Port Arthur, the siege and capitulation 1906

Front matter

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Contents

THE CAUSE OF THE WAR : < - The value of Port Arthur; the Sia of the Powers; preparation.

An abode of luxury ; a safitery base ; a panic.

THE BATTLE OF NANSHAN . : The ground-plan ; the gunboats ; eavktice of the Osakas ;

Index

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.

GENERAL BARON NOGI, TAKEN ON THE MORNING OF THE CAPITULATION Frontispiece

ADMIRAL TOGO SITTING IN HIS CABIN ON BOARD THE MIKASA AT THE BASE OF THE JAPANESE FLEET AMONG THE ELLIOTT ISLANDS

JAPANESE SOLDIERS DRAGGING ONE OF THE 28-CENTIMETRE HOW- -ITZERS TO THE FRONT a A : .

GENERAL NOGI SUPERINTENDING THE MOUNTING OF THE 28-CENTI- METRE HOWITZERS AT THE HEADQUARTERS OF THE 9TH DIVISION

A 28-CENTIMETRE HOWITZER, SHOWING THE METHOD OF LOADING .

JAPANESE SOLDIERS DRAGGING UP AMMUNITION TO THEIR BATTERIES ON THE HAND-RAILWAY : E . : ‘

TWO OF THE 28-CENTIMETRE HOWITZERS NEAR THE HEADQUARTERS OF THE 9TH DIVISION ; : é F :

203 METRE HILL AFTER ITS CAPTURE: SHOWING THE JAPANESE SAPS UP THE WEST FACE, AND SOLDIERS COLLECTING THE DEAD 3

INSIDE THE UPPER RUSSIAN TRENCH-LINE ON 203 METRE HILL, SHOWING JAPANESE AND RUSSIAN DHAD AFTER THE CAPTURE OF THE HILL r e ae a : P A :

203 METRE HILL AFTER ITS CAPTURE, SHOWING THE DEAD JAPANESE SOLDIERS LYING NEAR THE SUMMIT, AND MEN FROM THE REGI- MENTS ENDEAVOURING TO IDENTIFY THEIR COMRADES

THE DEAD LAID OUT AT THE FOOT OF 203 METRE HILL, AFTER HAVING BEEN IDENTIFIED, TO AWAIT CREMATION . ; E

THE NORTH KEIKWANSAN FORT, CAPTURED DECEMBER 18, 1904 5 The cross marks the spot where General Kondrachenko was killed.

THE DITCH AND ESCARPMENT OF FORT NIRUSAN . .

PAGE

113 157

333 347

XIV Lust of Illustrations

THE FORT OF SHOJUSAN, CAPTURED DECEMBER 31, 1904 ° .

x1 marks the position of the mine under the escarpment.

x2 marks the position of the mine under the centre of the fort.

Marked on the photograph are the western group of forts, showing their relative position to one another.

THE CAPITULATION, JANUARY 2, 1905 . : - A .

THE HEAD OF NOGI’S ESCORT AND THE HEAD OF STOESSEL’S ESCORT WALKING ABOUT ARM IN ARM 5 : : : :

RUSSIAN SENTRIES HOLDING THEIR LAST WATCH ON THE COVERING FORT OF SHOJUSAN, JANUARY 2, 1905 4 5 5 5

GENERAL STOESSEL SAYING GOOD-BYE TO GENERAL IJICHI, NOGI’S CHIEF OF STAFF, AT CHORASHI STATION . 2 : .

RUSSIAN HOWITZER AFTER ITS CAPTURE, SHOWING THE DEAD GUNNERS LYING ROUND THE FOOT OF THE GUN % ; :

THE RETVIZAN, POLTAVA, AND PERESVIET SUNK IN THE HARBOUR .

Photographs by Messrs Underwood & Underwood.

A JAPANESE SAP FULL OF SOLDIERS CLOSE UP TO THE RUSSIAN LINES . . . . : . .

THE HALF DESTROYED CAPONIERE GALLERIES OF THE NORTH KEI- KWANSAN FORT, SHOWING THE JAPANESE IN POSSESSION .

A RUSSIAN WORK CAPTURED BY THE JAPANESE AND RECAPTURED BY THE RUSSIANS : . . .

