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 Another Random Document on
Scribd Without Any Related Topics
Manchuria and Japan with the object of picking off stray
merchantmen belonging to the enemy, and it was while he was
acting in pursuance of these instructions that Captain Reitzenstein,
on February 11th, fell in with two Japanese steamers—the
Nakonoura Maru and the Zensko Maru, off the Tsugaru Straits, which
lie between the islands of Hondo—the Japanese mainland—and
Yezo. The larger of the two, the Nakonoura Maru, was an old ship,
built in 1865, and of 1,084 tons burden; the smaller, the Zensko
Maru, of only 319 tons, was quite modern, having been built in
1895. They were bound in company from Sokata, in the province of
Nizan, to Otaru, in Yezo. The older and slower boat fell an easy prey
to the Russian cruisers; but it would seem that she offered fight, for
she was surrounded by the men-of-war, bombarded, and sunk, her
crew being taken on board the Russian ships. This act called forth a
great outburst of indignation in Japan and also in the United States;
for though, of course, a merchantman can justifiably be captured as
a prize of war, it is not usual to destroy an unarmed ship out of
hand. The official telegrams, however, gave no particulars as to the
extent of the resistance offered, and it must be allowed that if the
Nakonoura Maru absolutely refused to surrender, the Russian men-
of-war would have no option but to fire upon her and let her take
the inevitable consequences. The Zensko Maru, more fortunate than
her consort, showed the Russians a clear pair of heels and escaped
safely to the shelter of the port of Fukuyama, in Yezo.
This insignificant feat of arms was the sole success
Snowstorms and
in the way of the destruction of commerce which
Bitter Frost
could be put to the credit of Captain Reitzenstein's
squadron in the early days of the war, and the fates soon proved
unkind to him. The stormy weather which inconvenienced the
Mikado's fleet off Port Arthur raged in the Japan Sea with peculiar
severity, and for three days after the destruction of the Nakonoura
Maru the Russian squadron flew before a heavy gale, aggravated by
snowstorms and bitter frost. An official message from Admiral
Alexeieff reporting these facts was the last authentic news of the
Vladivostock squadron that reached the outside world for many
weeks. Rumor upon the subject was, of course, busy in Russia. Now
it was reported that the activity of Captain Reitzenstein had reduced
the over-sea trade of Japan to a standstill; now it was stated (on the
best authority, of course) that the squadron had escaped, and
evading the Mikado's ships in some marvelous fashion, had joined
the Russian fleet at Port Arthur; still a third and wilder story made
out that it was on its way to Europe to effect a junction with the
Baltic fleet, which, it was declared, was to be dispatched to the Far
East in July. The truth appears to have been that after infinite
trouble and hardship Captain Reitzenstein managed once more to
make Vladivostock, and that his storm-tossed ships took refuge
again in the harbor, into which a free passage was maintained by the
efforts of the ice-breakers.
The Japanese Commanders, however, were ignorant
Reconnoitring at
of the whereabouts of this dangerous force, and a
Vladivostock
strong squadron was therefore sent into Japan Sea
to search it out, and, if possible, destroy it altogether. The fleet
dispatched for this purpose consisted of one battleship and six
cruisers, with a torpedo-destroyer flotilla. The cruisers, it should be
observed, included the newly-acquired Nisshin and Kasaga, which
had just been fitted up for war. Rear-Admiral Kamimura, Admiral
Togo's second in command at Port Arthur, had direction of the
operations, no word of which was allowed at the time to leak out
through the ordinary channels. A careful patrol was made of the
whole of the coast, both of Manchuria and Japan, several days of
this close search finally bringing the Japanese squadron to the very
mouth of Vladivostock Harbor itself. Considerable excitement was
caused in Russia's northern stronghold when, at 8.50 on the
morning of March 6th, without any previous warning of the
approaching danger, the garrison perceived the hulls of seven great
vessels loom upon the horizon to the south of Askold Island. The
presence of the enemy so far north was wholly unexpected, and for
some time the real character of the advancing squadron was in
doubt. But within an hour all speculation was set at rest and the
approaching vessels were seen to be flying the Japanese flag. The
great size and imposing aspect of the new cruisers led the Russians
to take them for battleships, whence they derived the mistaken idea
that Admiral Togo was present himself with his main fleet. As a
matter of fact, of course, the Japanese Commander-in-Chief, with
scarcely diminished forces, was still watching Port Arthur as a cat
watches a mouse, and the circumstance that he could without
difficulty spare so powerful a squadron for operations in a far distant
quarter of the theatre of war was at once a striking demonstration of
Japan's naval strength and of the straits to which the Czar's fleet had
been reduced.
By noon Admiral Kamimura's ships were half-way
At the Mouth of
the Golden Horn
between the coast and Askold Island, making
straight for Ussuri Bay, which lies to the southeast
of Vladivostock. At the southern end of the peninsula on which the
town and fortress of Vladivostock stand, and divided from it by a
broad channel called the Bosphorus Strait, there is situated the
Island of Kazakavitch. The Bosphorus Strait lies in a northwesterly
direction, and on the north side of it are two spacious inlets,
Patroclus Bay and Sobol Bay. Beyond these again lies the mouth of
the Golden Horn, the Harbor of Vladivostock.
