Nikolaĭ Aleksandrovich Tret'iakov

“ We saw how the companies, on reaching the hill, wriggled along like snakes to the different parts of the trenches, and then disappeared into them, how every now and then a man would make a dash for the commandant’s bomb-proof, and then pick his way back again to the top of the hill, how they carried the wounded back to the dressing station—in a word, every movement of the defenders was plainly visible from our point of observation. ”

“ The sight of this flag always filled our men with fury. I knew this, and, pointing to it, shouted to the reserve: “Go and take it down, my lads!” and, like one man, our sailors rushed into the work. I led them for some distance, and a moment after there was no sign of the Japanese or their flag to be seen. Twice more the hostile flag made its appearance on top of the hill, but each time it was torn down by my handful of reserves.
At about 11 a.m., or a little earlier, I was in the telephone bomb-proof with the commandant, Major Stempnevski, Acting Ensign Yermakov, and several naval officers. ”

“ The enemy was advancing from the shores of Hand Bay. Our brave officers at once thought of covering our men by preventing this turning movement, in spite of the enemy posted on the hills, and to this end they collected their men, stopped them, and opened volley fire on the Japanese. The latter retaliated, and in their turn poured in a hot fire from rifles and machine guns. This fearful struggle continued for some time until not a single one of our men was left alive. They all fell in this unequal fight, defending themselves finally not only with their bayonets, but even with their fists. ”

“ Only one bomb-proof on the right flank of the hill, facing 174 Metre Hill, was seriously damaged. There was not a single Japanese to be seen anywhere. They are indeed a wonderful people! But the rattle of musketry did not cease for a second. The enemy was firing from the trenches surrounding the hill, chiefly from Saddle Hill. The dull reports of bursting shell did little more than deafen the men in the bomb-proofs. A veritable blizzard of lead swept the rear of the hill and the road leading along the top, and huddled up beneath the steep embankment of the latter sat some of the reserves. ”

“ On reaching the top of the hill, a magnificent panorama of the hill country lay before us. The crest nearest us, which was occupied by our troops, was completely wreathed with puffs of white smoke. In some places the smoke spread over an enormous extent and curled high up into the air. It lay thickest over Lao-tso Shan, for the heaviest types of shell were constantly bursting there, and the sky was dotted with little round white clouds from bursting shrapnel. ”

“ I had scarcely finished speaking, when the Japanese began to sweep the top of the hill with fire from their heavy artillery.
We felt that nothing could be achieved until these cursed guns were destroyed. But, forced to husband their ammunition, our artillery hardly put up any fight against the hostile batteries.
Shells of every calibre literally covered the top of the hill, but our men did not come out of the trench. It seemed strange indeed, as there were no splinter-proofs in the small trench, and such a fire must destroy all the defenders. ”

“ The match is blown out—he lights another; but the enemy is all the time climbing up closer and closer. At last the slow-match catches, the grenade is thrown amongst the enemy, in a second there is a fearful [205] explosion, and the foe has disappeared. There is nothing left but a pall of black smoke, and over it, high into the air, fly scraps of clothing and portions of human bodies—arms, legs, and heads. That is roughly the effect of a 5-lb. pyroxylin bomb. Our men give a shout of “Hurrah!” and the survivors of the stupefied enemy fly headlong down the hill and hide in their trenches. ”

“ Instead of following us, it had moved off to a height lying on the left flank of our line of march; behind it was a chain of skirmishers from the rear of our column, and behind this line compact companies. Not understanding its doings, I galloped up to the battery, and in the midst of the moving columns, unaccompanied by his staff, I saw General Fock. I had hardly got up to him, when he shouted to me: [26] “What kind of a company commander have you got? See how he lets that battery get in front of him; he is a perfect fool! Such officers are a curse to us!” ”

“ An attack by the 1st Company of Marines was also not wholly successful, as, though a part of the right flank of the trench was retaken, the Japanese held the other end, and blocked it with rocks and sand-bags.
Alarmed at such a state of affairs, I went with Colonel Irman to the hill. I personally inspected the place where the Japanese were lodged. They did not show themselves at all, and there was not a sign of life anywhere. They had built up a strong barricade, so high that a man could not climb up it without the help of another. ”

