Read Ebook: The Japan-Russia War: An Illustrated History of the War in the Far East by Tyler Sydney

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In spite, nevertheless, of all the natural difficulties of the situation, the Japanese proceeded steadily and systematically to "weave the crimson web of war." Nothing has been more remarkable in the course of these operations both by sea and by land than the complete secrecy with which the Mikado's strategists have veiled all their important movements until the calculated blow has been struck. In this, of course, they have been aided by their speedy acquisition of the command of the sea. All the correspondents who have proceeded to the seat of war agree in paying mortified tributes to the thoroughness of the Japanese press censorship. For weeks together a great army of "specials" were condemned idly to kick their heels at Nagasaki, while before their eyes transport after transport, crowded with soldiery, was leaving that port for unknown destinations. It was, however, generally evident on the face of the broad facts of the situation, that the main objective of the Japanese armies at that time was the west coast of Korea; for though the ports in the district were undoubtedly difficult of access on account of the ice, the condition of things on the Liao-tung Peninsula, the other probable place of disembarkation, was very much worse.

Before the end of February over forty transports sailed from Nagasaki, and a still larger embarkation went on at Ujina, near Hiroshima, where a great force of horse, foot, and artillery were steadily detrained every day and sent on board. The admirable arrangements made by the Japanese directors of mobilization and transport were the theme of universal praise among unprejudiced observers. Everything had been carefully thought out beforehand; all the necessary material was ready; and consequently, when war broke out, there was no confusion, no undue haste--only the ordered bustle of men who knew exactly what they had to do and how it was to be done, down to the veriest detail. Special wharves had been prepared and were in position within a few days, with railway lines laid upon them, connecting them with the main lines over which the troops travelled from the interior, so that the trains could be brought down almost to the water's edge. Here the soldiers were detrained, and, after a meal, embarked upon lighters and steam launches, and were conveyed swiftly to the ships to which they were assigned. These transports averaged 6,000 tons in burden, and were excellently fitted up for their purpose. An important part of the vessels' equipment in each case was a number of large surf-boats or sampans, about the most useful form of boat possible for landing troops in the shoal waters of the Korean harbors.

What was taking place in the meanwhile on the other side of the channel, and particularly upon the western coast of the Hermit Kingdom? We now know something of the strength and the disposition of the Japanese forces, although right up to the last moment before the general advance only the smallest items of information were allowed to pass through the narrow-meshed net of the censorship.

The seizure of this strong position, providing as it did against any immediate danger from the north, enabled the Japanese to land higher up the coast than Chemulpo, and henceforth the main work of disembarkation in this quarter was carried on at Chinampo, access to which is gained by an arm of the sea called the Ping-Yang Inlet.

In the meanwhile a strong force, under General Inouye, had marched upon Seoul, and without difficulty overawed the feeble Emperor and his corrupt Court. On the 12th of February M. Pavloff, whose name had for so long been a word to conjure with in Korea, left the capital for Chemulpo under the humiliating protection of a Japanese guard. M. Pavloff, it is said, was thunderstruck by the news of the disasters to the Russian navy, and by the sudden revelation of the real strength of the hitherto despised Island Empire. It was now clear to the world, and not least to his dupes, the Koreans, that the diplomatic bluff in which he, in common with his administrative chief, Admiral Alexeieff, had been indulging for so long was ludicrously out of proportion to the naval and military preparations which would ultimately have to support it. But the power of this able man at the Court of Seoul, though broken for the moment, was not by any means destroyed. So well had he done his work that even in the hour of Japan's triumph he still managed to find tools in the corrupt servants of the Emperor, and when he had taken his departure for Shanghai more than one attempt to communicate with him had to be frustrated by the Japanese.

For the time being, however, the star of Japan was unquestionably in the ascendant at Seoul. The Emperor hastened to congratulate the Mikado on the victory of his fleet, and assured him that in view of Korea's position her satisfaction equalled that of the Japanese. At the same time the Korean local officials were ordered by the central Government to give every facility to the invading troops.