The Japanese squadron steamed right on into the
Careful Japanese
Calculation
Bosphorus Strait, and when opposite Patroclus Bay
it assumed order of battle. Admiral Alexeieff, in his
official dispatch to the Czar, declared that it took up a position 5-1/2
miles from the shore and out of range of the batteries; but the truth
seems to be that, with the skill which so far has characterized all the
Japanese naval operations, Admiral Kamimura manœuvred to secure
a station, which, while it was sufficiently within range to enable him
to do execution to his foe, was, on the other hand, outside any
possible line of fire from the fortress guns, with their necessarily
limited arc of training. These dispositions for attack argued not only
careful calculation beforehand, but considerable knowledge of the
construction of the Russian forts and of the position occupied by
their ordnance.
 At half-past one the Japanese ships opened fire with
Bombardment at
their big guns. Forts Suvaroff and Linievitch and the
Long Range
town along the valley of the River Obyasseniye were
the main objects of the cannonade, and over these the great shells
continued to burst for close upon an hour, while the guns of the
defenders were reduced to inactivity and impotence by the baffling
tactics of the Japanese Admiral. It is true that the bombardment was
rather in the nature of a reconnaissance than a serious engagement,
its aim being to induce the mysterious cruisers which were
suspected of being within the harbor to issue forth and give battle;
but it was an uncomfortable reminder to the Russians of the
vulnerability of their powerful fortress from the sea and of the
comparative immunity which a resourceful enemy might enjoy while
making a dangerous attack. The only account which has been
received of the damage done comes from Russian sources. It does
not appear to have been serious. A house in the town was knocked
to pieces by a 12-inch shell, and an unfortunate woman, who was
inside at the time, was killed; another shell burst in the courtyard of
the Siberian Fleet Company, slightly wounding five sailors; but this
was set down as the limit to the depredation committed by the
Japanese gunners. On the other hand, the Russians consoled
themselves for the ineffectiveness of their own artillery by
calculating that the bombardment, by its expenditure of 200 shells,
cost their enemy at least $100,000, a somewhat minute and
peddling method of reckoning up the balance of losses and gains in
a great war. It should be added that the Czar did not fail to send the
garrison a rather magniloquent telegram of congratulation, in which
he spoke of their bravery under their baptism of fire.
 RAID BY THE VLADIVOSTOCK FLEET.

The demonstration failed to disclose the

Russian Ships
whereabouts of the missing cruiser squadron, and a
Lying Low
similar result attended the scouting operations of
the Japanese torpedo destroyers which were engaged during the
bombardment in searching Askold Island and the coast along the
Ussuri Gulf. It seemed undoubted, however, in the light of
subsequent events, that the Czar's ships were within the harbor at
Vladivostock all the time, and that they felt unable to cope
successfully with the powerful fleet which was so eagerly seeking
their destruction. Admiral Kamimura, who retired southwards after
the bombardment, returned on the following day to the same
position, and attempted once more to lure the hidden cruisers into
the open; but his blandishments were without avail. He then
conducted a thorough search of Amur Bay, which lies on the west
side of the peninsula, and finding no traces of the enemy, departed
finally southwards, leaving Vladivostock, for the time, in peace.
 The interest now shifted once more to Port Arthur,
Makaroff to the
where exciting events were on the eve of occurring.
Rescue
Admiral Makaroff, the newly-appointed Commander-
in-Chief of the Pacific Fleet, arrived at Port Arthur on the 8th of
March. This gallant Admiral's reputation stands almost as high with
the navy as does General Kuropatkin's with the army. He has gained
the confidence of the men who have served under him to an
exceptional degree, and the immediate result of his presence at the
seat of war was the infusion of a new spirit into the fleet and into
the defending force generally. With immense vigor he proceeded to
hurry on the repairs of the damaged warships and to prepare for
active operations as the best means of restoring the somewhat
shaken morale of the force under his command. The effect of this
bolder and more enterprising policy soon became evident in the
movements of the torpedo flotilla, which, under the feeble régime of
Admiral Starck, had proved such a futile branch of the service. An
opportunity for the trial of the new tactics came almost immediately,
for within twenty-four hours after the hoisting of Admiral Makaroff's
flag on the Askold, a renewed challenge came from the unresting
enemy. It was destined to lead to one of the fiercest and most
sanguinary combats yet experienced in the course of the war, a
combat of such a close and hand-to-hand character as to recall the
desperate struggles of earlier days, when the rival ships were
grappled together and the final arbiters of victory were the cutlass
and the boarding-pike.
At midnight on the 9th two divisions of the
A Chance for
Russian
Japanese destroyer flotilla crept up once more
Torpedoes towards the mouth of the entrance channel. The
first division, consisting of three vessels, the
Asashio, the Kasumi, and the Akatsuki, and under the command of
Captain Asai, posted itself outside the entrance to guard against the
approach of the Russian flotilla; while the second division occupied
itself in laying a number of mines of a new pattern in various spots
carefully selected beforehand for the purpose. These operations
were carried out with entire coolness and success, in spite of the
flashing searchlights and the fire from the forts—fire, however,
which, according to Admiral Togo's official report, was desultory and
ineffective. The fact was that on this occasion the Russians were
determined to rely upon another weapon than garrison ordnance.
Admiral Makaroff decided to give his torpedo destroyers the chance
for which they must have longed under the nerveless leadership of
Starck, and to send them forth to deliver a counter-attack upon the
audacious foe.
A flotilla of six of these vessels, under the command
Sea Fight at Close
Quarters
of Captain Matoussevitch, accordingly issued from
the harbor and went in quest of the Japanese.