THE RESULT OF THE CAPTURE OF 203 METRE HILL—THE RUSSIAN CRUISER PALLADA STRUCK BY A 28-CENTIMETRE SHELL AS SHE LAY AT ANCHOR IN THE HARBOUR . . . . .

MAPS AND PLANS— PLAN OF THE NORTH KEIKWANSAN FORT . : , . PLAN OF FORT NIRUSAN . . : . ‘ .

THE LIAUTUNG PENINSULA . . . . .

PORT ARTHUR 5 : . . : :

433 441

THE SIEGE AND CAPITULATION OF PORT ARTHUR.

Chapter I. The Cause Of The War

On the 17th of April 1895 the Liautung Peninsula changed ownership. Up to then it had formed part of the territory of the Chinese Empire, but on that date it was ceded to Japan by the Treaty of Shimonoseki, concluded at the close of the China-Japan War between the Marquis Ito and Li-Hung-Chang,

Of all the clauses of the Treaty of Shimonoseki this was by far the most important to Japan, for it gave her the foothold in Asia which she had so long desired, and formed a gateway through which her immense and ever-increasing population could enter the vast field of commercial competition in China. The territory of Japan is very limited, and it is said that only onefifteenth of it is cultivable, on account of the mountainous nature of the country. In consequence, for many years before the outbreak of the war with China, Japanese statesmen had realised the necessity of trans-

A

2 The Cause of the War planting their surplus population to the mainland of Asia, if Japan was to take her place in the comity of nations as a world Power. It is easy, therefore, to understand what importance Japan attached to this clause in the Treaty, which ceded the Liautung Peninsula and gave her the longed-for location on the mainland of Asia.

The Liautung Peninsula is remarkable in many ways: it possesses commercial and strategical advantages the importance of which cannot be over-estimated, and was especially patent at a time when China was on the verge of partition and Europe was eagerly coveting the outlying portions of her Empire. From the neck at Nanshan to the fortifications round. Port Arthur, the peninsula is a natural fortress, and can be rendered perfectly impregnable by the skill of the engineer. The country is very mountainous, but these mountains, with one or two notable exceptions, run in no regular chain of formation: rather it seems as if Nature had taken a delight in dumping them down wherever her capricious fancy willed. The soil is soft and sandy, and broken up into innumerable watercourses by the freshets from the mountains during the rainy season. In summer when these rivulets are dry, the mud is baked hard by the sun; and thus the flat country between the hills becomes a network of nullahs and dongas which render it almost impossible to ride over, if you happen to stray from the highway. The roads are execrable: in the rainy season they are rivers of mud, and when dry assume the formation left by the countless tracks impressed when the ground was soft. The whole country is very densely populated by the Chinese, and is dotted everywhere with farms and villages. Every

The Value of Port Arthur 3 square inch of the soil is under cultivation, the chief crop being maize. The land has been under the plough for such countless generations, and the same crops have been grown on it for so many years in succession,—for apparently the Chinaman, consummate farmer though he be, has no idea of rotation,—that the ground is now suffering from a premature old age, the soil is poor and unproductive, and it can only be rendered fruitful by the most rigid care and plentiful fertilisation. In such kind of cultivation the Chinaman is a past-master; so year after year the soil of Liautung continues to support a dense population of hard-working, peaceful, agricultural people.

The value of the peninsula, however, is not to be measured by its agricultural possibilities : its chief importance is derived from its geographical situation close to the capital of the Chinese Empire, and from its splendid natural harbours and fortress. Port Arthur is the great prize that goes with the peninsula, and but for Port Arthur there would probably be no keen competition for the adjacent country. It affords a fine natural harbour and fortress, that would be desired by any nation anxious to make its position secure on the mainland of Asia. No doubt it succumbed in one day, ten years ago, to the assault of Marshal Oyama and his troops; but that day’s fighting was absolutely no criterion of the strength of the fortress, if held not by the feeble Chinese but by a great military Power. Long before the war with China the Japanese had realised the immense importance of Port Arthur, and they were determined to possess it at all costs. The Treaty of Shimonoseki gave them the well-earned prize ; but they were destined on that occasion to enjoy it only for a very short time.

