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SEPTEMBER 153
tremendous fire over the fort, concentrating all
their shell-fire on the north-eastern angle of the
redoubt, where they succeeded in making a breach
and to a large extent filled the moat. Before and
during the attacks they sent hundreds upon hun-
dreds of shrapnel over the fort and the trenches,
but against the defenders behind the loop-holed
sand-bag walls the bombardment was of slight
effect, neither dislodging the Russians nor stop-
ping their fire. At night two determined assaults
were again made, and, though the first was beaten
back, the besiegers succeeded at the second rush
in over-running the moat, partly filled with the earth
from the breach, and gained the inside of the fort.
The Russians met them with a hot fire from the
caponiers, and engaged the invaders in a ferocious
hand-to-hand fight. The Japanese carried with
them dynamite hand grenades, and the powder-
filled bamboo poles which I have mentioned in a
former chapter. They smashed the caponiers,
and set them on fire. After a fierce tussle, lasting
for hours, the Russians were driven out of the fort
at about 4.30 in the morning of the 20th. The
night attacks on the connecting trenches had
utterly failed, so the plan of the Japanese to cut
off the retreat of the garrison was frustrated, and
the Russians withdrew in safety to their defence
works in front of the railway line. As the redoubt
would be untenable for the Japanese under the
heavy fire which could be poured on it from
Antzeshan, Itzeshan, Erhlung, and other posi-
tions, they set fire to the fort, which subsequently
remained unoccupied except for an occasional
visit by a venturesome correspondent. The con-
necting bomb-proof trenches were also destroyed ;
it would be too risky to leave the Russians such
an excellent means of communication for their
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