About 4.30 in the morning they fell in with Captain Asai's Division to
the southwest of the Liau-tie-shan Peninsula. Though his foes
outnumbered him by two to one, the Japanese commander did not
hesitate for an instant, but, confident in the skill and courage of his
men, he ordered an immediate attack, and the Asashio, the Kasumi,
and the Akatsuki flew upon the enemy. A fierce struggle now
ensued. The Japanese were heavily outnumbered, it is true, but their
vessels were stronger individually than those of the Russians, and
whereas the latter were armed only with 3-pounders, the former
carried 6-pounders. Moreover, both officers and men had "found
themselves" in previous conflicts, and were flushed with a
consciousness of power and the memory of past victories. Their
shooting, too was superior to that of their opponents, and speedily
made its impression. On the other hand, the Russians, set free at
last from the paralyzing influences which had so long cramped their
energies, leapt to the contest with a glad eagerness, and fought with
desperate gallantry. The combatants drew closer and closer to one
another till they were within a few yards' distance, and the execution
done by the quick-firing guns was terrible. So near did one of the
Russian destroyers approach that some bluejackets standing on its
deck were able to throw by hand a charge of explosive onto the
bridge of a Japanese boat. Fortunately for the latter, it failed to
explode, and the Japanese poured in a withering fire in revenge.
Two of the Russian vessels were so severely mauled during the early
part of the fight that they were compelled to sheer off and retreat to
Port Arthur. The others kept up the conflict much longer, though they
were hopelessly outclassed. But a perfect rain of shell and small shot
fell upon the devoted Muscovites; their engines were rapidly
becoming disabled; some of them were on fire; and at last it became
manifest that if they were to be saved at all they must retire.
Retreat, therefore, they did, fighting hotly all the way, with the
enemy hanging upon their flanks like hounds upon their quarry. At
length they came within the protection of the forts, and the heavy
fire which was directed upon the Japanese from that quarter
compelled them sullenly to give up their hold and in their turn retire.
The losses suffered by the Russian destroyers, in
Severe Casualties
this hand-to-hand conflict, which lasted for about
forty minutes, were not made public officially, but
they must have been considerable, if we may judge from the
damage incurred by their victorious assailants. Seven of the
Japanese were killed and eight were wounded, some of them
severely. Prominent among these was Engineer Minamisawa, of the
Kasumi, who peculiarly distinguished himself, and who received
injuries which were reported as likely to prove mortal. This gallant
officer had already covered himself with glory in the first torpedo
attack upon Port Arthur, and in the heroic but fruitless attempt to
block the harbor entrance on the 23rd of February. The damage
done to the Japanese destroyers themselves was serious enough,
but not such as to unfit them for service in a few days. The Akatsuki
received a shell in her stokehold, which burst a pipe and filled the
compartment with scalding steam—an accident which alone
accounted for four of the lives which were lost. All three destroyers
had their hulls and upper works knocked about by the Russian
shells, but the injuries were above the water-line, and were made
good with little difficulty.
An even hotter and, for the Russians, more
Another Hot Fight
disastrous conflict took place a few hours later. As
the second division of the Japanese flotilla, under
Captain Tsuehiya, was leaving the roadstead at 7 A. M., having
concluded its work of laying submarine mines, it encountered two
other Russian destroyers which had been further out to sea to
reconnoitre, and were now returning to Port Arthur. The Japanese at
once threw themselves across the course of the newcomers to
intercept them. The Russians, though on this occasion the
outnumbered party, were nothing loth to face the danger which
confronted them, and advanced to meet it with unquenchable ardor.
An engagement of an even more terrible character than that held
three hours previously now took place, and lasted for upwards of
fifty-five minutes. The Russians fought with the courage of despair,
and succeeded in putting one of their formidable opponents out of
action for the time, though the damage done was not ultimately
irreparable. This feat was performed by the Stereguschtshi,
commanded by Captain Sergueieff, which was more heavily armed
than her companion, and carried a 12-pounder in addition to her
ordinary 3-pounders. A shell from this weapon struck the Japanese
destroyer on the water-line and flooded two of her water-tight
compartments. The supply of quick-firing ammunition was wetted
and rendered useless, so that the vessel was unable to take any
further active share in the conflict. Nor was this the only injury she
sustained. Another shell burst upon her bridge, shivering it to
fragments. One man was killed; but a lieutenant, a sub-lieutenant,
and a signaller, who were on the bridge at the time, in some
miraculous manner escaped. The terrible missile also carried away
the binnacle and the engine-room telegraph instruments, and sent
the davits flying.
It was clear that the 12-pounder of the
Unprecedented
Japanese Daring
Stereguschtshi was too dangerous a weapon to be
neglected, and, therefore, the other Japanese
destroyers concentrated their fire upon it, with the result that in a
short time it was completely dismantled and put out of action. In
these operations the Sazanami played the most conspicuous part.
She drew up so close upon the Stereguschtshi's quarter that one of
her bluejackets with extraordinary daring actually leaped on board
the Russian vessel, cutlass in hand. Just as he landed on the deck
Captain Sergueieff emerged from his cabin. The impetuous Jap
rushed at him like a tiger, and, beating down his guard, struck him a
fearful blow on the head with his cutlass, felling him to the deck.
The Russian attempted to rise, but before he could do so his terrible
opponent kicked him overboard and he sank beneath the waves.
Undismayed by the death of their captain, the crew
Carnage
Indescribable
of the Stereguschtshi still fought on with desperate
gallantry against the raking fire of the Sazanami.