4 The Cause of the War

Another Power had also realised the importance of the Liautung Peninsula, and determined to prevent its occupation by Japan. Ever since 1891 the Siberian Railway had been slowly but surely creeping across Asia, and already the eyes of Russia's statesmen were eagerly scanning the shores of the Pacific for a suitable port to connect this vast enterprise with the outer world. The northern branch of the line ended at Vladivostok; but it had been decided to construct a southern branch from Harbin, running through the fertile plains of Manchuria, with a terminus somewhere on the Gulf of Pechili. Vladivostok is ice- bound through the winter, a fact which largely discounts its value. What Russia sought for was a port open all the year round to the commerce of the world, and this was absolutely necessary if the new line was to be made a paying concern. As was almost bound to be the case, Port Arthur was the point she fixed upon as the seaboard base of the Southern China Railway on the Pacific. It offered all the advantages already named, and no more suitable spot could have been chosen. Russia kept her plans dark. At the outbreak of the war between China and Japan she was not in a position to show her hand, the railway was not nearly completed, and she could not then enforce her demands against the will of China and the open hostility of Japan.

What must have been the feelings of Russia’s statesmen when the clause of the Treaty of Shimonoseki relating to the Liautung Peninsula became known ? Their vision of one day acquiring the peninsula, with its fortress and two fine harbours, must vanish for ever unless something could be done to upset the Treaty. Before the railway could be completed Port Arthur

The Action of the Powers 5 would have been for years in the hands of the people who had just shown to the world, in the China-Japan war, an example of military and naval prowess quite beyond anything the European had suspected possible of the Oriental. Russia was equal to the occasion. Although by herself she was not then in a position to force the Japanese to evacuate the Liautung Peninsula, a combination of the Powers could no doubt do so: at any rate the experiment was worth trying. Eight days after the signing of the Treaty of Shimonoseki a joint note was presented to Japan, protesting against her occupation of Chinese territory. Japan looked round in vain for assistance. The one Power whose support might have saved her in this crisis, and whose interference might have changed the entire history of the Far East for the subsequent ten years, was suffering from one of its periodical attacks of shivering at the mere idea of intervention in world politics. The golden opportunity was allowed to slip. Japan was forced to evacuate the Liautung Peninsula, which for two short years again passed under the effete administration of the government of Pekin.

From the presentation of this joint note by Germany, France, and Russia, the birth of the recent struggle in the Far East is to be dated. There could only be one meaning to that protest from the Powers, and Japan interpreted that meaning correctly. Russia coveted for her own use what Japan had acquired by right of conquest; and, not then in a position to seize the prize herself, she could at least, with the aid of her friends, prevent Japan stepping in before her. The Powers had been forced to show their hand somewhat too early in the game, and from that moment the situation was perfectly clear as far as

6 The Cause of the War

Japan was concerned. Their attitude clearly showed that they recognised no right on the part of Japan to play a réle on the mainland of Asia. The Japanese were to remain bottled up in their countless islands. Japan might remain a source of delight to the visitor and lover of the artistic, but no longer a cause of concern to the would-be plunderers of the Celestial Empire, who, having removed her for ever from the scene of their prospective triumphs, were calmly prepared to carry on the game of partition amongst themselves.

Japan saw looming large and sinister before her the coming life or death struggle, which must decide once for all the question of her future in Asia. There being no escape from this situation, she set about making her preparations accordingly. The lesson she had learnt was a hard but salutary one—not to attempt to pose as a world Power until the voices of her statesmen could be backed by a powerful fleet and a still more powerful army. The Japanese retired once more to their islands, there to prepare, unobserved by the world, for the inevitable struggle. For ten years they drilled and drilled and drilled. For ten years they spent every available yen on warships. The result of this ten years of preparation is now a matter of history.

Before the crisis arrived, still greater trials were to steel the heart of this island people for the coming struggle. Japan had evacuated the Liautung Peninsula in deference to the forcibly expressed views of the Powers on the importance of maintaining the integrity of China. Two years later Russia completely threw off her mask, and with a brutal cynicism unparalleled in modern history, stepped forward and

Preparation 7 occupied the very territory she had forced Japan to evacuate two years previously. It was the occupation of Kiao-Chau by Germany which gave Russia her desired excuse. On December 18, 1897, the Russian fleet, headed by the Rurik, steamed into the harbour of Port Arthur and formally took possession of the town. Japan was then in no position to protest. She could only hasten her preparations, and wait in patience the day of inevitable retribution. England contented herself with an assurance from Russia that Port Arthur should remain an open port, an assurance which was repudiated almost as soon as it was made. Russia threw up fortifications on all the hills surrounding the town, and from December 18, 1897, to January 1, 1905, remained in possession of the fortress.

