The History of the Russo-Japanese War. Sydney Tyler
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of batteries, with the most powerful and up-to-date garrison ordnance, surmounted the hills which surround the town and protect it on the other side. Another line of forts guards the entrance channel on the west side, the most important being Wei-yuen. It seemed, indeed, undoubted that Port Arthur was impregnable from the sea, though at the beginning of the war European experts were not inclined to dogmatize as to the possibilities of its being stormed from the land side. As for the fleet, if it were lying in the West Harbor or in the East Port under the shadow of Kwan-chin, it would probably be perfectly safe from attack; but, on the other hand, it will be seen that there was a danger that the narrow entrance channel might be blocked up by an enterprising enemy, in which case the Czar's ships, even if they were the finest in the world, would be useless for all the essential purposes of naval warfare. This attempt to "cork up the bottle" was, indeed, nearly carried out by Admiral Togo in the course of the fortnight following the outbreak of war.
Two days after the great attack another disaster befell the hapless Russians. With this the Japanese fleet, which had retired temporarily to the Elliot Islands in the Korean Gulf to refit and repair injuries, had nothing to do. It was solely due to carelessness and mischance; and while illustrating the state of demoralization that existed at Port Arthur, it contributed to spread that demoralization still further among the already sufficiently harassed forces of the defenders. The mine transport Yenesei, which, with her sister ship the Amur, was engaged in superintending the mine defences of the harbor entrance, observing a submarine mine which had become detached floating on the surface of the water, approached it for the purpose of firing upon it and thus removing an obvious danger to the ships lying at anchor. Unfortunately, in the excitement of the process, Captain Stepanoff, who was in command, allowed his ship to drift upon a neighboring mine. A terrific explosion followed, and the Yenesei, with a yawning hole in her bows, began at once to settle down. An attempt was made to lower the boats, but the catastrophe was so sudden and unexpected that little could be done. Captain Stepanoff went down with his ship, and there perished also, either from the direct effects of the explosion or from drowning, the engineer, two midshipmen and ninety-two men of lower rank. Not only was this terrible disaster damaging to the morale of the fleet, but it deprived Admiral Alexeieff of a valuable ship and of stores which he could ill spare. The Yenesei was built at Kronstadt in 1898. She was of 2,500 tons displacement, with a speed of 17-1/2 knots; was armed with five 4.7-inch and six smaller quick-firing guns, and was capable of carrying 500 mines. It is, of course, possible that she had not that full number on board at the time of the explosion, but in any case the loss in this respect alone must have been very severe. The accident throws an instructive and rather terrifying light upon the possible dangers of submarine mines, not only to the enemy who are attacking a fortified port, but also to the defenders themselves.
Before the Russians at Port Arthur had recovered from this nerve-shaking disaster the tireless foe flew at their throat once more. On the night of the 13th a flotilla of Japanese torpedo-boat destroyers started out to make another dash at the survivors of the Czar's fleet, which were still lying in the open roadstead, presenting for a daring and resourceful enemy a tempting object of attack. The flotilla was under the command of Captain Nagai. A blinding snowstorm was raging at the time, and it was no wonder in the circumstances that the vessels became separated from one another and that some lost their way altogether. But two, more fortunate than their fellows, hit the right course. These were the Asagiri, under Captain Iakawa, and the Hayatori, commanded by Captain Takanouchi. A snowstorm on that coast is enough to tax the skill and the courage of the most intrepid sailor, but the Japanese officers and crews were equal to the occasion. Right in the teeth of the awful blizzard, their decks sheeted with ice and snow, but with hearts on board hot with the fire of heroic adventure, the gallant little craft held steadily on their way. The navigating lieutenants had to find their course more by instinct than by calculation, for it was impossible to see anything clearly ahead through the pitch-darkness and the relentless snow. On, however, they crept through the terrible night, each working independently of the other, for under such conditions no concerted plan of attack was possible.