The lieutenant took over the command, but immediately afterwards
a shell carried away both his legs, and he fell dead at his post. To
him succeeded the sub-lieutenant, who endeavored bravely but in
vain to bring the little vessel, wounded almost to the death as it was,
into the shelter of the forts. He almost succeeded in his heroic
attempt, but the implacable foe was not to be shaken off. The man
at the wheel fell mortally wounded, and as the young lieutenant
stepped forward to take it from his dying grasp he became himself
the target of the terrible fusillade and dropped dead among his
fallen brothers. Now at last, with hardly a man out of her crew of
fifty-five still living, the Stereguschtshi lay a helpless log upon the
waters, awaiting the long-deferred capture, but the fire from the
forts rendered the task of taking her in tow an extremely dangerous
one. Nevertheless, a Japanese lieutenant and a party of bluejackets
from the Sazanami boarded her with a rope and made her fast. The
deck of the Russian destroyer presented a horrible spectacle.
Everywhere lay the corpses of her gallant crew, in some cases
terribly mutilated by shell. Even in the few hurried moments at his
disposal the Japanese lieutenant was able to count thirty bodies; the
appearance of the stokehold defied description. Two stokers jumped
overboard, and were picked up by the Japanese. The only other
survivors were two sailors, who, directly the enemy boarded the
vessel, rushed out of the conning tower, and, taking refuge in the
after cabin, locked themselves in and refused absolutely to
surrender.
Now began the slow and laborious work of towing the captured boat
out of range of the shore batteries, whose attentions were becoming
 embarrassing and dangerous. Moreover, a new peril
Makaroff
Outpaced
threatened the Japanese. Admiral Makaroff,
perceiving the plight of the Stereguschtshi, had
hoisted his flag on the Novik, and sallied forth with that cruiser and
the Bayan, to the rescue. The other destroyer, it should be
mentioned, thanks to the diversion caused by the heroic stand made
by her consort, had in the meantime managed to reach the harbor.
Things began to look black for the Sazanami, as the Russian cruisers
were rapidly approaching; but Admiral Togo was not to be caught
napping, and his own cruiser squadron was not far away. Several of
his ships advanced to the assistance of the plucky little destroyer,
and finding himself outnumbered and outpaced, Makaroff reluctantly
abandoned his attempt and steamed back to the protection of the
forts.
The Sazanami, however, was not destined to save
A Useless Prize
her prize. The sea was rough, and the Russian
destroyer, riddled with holes, steadily began to fill
with water. After two hours' towing it became apparent that her
condition was desperate, and the Japanese were compelled to cut
the rope. A few moments afterwards the hapless prize gave one last
lurch and sank beneath the waves with her tragic freight of dead. It
was impossible to reach the two men in the cabin, and they perished
with their ship.
Thus ended one of the hottest conflicts yet
Bombardment by
Wireless
experienced in the course of the naval fighting
Telegraphy around Port Arthur. But this sanguinary affair was
only the prelude to more important operations.
Admiral Togo had made his arrangement for a bombardment of the
town and fortress of the heaviest description, arrangements which,
like the manœuvres of Admiral Kamimura at Vladivostock, were
conceived in the spirit of the most scientific warfare. As long as the
Russian fleet remained undestroyed he was under an imperative
necessity to risk his ships as little as possible against the great guns
of the Port Arthur batteries, but to conduct a successful
bombardment without coming within the range of their fire
presented obvious difficulties. An indirect cannonade from Pigeon
Bay, on the southwest side of the Liau-tie-shan Peninsula, would
indeed deprive the enemy of any opportunity of replying with effect,
but on the other hand in ordinary circumstances the gunners of the
attacking fleet would also have to aim very much at random, without
being able to judge the results of their shooting. Nevertheless this
difficulty was cleverly obviated by the Japanese Admiral. While
stationing his battleships in Pigeon Bay he dispatched his cruiser
squadron to take a position on the east side of Port Arthur Bay, at
right angles to the line of fire, to observe the effects of the
bombardment, and to communicate suggestions by wireless
telegraphy during its progress. The post of the cruisers in turn was
adroitly selected so that while they could see what was going on,
they were outside the angle of fire of the forts.
 THE TOKIO MILITARY HOSPITAL—OFFICERS
QUARTERS.

These careful dispositions were completed by ten

Port Arthur a Hell
o'clock on the morning of the 10th, and at that hour
once more "the red fire and smouldering clouds out
brake." For close upon five hours a storm of shells was poured upon
the devoted fortress. The defending guns attempted to return the
fire, but their efforts were intermittent and ineffective. On the other
hand, the great projectiles from the 12-inch guns of the Japanese
battleships wrought immense havoc both in the forts and in the
town. A shell burst close to the house of a lawyer named Sidorski,
and wrecked the building; M. Sidorski himself was killed on the spot.
The wife of Colonel Baron Frank, who was in the house at the time,
sustained terrible injuries, and her daughter's head was blown off. A
young lady named Waleritsch was so seriously wounded by another
shell that she died soon after her removal to the hospital. An English
advocate, a Mr. Newton, was blown to pieces. The house of General
Volkoff was completely destroyed, and two sentries only just
escaped death. A train which was entering the town from the North
was struck by a 12-inch shell; the engine was shattered into a
thousand fragments and the driver was killed. And now to add to the
horrors of the situation, fires began to break out in various quarters
of the town, and the panic-stricken inhabitants fled to the race
course, where, behind the shelter of the hills, they were able to find
some respite from the terrible tornado which had burst upon them.