The Rurik, which headed the Russian fleet into the harbour, les sunk at the bottom of the ocean. The Rising Sun once more floats over the ruined fortifications of Port Arthur, and it will be my endeavour in the following pages to describe the mighty struggle which led to this remarkable transformation.

Chapter II. Dalny

Purtine aside all question of international ethics, the observer cannot fail to be struck with admiration for what Russia has accomplished in the Far East in so short a space of time. Where eight years ago she found nothing but wretched Chinese villages and filthy homesteads, she has left a railway, a powerful fortress complete with docks, arsenals, and forts, and also a commercial port and seaside resort in Dalny. Port Arthur itself could never be made an attractive residence for Russians exiled by force of circumstances to the Far East. It is small and dirty, and built in a hollow surrounded by hills; the country around is unattractive and inhospitable; and the port is not large enough to hold many vessels. - Therefore, in view of the expected increase of commerce from the opening up of China, Manchuria, and Siberia by the completion of the Southern China Railway, it became necessary to look round for some other site upon which to build a suitable commercial port and a desirable residence for the Russian settlers and the officers of the army and navy. A position was found on the shores of the Bay of Talienwan; and where less than five years ago there was nothing to be seen except

An Abode of Luxury 9 a few miserable Chinese houses, the flourishing little port and town of Dalny now stands as a melancholy monument, marking the high-water line of Russian civilisation and progress in the Far East. A branch line was run from Dalny to Nankwanling, thus connecting the town with the railway and Port Arthur. Looking at what Russian pioneers accomplished, in building a modern city out of a wilderness, it is possible to realise the magnitude of the stake for which Russia has been contending, and the feelings of despair which must animate her statesmen when they see that their long-cherished schemes of eastern dominion, conceived by Alexander III., have slipped from their grasp.

The architect who designed Dalny may well be proud of his work. A picturesque town, in a beautiful situation, it nestles on the sea-shore, surrounded by hills ; and its fine harbour can hold ships of any size, the deep water extending right up to the land. Millions of roubles were sunk in Dalny by the Russian Government, and by the speculators who unfortunately guided her policy : this money must now be written off as irrevocably lost. Splendid docks and breakwaters protect the harbour from sudden storms, and provide a safe anchorage for the largest vessels in the world. Enormous quantities of solid concrete blocks still show that it was the intention of the Russians to convert more and more of this wasted Chinese soil into profitable land. Charming residences, fitted with every appliance of modern luxury, sprang up everywhere, until Dalny resembled an English seaside resort, with its red brick houses and well-paved walks. Numerous hotels entertained the traveller arriving from the west, and he enjoyed again for the first time, after his two weeks

12 Dalny of just a few words came to him along the telephone connecting Dalny to Nanshan— probably the first case in history in which a battlefield has been connected by telephone to a town. From sunrise to sunset on that eventful 26th of May, the mayor had heard the booming of a hundred cannon and the dull roar of thousands of small arms. He listened at first without any great anxiety: he had visited the ground, and had seen the fortifications thrown up on every hill, the result of the carefully thought out labour of months; and he naturally felt confidence in the ability of his countrymen to hold the position, if need be, for ever. As the day progressed, and the roar of the cannon increased in vehemence instead of subsiding, some little shade of anxlety may perhaps have crossed his mind and affected those who surrounded him; but when at length the telephone bell called him to the tube, at 8 p.M., the mayor expected to hear that the foe had been everywhere repulsed. Instead of this, he received a message of six words—“ Evacuate Dalny by twelve to-night.” That was all; it contained no information or explanation as to what had happened ;- it was simply an order, which had to be obeyed, from the General in command.