The object of this agreement was, of course, to regularize Japan's position in the eyes of the Powers and at the same time to give a sop to the dignity of Korea. Its most important point, as far as the future was concerned, was the definite guarantee on the part of Japan of the independence and territorial integrity of the Hermit Kingdom. The significance of this action of the Mikado's Government, as foretelling the lines of their permanent policy in the event of a final victory over the forces of the Czar, was heightened by the visit to Seoul a few weeks afterwards, on a special mission, of Japan's most famous statesman, the Marquis Ito. The attention was reciprocated by the dispatch of a special envoy from the Korean Court to Tokio. The most important immediate effect, however, of the complete ascendancy now acquired by Japan at Seoul was of military rather than of civil interest. This was the granting of a concession to the Japanese under Article 4 of the Protocol, for the construction of the projected railway between Seoul and Wiju, on the Yalu River, while at the same time arrangements were made for the completion of the southern portion of the line between Seoul and Fusan, a port at the southern extremity of Korea.

Here the marvelous organization of the Japanese War Office came into evidence once more. All the preparations for acting upon this concession had already been made. The material which had been intended for the construction of some unimportant railways in Japan was at hand ready to be transferred to the seat of war, and the engineer and pioneer corps only waited for the conclusion of the necessary formalities to begin operations. On March 8th a body of 8,000 men started work on the line between Seoul and Wiju, and the enterprise was conducted at high pressure, the material being conveyed with all possible speed by steamers from Japan. The value of this railway for strategical purposes will be obvious to anyone who studies the map; and, more fortunate than the Russians, the Japanese, provided that they could hold the northern part of Korea at all, were not likely to be faced with the difficulties which had proved so embarrassing to their enemy, in the shape of brigands and train-wreckers, in Manchuria. The completion of the whole line as far as Fusan would furthermore make them practically independent of sea transport for men as well as supplies, except, of course, as far as the narrow Korean Channel is concerned.

It will thus be seen that, considering the inevitable delay due to the severity of the season, the preparations for a general advance by the Japanese army had been conducted with remarkable celerity and success, and that by the middle of March great progress had been made.

We must now turn to the Russian side of the war.

One of the first consequences of the reverses at Port Arthur was a change in the commands. The unexpected collapse of the Russian navy under the attacks of the despised Japanese caused grave searchings of heart at St. Petersburg, and there can be no doubt that the Czar himself was greatly shocked by the revelation both of the lack of readiness of his fleet and of the strange paralysis of enterprise on the part of the Admiral in command. It was not long before the Imperial displeasure was visited upon this officer, Admiral Starck. On the 16th of February he was formally superseded, and Admiral Makaroff, Commander-in-Chief at Kronstadt, and a sailor of proved energy and skill, was appointed to the command of the Pacific Fleet in his place. The official reason, indeed, which was given out for Admiral Starck's recall was "ill-health," but this ingenious euphemism deceived nobody, the less so because the same mysterious complaint simultaneously seized hold of Rear-Admiral Molas, his second Chief of the Staff, who was recalled in the same Imperial Ukase.

The Viceroy himself did not escape criticism at the hands of the Russian public, and in official circles at St. Petersburg keen censure was bestowed upon him for his share in the disasters which had befallen the fleet under his control; but he still appeared to retain the confidence of his master the Czar. It soon became apparent, however, that the military problem in Manchuria presented difficulties of its own hardly less embarrassing than those which were being experienced at sea, and as the magnitude of the task dawned upon the Czar and his advisers, it was deemed necessary to take drastic measures. On February 21st, therefore, the celebrated General Kuropatkin, Minister for War, and the first Russian military strategist of the day, was appointed Commander-in-Chief of the land forces in the Far East. It was carefully explained that Admiral Alexeieff, as a naval officer, could not be expected to conduct great operations on land, but it was apparent to everyone that as these land operations were now destined finally to decide the issue of the great conflict, the direction of the whole war on the Russian side had virtually passed to General Kuropatkin.

Some slight account of this famous captain may not be out of place here. Like so many of Russia's distinguished men, both in the past and in the present, Alexis Nikolaievitch Kuropatkin has owed his rise rather to merit than to influence. His family was indeed a noble one, but it was little known, and his early advancement in the service was due to his own ability and industry, and not to high connections. When quite young, however, he was fortunate enough to attract the attention of the celebrated Skobeleff, and he became a great favorite as well as a zealous disciple of that famous cavalry leader. His opportunity came in the Russo-Turkish War, where he displayed notable dash and gallantry, risking his life recklessly in the terrible conflict at Plevna. In crossing the Balkans he captured a large Turkish force, and was promoted to the command of a division. Towards the close of the war he became Chief of the Staff to Skobeleff, and in the campaign against the Turkomans, which followed, and which resulted in the conquest of Turkestan, he served that great General in the same capacity. His rise was indeed remarkably rapid; promotion came to him while he was young and active enough to make the best use of it; and although he had held the highest position in the army--the Ministry for War--for some years, his age was now only fifty-six. Like most successful men, he was not without his critics and detractors--it was said indeed that among these was to be found Admiral Alexeieff himself, and that there was no love lost between the two--but there can be no doubt of the General's immense popularity with the army. His appointment to the supreme command caused a universal feeling of relief to spread not only throughout the Service, but throughout all classes of society in Russia, while at the same time it proved that the real seriousness of the task which lay then in the Far East had at last been grasped by the Czar's Government.