While all this devastation was being hurled upon the
Golden Hill
Silenced
town, the forts themselves were passing through a
hot time. The Japanese, assisted by the skilful
manœuvre before described, had found the range for their high
angle fire perfectly, whereas the batteries of the defending force
could do little or nothing in return. The official accounts issued from
the Russian side, while admitting the severity when the
bombardment visited the town, said little about the damage to the
fortifications or the losses sustained by the garrison; but the reports
received from other and independent sources, while varying a good
deal in details, agreed in representing the total result as being of the
most serious character. It is said that twenty soldiers were killed and
that many more were wounded. The Governor of Port Arthur himself,
General Stoessel, who was on the batteries during the hottest of the
fire, had a narrow escape. A shell burst near to the spot on which he
was standing with his staff, and bespattered the whole party with
splinters and sand. The forts on Golden Hill suffered severely, and
two guns were put out of action. Nor did the ships in the harbor
come off scatheless. Heavy casualties among their crews were
reported, and it was stated that the unfortunate Retvisan, which had
already borne so much, received still further damage.
The Port Arthur journal, the Novi Krai, gave a terrible picture of the
scenes on the cruiser Bayan.
"The bursting shells," said the writer, "bowled over man after man
until the decks were slippery with blood. Amidst this hell the captain
stood unmoved in the conning tower calmly telephoning his orders
to the captains of the guns. His wonderful coolness had a
remarkable influence on all the officers. The cockpit was soon
crowded with wounded, thirty-nine men being brought down before
the fight ended.
"Amid the crash of the guns, the hiss of the flying projectiles, and
the thunder of their explosions, the smashing of splinters, and the
din of the working engines, the surgeons labored quietly among the
wounded on the hospital operating table. Although some of the men
suffered frightful agony, few groans were heard, in spite of the fact
that anæsthetics were only administered in one case."
 For hours that to the heart-shaken inhabitants must
Terrific Missiles
have appeared interminable, the great shells, each
of the enormous weight of 850 lbs., continued to
hurtle through the air and to burst over the harassed stronghold.
The sensations of a garrison in such circumstances are well
described in a letter which a wounded Russian officer wrote from the
hospital in Port Arthur to a friend in Russia. He is recounting his
experiences of the first bombardment, but the account is so vivid
and would apply so well to the more trying ordeal of the 10th of
March that it will bear reproduction here.
"The sea," he says, "is quite white from the falling
A Vivid Picture
shells, and it is impossible to hear the words of
command. I cry out until my voice becomes hoarse,
but cannot make myself heard above the din. There are more than
150 cannon belching forth smoke, shell and death. There is a wild,
choking sound from the machine guns. Amid the smoke, steam and
dust I hear a groan, it is that of a soldier whose nose has been torn
away by the fragment of a shell. He is surrounded by stretcher
bearers. Someone lays his hand on my shoulder, and I turn and see
at my side a soldier, pale, and his lips trembling. He wishes to speak,
but his tongue refuses to obey. He points with his finger, and I
understand what has occurred.

FUNERAL PROCESSION OF A JAPANESE OFFICER IN YOKOHAMA.

 "There beneath the cliff I hear a little battery of
Blood—Blood
Everywhere
rapid firing guns, very small and elegant. There are
12,000 bullets speeding on their errand in sixty
seconds. They are destined to defend our shores against the landing
of an enemy. The orgy is at its height. The shells are bursting
around us like fireworks at a feast. A whistle, a hiss, and a sharp
ringing noise, as they rush through the air, then smoke and a smell
of burning, while the sand dances from the earth. I turn from the
battery and see a terrible picture. In the midst of the men a shell
bursts. One soldier is disemboweled, and another is wounded in the
head, a third is shrieking in the height of his delirium. One steel
cannon is broken to pieces as though it were straw. An awful
picture, with blood—blood everywhere."
At last, at two o'clock, the inferno ceased. A great
Further Naval
calm succeeded to the thunder of the guns and the
Movements
screams of the shells, and the civilians of Port
Arthur slowly and timidly returned to their ruined homes. The
separate divisions of the Japanese fleet rejoined one another, and
after the most destructive bombardment yet inflicted upon the land
defences of the Russian stronghold, they quietly steamed away
southwards. While these events were taking place at Port Arthur a
detached squadron of the Mikado's cruisers had proceeded northeast
to Dalny, or Talienwan, as it used to be called, and destroyed the
quarantine buildings erected by the Russians on the Sanshan
Islands. Outside that port the Takasago and the Chihaya scouted the
western coast of the entrance to Port Arthur in the hope that the
bombardment would draw Admiral Makaroff's ships into the open;
but no enemy could be found and the two cruisers then retired in
the wake of the main squadron.
It was not long before a Russian vessel fell a victim
Hoist With its
Own Petard
to the mines laid by the Japanese destroyers at the
harbor entrance on the night of March 9th. On the
16th the Skori, a torpedo-boat destroyer of the newest pattern, was
entering the channel when she struck upon a contact mine and was
blown up. Out of her crew of fifty-five men, only four were reported
to have been saved.