The news, so stunning in its possibilities, soon spread throughout the town. At first the inhabitants could hardly credit what they had heard, and wandered aimlessly about the streets seeking more reliable information. Their worst fears were confirmed by the instructions issued by the mayor, that every one must be on the road to Port Arthur by 4 a.m. that morning. The message had read ‘‘ Evacuate Dalny by twelve to-night”; but to carry out these instructions

A Panic 13 to the letter was impossible. No one was prepared for such an event; every one believed the position at Nanshan to be impregnable; yet after only twelve hours’ fighting the Russians had been routed and were in full retreat. The inhabitants piled their household utensils on every available waggon, or on the trains which were still running to Port Arthur, and, leaving the remainder to the care of the enemy, sought safety in flight. The panic was still further increased by the arrival of stragglers and wounded from the battlefield. As is invariably the case with wounded soldiers, each new-comer brought a worse account of what had happened; the enemy were hard on their heels, their army had been annihilated, the cavalry might be expected at any minute. Wounded soldiers are always under the impression that they belong to the beaten side, and in this case their surmises were only too correct. Presently large numbers of unwounded men began to pass through the town and take the high road to the south, and Dalny waited for no further proof of the great disaster. There was no time to destroy the town completely, but before his departure the mayor gave orders for some of the principal buildings to be set on fire. The post-office was thus destroyed, and several of the private villas.

What must have Ion the feelings of the mayor as he gazed for the last time on the, prosperous town over which he had presided for four years, and which he was never destined to see again. Less than four years before a few Chinese houses had marked the site of Dalny. The fine town hall, bearing the date 1900 in large figures on the front, had been selected _as the seat of the municipal government for many

14 Dalny years to come, but in a single day it had passed into the hands of the military authorities of a despised enemy.

After its evacuation by the Russians, and before the Japanese army entered the town and formally took possession of the public buildings, Dalny was for several days in the hands of the Chinese bandits, who were not slow to seize the tempting prize so unexpectedly thrown into their hands. They looted the shops and private houses ; they slept in the hotels; and, either through carelessness or purposely, set fire to many of the buildings. Afterwards, when the Japanese came into the town, this horde of ruffians transformed themselves into peaceful traders, and were anxious to sell their loot to the conquerors. All through the siege Russian property was on sale at the numerous Chinese stores, and when the town was first entered the Chinaman was selling the best champagne at ten cents a bottle, under the impression that it was soda-water, and it was only after the unexpected demand for this commodity had aroused the suspicion of the vendors that the price went up.

CHAPTER IIL THE BATTLE OF NANSHAN.

THE battle of Nanshan, which forced the Russians to evacuate Dalny and retire towards Port Arthur, was fought on May 26. The Japanese army which was victorious on that occasion subsequently moved north, and was not the same army which besieged Port Arthur, with the exception of a single division, the Ist, the Tokios. This division after the fight marched south, seized Dalny, and then took up a position facing the Russians and held its ground until the 11th Division arrived from Japan to reinforce it, and the Third Imperial Japanese Army was formed under the command of General Baron Nogi. It was General Oku and the Second Army who fought at Nanshan; but as this battle was fought on the Liautung Peninsula, and the defeated Russian troops were the same as those who subsequently defended Port Arthur, it is necessarily included in the first stage of the campaign which led to the fall of the fortress.

General Oku and his three divisions—the Ist, the Tokios, the 4th, the Osakas, and the 2nd, the Nagoyas —were landed from their transports at Pitzewo on May 6, under the protection of the Japanese fleet.

16 The Battle of Nanshan

This operation of landing an entire army within forty miles of the Russian fleet in Port Arthur may be considered a somewhat hazardous undertaking; but with the precautions taken by the Japanese, and the apathy and want of enterprise shown by the Russian torpedo craft throughout the war, and which was already obvious, there was in reality little to be risked. A wooden boom was stretched across from the Elliott Islands, where the Japanese fleet had its base, to the mainland, and under cover of this boom and the guns of the entire fleet, the operation was carried out in perfect safety and with wonderful expedition. General Oku’s first object was to cut the railway to the north, and thus isolate Port Arthur from Newchwang and Liaoyang: this operation was carried out without any difficulty. He then moved his army south towards the walled Chinese city of Kinchau, for the purpose of driving the Russians from the position they had taken up on the narrow neck of the peninsula at Nanshan. As long as the Russians held Nanshan they controlled the entire bay and could use Dalny as a base. On the evening of May 25 the Japanese army occupied a position to the north of Kinchau, which was held by an advanced post of Russians of no great strength. That same evening a night attack was made on the town; but, owing to heavy rain and a violent thunderstorm, the different divisions became inseparably mixed in the darkness, and the attack had to be abandoned. Early on the morning of the 26th the Russians evacuated Kinchau, which was immediately occupied by the Japanese, who at 10 a.m. took up a position facing that of the Russians, the Osaka Division on the right, the Tokio in the centre, and the Nagoya