These facts combined were generally taken as indicating the intention of the Czar's Government to abandon Port Arthur and Southern Manchuria, for the time being, to their fate, and to make the first real stand against the enemy on the borders of Eastern Siberia. Desperate, however, as the situation appeared to be in these early days of the war, it undoubtedly improved somewhat in the next few weeks, and the delay which the severe climatic conditions imposed upon the Japanese advance necessarily aided the Russians. General Linevitch, commander of the Siberian Army Corps, to whom the direction of military affairs was entrusted pending the arrival of General Kuropatkin, made desperate exertions to collect an effective force as far south as possible, and it was regarded as highly probable, from such scraps of news as were allowed to creep through the censorship, that by the third week of March he had at his disposal in Southern Manchuria a force of about 50,000 men, the bulk of which was concentrated at Liao-Yang, some forty or fifty miles below Mukden.

At the same time a smaller body of troops held the Yalu River, and patrols were sent southwards. As early as February 28th, one of these patrols, consisting of three Cossacks under the command of Lieutenant Lonchakoff, came into touch with a Japanese patrol outside Ping-Yang. The Japanese retreated, and the Russians, after advancing within 700 paces of the town, retired also before the sharp fire directed upon them from the walls. This was the first land skirmish of the war; it was a small affair of outposts only; and a long interval was to elapse before a more serious conflict could become possible.

Important, however, as were the events occurring in Korea, it was felt by experts in Europe that the most momentous developments on land were destined to take place on the western shore of the Liao-tung Peninsula, and that the advance upon the Yalu was really intended to cover a blow at a spot more vital to Russia's power. But here, by the nature of things, the movements of the Japanese could not be so rapid. As already indicated, the ice-bound condition of the Liao-tung coast prevented any landing operations in that quarter before the end of March or the beginning of April, when the frozen belt usually begins to break up. As soon as the advancing spring brought about the changed state of affairs it was apparent that a descent in force would become practicable to the Japanese both at Kinchau in Society Bay, where the peninsula narrows down to a mere neck of land, and, more important still, at Niuchwang, the treaty port at the north of the gulf. At either of these spots it would be comparatively easy to cut the Manchurian railway and sever communication between Port Arthur and the Russian headquarters, but the seizure of Niuchwang would be of much greater consequence than that of Kinchau, as it would place the invading army within easy striking distance of Mukden itself. Furthermore, the very process of the break up of the ice at Niuchwang, as long as it lasts, is favorable in some respects to the landing of an army. In winter the river is frozen out to sea for a considerable distance, and thus, when the spring arrives, the estuary presents the appearance of several square miles of moving ice-floes, tossed hither and thither by the swift and devious currents, and rendering the task of laying mines for the defence of the port practically impossible. Another advantage possessed by the Japanese in attacking from this quarter lay in the physical character of the country and in the friendliness of its inhabitants. The boggy nature of the land threatened to deprive the Russian cavalry of half its usefulness, while it was eminently suited for the movements of infantry, in which Japan found her greatest strength; on the other hand, the Japanese had made themselves very popular with the inhabitants during their war with China, and could depend upon the natives for ample supplies.

The extreme probability on all these grounds of a Japanese descent upon Niuchwang was doubtless evident to the Russians themselves, for they made great exertions to put the port into a state of defence, and their concentration at Liao-Yang, fifty miles or so to the north, was clearly designed to meet danger from this quarter. Niuchwang itself, however, is not very easily defended against a strong force attacking from the sea. The forts are of little avail against the guns of powerful men-of-war; and therefore, although General Kondrotovitch, the able officer in command, had done his best to strengthen the defences of the town, and was said to have some twenty or thirty thousand troops at his disposal by the end of March, it seemed clear that this was a vitally weak spot in Russia's extended front. On Monday, March 28th, the Russian authorities at Niuchwang declared martial law in this "neutral port" in the following terms:

According to an order issued by the Viceroy of his Imperial Majesty in the Far East, the Port of Ying-kow has been proclaimed under martial law. Until the publication of the order the following regulations will be enforced, and will be brought into immediate operation:

Martial law extends over the town and port of Ying-kow, over the whole population, without distinction of nationalities.