After an interval of twelve days Admiral Togo made
Another Attempt
to Bottle
a renewed attack upon Port Arthur, the fifth in
number since the outbreak of hostilities. It was not
so serious an assault as the last, its real object being to tempt the
Russian fleet away from the protection of the shore batteries and to
give battle at sea. In this design it was unsuccessful, but incidently it
was useful, as revealing the strength of the squadron Admiral
Makaroff had at his disposal after the repairs which had been
effected upon the damaged ships. At midnight on the 21st two
Japanese destroyers were discovered by the searchlights
approaching the outer roadstead. The guns of the batteries at once
gave tongue, and a violent fire was directed against the daring craft,
not only from the fortress but from the gunboats Bobe and Otvagni;
which, according to Admiral Alexeieff's report to the Czar, compelled
them to retire. A second flotilla crept up at 4 o'clock in the morning,
and this too, it was claimed by the Viceroy, was repulsed. A different
complexion, however, was put upon the operation by Admiral Togo's
dispatch to his Government. The destroyers retired indeed, but
seemingly not in consequence of the Russian fire, which left them
unharmed, but as part of a preconceived plan to lure forth Admiral
Makaroff's fleet. The Japanese Commander-in-Chief's words were:
"The combined fleet acted according to program. Two flotillas of our
destroyers were outside Port Arthur, as instructed, from the night of
the 21st till the morning of the 22nd. Although during this time they
were under the enemy's fire they did not sustain any damage." It is
clear from this that the aim of the Russian gunners leaves much to
be desired, for the attacking flotilla were able to cruise about in the
roadsteads without being touched.
At eight o'clock on the morning of the 22nd the
Makaroff's Feint
main fleet arrived off Port Arthur. The same tactics
as were employed on the 10th were adopted on this
occasion, but with some modification. Only two battleships, the Fuji
and the Yashima, were sent to Pigeon Bay to undertake an indirect
bombardment of the town; while the Admiral, with his main
squadron, took up a position more convenient for an attack upon the
Russian fleet should it put out to sea. The cannonade lasted again
for several hours, but his main purpose, that of drawing Admiral
Makaroff into the open, was not successful. At one period, indeed,
the hopes of the Japanese ran high. The Russian fleet was seen to
issue from the harbor as if ready for battle, with the cruiser Askold,
flying the flag of the Commander-in-Chief, at their head. It was now
observed that the available naval force of the Czar at Port Arthur
consisted of five battleships and four cruisers, as well as destroyers,
gunboats, and torpedo-boats. The battleships of course included the
Pobieda, 12,674 tons, and the Sevastopol, 10,950 tons, which were
undergoing repairs when the first battle took place. None of the five,
it will be remembered, was equal to the Japanese battleships, either
in size or in armament, and the cruiser strength was still more
disproportionate. Nevertheless, they made a gallant show, and for a
time it seemed as if they were prepared to come to close quarters
on blue water. Admiral Makaroff, however, bold and enterprising as
he is, did not feel in a position to take such a strong step, and, to
the disappointment of the Japanese, he kept his ships well within
the zone of protection afforded by the shore batteries, while he
joined them in returning the fire of the enemy.
The objects of the two Admirals were indeed
Wary Enemies
identical. Each sought to bring about a battle on his
own terms, and each was too wary to be
persuaded. The Russian attempted to lure his enemy within the
range of the forts; the Japanese endeavored to draw the Russian
away from the range of the forts; and neither was successful in his
blandishments. Finally, Admiral Togo gave the order to cease firing,
and his fleet retired southwards once more. The Russians claimed to
have struck one of their opponent's battleships; but Admiral Togo in
his report distinctly stated that his ships suffered no damage, though
a good many shells fell near the Fuji in the course of the indirect
bombardment.
 Although Admiral Makaroff did not venture out to
Russians Taking
Heart
sea with his smaller squadron when the Japanese
fleet was absolutely upon the spot, this did not
prevent him from engaging in active operations of a much more
daring character than any his predecessor had dreamt of. On the
26th, for example, he took out the whole of the ships under his
command for a reconnaissance to the Hwang-Ching-Tau Islands, a
group situated about thirty miles to the southwest of Port Arthur, a
proceeding that must have heartened both officers and men
considerably. No trace of the enemy's warships was discovered, but
while the fleet was making its way back to Port Arthur, the Novik fell
in with a small merchant steamer, the Hanien Maru, on board of
which were a number of Japanese newspaper correspondents. The
crew were transferred to the warship and the steamer was taken in
tow and subsequently sunk. The whole Russian squadron returned
safely to Port Arthur after this excursion without once coming in
sight of the enemy.
 A SKIRMISH BETWEEN JAPANESE AND RUSSIAN CAVALRY.

But in the meantime the Japanese were busy with

Individual
Heroism
fresh plans. Unable to draw Admiral Makaroff away
from the protection of the forts when the whole
Japanese fleet was lying in wait, Admiral Togo determined to use
another card in this game of skill. The project of corking up the
bottle at Port Arthur, though a failure on the first attempt, had not
by any means been abandoned, and on the very night of Admiral
Makaroff's cruise to the Hwang-Ching-Tau Islands, a fresh effort was
made to block the harbor entrance. It resulted in operations which,
although again only partially successful, were most brilliantly
executed, and were marked not only by consummate skill, but by
acts of individual heroism and self-sacrifice of the most inspiring
kind. Nor was the gallantry confined to one side alone. The Russians
were not slow to accept the opportunities for glory vouchsafed to
them by the daring of their foe, and one of the features of the
conflict was the attack by a solitary torpedo-boat upon six of the
Japanese flotilla.
 CHAPTER V.