“ For this, however, a numerous, well-trained, and efficient artillery is essential. To win a battle with badly trained or inefficient artillery is now a matter of extreme difficulty. I will not venture to lay down the exact proportion of guns necessary per 1,000 infantry, but there must be, at any rate, not less than 6 guns per 1,000 (i.e. one battery to each complete battalion) .
What an error we committed in posting our artillery on the crests of the hills! The Japanese punished us very severely for the mistake, but it was too late then to change our dispositions. ”

“ We follow the fortunes of the General’s own unit, [vi] we live with his men amidst the bloodstained wreck of their trenches on 203 Metre Hill, losing all thought of the general conduct of the attack and defence of the fortress—in a word, we are transported from the dry bones of military history to the living realities of the battlefield. ”

“ On December 31, after tea, we received news of a further disaster. Yet once again in this disastrous war had fortune favoured the Japanese. Fort [296] Sung-shu had been blown up, and, what was worse, in one stroke the whole garrison had been annihilated. This is what had happened: About a thousand hand grenades had been stored in an excavation which the garrison also used as a shelter. A Japanese shell burst, detonating these grenades, and the whole place collapsed on the garrison. This was a fearful blow to us, and we deeply lamented the death of our gallant comrades and their commandant. ”

“ When we told our gunners to drive the Japanese from this hill, they answered that they had very few shell and must keep them for more important targets.
So the Japanese held our trenches unpunished, and repaired them, making communication trenches and cover from our bullets.
Colonel Irman gave me the companies that had come up at the finish for strengthening the defences on Namako Yama, and they were badly needed by me.
What an enormous influence one man, whether officer or private, can have on the issue of a battle! ”

“ I rushed out of the bomb-proof, and saw our sailors and riflemen crowding on the parapet near the gorge of the breastwork, and throwing hand grenades down into it. This looked bad, as the Japanese must have driven them out of the work. I told the other officers to place the few dozen men who were on the road behind the stones and boulders near the breastwork, so as to prevent the enemy from seizing the road, and to mark at the same time the extreme point beyond which our men must not on any account retreat. ”

“ It is an extraordinary thing how an important fortress like Port Arthur could have been left almost without any vehicles for general service, a want which must be seen and felt to enable one to understand rightly what sufficient transport means in a fortress, and how indispensable it is. ”

“ It is a pity that they took such a long time to make, as Bickford’s slow-match remained to the end of the siege practically the only method of ignition. The soldiers, as was natural, were all for having grenades that would burst on impact.
A grenade with a slow-match is a very imperfect weapon. One has only to put oneself in the place of a rifleman, almost face to face with the enemy, lighting the slow-match of the grenade in a wind. ”

“ The men in all the other trenches and forts gallantly stuck to their posts. After an hour of silence, firing began again, rifles cracked, and guns roared. I went to my observing station. The enemy literally swept us with a hail of shrapnel. One shell burst right over the heads of two of my orderlies standing behind me, killing one outright and wounding the other in the head. A short time after, our small-arm ammunition magazine near No. 10 Battery caught fire. ”

“ Major Visoki reported that the gunners had suffered severely, and that the ammunition supply was exhausted. As they had no rifles, I sent them away from the position, and thus, from twelve o’clock, we were left without artillery. Just before this sudden temporary cessation of fire I had already noticed from the hill how [48] our artillery fire was dying down and how cruelly the enemy’s shells blew our gunners to pieces; indeed, the helplessness of our guns became apparent as soon as the enemy’s cannonade commenced.
It is impossible to imagine what such a fire is like. ”

“ The 42-mm. gun is a very accurate weapon, and it is a pity that the effect of its high-explosive shell is so slight as to render it good only for dismounting the enemy’s pieces. The gun is sufficiently mobile to be capable of quick and sudden concentration on any fully exposed hostile battery, a contingency which would, however, rarely occur, as nowadays all batteries are carefully hidden from the enemy’s view. Pieces, however, of this type are incapable of coping with heavy guns, and one would not advocate having many of them in a fortress. ”

