfortunate vessel, and the sea round her would boil and spout columns ofwater thrown up by the falling shell. In the town the firing sounded like thunder, and as the bombardment nearly always continued at night, the flash of the guns produced the effect of lightning; indeed, when one heard the low, unceasing rumble and crash, and saw the frequent flashes, it seemed as if this were not the work of man’s hand, but a grand natural phenomenon. But this display cost us hundreds of precious shells which we were unable to replace.
The Japanese kept a very keen look-out at sea, and even Chinese junks found great difficulty in slipping past them. Imagine our surprise and delight, when one night asteamercame into Pigeon Bay. The general conjecture was that it had brought machine guns and shell.
We were told that the vessel had brought some supplies, and that my wife had sent me a large quantity of foodstuffs from Tientsin; but Major Dostovalov, the officer in charge of stores and transport, would not tell me what kind they were, or how much there was of them. Everything that had been brought was commandeered by the commissariat staff, and several days passed without a word being said about our presents.
So I went to Major Dostovalov and asked him to let me have what had been sent me.
“Yes, I have got something for you,” he said, “but I have not been able to send it to you yet. If you like, I will give you five Westphalian hams and we will consider everything square, eh?”
I did not expect to get so much as that, I mustconfess, and my mouth watered at the thought of the five hams.
“Rather,” I said. “I shall be quite satisfied.”
I received my five hams and returned home in triumph.
The officers were even more pleased than I was, and we demolished the hams with the greatest relish, feeling very well disposed towards Major Dostovalov, who had added as I went away: “I am sorry you have come a bit late, Colonel, as I would have let you have more, but I can’t now, as all I have left is for the generals.”
I heard afterwards that my wife had sent me twelve hams, some fruit, sausages, coffee, and so on—300 roubles’[106]worth altogether. So after deducting the five hams I actually received, there was a good deal left, all of which was snapped up by the senior officers.
Though we were rather sore about it, and there was a good deal of grumbling, yet we blamed Major Dostovalov and our Chi-fu Consul (Tiddeman) even more for not sending us some newspapers.