The Ground-plan 17 on the left. The position occupied by the Russians was on the hills, on the narrow strip of territory

which lies between Kinchau Bay on the north-west and Talienwan Bay on the south. Talienwan Bay is here divided into two portions by the little peninsula of Liushutun, the part to the north being called Hand Bay and that to the south Junk Bay. To the west lay the only line of retreat open to the Russians in the event of defeat, namely that along the line of the railway to Nankwanling, and on from there to Dalny and Port Arthur. To the east of the Russian position the Japanese army was drawn up at 10 a.m. on the morning of May 26.

Between the hills occupied by the Russians and Kinchau Bay on the north, there is a strip of flat ground, about half a mile wide at low tide, which leads round to the rear of the Russian position. To the south, between the hills and Hand and Junk Bays, there is another strip of fairly level ground, along which the road and railway from Liushutun to Nankwanling passes. It will be seen that the main object of an attacking force would be to pass round the north of the Russian position and occupy the ground in its rear, thus entirely cutting off the only line of retreat open to the defenders; or else to pass along the narrow strip of flat ground between the hills and Talienwan Bay on the south, and, following the line of the railway, obtain the rear of the Russian position by this route. Both these flanking movements were attempted: the one to the south failed altogether; that to the north partly succeeded, sufficiently in fact to turn a defeat into a victory at the eleventh hour, and to cause the defending force to evacuate the position.

B

18 The Lattle of Nanshan

A curious feature of the battle of Nanshan was the part played by the gunboats on either side. The Russian gunboat in Hand Bay almost caused the defeat of the Japanese, while the three Japanese gunboats in Kinchau Bay did actually bring about the defeat of the Russians when all else had failed.

The Japanese had three Divisions engaged at Nanshan, which brought their numbers to between 40,000 and 45,000 men. In addition to their field artillery they had many big guns and the assistance of the three gunboats. According to a report of a captured Russian non-commissioned officer belonging to the 5th Siberian Sharpshooters, the Russian force engaged at Nanshan consisted of four regiments, the 5th, 13th, 14th, and 28th, with reserves, and over fifty guns, many of large calibre, including several 6-inch Krupps. As each Russian regiment consists of three battalions, this would bring their force to at least 11,000 men, allowing for previous losses through sickness and other causes.

The general scheme of the Russian fortifications was as follows. On the flat ground at the foot of the hills trenches were dug as an advanced defence, especially on the east side. All these advanced trenches had to be taken before the Japanese could obtain a footing for the attack on the main position. The latter had hoped to creep close up before daybreak and surprise the position by a rush, but this was frustrated by the advanced works. At the very foot of the hills a second line of trenches, 8 feet deep, was placed, the earth thrown up in front being crowned with a layer of sand-bags. Half-way up the hill was a third line of trenches, not so deep as those in front, but nevertheless a formidable obstacle to an

The Gunboats 19 attacking force, and forming the last line of defence for the defending infantry. On the summit of the hills the ground was cut away square, and the earth thrown up to a height of 8 feet, and strengthened by cross-beams and sand-bags: behind this the big guns were placed. The trenches were connected by covered ways and bomb-proof shelters, while searchlights, mines, and every other assistance that ingenuity could suggest, had been utilised in the defence of this fine natural fortress. And yet, after twelve hours’ desperate fighting, the Russians were driven headlong from this carefully chosen position, which had been still more carefully prepared during many months previous to the attack. The fortifications on all the hills were of a semi-permanent character; and it seems perfectly clear that the Russians considered themselves capable of holding the position against any force that could be brought against them. This is borne out by the fact that it was only at 8 P.M. on the night of the battle that the Mayor of Dalny received his orders to evacuate the town. It had been arranged that the three Japanese gunboats which were to assist the army in their attack should be in Kinchau Bay at 4 a.m. on the 26th, but for some reason they did not turn up until past 9. This delay, and the advanced trenches thrown up by the Russians, postponed the Japanese attack on the main position until past ten o'clock. Under cover of a tremendous artillery fire from the Japanese guns, behind emplacements on a line extending from the north of Hand Bay to a point near Kinchau, at a range varying from 4000 to 7000 yards, the 1st Division made a frontal attack on the trenches on the east of the Russian positions. They