All passengers and cargoes arriving must undergo examination. For this purpose steamers, sailing vessels and junks, having entered the mouth of the river, must anchor at a distance of six miles below the fort. A steam-launch, during daylight, with a naval and Customs officer on board, will meet the vessels at that spot. They will examine the vessels and conduct them to berths allotted by the Customs officers.

The import of arms and ammunition is prohibited.

It is prohibited to export to any ports of Japan or Korea articles of military contraband.

When exporting articles to neutral ports the shipper must deposit with the Customs security equal to the value of the cargo, as a guarantee that the cargo shall not be reshipped from a neutral port to Japanese or Korean ports.

Lightships and leading marks will temporarily cease to be used at the mouth of the river.

When dealing with articles of contraband of war, the regulations sanctioned by his Majesty on February 14th, 1904, are to serve for the guidance of the military and civil authorities of the town and port of Ying-kow, who must be guided by the published regulations defending the administration of the provinces.

If beans and beancake are exported, a sum equal to twice their value must be deposited with the Customs.

VICTOR GROSSE.

Firing on the Unarmed--Snowstorms and Bitter Frost--Reconnoitring at Vladivostock--At the Mouth of the Golden Horn--Careful Japanese Calculation--Bombardment at Long Range--Russian Ships Lying Low--Makaroff to the Rescue--A Chance for Russian Torpedoes--Sea Fight at Close Quarters--Severe Casualties--Another Hot Fight--Unprecedented Japanese Daring--Carnage Indescribable--Makaroff Outpaced--A Useless Prize--Bombardment by Wireless Telegraphy--Port Arthur a Hell--Golden Hill Silenced--Terrific Missiles--A Vivid Picture--Blood, Blood Everywhere--Further Naval Movements--Hoist with its own Petard--Another Attempt to "Bottle"--Makaroff's Feint--Wary Enemies--Russians Taking Heart--Individual Heroism.

The Japanese squadron steamed right on into the 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 manoeuvred 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 their big guns. Forts Suvaroff and Linievitch and the 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 0,000, 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.

The demonstration failed to disclose the whereabouts of the missing cruiser squadron, and a 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.

Thus ended one of the hottest conflicts yet experienced in the course of the naval fighting 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 manoeuvres 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.

These careful dispositions were completed by ten 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.

"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 anaesthetics were only administered in one case."

For hours that to the heart-shaken inhabitants must 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 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.

"There beneath the cliff I hear a little battery of 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."

But in the meantime the Japanese were busy with 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.

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.

As 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 no moon. An inky darkness brooded over the 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 harbor entrance the batteries on the Tiger's Tail 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.

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 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.

"Last night was a very hot one, but we cannot hope for a very quiet time now or in the near future. I sleep without undressing in order that I maybe ready for any emergency. Consequently, I cannot observe your medical advice to take care of myself; nevertheless, I feel splendid."

These words were destined soon to receive a fulfilment more heart-shaking than any that can have presented itself as possible to the mind either of the writer of the letter or of its recipient. For even then stern Fate was standing ready with the abhorred shears; the shadows were gathering round the head of the devoted Makaroff; and his weary watch, pursued so bravely, so unflinchingly, and, alas for him and his country, so unavailingly, was moving swiftly towards its tragic close.

For on April 13th the telegraph wires flashed all over the world the news of a blow to Russia's might in the Far East, more appallingly dramatic in its suddenness and more fatal in its consequences than any that had yet befallen her in the preceding two months of bungling and misfortune. The stunning intelligence was conveyed to the Czar in the following telegram from Rear-Admiral Grigorovitch, Naval Commandant at Port Arthur:--

"Our squadron is lying under Golden Hill and the Japanese squadron is approaching.

"The Grand Duke Cyril, who was saved, was slightly wounded.

"The Japanese fleet has disappeared. Details will be supplied by Rear-Admiral Prince Ukhtomsky, who has assumed provisional command of the fleet."

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