At three o'clock in the morning of the 14th, the Asagiri reached the harbor mouth, and in she dashed regardless of the searchlights, which made broad, livid tracks even through the storm of snow. A hot fire at once broke out from the fortress and the ships, but the aim of the gunners was wild, and, undaunted by the perils of his situation, Captain Iakawa drove his boat right up to the Russian torpedo flotilla, and discharged a torpedo at one of the larger vessels, from whose funnels smoke was seen ascending. The deadly weapon went home, and after waiting to see that it exploded, the Asagiri engaged in a smart exchange of shots with the enemy's torpedo boats and destroyers, in the course of which she sent a "scout" to the bottom. Then, and not till then, did her brave commander withdraw. Turning out to sea once more, and still hotly replying to the Russian fire until she was out of range, the Asagiri safely escaped, covered with honor.
Two hours later the Hayatori arrived upon the scene and performed the same gallant feat. Still facing the terrors of the storm, she approached the harbor entrance and stealthily crept up to the fleet, which lay helplessly at anchor. At last the audacious little destroyer was discovered. Two vessels opened a fierce fire upon her, but without hesitation, though at the same time with the most deliberate coolness and perfect aim, she discharged a torpedo at the nearest ship. The missile was seen to explode, and then, like her consort, the Asagiri, fled safely to sea once more, after spiritedly returning the hot fusillade directed upon her from all quarters.
In the characteristically restrained dispatch in which Admiral Togo described this brilliant feat of arms by the Asagiri and the Hayatori, he remarked:—"It is impossible to state the definite material results, owing to the darkness, but the moral effect was certainly considerable." From other sources, however, something was learned of the character of the material damage done to the Russian fleet Not only was a scout destroyed, but the cruiser Boyarin was injured by one of the torpedoes, and the Volunteer Fleet steamer Kayan had her upper works knocked about by a shell from one of the Russian guns. The exact amount of the damage done was not revealed on the Russian side, but there can at all events be no doubt that, in the words of the Japanese Admiral, the moral effect was considerable. It is clear from the safe return of these two small destroyers out of the very jaws of the enemy, that the Russian gunners had become demoralized, and the ineffectiveness of Admiral Alexeieff's own torpedo flotilla in the face of an attack which it was peculiarly designed to meet points strongly in the same direction.
But still a third harassing attack was in store for the Russian fleet. While one division of his torpedo-boat destroyers was thus carrying confusion and dismay into the ranks of his opponents, Admiral Togo, holding his main fleet within the shelter of the Elliot Islands, was quietly preparing for a larger and more far-reaching coup. This was to be nothing less than the operation of "corking up the bottle," in other words sinking ships at the entrance to Port Arthur Harbor, and blocking the fairway against passage of the Russian ships. It was an enterprise in some ways similar to the famous exploit of Lieutenant Hobson of the Merrimac at Santiago-de-Cuba during the Spanish-American War, but in the present case the blockading fleet attained less success.
RUSSIAN FLEET TRYING TO LEAVE PORT ARTHUR.
Five old steamers were chartered for the purpose. Their names were the Tenshin Maru, the Bushu Maru, the Buyo Maru, the Hokoku Maru, and the Jinsen Maru. Two of these, under the names of the Rohilla and the Brindisi, were formerly in the service of the Peninsular and Oriental Company. It may here be remarked that the spirit animating all ranks of the Japanese in this war was shown by the numbers of volunteers who came forward for the dangerous task of manning the doomed steamers. The difficulty, indeed, was not to find sufficient men, but to select the limited force required without giving offence to the remainder of the host who sought to share in the glorious risk. At last, however, the officers and crews were chosen, and the vessels, having been carefully filled with heavy stones and explosives, left for Port Arthur on the morning of the 23rd of February, escorted by a flotilla of torpedo boats and destroyers.
In the darkness of the early morning of the 24th, they reached the roadstead