“ The Japanese crawled up its abnormally steep sides on to the hill-top itself. All shelter had been destroyed by artillery fire, and a corner of a casemate had fallen in and crushed the officer commanding, Lieutenant-Colonel Goosakov, whose loss every one felt keenly. (It is opportune to mention here that he was the only staff officer who helped me to organize the defence of the rearward position which covered our retreat from Nan Shan.) At this period of the conflict the defenders concentrated behind stones and ruined trenches, with the enemy only a few paces from them. ”

“ The rear slopes of the hill were covered with men lying in different postures, wounded men who had died on their way back. The reserve company was standing under arms, the men flattening themselves close up against the cliff, while shells were exploding all around. The top of the hill was wreathed in smoke from the bursting of every kind of projectile. ”

“ On August 16 the Japanese did not fire at all, possibly through want of ammunition, we ourselves taking advantage of the occasion to rebuild our trenches. About 9 p.m. desultory rifle fire broke out under the hill, and the enemy’s skirmishing line appeared about 1,200 paces away, while behind, in complete silence, marched the storming columns. The defenders of the hills threw down their digging tools, stood to their posts, and opened fire in volleys. ”

“ In the trenches of the 12th Company of the 13th Regiment there remained only a sentry and one non-commissioned officer, who had been forgotten by their company and did not know that their comrades had retreated. Akasaka Yama was alive with retreating men. Captain Sirotko, with the remainder of his company, opened fire on the Japanese who showed on the crest of the hill, compelling them to take cover, and thus giving all those left alive time to retreat quietly on to Akasaka Yama. ”

“ On a bright sunny day every man on the hills round could be seen, and the occupations of the various units defending the positions could be clearly observed. There, on Division Hill, they would be preparing dinner in the kitchens of the 7th Company; a little to the left, the dinners of the 6th Company had already been served out; and along the communication trench a whole company was moving in relief of our scout detachments on the left flank of Division Hill, who were in constant touch with the Japanese. ”

“ The Japanese had made many vain attacks, and we could live through everything but heavy gun fire. But the moral effect had to be considered; our men were accustomed to the shells and to heavy losses, and to these they had become quite indifferent, but the infantry attacks upset their nerves. And now one of them was in progress: hand grenades were bursting in the left breastwork, and an orderly ran up asking for reinforcements, officers, and hand grenades. Grenades then began to burst on the right breastwork, and our men there also sent for a supply. ”

“ In his anxiety to adhere to the principle of a flat trajectory he entirely lost sight of the fact that every small mound, if only two or three feet high, presents an impenetrable barrier to a low-flying [87] bullet. He also quite forgot that the slope of the hill of itself affords an obstacle difficult to surmount; and he, moreover, ignored the difficulties of an eventual retreat from the trenches up the side of the hill, sometimes a very steep one, as was the case at Feng-huang Shan. ”

“ Make a soldier so smart that even a sloven will become a rather fine-looking fellow. A smart outward appearance raises the spirits of the troops.
It is also indispensable to teach the infantry soldier field fortification thoroughly, so that he becomes the equal of a sapper and needs no supervision in war time. In the 5th Regiment, not only the non-commissioned officers, but the men also, could point out where trenches should be constructed, and of what depth and length they should be. ”

“ From the time of our retreat from the positions at Shih-san-li-tai and Chang-chia-tun to the Nan Shan position we hardly had a moment’s peace; constant small night affairs in the outpost line, and the nightly expectation of a big attack, compelled us to have half our men on the alert. ”

“ We had not a single man in reserve, but even so we believed we could beat back every attack. This was not the case, however, on Lao-tieh Shan, where Major Romanovski had practically only our mounted Scout Detachments. The enemy constantly attacked them, and captured another hill near Pigeon Bay. This was decidedly serious, as now the Japanese had nothing but these scouts between them and the other half of the western front, where there was but a remnant of the 27th Regiment, the main portion of it being required on the front attacked, which was held by only a few men. ”

“ When we have made good our shortcomings, victory will be ours. Of this I am assured, for I know [287] the characteristics of the Japanese, I know their army, and I know their men.
I did not notice any despondency among our officers, but good ones were becoming scarce.
An officer from Fort Chi-kuan told us that the Japanese had for some time been masters of the ditch, but, fearing to attack us, remained on that side of the parapet.
Our men were rolling 10-lb. naval mines into the ditch, and I can imagine the effect of the explosion of these implements of destruction. ”