Volunteers for Fireships—A Drama of Searchlights—The Devil's Caldron—
The Sacrifice of Fire—Heroic Hirose—Undaunted by Death—Covering
Themselves with Glory—Casualties Few but Terrible—The Hero of Japan—
Channel Still Unclosed—The Shadows of Fate—The Great Catastrophe—
The Story of the "Petropavlovsk"—A Double Trap—Captain Oda and his
Mines—The "Bayan" to the Rescue—Preparing an Ambush—Makaroff
Lured Out—Cutting off the Unwary—Weather Permitting—Into the Jaws
of Death—Haphazard Fire—Rescue Work—The Character of the Explosion
—Accounts of Survivors—Tribute from the Japanese—On Land—Chong-Ju
—The Advance to the North—Concentration of Troops—Kuroki's Line of
Front—The Russian Position—Russian Confidence.

Volunteers for

A
Fireships s on the occasion of the first effort to block the
harbor at Port Arthur, so upon the second a
spirited competition took place among the Japanese officers and
men for the honor of occupying the post of danger upon the
fireships. The claim of the gallant men who had charge of the
previous attempt to finish the work which they had so well begun
was finally conceded, their Commander-in-Chief himself deciding the
question. Four merchantmen, larger than those already sunk, had
been filled with stones and explosives and were ready for the
desperate enterprise. The whole fleet left the rendezvous on the
26th of March under the cover of night, and accompanied the
fireships up to a distance of some miles from Port Arthur. There the
Admiral gave his final orders, and escorted by a flotilla of eleven
destroyers and six torpedo-boats, which were spread out fanwise in
front of them, the doomed vessels started upon their last and
proudest voyage.
 It was midnight when they set forth, and there was
A Drama of
no moon. An inky darkness brooded over the
Searchlights
waters, which lay still and calm like a village pond.
No sound was heard, no light was shown on the flotilla as, steadily
and inexorably, it pursued its fateful passage over the silent sea. The
only ray of light visible came from the distant searchlight on Golden
Hill, set like the eye of a Cyclops, in the forehead of Port Arthur.
Slowly and monotonously the broad refulgent beam swept
backwards across the bay, throwing into strong relief every object
upon which it fell within a radius of more than two miles. Every
moment it seemed to the tense expectancy of the advancing force
that their presence must be revealed, but still they held on their
course with calm and patient courage, and still the slow minutes
dragged along without any sign of suspicion on the part of the
garrison. At last, when the Japanese had approached so near that
they could make out the dim contour of the fortress and the
surrounding heights, the moving light settled for a moment upon the
lines of the foremost torpedo-boats. Another instant and a startling
change had come over the scene. Swiftly the searchlight flashed up
and down, backwards and forwards it plunged and replunged upon
the stealthy foe until the whole flotilla, approaching with such grim
determination, lay exposed to the view of the Russian sentries. The
trumpets rang out, the garrison sprang to arms, and a storm of shot
and shell once more burst forth from the great guns of Golden Hill.
As the gallant Japanese made straight for the
The Devil's
harbor entrance the batteries on the Tiger's Tail
Caldron
joined in the fierce cannonade, and from more than
a hundred guns a hail of shells was poured down, till the still waters
of the bay were torn up into a maelstrom of foam, "white as the
bitten lip of hate." But the calm resolution of the attacking force was
undisturbed. The fan-like formation of the escorting flotilla opened
out more widely, and the fireships, passing swiftly through, drove
straight into the devil's caldron in front of them. A mile away stood
the point for which they aimed, a mile charged every yard of it with
destruction and death. But setting their teeth dauntlessly, intent only
on gaining the fateful goal, the picked crews of the merchantmen
pressed forward upon their desperate errand.
At last they reached the harbor mouth. The leading
The Sacrifice of
steamer, the Chiyo Maru, drove straight from the
Fire
east side of the channel, heedless of the terrible fire
of which she was the central target. Everything was ready; the
anchor was dropped; the fuse was set; and swiftly but with precision
the crew slipped into the boats and made off. A moment later a
terrific explosion rent the ship from stem to stern, and down she
sank through the boiling waters.
The next to take her position was the Fukui Maru,
Heroic Hirose
which, edging to the port side of the Chiyo Maru, let
go her anchor. Now occurred one of the most heroic
acts which had yet characterized the course of the war—an act
which for cool and devoted gallantry has never been surpassed in
the annals of European seamanship. Waiting until the vessel was
securely anchored, the boatswain, Sujino, went calmly down to the
magazine to light the fuse. Just at that moment the Russian
torpedo-boat Silni approached and discharged a Whitehead torpedo,
which struck the Fukui Maru full in the bows and tore a gaping hole
in her below the water-line. Sujino was killed, but his comrades on
deck were unaware of his fate. All they knew was that the Russians
themselves had done their work for them and that the vessel was
settling down on the very spot designed for its destruction by
Admiral Togo. Commander Hirose, therefore, ordered his men to
take to the boats, but before he left the ship himself he determined
to find the brave Sujino if possible and save him from death. The
steamer was fast sinking; the water was pouring in at her bows like
a mill race; and she was the target of a perfect tornado of fire from
the forts; but the gallant commander searched through her three
times for the missing man before he would give up the quest. At last
it became clear that further search was useless. The vessel was on
the point of going down, and reluctantly Hirose clambered into one
of the boats. As the crew pushed off the Fukui Maru went down by
the head. Success, however, was dearly purchased. The delay had
enabled the Russians to concentrate their fire upon the boats with
deadly effect. The chief victim himself was Commander Hirose. A
shell struck him on the head, carrying away the greater part of his
body, and leaving in the boat only a shapeless fragment of torn and
blackened flesh.
In the meanwhile, the other steamers were taking
Undaunted by
Death
up their stations in the order provided beforehand.
The Yihiko Maru, regardless of the terrible fire from
the forts, steamed in on the port side of the Fukui Maru and cast
anchor in her turn. The fuse was duly set and lighted; officers and
crew set off in the boats; and the ship blew up like her fellows and
sank in the channel. Now came the opportunity of the fourth and
last of this devoted fleet, the Yoneyama Maru. The difficulties of the
channel and the violence of the enemy's fire led her to take a
devious course, but the skill with which she was steered excited
universal admiration. Her commander drove her through on the
starboard side of the sunken Chiyo Maru and then she was
compelled to turn back and slip between that ship and the Fukui
Maru. On her way she ran right upon a Russian destroyer and
engaged it at close quarters for a few moments, but her duty was
not to fight but to sink at a spot selected. Escaping therefore, from
the clutches of the enemy, she rounded the Fukui Maru and the
Yahiko Maru and finally brought up in the very centre of the fairway.
There her crew prepared to send her to the bottom, and if the
operation could have been carried out successfully there can be little
doubt that the whole enterprise would have gained its object, and
that the channel would, at least temporarily, have been completely
blocked. But the Russian torpedo-boats were active. One of their
deadly engines of destruction struck the Yoneyama Maru just as the
crew were about to cast anchor, and she drifted somewhat to the
westward before she sank, her bow pointing towards the Tiger's Tail.
Her crew escaped safely, but this accident left too wide a space
between the Yoneyama Maru and the Yahiko Maru to effect a total
obstruction of the channel.
 All this time the torpedo-boat and destroyer flotilla
Covering
had been far from idle. The destroyers consisted of
Themselves With
Glory the Shirakumo, Kasumi, Asashio, Akatsuki, Akebono,
Oboro, Inayuma, Ikadsuchi, Usugomo, Sayanami,
and Shinonome, while the torpedo-boats were the following: the
Karigane, Aotaka, Misasagi, Tsubame, Managuru, and Hato. Several
of these, it will be remembered, had already covered themselves
with glory in previous combats. On this occasion they fully
maintained their high reputation. The hot cannonade which was
directed from the fortress upon the fireships so far from deterring
the escorting vessels acted rather as an attraction to them, for while
one division of the flotilla stood by the doomed steamers in order to
pick up their crews, the other approached well within range of the
garrison artillery in order to divert its fire from the main operation
which was proceeding in the channel. Here it was that the Silni,
under Lieutenant Krinizki, came into contact with the Japanese
torpedo-boats. Without a moment's hesitation that gallant
commander engaged the whole six at once. The unequal combat
could not be long maintained, but it was fierce while it lasted.
Lieutenant Krinizki himself was wounded, Engineer Artificer Swyereff
and six seamen were killed and twelve other men were wounded.
But still, the remainder fought gallantry on till a shell burst one of
the little vessel's steam pipes and destroyed her steering-gear. Her
power to continue in action was gone, and she was beached upon
the shore below Golden Hill.
The work of the Japanese expeditions was now done. The survivors
of the fireships were by this time all picked up and the several
vessels of the flotilla were concentrated and retired out to sea.
In this remarkable operation the Japanese lost in all
Casualties Few
But Terrible
four killed and nine wounded. Of these latter
Lieutenant Hatsuzo sustained very severe injuries;
the wounds of the others, including Lieutenant Masaki and Engineer
Awada, being of a slighter character. In the circumstances it was
surprising that the casualties were so few, and one more illustration
was given of the comparative impunity with which torpedo attacks
can be made in harbor under cover of night. The smallness,
however, of the Japanese losses in this species of fighting in the
present war, must, of course, be largely attributable to bad shooting
on the part of the Russian gunners, and it would be unwise to draw
too general a lesson from it.

DESOLATION IN MANCHURIA.
 The most severe loss sustained by the Japanese
The Hero of
was that of the gallant Commander Hirose, whose
Japan
death, while it inflamed his comrades with pride,
caused universal mourning. He had only recently been promoted for
the skill and courage which he had displayed in the previous attempt
to block the harbor. He was then in command of the Hokoku Maru,
and regardless of the appalling fire directed upon her, he managed
to rush his ship further than any of her companions up the channel
before he blew her up and sent her to the bottom. An act of
particularly cool, almost reckless, daring on his part on that occasion
was now fondly recalled by his men. The ship was sinking, she was
the target of all the Russian batteries, and the crew had taken
refuge in the boats; but Commander Hirose had forgotten
something. It was nothing less important than his sword, which he
had left on the bridge. So, in spite of the imminent peril of the
situation, he coolly went back to recover it, buckled it on, and
escaped into the boat just in time, for the ship went down a moment
afterwards. Commander Hirose was well known in naval circles in
England, for he was a visitor to those shores a few years before on
business for the Japanese Admiralty, and had made many friends.
His remains were conveyed to Japan and accorded a public funeral,
and the Mikado only expressed the feelings of the whole nation
when he posthumously conferred upon the fallen hero the Order of
the Kite and the Order of the Rising Sun.
The exact amount of obstruction caused in the
Channel Still
channel by the sinking of the fireships could not be
Unclosed
ascertained. It is, however, apparent from
subsequent events that whatever inconvenience to navigation,
temporary or permanent, may have resulted, it was not sufficient to
prevent the passage of Admiral Makaroff's ships. At daybreak on the
very morning of the attack he led his whole fleet out and lined it up
in the roadstead in readiness to meet the Japanese fleet, which was
in sight ten miles out at sea. Seeing, however, that his enemy had
no intention of coming outside the range of the forts, Admiral Togo
was not to be tempted nearer, and retired with the whole of his force
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